accessibility-guidelines

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Audio description for pre-recorded videos

Does your site show pre-recorded videos?
→ Provide an audio description of what happens on screen.
(If you don’t, it’s good to provide at least a text equivalent).

Video content (like instructional videos, ads or interviews) must have audio description.


On this page:


Requirements

Common mistakes

Why?

This ensures that information communicated visually in the video is available to people who cannot see it.

Official wording in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines

1.2.3 Audio Description or Media Alternative (Prerecorded): An alternative for time-based media or audio description of the prerecorded video content is provided for synchronized media, except when the media is a media alternative for text and is clearly labeled as such. (Level A)

1.2.5 Audio Description (Prerecorded): Audio description is provided for all prerecorded video content in synchronized media. (Level AA)

See the W3C’s detailed explanation of this guideline with techniques and examples.

Note: pre-recorded videos without sound are covered somewhere else in the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines:

1.2.1 Audio-only and Video-only (Prerecorded): For prerecorded audio-only and prerecorded video-only media, the following are true, except when the audio or video is a media alternative for text and is clearly labeled as such: (Level A)


More info

Sources

Useful resources

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This document is in beta. Help us by reporting issues via Github or email.