Screen recording with captions and transcript, made live

Captions used to be a job for after the recording: export the video, upload it to a transcription service, wait, fix the mistakes, then line the text up with the picture. If you record in Chrome, much of that can happen while you talk. This article shows how to make a screen recording with captions and transcript in one go, using Cheap Recorder: it writes a live transcript as you record, labels who said what, and hands you an .srt caption file the moment you stop. It also covers what to know before you rely on it.

How a screen recording with captions and transcript works

Cheap Recorder uses Chrome's own speech recognition. While you record, your words appear as captions at the bottom of the preview, and each one settles into a finished line when you pause. When you press Stop and finish, the recorder saves the transcript next to your recording and gives you caption files to download.

Because it relies on Chrome, it only works in Google Chrome. In a browser without that speech recognition, the option is greyed out and says "Live transcript needs Google Chrome." It is part of the Free plan and every plan above it, so there is nothing extra to buy.

There is one privacy point to understand before you start. While the transcript is on, Chrome sends your microphone audio to Google to turn it into text, under Google's privacy policy. That also means you need to be online. Your recording itself stays in the folder you chose. If a recording must not leave your computer in any form, untick Live transcript before you press Start recording.

Step by step: record with captions switched on

Open Cheap Recorder in Chrome and choose a folder under Where to save, so the transcript can be saved next to the recording.
Open Options, the folding card below What to capture. Live transcript is ticked by default; leave it ticked.
In the menu beside it, choose the language you will speak. There are 25, including English (UK), English (US), Arabic, Filipino, Hindi, Urdu, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese (Mandarin), Cantonese, Japanese and Korean. Choose before you start, because the language is set when the recording begins.
Pick what to capture as usual and press Start recording.
Talk normally. Long pauses are fine: if Chrome's speech recognition stops during a silence, the recorder starts it again for as long as you are recording.
Press Stop and finish. The transcript is saved beside the video and named after it, for example Weekly demo - transcript.txt beside Weekly demo.mp4.

The full guide is Get a live transcript and captions.

A worked example: captions for a short product walkthrough

Say you want to post a five-minute walkthrough of a web app on YouTube, with captions, and send the written version to your team.

Before you start, you open Options, check Live transcript is ticked and choose English (UK) in the menu beside it.
Under What to capture you choose A browser tab and pick the app's tab, so your other tabs stay out of the video.
You name the recording "Product walkthrough", press Start recording, and talk through the app as you click. You pause to think twice; the captions carry on afterwards.
You press Stop and finish. In the recording's card, the player already shows your captions.
Above the transcript, you type your name into the Speaker box that shows your microphone's model name, and press Save captions.
You press Captions .srt and upload that file next to the video on YouTube. You open Product walkthrough - transcript.txt from the recording's folder and paste it into the team email.

Before you upload, open the .srt in a text editor and read it once. If Chrome misheard a product name, fix the word there. The video does not change, and nobody sees the mistake.

Put real names on the speakers

Each line of the transcript is labelled with the sound source that was loudest while it was spoken. That might be your microphone's model name, "Meeting" for the other side of a call you picked with Pick the call tab…, or "Screen" for sound from the tab or window you are filming.

Model names are not much use in meeting notes, so rename them. Find the Speaker boxes above the transcript, one per label, type a real name into each, and press Save captions. The transcript is written again with the new names, and the player and the caption downloads pick up the change. Each line then reads like "Priya: Welcome to the weekly update."

On plans that include cutting words from the transcript, the Transcript fold in the recording's card shows every line with the time it was said. On every plan, the downloaded transcript file has the same lines and times.

Which file to use where

The .txt transcript sits in the recording's folder: plain text with times and speaker names. Paste it into notes or an email.
The .srt file, from the Captions .srt button, is the most widely accepted caption format. Upload it next to your video on YouTube or Vimeo, or import it into most video editors.
The .md file, from the Transcript button, keeps the formatting for notes apps that read Markdown.

The captions you see on the preview are not drawn into the video. Your MP4 stays clean, and you add the caption file wherever you publish. That also means you can fix a wrong word in the .srt before anyone sees it, without touching the video.

If you are recording a meeting rather than a solo video, the same transcript works with the call audio. See recording a Google Meet call with audio from both sides for how to bring the other side in.

Getting a transcript you can trust

A live transcript is only as good as what Chrome hears, so a few habits make a large difference:

Use a good microphone close to your mouth. A headset or desk microphone beats a laptop's built-in one in a noisy room.
Speak the language you chose. Chrome listens for one language per recording, so switching halfway gives odd results.
Expect close timings, not exact ones. Chrome reports a time for each line, not each word, so a caption can appear a moment early or late. That is fine for captions on a tutorial; check it if you need frame-accurate subtitles.
Turn it on before you record. The transcript is only made live. If it was off, there is no way to add one to that recording afterwards.

When the captions do not appear

The Live transcript option is missing: your plan does not include it. Check What you can do on this plan in your account menu.
The option is greyed out: you are not in Google Chrome. Open the recorder in Chrome.
No captions while recording: check Chrome may use your microphone, that you are online, and that the right language is chosen.
No Captions .srt or Transcript buttons: they only appear when the transcript caught some speech during the recording.

Frequently asked questions

Is the live transcript included in the free plan?

Yes. Live transcript and captions are part of the Free plan and every plan above it.

Is my video uploaded to make the transcript?

No. Your recording stays in the folder you chose. While the transcript is on, Chrome sends your microphone audio to Google to turn it into text.

Can I add a transcript to an old recording?

No. The transcript is only made live, while you record, so tick Live transcript before you press Start recording.

Are the captions part of the video file?

No. The MP4 stays clean, and you add the .srt file wherever you publish the video.

Can I remove the ums and ahs?

On plans that include cutting words from the transcript, Remove filler words marks them so you can cut them. See Cut filler words using the transcript.

Get started

The free plan needs no card. Try Cheap Recorder in Chrome, leave Live transcript ticked, and your next recording comes with its own captions and transcript.