Tag: Time-based media

Provide audio description or text transcript for videos with sound.

Users who are blind or visually impaired need alternatives for video content.

Adding an audio description track or text transcript helps more users enjoy your content. These both help visually impaired users when the video’s regular soundtrack doesn’t convey all the information – for example, because the presenter shows items to the camera or demonstrates a process.

How to Pass

• Provide a full text transcript of the video; or
• Provide a version of the video with audio description.

Exceptions

• You don’t need to satisfy this guideline if the video is itself an alternative to other content.
• You don’t need to provide an audio description track if the regular soundtrack contains all the information in the video.

Tips

 A text transcript is a document that includes all information present in the video, essentially a script for the video. This means including any visual cues (for example, ‘The fisherman holds up a large bass.’) as well as dialogue and non-speech sounds.

 Audio description is an edited version of a video’s soundtrack that adds more information than the regular soundtrack offers during pauses. This might mean narrating movements that are not audibly explained in the video, identifying speakers or explaining visual information. You can provide this to users by letting them select an audio track within the video player or having links to both versions of the video.

Something like a straight face-to-face interview or a speech-to-camera would probably not need audio description. If your video conveys all its information through the regular soundtrack, you don’t need to provide an audio description track. Keep this in mind when creating videos.

To meet this guideline, it’s easier to provide users with a text transcript instead of audio description. However, the either/or option only covers Level A. To reach Level AA you need to offer audio description (see 1.2.5) and for Level AAA you need both audio description and text transcript (see 1.2.8).

If you’re going to the length of audio description for this guideline, you can also satisfy 1.2.5 – Audio Description (Pre-recorded) and 1.2.7 – Extended Audio Description by recording extended audio description tracks wherever necessary.

See Also

• 1.1.1 – Non-text Content
• 1.2.1 – Audio-only and Video-only (Pre-recorded)
• 1.2.2 – Captions (Pre-recorded)
• 1.2.5 – Audio Description (Pre-recorded)
• 1.2.7 – Extended Audio Description
• 1.2.8 – Media Alternative (Pre-recorded)
• Understanding Success Criterion 1.2.3 (W3C)

‘Captions (Pre-recorded) requires captions for videos with audio.

Introduction

Users with hearing impairments may not be able to perceive the sound on a video. Presenting the video’s content in captions means these users can fully enjoy the content.

How to Pass ‘Captions (Pre-recorded)’

• Add captions to all videos with sound.
  
• Caption all spoken word.
  
• Identify speakers.
  
• Caption non-speech information (such as sound effects).
  

Exceptions

You don’t need to provide captions if the video is itself an alternative for text. For example, if everything in the video is provided in plain text on the page and the video is the same content but recorded in a video presentation.

‘Captions (Pre-recorded)’ Tips

Captions can be closed (hidden until requested) or open (always visible), either will pass this guideline.

There are plenty of paid services that will add captions to your videos, often at reasonable rates. There are also many free programs that will attempt to create your caption file for you, but none as good as human eyes and ears just yet. Like with many areas of web accessibility, your choice is between spending time (writing your own captions) or money (outsourcing).

If you use a lot of video, build the time into your workflow from the start. If you feel you don’t have the time for captions, consider cutting the number of videos you upload. One accessible video that all of your users can enjoy is better than two videos that alienate some of your audience.

See Also

• Non-text Content
• Audio-only and Video-only (Pre-recorded)
• Captions (Live)
• Understanding Success Criterion 1.2.2 (W3C)

Provide an alternative to video-only and audio-only content.

Introduction

Users who have difficulty with hearing and/or vision may need assistance with audio-only or video-only content, such as an audio file, embedded podcast or silent film.

As the popularity of podcasting continues to grow, making these accessible is an important part of a presenters job –  in conjunction with their web desginer.

By providing the same information conveyed in the audio-only or video-only content in a different format, users can access the content by other means, such as text transcripts or assistive technology.

How to Pass Audio-only and Video-only (Pre-recorded)

• Provide a text transcript that conveys the same information as audio-only media;
• Provide a text transcript that conveys the same information as video-only media; or
• Provide an audio-track that conveys the same information as video-only media.

Exceptions

You don’t need to provide an alternative if the content is itself an alternative for text.

Tips

Sometimes creating a text transcript is simple, other times you have to make a judgement call on what to include. The best bet is, as always, to be honest with your users. What does the media convey and does your transcript do the same? Could you swap one for the other?

A text transcript for a video without sound should describe what is going on in the video as clearly as possible. Try to focus on what the video is trying to say rather than getting bogged down with detail.

Alternatively, for video-only content, record an audio track that narrates the video.

Place your alternative or a link to it directly beneath your video or audio content.

Related to Audio-only and Video-only (Pre-recorded) 

• 1.2.2 – Captions (Pre-recorded)
• 1.2.3 – Audio Description or Media Alternative (Pre-recorded)
• 1.2.5 – Audio Description (Pre-recorded)
• 1.2.7 – Extended Audio Description
• 1.2.8 – Media Alternative (Pre-recorded)
• Understanding Success Criterion 1.2.1 (W3C)