Line 21 vs Ai-Media
Ai-Media and Line 21 both caption live broadcasts, streams and events with AI and human captioners. Ai-Media brings two decades of broadcast captioning and its own encoder hardware; Line 21 runs the whole workflow as one cloud platform, with a choice of AI engines and an AI Proofreader.
At a glance
| Feature | Line 21 | Ai-Media |
|---|---|---|
| Live AI captions | Yes, in 100+ languages | Yes: LEXI |
| Human (CART) captioners | Yes: accredited stenographers and respeakers, or your own captioners, free | Yes: Premium Captions by Ai-Media captioners |
| Speech recognition engines | Choose per language: Speechmatics, Deepgram, Gladia, AWS Transcribe, Microsoft | Its own engine, LEXI |
| Correcting AI captions | AI Proofreader checks every line against your event's names and terms | Not stated publicly |
| Live translation | Yes, 90+ languages with DeepL, Google, Azure and OpenAI | Yes: iCap Translate and LEXI |
| Live AI dubbing | Yes (beta): 75 languages with Gemini Live Translate | Yes: LEXI Voice |
| Captions encoded into streams | Yes: CEA-608 into RTMP and SRT, in the cloud | Yes: Falcon cloud encoder and broadcast encoder hardware |
| Multi-language HLS player | Yes: a caption and dubbed audio track per language | Not stated publicly |
| Zoom and Teams | Yes: caption token for Zoom and Teams, plus a Zoom app | Not stated publicly |
| Pricing | Free pay as you go; plans from $199 a month | Subscriptions for Falcon and encoders |
Key differences
One platform or a set of products
Ai-Media's offer spans LEXI, iCap, Falcon and hardware encoders. Line 21 runs captioning, translation, dubbing, encoding and HLS delivery in one cloud project, with no hardware to install.
Choice of AI
Ai-Media uses its own LEXI engine. Line 21 recommends the best of several speech engines for each language and lets you switch.
Correcting AI captions live
Line 21's AI Proofreader checks each caption line against your agenda, speakers and terminology before it is shown, for human and AI captions alike.
Broadcast heritage
Ai-Media has deep roots in broadcast and its own encoder hardware, which can matter for traditional broadcast plants built around SDI encoders.
Choose Line 21 if
- You want captions, translation, dubbing and streaming in one cloud platform
- You want to pick the speech engine per language
- Names and jargon must be right, with live AI proofreading
- You bring your own captioners, or want a free platform for them
Choose Ai-Media if
- Your broadcast plant is built around hardware caption encoders
- You already use the iCap network across your channels
About Ai-Media
Ai-Media has worked in captioning and accessibility since 2003. Its LEXI engine produces AI captions, LEXI Voice translates speech into other languages, and its human captioners deliver Premium Captions. Captions travel over its iCap network, with Falcon as a cloud RTMP encoder and, from 2026, new LEXI Text and Voice encoders sold on subscription.
Sources
- Ai-Media brochure, April 2026
- Ai-Media caption delivery and encoders
- LEXI Text and LEXI Voice encoders at NAB 2026
Based on Ai-Media's public information, reviewed October 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
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