Audio and Video

Ensuring multimedia content is accessible benefits everyone — from people with disabilities to users in noisy environments and those who prefer text-based learning. This guide outlines effective practices and requirements for making your audio and video content inclusive and compliant with accessibility laws. 

Faculty looking for tools to assist with creating accessible course materials can visit the 海角论坛 CAFE website.

Core Accessibility Features

Captions

Captions provide equal access and effective communication for deaf and hard of hearing people, which means that captions are essential in allowing full participation. Captions can also improve comprehension and enhance the experience for non-native language speakers, people with learning disabilities and anyone in a noisy environment. requires closed captions for prerecorded, on-demand content that can be accessed through a website or mobile app. It also requires closed captions for live video and audio. In other words, all your web-based video content needs captions. 

Closed captions convert audio dialogue, speaker identification and meaningful sounds (e.g., music, effects) into text that appears on a video, synchronized with audio. They can be added to live videos in real time or a pre-recorded video, with the ability to toggle on and off. 

Professional captioning vendors are excellent resources for providing budget-friendly, high-quality captions with a quick turnaround. While auto-generated captioning tools continue to make significant progress in accuracy, they are not yet sufficient to meet the requirement without substantial editing for quality assurance. 

  • Closed captions vs. subtitles. The terms “closed captions” and “subtitles” are often used interchangeably, leading to confusion about their unique roles and purposes. While both display text representing spoken dialogue, their intended use and target audience differ significantly. Subtitles are similar to closed captions but are used for translating only the spoken dialogue into another language and may be burned into the video. 
  • Check your captions for readability and contrast. It’s best to avoid light-colored text on light backgrounds or tiny fonts. WCAG guidelines recommend a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 for text and images of text. Font size should be at least 14 point, and fonts with thin strokes or unusual characteristics are discouraged because they are harder to read. 
  • Auto-generated captions and manual editing. Auto-generated captions, generated by artificial intelligence (AI), provide variable degrees of accuracy. This approach works best when the video is of a single person speaking clearly and with limited noise interference in the background. Accuracy rates drop if there are multiple people with overlapping dialog, if there is background noise in the video or if specialized terminology is used. Auto-generated captions typically only capture the spoken dialogue and must be edited to include speaker identification and meaningful sounds. 

In order to ensure captions meet the requirement, any captions produced with AI will need to be edited before the video is posted online. If you use an AI tool (such as YouTube, social media platforms or other approved captioning software), you must review and edit autogenerated captions for accuracy, including adding the additional audio cues and sounds. 

    • Tip: Do not assume that auto-generated content is accurate, even if the platform says it can create closed captions. Always review and edit auto-generated captions for accuracy.
    • Captioning resources: | |  | | | | |

Transcripts

Transcripts are different from captions. A transcript provides a word-for-word text version of the audio portion of video content, as well as non-speech audio information that helps the reader understand the content. A descriptive transcript goes a step further, adding visual information that help people understand the content. Transcripts are accessed by screen readers or Braille devices for users who are deaf, blind or prefer reading. You can offer transcripts as downloadable or side-by-side documents. 

While encouraged for video content, transcripts are not required for all your media. However, they are required for pre-recorded audio-only content, such as podcasts, and pre-recorded video content with no audio. 

  • Tip: Include speaker names and describe key visuals.
  • Tip: Best in HTML format for accessibility.

Audio Descriptions

Completely separate from captions, audio descriptions assist the visually impaired by providing a narration of visual content. They support users who are blind or have low vision. 

Audio descriptions are required for some on-demand video content, but not all. Generally, if you close your eyes but can still follow the program, such as a talking head interview, you probably don’t need it. However, if someone refers to visuals in a council meeting without describing them aloud, audio description would likely be necessary. 

  • Tip: When able, the preference would be for all visual content to be described aloud, instead of providing a separate audio description.
  • AD resources:

Real-Time Captioning

Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) is a service where a trained stenographer instantly converts spoken words into text, providing over 98% accurate, live captions for deaf, hard of hearing or non-native speakers. Used in-person or remotely, CART allows users to follow along using a laptop, mobile device or large screen. 

  • Live event captioning guide. To ensure inclusive live events:
    • Choose a captioning provider. Providers will assist with process, availability, cost and setup.
    • Plan display setup. Use large screens with good sightlines; consider livestreaming captions.
    • Enable audio access. Audio can be streamed using common tools.
    • Coordinate with technical staff. Ensure AV teams are prepared and equipped.
    • Budget ahead. Captioning costs fall on the event organizer.

Resources

Supported Technologies

  • : Canvas-integrated tool for recording and captioning lectures.
  • : Canvas-based tool for interactive presentations with captioning support.
  • : Enable live captions and real-time transcripts for meetings.
  • : Offers live transcription during meetings, providing real-time captions to support accessibility.

Contracted Service Providers

The university offers preapproved vendors for human-generated services such as captioning, transcription and CART. 

Why Use Vendors?

  • Meets IT and procurement standards.
  • No RFP needed for faster service.
  • Potentially lower negotiated costs. For help with pricing, contact  

Find a Vendor

Visit and scroll down to see the list labeled “Transcription_Captioning Vendor List.”

Additional Resources

  • WebAIM: 
  • DCMP: 

Common Issues to Avoid

  • Don’t assume all videos have captions or all audio has a transcript.
  • Don’t assume autogenerated captions are good enough. Review them for accuracy.
  • Don’t turn on autoplay for videos. This can interfere with assistive technology used to access the content.
  • Don’t burn in captions
  • Don’t share audio without a transcript.
  • Don’t include timestamps in transcripts.
  • Don’t alter wording based on grammar in transcripts, however, it is OK to remove common filler words such as “um.”