Audio and Video

• Live captions are provided for all live audio-only podcast streaming content.

• Once the live audio-only podcast streaming content is completed and you’re preparing to release recordings on a website or streaming platform, provide captions and transcripts for this prerecorded audio.

• Live captions are provided for all live video with audio streaming.

• Once the live stream is completed and you’re preparing to release streaming recordings on a website or video streaming platform, provide captions and transcripts for prerecorded video with audio.

Captions can make the difference for whether or not someone can consume your audio content.

• Provide text for dialogue and describe crucial sounds, ensuring understanding of conversations and audio cues.

• Aid comprehension by reinforcing information and overcoming audio challenges like background noise or accents.

• Quality is crucial: easy-to-read, consistent, clear, error-free text.

Transcripts are text versions of media content (dialogue, actions). They come in two main types:

• Static Transcripts: Plain text. Include all necessary speech and non-speech audio information.

• Interactive Transcripts: Highlight spoken words and allow users to click text to jump to that point in the media. They're essential for synchronizing text with video/audio, commonly used in HTML5 players and captions.

• Provide a complete written record of the content, allowing for self-paced reading, review, and easy searching.

• For any text, consider font family, size, and the contrast between the text and background for readability.

• Narrate essential visual information not conveyed through dialogue (e.g., actions, settings), ensuring full story comprehension for those who can't see the screen.

• They are critical for accessibility for individuals who are blind or have low vision, also benefiting auditory learners.

• Provides captions (dialogue/sounds), audio descriptions (visuals), and transcripts (full text versions).

• Fully keyboard accessible with clear visible focus indicators that display when media player buttons are tabbed to.

• Screen reader compatible (has properly labeled controls).

• Doesn’t force autoplay of audio or video content.

• Users can adjust playback speed, and adjust caption appearance (size, color). 

• Ensure sufficient color contrast for text.

• Avoid any harmful flashing content.

• Functions reliably across different browsers and devices.

Able Player is a fully accessible and customizable audio and video HTML5 media player. It features extensive keyboard, screen reader, and speech recognition controls, along with high-contrast, scalable visuals and a clear focus indicator. Users benefit from customizable closed captions, text-based audio descriptions (both in WebVTT format), and an interactive transcript with text highlighting and playback synchronization. It supports both YouTube and Vimeo.

Keyboard navigation is crucial. If your media player isn't fully keyboard operable, you're excluding many users, including those who are blind and use screen readers, and sighted users who need a visible focus indicator. Many people, whether sighted or not, cannot use a mouse, trackpad, or trackball, relying entirely on keyboard navigation.

Captions, transcripts, and audio descriptions are vital for hearing-impaired individuals when accessing podcasts and videos. They provide full dialogue access and explain non-speech sounds like laughter. They also help identify speakers, overcome audio challenges like background noise or accents, and ultimately ensure equal access to media content.

Captions and transcripts also aid individuals with cognitive impairments by improving comprehension. They enhance focus, boost memory/retention, reduce cognitive overload with structured text, and foster independent learning.

The two most widely used caption formats are SRT (SubRip Subtitle) and WebVTT (Web Video Text Tracks).

• SRT is a simple plain text format that includes sequential caption numbers, timestamps, and the caption text. It's highly compatible with most video players and social media platforms (lYouTube, Facebook, and Twitter).
• WebVTT is similar to SRT but offers more advanced features, like styling (font, color, placement) and the inclusion of metadata. It's specifically designed for web-based videos and is well-supported by HTML5 video players.