Screen Systems breaks the mould and makes Subtitling accessible to the masses

Sasquatch is a cost-effective solution to easily subtitle social media content and reach a larger audience, including those with a hearing impairment, or those who are situationally disadvantaged.

Sasquatch, a subtitling solution for social media content, launches today, making subtitling accessible to the masses for the very first time.

Developed by Screen Systems, the number one provider of subtitling production and delivery systems, and powered by Speechmatics, the Cambridge-based leaders in machine learning and Automatic Speech Recognition technology (ASR). Sasquatch combines over four decades of subtitling expertise and industry-leading ASR to create a simpler way of subtitling for an entirely new generation of users.

The tool was built with ease of use in mind to enable users to accurately subtitle their content, even if they’ve no prior experience with subtitling. Once users upload their video content and their subtitles are automatically generated, they’re given percentage scores for text accuracy, readability, coverage and layout. Sasquatch guides users, showing them the changes that will lead to the biggest improvements, meaning higher quality subtitles, better content, and a happier, more engaged audience. Screen System’s appreciation of what makes a good subtitle is evident throughout Sasquatch; users can choose how to present their subtitles, the speed in which they’re presented, and how they’re broken up on the screen. Speechmatics’ speech engine provides the highly accurate speech-to-text capabilities, meaning less intervention and corrections from users is required.

John Birch, Strategy and Business Development Manager at Screen Systems, comments:

“Sasquatch is about the empowerment of the individual. We believe that 100% of media content should be captured – there’s absolutely no reason for it not to be. We know that there’s a very large community who are deaf but we’re also aware that there are people who can hear perfectly well who are situationally disadvantaged, like when they’re browsing social media at work. “We want to change the way people perceive the process of subtitling,” adds Birch. “We’re not replacing anything, we’ve just created a new way of doing subtitling for social media content and it wouldn’t be possible without Speechmatics’ leading speech-to-text technology.”

Ian Firth, VP Products at Speechmatics, adds:

“Subtitling has only ever been possible with high-end, production systems and typically only used for broadcast content. As a business, we’re passionate about making all content accessible, so we’re delighted to be partnered with Screen Systems and integrated into Sasquatch. This partnership is a further affirmation of the quality of our speech engine, and we’re incredibly excited to see the benefits Sasquatch brings both everyday content creators and consumers.”