About this site

We make Vocena, and each guide ends with a short note about it. Vocena's captions are free; translation and AI are paid features.

Guides are published under pen names used by the Vocena team. The names carry no credentials; what backs a guide is the list of sources at its end.

The name is about captions you can use without paying: the ones built into your devices and apps, and Vocena's. Plenty of what we cover costs money, such as Zoom's translated captions or Otter's paid plans, and the guides say so.

We also run Listen Guide, a site mostly in Chinese that starts from tasks like following a class or watching videos in another language. This site sticks to device and feature questions.

Found a mistake? Email [email protected] with the page link, the sentence that's wrong, and a source if you have one.

We check every report. If the guide is wrong, we fix the text and update its date. You can send other questions about this site or Vocena to the same address.

Email a correction

Guides are published under pen names. We draft with AI tools, and a person on the team reads and approves each guide before it goes live.

Answer first

The first lines answer the question. Steps, limits and other options come after.

Built-in options before apps

We start with the captions and transcripts your device or player already has. Only then do we suggest another app, Vocena included.

Every source opened

We open each outside page a guide links to and check the claim against it. Each source shows the date we checked it. Product claims are checked against Vocena's own documentation.

Tests are recorded

A guide lists a device test only when we ran one, with the device, system version and date. Screenshots made with demo data are labeled “Interface preview” and never count as a test.

Dates follow real changes

A guide shows when we last changed what it says. Rebuilding the site doesn't change that date; fixing a mistake does.

Translations

Guides in other languages are translations of the English guide. They are translated with AI and checked against the English original before they go live, but a person does not read each one. The English guide is the reference. If something in a translation is unclear or wrong, tell us.

Each topic is one situation where you need to follow what people say.

• Podcasts2 guides

  Find a transcript for an episode, or read along with live captions and check a line against the audio.

• Videos9 guides

  Turn on captions for videos in the browser and in apps, and follow videos in another language.

• Classes and lectures2 guides

  Follow classes and recorded lectures with captions, and keep a transcript to review later.

• Meetings17 guides

  Read along in calls and meetings, and keep a record of what was said.

• Conversations2 guides

  Follow a conversation in another language and find the words to reply.

• Travel1 guide

  Understand announcements, tours, and conversations when you travel abroad.

• Dictation7 guides

  Speak instead of typing, and turn what you said into clean text.

• Hearing access14 guides

  Captions and transcripts for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.