Video Captioning and Transcription Platform and Services

The Vendor is required to provide a comprehensive, scalable, and cost-effective video captioning and transcription platform and services (VCTPS) (the “Solution”). 
- A solution that ensures equitable access to educational content for all students, faculty, and staff across agency member institutions, particularly those with hearing or visual impairments.
- The Solution must deliver high-accuracy, ADA-compliant captioning and transcription services for both live and pre-recorded content, supporting diverse academic environments and aligning with agency commitment to accessibility, affordability, and innovation in higher education.
- Solution Objectives
•    Provide a robust, user-friendly platform for captioning and transcription that meets or exceeds
•    Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA and Title II of the Americans with
•    Disabilities Act (ADA).
•    Deliver real-time and pre-recorded captioning services with a minimum accuracy of 99%, ensuring effective communication for all users.
•    Support seamless integration with common Learning Management Systems (LMS) and Video Management Systems (VMS), such as Kaltura, YouTube, and Canvas.
•    Offer flexible, usage-based pricing and detailed reporting to support billing verification and future planning for member institutions.
•    Ensure scalability to accommodate increasing content volumes as agency member institutions grow.
•    Provide exceptional support, training, and account management to ensure successful implementation and ongoing operations.
- A cloud-based platform for captioning and transcription, including real-time captioning for live events, pre-recorded media processing, and audio description services.
- The platform must support multiple languages, handle challenging audio environments, and integrate with existing institutional systems. 
- Provide a dedicated account manager, comprehensive training, and a maintenance plan to ensure long-term reliability and compliance.
- Platform Interface
•    Provide an intuitive, web-based interface for managing captioning and transcription settings, uploading media, and downloading captions/transcripts.
•    Support role-based access with customizable permissions (e.g., Admin, User) for managing files, users, billing, and approvals.
•    Allow users to report and edit unknown/inaudible words, with changes reflected in downloadable files.
- Captioning and Transcription
•    Deliver 99% accurate captions for both live and pre-recorded content, including proper spelling, grammar, punctuation, and background sounds.
•    Support customizable caption settings, including speaker identification, characters per line (default 32), and lines per frame (default 2).
•    Provide a caption editor to allow users to correct errors in transcripts, with edits reflected in all downloadable formats.
•    Ensure captions align with spoken words with a timing offset of <50ms and do not block important on-screen content.
- Live Captioning
•    Provide real-time captioning for live events at 225–250 words per minute, with a maximum delay of 30 seconds.
•    Support captioning via webinar platforms (e.g., Zoom, Teams, WebEx) using native captioning or chat features.
•    Ensure captioner availability 10 minutes before minor events and 30 minutes before major events for setup and testing.
- Audio Description
•    Offer audio description services for blind and low-vision users, with options for standard and extended descriptions.
•    Provide audio description outputs in formats such as WebVTT, WAV, and merged caption/description files.
•    Include an audio description editor for previewing and editing descriptions.
- Supported File Formats
•    Accept uploads in common formats: MP4, MP3, MOV, AVI, MKV, WEBM, and WAV.
•    Provide downloadable captions in SRT, WebVTT, SMI, and SCC formats, and transcripts in .docx and .txt formats.
- Supported Languages
•    Support captioning and transcription in English and other languages, including but not limited to Spanish, French, German, Italian, Korean, Mandarin, Japanese, and Arabic. 
•    Please list all supported languages.
•    Offer mixed-language captioning (e.g., English/Spanish) and translation services upon request.
•    Support major world orthographies (e.g., Chinese, Japanese, and Arabic) and Unicode-based scripts (e.g., Cherokee syllabics).

- Contract Period/Term: 3 years
- Intent to Bid Due Date: August 28, 2025
- Questions/Inquires Deadline: August 22, 2025