What is the automated subtitle workflow?

Ingest the English programme, draft timed Dutch to house rules, editor review, quality control, then export. AI does steps that repeat. Humans do steps that judge.

Where do editors come in?

After the draft, before delivery. They are not cleaning a mess. They are approving a file that already tried to follow the rules.

Can we keep our current QC tools?

Yes. We deliver a broadcast-ready file. If you already run QC software, keep it. Ours is an extra net, not a religion.

How long does a pilot take?

Long enough to run a real episode through your rules and let an editor score it. Not a slide deck.

What formats do you export?

Standard subtitle deliveries used in broadcast post. Exact wrappers are agreed on the pilot so we match your MAM.

Is the workflow only English to Dutch?

Yes. That focus is how we measured 82% time saved and 80% cost reduction at Play Media.

Automated subtitling workflow

The pipeline shrinks. Final review remains.

Undertitle reduces English-to-Dutch subtitle operations to a final editorial check. AI does the pipeline. You keep the final word.

Five steps. One owner of the air.

The sequence is the product. Skip a human checkpoint and you do not have broadcast-ready subtitles. You have a draft.

1–2

Ingest and draft

The English programme and your house rules go in. A timed Dutch draft comes out.

Editors keep the final word

People fix names, jokes, legal language, and anything a model should not decide.

4–5

QC and deliver

Flags first, then a file your playout chain already understands.

How it works

A workflow, not a magic button.

Broadcast teams do not need another place to chat with a model. They need a path from master to approved subtitle file that does not collapse when volume spikes.

Undertitle is that path. AI handles spotting and first-pass Dutch. Editors handle meaning. QC handles the mistakes both still make.

Ingest. Programme, metadata, and the house book. No mystery about what “good” means.
Constrain. Timing and language rules are applied while drafting, not as a lecture after export.
Sign off. An editor approves. Then you deliver. That order does not flip.

Play Media ran this shape of workflow and measured 82% less time and 80% less cost. The editors were still there. That is the point.

What we do not automate

Live captions. Legal liability. The last word on a slur, a lyric, or a politician’s name. Those stay human. If a vendor promises otherwise, they are selling you a different product.

The Q system

Rules per broadcaster, not a generic model

Broadcast-ready is not a slogan. It is a profile: your language, timing, segmentation, terminology and technical constraints, applied before anyone reviews a cue.

Q Profile: Tone of voice, terminology and preferences per broadcaster.
Q Rules: Timing, readability, segmentation and delivery specs.
Q Score: Confidence on each asset, so review time goes where it is needed.
Q Review: Editors work the exceptions. Not every line as if it were new.
Q Approved: The status that means a human signed the file.
Overlaps: Cues that sit on top of each other never pass as “probably fine.”
Reading speed: Too-fast Dutch is rewritten or split before QC writes it up.
Human gate: A score is not a signature. An editor is.

Frequently asked questions

Want this mapped onto your MAM? Request a pilot.

What is the automated subtitle workflow?: Ingest the English programme, draft timed Dutch to house rules, editor review, quality control, then export. AI does steps that repeat. Humans do steps that judge.
Where do editors come in?: After the draft, before delivery. They are not cleaning a mess. They are approving a file that already tried to follow the rules.
Can we keep our current QC tools?: Yes. We deliver a broadcast-ready file. If you already run QC software, keep it. Ours is an extra net, not a religion.
How long does a pilot take?: Long enough to run a real episode through your rules and let an editor score it. Not a slide deck.
What formats do you export?: Standard subtitle deliveries used in broadcast post. Exact wrappers are agreed on the pilot so we match your MAM.
Is the workflow only English to Dutch?: Yes. That focus is how we measured 82% time saved and 80% cost reduction at Play Media.