Voice-over and subtitles for any video in your browser
The Vocnu extension for Chrome, Brave and Edge translates the videos you watch: one natural AI voice reads the translation over the original sound, and subtitles in your language show over the player. It works on YouTube, online courses and any page with a video player.
For Chrome 120 or newer, Brave and Edge on a computer. Coming to the Chrome Web Store soon.
How it works
Turn it on
Turn Vocnu on for the tab with its toolbar button or Alt+Shift+V, choose your language and a voice, and play the video.
Vocnu prepares ahead
It reads what the video says, from its subtitles or its sound, translates it and voices it ahead of the picture. At the start the video waits a moment, about half a minute, so the voice stays in sync with what you see.
Watch in your language
The voice follows pauses, seeking and speed changes, and subtitles in your language show over the video, in fullscreen too. Prefer to read? Switch to subtitles only.
This is voice-over, not dubbing: one voice reads the translation over the original sound, which is lowered but kept, so you still hear the actors, the music and the effects.
Choose any of 35 languages, read by the same ElevenLabs voices as Vocnu's voice-overs. Hear the voices.
Where it works
On any page with an HTML5 video player, players inside frames included. Vocnu takes what the video says from the first source it can read:
- YouTube videos, with or without captions, and YouTube live streams. Ads get no voice.
- Sites whose players load subtitles: Vocnu translates the subtitles and voices them.
- Plain video files played in the browser: Vocnu reads their sound ahead of you.
- DRM-protected streaming players and other videos without subtitles or sound it can read ahead: after you allow it with one click on the Vocnu button, Vocnu listens to the tab. The video is covered for a short while as Vocnu hears the next minutes at high speed, then plays them with the voice in sync.
- Live streams, voiced live a few seconds behind the picture; a line that would come too late shows as a subtitle only. You can choose live mode for other videos without subtitles too, if you prefer no pauses.
Price
| With voice-overThe voice and subtitles in your language | 5 credits per minute |
|---|---|
| Subtitles onlySubtitles in your language over the video | 1 credit per minute |
- A video already in the language you chose is never voiced or charged.
- Watching the same minutes again within 30 days, in the same language, voice and mode, is free.
- Credits are reserved as Vocnu prepares the video and charged for the minutes it voiced up to where you stopped watching; the rest comes back when you finish.
- With the voice-over, a minute costs €0.33 to €0.50, depending on the credit pack.
- New accounts get 60 free credits after confirming their email address: 12 minutes with the voice-over or 60 minutes of subtitles.
Privacy in short
- Vocnu works only in tabs where you turn it on.
- To translate a video, it sends Vocnu the subtitle text, or short pieces of the sound around where you are watching, with the page title, the site's name and a hash of the address, so the same video is recognised next time.
- It listens to a tab's sound only after you allow it on that tab, only while it listens ahead or runs live, and the browser shows that the tab is being captured.
- Nothing it hears is kept, and Vocnu never stores the video. Vocnu keeps only its own translation and voice, for about 30 days, so watching again is quick and free.
Everything in detail is in the Privacy Policy.
Install the extension
- Download the extension and unzip it.
- Open chrome://extensions (brave://extensions in Brave, edge://extensions in Edge) and turn on Developer mode.
- Choose Load unpacked and pick the unzipped folder.
- The extension opens the Vocnu app: sign in or create a free account, and press Connect the extension.
- On a page with a video, press the Vocnu button in the toolbar or Alt+Shift+V, choose your language and play the video. Pin Vocnu in the browser's extensions menu to keep its button in sight.
Until Vocnu is in the Chrome Web Store, you update it by unzipping a new download over the same folder and pressing the reload button on Vocnu's card in chrome://extensions.
Questions and answers
Is it dubbing?
No, it is voice-over: one voice reads the translation over the original sound, which is lowered but kept, as in TV documentaries. Dubbing would replace every voice.
Why does the video wait at the start?
Vocnu voices the video ahead of the picture, so the voice stays in sync with what you see. At the start the video waits about half a minute while the first part is voiced; then Vocnu prepares the next minutes while you watch. After a long jump it waits again rather than let the voice fall behind.
Does it work on live streams?
Yes. A live stream is voiced live, a few seconds behind the picture, and a line that would come too late is shown as a subtitle only.
How much does it cost?
Watching uses your Vocnu credits: 5 credits a minute with the voice-over, 1 credit a minute with subtitles only. A video already in your language costs nothing, minutes you watch again within 30 days are free, and new accounts get 60 free credits.
Does Vocnu see what I browse?
No. The extension does nothing in a tab until you turn it on there. Then it sends only what it needs for that video: its subtitles or short pieces of its sound, the page title, the site's name and a hash of the address. See the Privacy Policy.
Which browsers does it work in?
Chrome 120 or newer, Brave and Edge on a computer. It does not work on phones and tablets, or in Firefox and Safari.