Verbit

Announcements

  • Clemson Online's contract with Automatic Sync Technologies (AST) through Verbit has concluded. It is still possible to use AST/Verbit without a contract as long as you stay within the Dollar Limitations described on Procurement's website. Please note that the negotiated price rates of that contract may no longer be in effect. For additional information about Dollar Limits, please contact the Procurement office.

What Is AST by Verbit?

Categories: Accessibility

Automatic Sync Technologies (AST) through Verbit is a video and audio accessibility service previously used by Clemson Online. While Clemson Online no longer uses AST/Verbit, we still include them in our recommendations when the acquisition of such services is being considered. The services AST/Verbit provides include transcription, recorded video captioning, live or realtime event captioning, audio description, caption translation, and foreign language captioning. 

Prior to getting a Verbit account, it is recommended that you verify that a better solution is not already available to you through a different department. The section below titled "Important" includes guidance on which departments to check first.

Getting an Account

Tool Guides

Important

Additional Information

  • Can I get an Verbit Account? How do I get one?

    Clemson University departments and grant holders can acquire billing accounts and allow additional personnel to get user accounts (i.e. sub-accounts) in Verbit. This said, please be aware that as long as no contract between Verbit and Clemson University exists, it will be important to stay within the Dollar Limitations described on Procurement's website where applicable. For accurate pricing information, please contact Verbit directly.

    To create an account, use the "Account Signup" button on the AST page or, if the button is unavailable, contact Verbit for further instruction.

    *It is strongly recommended that primary users of department and grant project accounts work with the Verbit representative to annually review and manage sub-account access. When personnel leave Clemson University or migrate to a different department, their access to their Verbit user account is not automatically terminated.* 

  • How can I get free video accessibility services?

    When Clemson employees (and otherwise authorized students) take advantage of the Clemson Online services listed on Clemson Online's accessibility page, eligible video and audio content may recieve accessibility improvements through Clemson Online's current solution(s) at no extra cost.

    Please note that a copy of all caption, transcription, etc. files generated by Verbit during Clemson Online's Media Accessibility Service prior to February 2024 are stored in a Caption Bank on a University supported Cloud Storage system, unless otherwise arranged. If you find that you later need a copy of any of these files, please contact Clemson Online. 

  • How much does Verbit services cost?

    The cost of Verbit's services varies based on the following factors:

    • Service Selected - i.e. transcription vs. captioning vs. audio description
    • Selected Turnaround Time - turnaround time typically ranges from 8 hours to 4 days, except for select services
    • Duration of Video(s) - Durations are rounded up to the nearest minute, meaning that a 0:02:03 video will be charged the same as a 0:03:00 minute video
    • Department or Grant Holder's decision regarding a prepurchase of services - If services are prepurchased, then a discount may be applied to the standard rate

    At the time of Clemson Online's 2021 contract with Verbit, the pay-as-you-go rate for captioning of video recordings with a 4 day turnaround was $2.15 per video minute. This contract has since concluded, so current rates may vary. Please contact Verbit directly for more accurate pricing information.

    *The balance for pre-purchased services expires after 4 years.*

  • Can I use Verbit for my graduate or professional level research project?

    If your department or grant will allow you to get an Verbit account, it is possible to use Verbit's services for your research-related transcription, captioning, audio description, and subtitling needs. However, as long as there is no contract between Verbit and Clemson University, it will be important to stay within the Dollar Limitations described on Procurement's website where applicable. Also, you may need to speak with your Verbit representative about getting a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) and/or Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA) first. There may be a fee associated with acquiring the NDA.

    Verbit's Confidentiality and Privacy Policy

    Live captions using eCART are not HIPAA compliant.

  • How long are files stored?

    If Verbit does not change its policy after the conclusion of Clemson Online's 2021 contract, the following is true.

    Verbit stores original media files on their servers for 45 days, stores audio tracks and transcript files on their servers for six months (to allow you to edit or rerun the results), and stores caption and audio description results for five years. The Verbit SmartPlayer for videos is also available for five years. There is no storage limit, and all data is stored or hosted on USA servers.

    Whenever you receive free professional captioning services through Clemson Online, a copy of the caption, transcription, and/or audio description files generated through that service are stored in Clemson Online's Caption Bank indefinitely--unless other arrangements are made. If you later need a copy of any of these files, please contact Clemson Online.

  • How do I connect Verbit and my Kaltura account so that completed captions appear automatically?

    An integration between Verbit and Kaltura will need to be configured.

    Email IThelp@clemson.edu with the subject, "Integrating Verbit Account with Kaltura," and wait for further instruction. Requests will be granted on a case-by-case basis due to cybersecurity and privacy requirements.

    Installations may take a long time (possibly even a month long) if the vendor and/or Kaltura are slow to assist.

  • How do I connect Verbit with a different video hosting platform?

    Please refer to AST's Support Center for appropriate documentation and reach out to Verbit support for any additional assistance.

    As Kaltura is the only video hosting platform supported by Clemson University, Clemson is severely limited in its ability to provide tech support for other video hosting platforms.

  • When should I use Verbit's SmartPlayer?

    If you have purchased audio description services or caption translation services through Verbit, you may need to use Verbit's SmartPlayer to make these features available to your audience. Kaltura does not support extended audio descriptions and is limited in its support for uploading of more than one caption file. 

    *The Verbit SmartPlayer expires after 5 years.*

  • What is audio description?

    Audio description is a separate audio track that describes important, purely visual information to people who are visually impaired. Here are some important terms for discussing audio descriptions:

    • Closed Audio Description - these descriptions are a separate audio track that can be turned on and off.
    • Open Audio Descriptions - these descriptions cannot be turned off and are typically baked into the video's audio.
    • Standard Audio Descriptions - video playback is not effected by these descriptions as they are spoken during natural gaps in the video's dialogue.
    • Extended Audio Descriptions - video playback is paused while the descriptions are spoken.

    *Automatic Sync Technologies (AST)'s branch of Verbit creates extended audio descriptions only.* As such, you may need to plan to use Verbit's SmartPlayer or make plans to use the files generated by this service to create standard and/or open audio descriptions.

    *Videos must be captioned by Verbit or have a caption file loaded to Verbit before the video can be submitted for audio description services.*

Tech Support

When configuring a Verbit integration with Kaltura, you can email IThelp@clemson.edu.

For all other Verbit support needs, you will need to contact your Verbit representative directly.