MarketScale gives you three transcript download formats, and grabbing the wrong one means captions that don't load or a file nobody can read. Each format has one clear job. Here's how to pick the right one the first time.
PDF: for humans to read
Download the PDF when a person needs to read the transcript. Sharing it with a stakeholder, sending it through compliance review, or using it as the starting point for a written draft like a blog post. The PDF is formatted for reading, not for machines. If the destination is a human's eyes, this is the format.
SRT: for captions on video platforms
Download the SRT when you're uploading captions to a third-party video platform: YouTube, LinkedIn, Vimeo, or anywhere else that accepts a caption file. SRT is the universal caption format those platforms expect. You upload the video, upload the SRT alongside it, and the captions sync automatically. This is the format that makes your video accessible and watchable with the sound off.
VTT: for captions embedded in a web player
Download the VTT when a development team needs captions to display inside a video player on your own website. VTT is the web-standard caption format browsers use natively. If someone on your team is embedding a video in a custom player and needs the captions to show up in the browser, hand them the VTT, not the SRT. Wrong format here means captions that silently fail to load.
Try it this week
Next time you download a transcript in MarketScale, ask where it's going. A person reading it? PDF. Captions on YouTube or LinkedIn? SRT. Captions in a web player your dev team controls? VTT. Match the format to the destination and the file just works.