Editor’s note (Updated November 2025): This article was originally published in 2013 and has been fully revised to reflect today’s live captioning and translation technology.

When we first explored live Spanish translation through captions more than a decade ago, the goal was simple: make real-time events accessible to both English- and Spanish-speaking audiences. The original workflow required an on-site encoder, a phone-connected interpreter, and a remote captioner working in tight coordination—impressive for the time, but complex to manage.

Today, that vision has evolved into something far more powerful. With modern AI, cloud captioning, and multilingual delivery, real-time translation is faster, simpler, and more inclusive than ever.

Then: Innovation Through Ingenuity

In 2013, Aberdeen Broadcast Services partnered with a national television network to cover a live interview with a professional football player. The challenge: deliver live English captions and a simultaneous Spanish translation so both audiences could follow the event.

We assembled a remote workflow—an interpreter translating spoken English into Spanish via phone, while a live captioner created captions on the fly. For its time, it was groundbreaking. The event reached bilingual viewers across multiple platforms, showing what’s possible when accessibility meets innovation.

Now: AI and Human Expertise Working Together

Fast-forward to today, and the process has been transformed.

Aberdeen’s AI-powered captioning and translation combines Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) and Advanced Machine Translation (AMT) with expert human editors to achieve both accuracy and speed.

Captions are generated in real time, translated instantly into Spanish (or any target language), and delivered wherever your audience is—on venue screens, livestreams, or personal devices—with optional natural-voice audio dubbing in the same translated language.

No phone trees. No manual hand-offs. A secure, cloud-based workflow manages it end-to-end.

How It Works Today

1. Real-Time Transcription (ASR): Speech is transcribed live with low latency.
2. Instant Translation (AMT): Captions are translated into the chosen language(s).
3. Optional Audio Dubbing: Translated speech is rendered in natural-sounding voices.
4. Frictionless Access: Viewers scan a QR code or visit a URL—no app downloads—to read captions or listen to translated audio on their own device.

This approach serves churches, universities, broadcasters, and live event organizers who want to reach multilingual audiences without heavy technical overhead.

Engaging Spanish-Speaking Audiences—and Beyond

Spanish remains one of the most requested languages we support, but the same streamlined workflow now covers dozens of global languages.

• Churches: Make every service truly inclusive for Spanish-speaking members.
• Universities: Provide equitable access for international students and families during lectures and commencements.
• Broadcasters & Events: Offer bilingual or multilingual coverage live and on replay, without rebuilding your entire production chain.

Compliance and Connection

Real-time captioning and translation help organizations address key accessibility requirements like ADA and Section 508, while also increasing engagement. Viewers retain more, focus longer, and participate more fully when captions and translations are available. Accessibility isn’t just a checkbox—it’s a strategy for connection.

The Simplicity of Modern Multilingual Events

With cloud-first tools and streamlined workflows, what once required a dedicated on-site team can now be launched with a simple link. Whether you’re producing a church service, an academic event, or a live broadcast, Aberdeen makes it possible to caption, translate, and voice-dub in real time—within a single workflow.

No special equipment. No technical barrier. Just inclusion at the speed of your message.

Experience It for Yourself

See how Aberdeen’s solutions make multilingual live events effortless.

Experience real-time captions, translation, and audio dubbing—all from your browser.