Microsoft Edge is getting video translations
After launching live captions support for online videos in Microsoft Edge, and later on in Windows, Microsoft is working on the next big step to improving the online video experience in its browser.
The company is working on video translations, which it is currently testing in the Edge browser. As is the case with all of these changes, only select few Edge installations are honored with the privilege of the translate feature.
Twitter user Leopeva64 spotted the new functionality in Edge Canary. According to the statement on Twitter, translations are not fully functional yet in Edge: "It seems that video translation in Edge will initially support four languages, in Canary Microsoft has added a combobox to choose the language, the translation itself doesn't seem to work yet:"
A short animated GIF demonstrates the functionality.
A new translate icon is attached to online videos. A click or tap on the video icon opens the translate interface. Users may use it to select one of the supported languages. These are, based on the screenshot, English, French, Spanish and Russian.
The actual translate feature does not appear to work at the time. A click on the enable button has no effect. Since this is work in progress, it seems likely that Microsoft is going to add more languages to the translate tool at a later stage in development.
It seems unlikely that it is going to add hundreds of languages to the tiny menu though, as it would involve lots of scrolling to pick the desired language.
The automatic video translate functionality in Edge will work similarly to the captions feature. Once enabled, Edge will display translations as captions to the user.
Closing Words
Video translations are a useful feature, provided that the quality of translations is fine. It makes videos accessible to wider audiences, which is always a good thing.
Microsoft has yet to reveal how the translate feature works on the technical side. It is unclear if translations will happen locally or in the cloud. Live Captions, at least on Windows, are processed locally, translate functionality in the cloud.
Now You: would you use video translate functionality in your browser of choice?
