When using video or multimedia, both its content and functionality must be vetted for accessibility
Audio description
Audio description is a method of ensuring the accessibility of visual multimedia content for individuals with visual impairments. Audio description is sometimes called descriptive audio or video description.
Audio description can be short, verbal descriptions dubbed over the original audio content. The same descriptions should be added as descriptive text to a transcript. Audio description provides access to inaudible, visual-specific content such as the setting, on-screen action, facial expressions, displayed charts or diagrams, and other on-screen text.
Video player accessibility
When hosting video and audio online, the media player and its interface should be accessible. Consider these questions for assessing accessibility:
- Does the media player support the use of captions, transcripts, and audio description?
- Are the controls operable using only the keyboard instead of the mouse?
- Is the media player compatible with assistive technology, such as screen-reading software or voice-recognition software?
The following is a list of video players known to be reasonably accessible:
- Kaltura MediaSpace media player
- Kaltura media player in Canvas
- YouTube HTML5 video player
- Able Player, an accessible cross-browser media player created by Terrill Thompson
- PayPal's accessible HTML5 video player
- JW Player, a popular embeddable media player with accessible features