Accessible Alternatives for Audio/Video
Accessible content requires captions for video and transcripts for audio. Individuals with hearing impairments, especially those who are deaf, have difficulty understanding content that is only conveyed sonically. This includes all audio content and any video content that includes an audio component.
All videos that provide important information sonically should have accurate, synchronized captions, and all audio content should provide a full-text transcript.
Resources
Benefits
These measures allow individuals with hearing impairments to understand audio content, including audio-only materials and audio components for video content.
Best Practices
Synchronized captions
All videos that have audio components should also maintain accurate, synchronized captions. Ideally, a user would be able to turn captions on or off based on need and preference.
Standards for captioning can be found on the .
Full-text transcripts
All audio content should provide a full-text transcript, which should also include any audio content used as a part of a video. Transcripts are usually available on a separate web page or as a downloadable file.
Checking for Correct Usage
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Perform checks for the functionality of accessible measures:
- View all the videos on the site with the captions activated and deactivated.
- Check that they are present and absent when appropriate.
- Verify they are accurate and synchronized properly with the video.
- View the content with the audio muted to check that the content remains available and understandable.