Live Caption Player
Live Caption Player is a desktop application developed by Abba Aminu that generates real-time subtitles for local video files played in VLC or MPV. It uses the Vosk offline speech recognition engine to transcribe audio directly on the user's machine, with no cloud processing or data collection. The interface is built with PySide6 (Qt6 for Python), offering a native desktop experience with customizable overlays, keyboard shortcuts, and transparency controls. The application syncs subtitles with VLC and MPV via a local IPC host, tracking the video playhead and injecting translated text in real time. It supports multiple languages, with translation models downloaded once during installation and used entirely offline. Users can adjust timing offsets manually through sliders for precise synchronization. Live Caption Player is available for Windows (x64), macOS (Apple Silicon), and Linux (AppImage). A Windows installer (v1.0.2) and Microsoft Store listing are provided. Pricing includes a $1/month subscription and a lifetime access option. The software is designed for privacy-conscious users who need accurate captions for movies, lectures, and confidential videos without relying on external APIs.
- Category
- B2C
- Pricing
- Paid
Problem solved
It solves the problem of adding real-time subtitles or captions to local video playback without internet connectivity or cloud services, ensuring privacy, low latency, and no per-minute API costs. It targets users who play videos in VLC or MPV and need automatic, offline speech-to-text with translation.
Use cases
- Generating real-time subtitles for local video files in VLC or MPV without internet
- Captioning confidential or proprietary videos with full offline privacy
- Translating English speech into Spanish, French, German, Japanese, and other languages locally
- Enhancing accessibility for hearing-impaired viewers of movies, lectures, or keynotes
- Avoiding subscription API costs by using offline speech recognition
- Adding customizable subtitle overlays with font and opacity controls to VLC playback
Audience
- Business Users
- Content Creators
- Hobbyists
- Researchers
- Enterprise
Pros
- 100% offline processing ensures privacy and no cloud dependency
- Real-time synchronization with VLC and MPV via local IPC
- Low one-time or monthly cost ($1/month) compared to API subscriptions
- Built-in multi-language translation offline
- Cross-platform support for Windows, macOS, and Linux
Cons
- Requires VLC or MPV installed; no built-in video player
- Offline speech recognition may be less accurate than cloud alternatives
- Manual timing offset calibration may be needed for perfect sync
- Pricing and license not fully transparent on homepage beyond $1/month
Official website: https://caption.stackbuildco.com/
Canonical LambdaBase page: https://www.lambdabase.com/tools/live-caption-player