Adding Closed Captions to Digital Media
[The feature associated with this page, Windows Media Player SDK, is a legacy feature. It has been superseded by MediaPlayer. MediaPlayer has been optimized for Windows 10 and Windows 11. Microsoft strongly recommends that new code use MediaPlayer instead of Windows Media Player SDK, when possible. Microsoft suggests that existing code that uses the legacy APIs be rewritten to use the new APIs if possible.]
Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange (SAMI) is a file format designed to deliver synchronized text such as captions, subtitles, or audio descriptions with digital media content. Integrated in a Web browser using the Windows Media Player object model, SAMI promotes accessibility. By using SAMI, you can create rich media content that reaches a larger, more diverse audience.
In addition to standard fonts, SAMI can support other text styles, such as different colors, sizes, or languages to aid a variety of users. SAMI can be particularly useful for individuals who have low vision or those who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. The SAMI format can also assist in educational purposes, such as teaching students a second language.
This topic focuses on the incorporation of SAMI with the Windows Media Player ActiveX control object model. SAMI files exist independently from digital media files and do not rely on a specific video or audio format to function. Since the files are separate, the Windows Media Player control will locate, parse, synchronize, and render each file on the client's computer. This provides for added flexibility and functionality because it allows for the editing of individual SAMI files, the incorporation of the SAMI file with different digital media formats, and the storage of SAMI files on different server locations.
This topic contains the following sections.
| Section | Description |
|---|---|
| About SAMI Files | Describes the basic structure of SAMI files. |
| SAMI File Example | Describes the structure of an example SAMI file. |
| Using SAMI with the Windows Media Player Control in a Browser | Describes how to use SAMI in a webpage with the Windows Media Player control. |
| About SAMI URLs | Describes how digital media files can be associated with SAMI files by using a single URL. |
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