MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, March 4, 2025 – Tightrope Media Systems will demonstrate its new MediaScribe media accessibility and transcription service in April at the 2025 NAB Show in Las Vegas, Booth W2615. Designed to make government meetings more accessible, MediaScribe offers real-time text transcriptions and translations that can be displayed on dedicated on-premise displays, personal mobile devices, and cable channels. Currently powering in-room displays for large city and county operations across the country, MediaScribe will be available for pre-order at the show.
MediaScribe is a hybrid service that combines a hardware interface and cloud-powered AI services to provide a flexible, user-friendly workflow. Live meeting footage is ingested into the on-prem, 2 RU gateway appliance via SDI. Then, via Gigabit Ethernet, Cablecast’s cloud-based captioning engine uses automatic speech recognition (ASR) to cost-effectively convert speech into text.
With three SDI outputs, MediaScribe can be configured to deliver three types of displays, presentations, or outputs. Closed captions can be inserted into live broadcasts by downstream systems. Other options include in-room transcriptions on dedicated screens in chambers, as well as open captions that allow viewers to read what is happening during a meeting in areas where there is no sound provided on the displays. Captions can be routed through standard AV equipment or converted to HDMI for standard displays.
MediaScribe also provides a mobile caption option, so residents can view captions and real-time translations directly on their personal mobile device by scanning a QR code. Live feeds do not require an app download or special network setups, but provide personalized caption access during live meetings.
With a simple user interface, MediaScribe makes it easy for non-technical staff to start, stop, and configure captioning for meetings. MediaScribe provides real-time, in-room translations in 72 languages and supports real-time broadcast translations in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, German, and Dutch. Users can store different configurations of I/Os and languages, so operators can switch between meeting types without issues. Plus, users can create a custom vocabulary to avoid issues with difficult names of streets and local public figures.
The system records full video, audio, transcriptions, and translations of meetings, so it can be used as a primary recorder or backup for a broadcast workflow. When the meeting is complete, assets are available to download in multiple formats, including full video, audio-only, and transcripts, providing versatile access for various platforms and archives.
“Cities have been telling us they want a simple, affordable way to meet or exceed ADA compliance in their meeting coverage. MediaScribe’s real-time captions and translations of government meetings provide a straightforward solution that just works,” explained JJ Parker, co-founder and CEO of Tightrope Media Systems. “Captions and translations can help underserved members of the community be more engaged and connected with the official actions in their city. We’ve been in this industry for a long time, and we are excited to help local governments take accessibility to the next level without disrupting their workflows.”
About Tightrope Media Systems
For more than 25 years, Tightrope Media Systems has been providing video distribution and media accessibility solutions that help government and community organizations deliver timely messaging to the right people in the right place at the right time. Its Cablecast community media multiplatform playout automation simplifies video distribution for cable channels, websites, and mobile and OTT streaming devices. And its MediaScribe all-in-one solution provides broadcast and in-room captioning, real-time translation, and meeting transcription. Find out more at www.trms.com or call (612) 866-4118.
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