How do I enable captions requests for all files in Media Gallery?

When video or audio is included in your course content, UVA policies (opens new window) require that you provide an alternative method for your audience to understand the content.

Starting on January 6, 2026, media files added to My Media or to the Media Gallery in a Canvas course (Kaltura) will be automatically (Machine) captioned.

Beginning on February 6, 2026, automatic language detection will also be enabled for a pilot period of one year. This means that each media file uploaded or recorded with speech in a language supported by Kaltura ASR (opens new window) should have machine captions automatically generated using the first language spoken within the file. For additional details, see the announcement about captioning changes (opens new window).

YouTube videos added to Kaltura will be automatically captioned in English.

For any media file that was added to Kaltura prior to January 6, 2026, any file uploaded or recorded with speech in a language not supported by Kaltura ASR, and any YouTube video in a language other than English, captions must be requested by the owner of the file or someone with permission to edit it (co-editor).

Instructors may enable a "captions ordering rule" in their Canvas course's Media Gallery to automatically submit captions requests in a specified language for all video and audio files published in the Media Gallery.

Once a captions request has been completed for a media file, the captions will be available and the file's owner or co-editor will be able to review and edit the captions.

Important: Captions ordering rules do not apply to media files that are embedded in tools such as Pages, Modules, or Assignments, if the same media files are not also published directly in Media Gallery.

Note: For additional assistance with captioning, please reach out to the Captioning Team at [email protected]

Tips:

Screenshot of link in menu.

Select Media Gallery from the Course Navigation Menu.

Note: To access the Media Gallery tool in a McIntire School of Commerce course site, select McIntire Kaltura from the Course Navigation Menu instead of Media Gallery.

Select Channel Actions, then Services ordering rules.

Screenshot illustrating steps below.
  1. Select the three bars (Channel Actions) menu.
  2. Select Services ordering rules.

Create a captions ordering rule.

A page will display where you can view existing ordering rules to request captions and create new rules. When creating an ordering rule, Machine captions are selected by default. If you are setting up an ordering rule for Professional captions, you will also have an option to enter Instructions & Notes for the captioning provider. Skip to the step to enable requests for Professional captions.

Tip: A media file can have multiple captions files attached to it. Machine captions will be identified with [auto] on their label, for example, English [auto]. You can request both Machine and Professional captions to have some captions available while the captioning vendor works on your request.

Enable requests for Machine captions.

Screenshot of rule creation form with Machine service selected.

Under the heading Create Rule for Ordering:

  1. Leave the default Service option, Machine, selected.
  2. Select the Source Media Language to indicate the language of the files to caption. By default, the language is English. 35 other languages are available to select.
  3. Select Submit.

Note: Media files added to Kaltura beginning on January 6, 2026 will have machine captions added automatically.

Beginning on February 6, 2026, automatic language detection will also be enabled for a pilot period of one year. This means that each media file uploaded or recorded with speech in a language supported by Kaltura ASR (opens new window) should have machine captions automatically generated using the first language spoken within the file. For additional details, see the announcement about captioning changes (opens new window).

YouTube videos added to Kaltura will be automatically captioned in English.

Enable requests for Professional captions.

Screenshot of rule creation form with Professional service selected.

Under the heading Create Rule for Ordering:

  1. From the Service drop-down menu, select Professional.
  2. Select the Source Media Language to indicate the language of the files to caption. By default, the language is English. 35 other languages are available to select.
  3. In the Instructions & Notes field, enter any notes for the captioning provider. For example, if your videos usually include speakers who pronounce certain words differently from how others might, or difficult scientific terms, you might include notes on correct spelling.
  4. Select Submit.

View captions Ordering Rules.

Screenshot shows ordering rules page. Graphic link opens modal with larger image. Press Escape to exit modal.

The page will refresh with the captions ordering rule(s) displayed under the heading View Ordering Rules.

Review and edit captions.

Once the captions are ready, they will become available in the media player automatically. The video or audio file's owner or someone who has been given permission to edit the file (co-editor) should then follow the steps to review and edit the captions (opens new window) to ensure they are accurate, and that the correct captions file is displayed to viewers.

Note: When a video or audio file that does not have captions is added to the Media Gallery, it will take some time for its captions file to become available.

The amount of time it takes for Machine captions to be processed for a file depends on the length of the recording and how many other video and audio files are waiting for their own captions requests to complete. In most cases, Machine captions should be ready within 30 minutes after the media was published.

The Captioning Team will need to review and approve requests for Professional captions for them to be submitted to a captioning provider. The approval process occurs daily Monday-Friday. If your request has not been approved or it is time sensitive, please email the Captioning Team ([email protected]) to ask for help. After a request has been approved, it may take 3-5 business days for the vendor to create the captions and make them available.