by OIT Staff
August 31, 2021
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Multimedia and Digital Accessibility
Including multimedia can make digital content more dynamic and engaging but can easily create accessibility barriers when it is not designed or integrated with accessibility in mind.
Why is Multimedia Accessibility Important?
Multimedia must be accessible for all users, including people who are deaf and hard of hearing, people who are blind or deafblind, and people who use a keyboard only to navigate. This means that media players must be keyboard accessible and that the multimedia content itself must include:
- Accurate, synchronized captions;
- An accompanying transcript; and
- Audio or text descriptions for any visual elements not accurately accompanied by equivalent audio.
Best Practices for Multimedia Accessibility
Captions and Transcripts
Fully accessible captions are accurate and synchronized text representations of all audio content in a video, including spoken words and critical non-verbal audio. While captions are necessary for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, they are incredibly useful for others, like second language learners, people who are older and aging, people who are multitasking, or people with different learning styles.
Transcripts provide essential access to people who cannot access audio or captions. People who are deafblind, for example, access video content using a transcript and a refreshable braille display. People who are blind may also access videos using a transcript since their screen reading software can read text content at a higher speed than the natural speed of audio. Searchable transcripts can help everyone to find information with greater ease.
Captioning can be created internally during the design phase or professionally applied by a vendor afterward. Note that automated captions are not fully accessible for people with disabilities and must be edited for accuracy. For more information on how to caption and transcribe your own content or request professional captioning and transcription, please refer to our Digital Accessibility Guides and Resources web page.
Audio Description
Audio descriptions are necessary for people who are blind providing critical access to any contextually relevant visual content that is not adequately and accurately described by associated audio.
While this feature is essential for people who are blind but also helpful to people with different learning styles and access needs. Audio description for a presentation, for example, might include a description of content and function for any charts or graphics on the screen as well as speaker names, titles, and links. Audio description can often be provided during the design phase through conscientious narration.
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