Windows 11 · Research guidance. Instructions are based on publisher guidance; a UK IPTV account was not tested on this platform.
Check the Windows feature first
Microsoft documents Live Captions for Windows 11 version 22H2 and later. Check the Windows version before looking for a missing control. Captioning and translation are different capabilities: translation has additional Copilot+ PC and Windows-version requirements. A computer that supports ordinary Live Captions should not automatically be described as supporting every translation option.
Open the caption control
Use Windows Settings, Accessibility, Captions to find the Live Captions control. Follow the initial language setup shown on the computer. Let any required speech-language resources finish preparing before judging the result. Keep the intended video available in its normal player; this Windows feature captions audio rather than replacing the service’s programme selection or account controls.
Choose device audio for this test
Use a brief passage with clear speech and check that ordinary computer audio is actually playing. Inspect the caption window’s preferences if the result appears to describe people in the room. Microsoft provides an optional microphone input, which is off by default. For a straightforward video comparison, leave that extra input off so it cannot confuse the observation.
Make the result readable
Place and size the caption window so it does not cover the programme information or controls you need. Compare the generated wording with a short, understandable phrase. Names, overlapping voices and unclear recordings can produce mistakes. If an accurate supplied subtitle track is available in the programme, compare it with the generated text instead of treating automatic transcription as an official script.
Finish with a useful support note
Record the Windows version, chosen language and whether clear device speech produced captions. Microsoft says this caption processing happens on the device and the audio and captions are not stored or sent to the cloud. That description concerns Live Captions; it does not describe the separate streaming website’s data handling.
Questions, answered
Does ordinary captioning require a Copilot+ PC?
Microsoft distinguishes ordinary Windows 11 Live Captions from translation, which has additional hardware and version requirements.
Should the microphone be enabled to caption a video?
The device-audio test does not need the optional microphone input.