Audio Description (Prerecorded)
Audio description is provided for all prerecorded video content in synchronized media.
What it means
The intent of this success criterion is to provide people who are blind or visually impaired access to the visual information in a synchronized media presentation in the same human language as the video or page on which it appears. The audio description augments the audio portion of the presentation with the information needed when the video portion is not available. During existing pauses in dialogue, audio description provides information about actions, characters, scene changes, and on-screen text that are important and are not described or spoken in the main sound track. For 1.2.3, 1.2.5, and 1.2.7, if all of the important information in the video track is already conveyed in the audio track, no additional audio description is necessary. 1.2.3 Audio Description or Media Alternative (Prerecorded), 1.2.5 Audio Description (Prerecorded), and 1.2.8 Media Alternative (Prerecorded) overlap somewhat with each other. This is to give the author some choice at the minimum conformance level, and to provide additional requirements at higher levels. At Level A in Success Criterion 1.2.3, authors do have the choice of providing either an audio description or a full text alternative. If they wish to conform at Level AA, under Success Criterion 1.2.5 authors must provide an audio description - a requirement already met if they chose that alternative for 1.2.3, otherwise an additional requirement. At Level AAA under Success Criterion 1.2.8 they must provide an extended text description. This is an additional requirement if both 1.2.3 and 1.2.5 were met by providing an audio description only. If 1.2.3 was met, however, by providing a text description, and the 1.2.5 requirement for an audio description was met, then 1.2.8 does not add new requirements.
Failing example
<!-- Fails: video tutorial with silent on-screen steps, no audio description -->
<video src="/tutorial.mp4" controls></video>How to fix it
<!-- Pass: separate audio-described version offered -->
<video src="/tutorial.mp4" controls></video>
<p><a href="/tutorial-audio-described.mp4">
Watch version with audio description
</a></p>How A11yRisk detects this
A11yRisk detects this criterion automatically.
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