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Videos and accessibility - Accessibility Toolkit - Version 3 - 2009

There will be people who won’t be able to access video on the web because:

• They are hearing impaired or deaf;
• They are visually impaired or blind;
• They are using a slow modem;
• They do not have the required media player; and/or
• They have a physical disability which prevents them from using the media player.

Videos cannot be made fully accessible, but they can be made accessible to some people with disabilities; for example people using screen readers. A video is made accessible by:

• Creating the video in a particular way;
• Inserting the video in the site a particular way;
• Providing a transcript of the video in text or HTML;
• Providing audio descriptions of all the visual content in the video; and
• Providing captions of all the audio content in the video.

What about YouTube videos?

Just like other videos, you can caption YouTube videos. However it is currently not possible to associate audio descriptions with a YouTube video. Thus when you are putting videos on YouTube you must:

• Caption the video; and
• Provide a link to a page with the transcript and audio described video.

Embedding videos is not recommended. These videos are not keyboard accessible and pose a number of accessibility problems to people with disabilities. Where a YouTube video has been referenced, also include a link to the easy YouTube player by Chris Heilmann. This player allows users to paste in the URL and then use an accessible player to play the video. Make sure you have provided users with the YouTube URL.

What about vodcasts?

Just like other videos, you can caption vodcasts. When putting vodcasts on your site you must:

• Caption the vodcast; and
• Provide a link to a page with the transcript and audio described video.

See the Vodcast section.

What about live streaming content?

With live streaming content, captions and transcripts must be written live. It is possible to caption existing media files for streaming download (WebAIM has a tutorial on captioning streaming media, however providing a downloadable audio or video file is more accessible.

Live streaming content should always have an alternative, for example, the songs being played on a streaming radio site.

Relationship to WCAG1 checkpoints

Checkpoint 1.1 requires that a text equivalent is provided for every non-text element (e.g., via "alt", "longdesc", or in element content). This includes: applets and programmatic objects, sounds (played with or without user interaction), stand-alone audio files, audio tracks of video, and video.

Checkpoint 6.2 requires that equivalents for dynamic content are updated when the dynamic content changes.

Complying with accessibility requirements when including video

Creating the video in a particular way

Accessibility needs to be considered both when videoing the content and when converting the video for web use.

When videoing the content

• Use only high contrast colours;
• Do not provide information in colour alone;
• Do not use patterned backgrounds; and
• Do not include flashing or flickering content.

When converting the video for web use

• Use a consistent video file format;
• Allow users to zoom in and out on content;
• Limit video files to 2MB or less (for larger files, break them up into smaller downloads as well as offering the full file, or create a low bandwidth version of the content);
• Allow users to control the video (e.g. pause, rewind, etc.) via the keyboard only;
• Allow users to control the video (e.g. pause, rewind, etc.) via the mouse only; and
• Allow users to control the volume.

Inserting the video in the site in a particular way

Accessibility needs to be considered in how the user will access the video.

• Never automatically start a video file;
• Never embed the video;
• Allow the user to skip over the video using the mouse only;
• Allow the user to skip over the video using keyboard only;
• Open the video in a new window;
• Ensure the site is functional and all content is available without the video; and
• Include information on how to access the video player;

Providing details of the video

Details can provide information to the user about the file and whether it is necessary to download the file. Alternatively, if they cannot download the file, it will provide them with information on who to contact to access an alternative copy.

• Provide contact details to arrange an alternative format of the video  (e.g. HTML, text, Word, or hard copy)
• Include information on the site about the file, such as: file type, file size, estimated download time and duration of video.

Providing a transcript of the video in text or HTML

Where the user cannot access the video, it is vital that a transcript is provided (in HTML, text or Word) so that they are not missing out on the content within the video.

Example 1: Transcript of a video

Live in Victoria contains a number of migrant stories, including a video. As well as the video they include a page of information about the skilled migrant.

Further Information

• W3C Checkpoint 1.1: Provide a text equivalent for every non-text element
• W3C Checkpoint 6.2: Equivalents for dynamic content are updated when the dynamic content changes
• NCAM YouTube captioning
• YouTube captioning
• YouTube Australia Official Blog
• Easy YouTube video player

Source: Accessibility Toolkit Version 3, September 2009. Section 5 - Videos and Accessibility.

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