Digital A11y

media players

Understanding SC 1.2.5 Audio Description (Prerecorded)

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1.2.5 Audio Description (Prerecorded): Audio description is provided for all prerecorded video content in synchronized media. (Level AA)

The intent of this success criterion is to provide audio descriptions to the videos so as to aid blind & visually impaired users understand the visual aspect of the video content. Videos often contain a lot of content that need sight to understand! If audio descriptions are provided, then the same content can be explained to non-sighted users & they will not lose any aspect of the video. This helps both sighted & non-sighted users to have similar experience. Audio descriptions also help people with cognitive difficulties to understand the video well.

Example of an Audio Described Video

Points to Remember

  • Provide audio descriptions where visual aspect is not explained in the dialog of the video
  • The audio description can either be separate from the original video or be an integral part of the video
  • Audio description must include scene changes, settings, actions that are described in dialogues and any other visual information that is not conveyed via a speech or dialog
  • Use media players that support audio descriptions.

References

Understanding Success Criterion 1.2.5

Notes: If audio description is provided as part of the SC 1.2.3 then you are satisfying SC1.2.5 by default. Checkpoints 1.2.3, 1.2.5 & 1.2.8 are similar & overlap with each other. It depends on what kind of conformance the application would like to achieve.

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Accessible HTML5 Media Players & Resources

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We see the audio & video content being embedded into the websites regularly, most of the content provided on the web is not accessible for a wide variety of people with disabilities. To make the life of developers more easier we compiled this list of accessible audio & video players. If there is any plug-in or accessible video player we missed please let us know in the comments section & we will update it accordingly.

  • Kaltura Player
  • Plyr
    Plyr – A simple, customizable HTML5 Video, Audio, YouTube and Vimeo player
  • AFB Accessible Media Player
    Download the American Foundation for the Blind Accessible Video Player, Version 1.1
  • fluid-project/videoPlayer
  • Open Media Player
    Open Media Player is a mainstream audio and video player that puts accessibility front and centre. We put the emphasis on ease of use for end-users and authors.
  • WET Media Player
    Media Player as part of Web Experience Toolkit.
  • Nomensa’s media player
    The Nomensa accessible media player is a flexible multimedia solution for websites and intranets. The core player consists of JavaScript wrapper responsible for generating an accessible HTML toolbar for interacting with a media player of your choice. We currently provide support for YouTube (default), Vimeo and JWPlayer although it should be possible to integrate the player with almost any media player on the web (provided a JavaScript api for the player in question is available).
  • Acorn Media Player
    Acorn Media Player is a HTML5 media player with a focus on accessibility and customization. Acorn Media Player is built with accessibility in mind. It provides full keyboard access using standard tab-based navigation, screen-reader (and other AT) support, accessible themes, and other accessibility tweaks.

  • MediaElement.js
    A complete HTML/CSS audio/video player built on top MediaElement.js and jQuery . Many great HTML5 players have a completely separate Flash UI in fallback mode, but MediaElementPlayer.js uses the same HTML/CSS for all players. Accessibility standards including WebVTT.
  • Video.js
    Video.js is a JavaScript and CSS library that makes it easier to work with and build on HTML5 video. This is also known as an HTML5 Video Player. Video.js provides a common controls skin built in HTML/CSS, fixes cross-browser inconsistencies, adds additional features like fullscreen and subtitles, manages the fallback to Flash or other playback technologies when HTML5 video isn’t supported, and also provides a consistent JavaScript API for interacting with the video.
  • Able Player
    Able Player is a fully accessible cross-browser media player. It uses the HTML5 audio or <video> element for browsers that support them, and (optionally) the JW Player as a fallback for those that don’t.
  • OzPlayer
    The first completely accessible video player

    Free for not-for-profit use!

    Video is great. It keeps visitors around for longer and keeps them coming back. It’s also usually inaccessible. OzPlayer solves this problem and also plays back video hosted on YouTube, Vimeo Pro, your website, your CDN, or anything else that will provide a standard MP4 or WebM video. It uses modern web standards like HTML5 audio and video, with a Flash fallback for older browsers and to provide codec compatibility.

    OzPlayer is fully compliant with the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, Version 2.0, Level AA. It has no keyboard traps, supports captions and audio descriptions, and has a unique system for providing a moving transcript.

  • Accessible HTML5 Video Player by PayPal
    A lightweight HTML5 video player which includes support for captions and screen reader accessibility. For details, read the blog post Introducing an Accessible HTML5 Video Player on the PayPal Engineering blog.
  • BBC Standard Media Player
    Making the SMP both accessible and usable for disabled users is core to the player’s success. At the BBC we don’t just aim to comply with our standards and guidelines for accessibility but also consider the needs of disabled users when prioritizing features. We aim to add features that we know add value, improve user experience and ease of use for disabled users and not just able-bodied users.
  • Accessible and Responsive HTML5 Video Player by Laura Kalbag

Accessible Media Players for WordPress

Audio Description Tools

YouDescribe – Audio Description for YouTube Videos
YouDescribe is a free accessibility tool to add audio description to YouTube videos. It allows anyone, anywhere to contribute description of an existing video and let a viewer who is visually impaired check it out right away.

Free Video Captioning Tools

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