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What SpanVoice is
One feed in, captions and spoken translation out to phones, the room screen and your stream.
SpanVoice is live translation and captions for events. Someone speaks; everyone in the room reads along in the language they chose, on the phone already in their pocket, and on the screen at the front. Read this first if you are deciding whether it fits your room.
One person runs it
One person sets it up and runs it: a volunteer on a sound desk, an AV technician, an events manager, a council clerk. They connect the sound they already have, press start, put a link or a QR code where people can see it, and press stop at the end. That is the whole flow.
The audience has nothing to download and no account to make. They open a link or scan a code and pick a language.
Where the translation appears
The same event is carried to five places at once.
| Surface | What it is | Who uses it |
|---|---|---|
| Reading page | A web page on a phone. The person picks their language and reads along. Can also play spoken translation instead of reading. | Everyone in the audience |
| Projector page | A full-screen view sized for a room, for people who would rather look up than down. Takes the venue’s logo and colours. | The room |
| Caption overlay | A caption band that sits over a video output, so people watching online get the same thing. | People watching your stream |
| Desk app | A Windows application that takes the microphone feed and starts the event. | The operator |
| Browser streamer | The same job as the desk app, from a browser tab, when installing software is not possible. | The operator |
A moderator page lets someone trusted in the room change the spoken language mid-event, pause the translation, and fix a word. See The moderator page.
The projector page and the caption overlay each show one shared language, chosen by whoever runs the event. Personal choice happens on the phone. See The reading page and The projector page.
Languages
Sixty languages, any one into any other. The language being spoken and the language each person reads are separate choices. The spoken language is the operator’s call and can change during the event. The reading language is each person’s own: nothing is set in advance and nothing is rationed. If somebody picks a language nobody expected, they get it.
Spoken translation, where a venue turns it on, is heard in earphones on the person’s own phone. It can also feed a wireless headphone system you already own. See Hearing the translation.
What you can teach it
- Names and terms. Give it the words it should always get right: people’s names, place names, your organisation’s own vocabulary.
- Words to keep off the screen. Choose words that should never appear, and whether they are hidden or removed.
- Branding. Your logo and colours on the projector page, and how many lines show and how large.
- How long transcripts are kept. You choose: 3, 6 or 12 months.
- Spoken translation. On or off, per venue. The audience opts in on their own phone.
What it costs
There is no monthly fee, no per-seat count and no language slots to buy. Captions are charged per hour, for each language being run. Spoken translation is charged per minute, per language, and is optional. A quiet month costs less than a busy week.
New organisations start with free credit, with no credit card. Adding a card later earns the same amount again. The rates are on your Billing page. See What you are charged.
Where it runs
SpanVoice is built and run by ARKNET PTY LTD in Brisbane, Australia, and runs from Australia, Europe and the United States. Each venue is served from the region nearest it; the links you hand out are the same whichever region that is.
Tell us what you are setting up and we will help.