Multimedia Accessibility
Rosa Padilla
rosap@csusb.edu
Web Accessibility
Overview Terms and Concepts
Captions
Captions were originally invented nearly 40 years ago to help deaf and hard-of-hearing people
understand television, but they are in fact useful to everyone. Captions are always written in the
same language as the audio. They not only render the main audio track as text on the screen, they
also indicate important non-speech information, such as sound effects, music and laughter.
Captions should not be confused with subtitles. Subtitles provide text of only the dialogue and
do not include important sounds.
Captions are either closed or open.
1. Closed captions are not visible until the user elects to turn them on.
2. Open captions are always visible; they have been merged with the video track and cannot
be turned off.
Audio descriptions
Audio descriptions (also known as video descriptions) make visual media accessible to people
who are blind or visually impaired by providing descriptive narration of key visual elements.
These elements include actions, costumes, gestures, scene changes or any other important visual
information that someone who cannot see the screen might ordinarily miss. Descriptions are
usually timed and recorded to fit into natural pauses in the program-audio track.
As with captions, descriptions can be open or closed.
1. Open descriptions are merged with the program-audio track and cannot be turned off by
the viewer.
2. Closed descriptions can be recorded as a separate track containing descriptions only,
timed to play at specific spots in the timeline and played in parallel with the programaudio track.
Video examples:
1. Closed descriptions iTunes – captions with audio description (Video #2)
2. SCC Captions (video clip) – audio description not used, since there is not break in
dialogue (Video #10)
Transcripts
A transcript of audio content is a word-for-word textual representation of the audio, including
descriptions of non-text sounds like "laughter" or "thunder." Transcripts of audio content are
valuable not only for persons with disabilities but in addition, they permit searching and indexing
of that content which is not possible with just the audio.
Foreign-language subtitles
Foreign-language subtitles are a translation of dialog or narration into words on the screen.
Unlike captions, subtitles are not strictly intended for use by deaf or hard-of-hearing viewers and
so do not contain non-speech elements.
Video examples:
1. Closed subtitles – foreign language (Video #5)
Appearance and position of captions on the screen
What captions look like in multimedia will depend on the format you choose. SCC closed
captions look very similar to NTSC (National Television Standards Committee) broadcast closed
captions, and characteristics such as font face, size or background are determined by the device
decoding the caption data. They are always positioned over the video region, and the author can
choose to place them on the screen in various locations (e.g., left, right, center, top, bottom) to
indicate who is speaking or to avoid covering important on-screen graphics or action. Finally,
they can display a maximum of 32 characters per caption row.
Screen reader
A screen reader locates information seen on the computer screen and vocalizes it using speech
synthesis software.
Creating Accessible Multimedia
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0
General guidelines can be found at: http://webaccessibility.csusb.edu/guidelines/index.html
focusing between Section B: Multimedia & Section J: Movement.
Text Alternatives

Slide shows need to have text description describing the sensory experience.
www.csusb.edu/slideshows/bestOf2012/
Audio-only and Video-only (Prerecorded):
 Prerecorded audio-only files must contain a transcript (The link to an audio clip says,
"Chairman's speech to the assembly." A link to a text transcript is provided immediately
after the link to the audio clip.)
o Electronic documents need to be created with accessibility in mind


Prerecorded Video-only: (no sound) a separate audio track is provided that presents
equivalent information for prerecorded video-only content or a transcript is provided that
provides detailed information of the video if the information is instructional in nature.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rwp9bNBo4ZI (What not to do link)
Captions (Prerecorded):
Captions are provided for all prerecorded audio content in synchronized media.


Open captions
Closed captions
Captions (Live):
 Captions are provided for all live audio content in synchronized media.
Audio Description (Prerecorded):


One approach is to provide audio description of the video content. 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.
The second approach involves providing all of the information in the synchronized media
(both visual and auditory) in text form. An alternative for time-based media provides a
running description of all that is going on in the synchronized media content.
Audio Control:
 When any audio on a Web page plays automatically for more than 3 seconds, either a
mechanism is available to pause or stop the audio or a mechanism is available to control
audio volume independently from the overall system volume level.
Contrast (Minimum):
 The visual presentation of text and images of text has a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1.
Keyboard:
 Player must be accessible with a keyboard
No Keyboard Trap:
 You must be able to navigate away from the player with a keyboard
Pause, Stop, Hide:
 Provide users enough time to read and use content.
 Moving, blinking, scrolling: For any moving, blinking or scrolling information that
(1) starts automatically,
(2) lasts more than five seconds, and

(3) is presented in parallel with other content, there is a mechanism for the user to pause,
stop, or hide it unless the movement, blinking, or scrolling is part of an activity where
it is essential; and
Auto-updating: For any auto-updating information that (1)
(1) starts automatically and
(2) is presented in parallel with other content, there is a mechanism for the user to pause,
stop, or hide it or to control the frequency of the update unless the auto-updating is
part of an activity where it is essential
Three Flashes or Below Threshold:


Do not design content in a way that is known to cause seizures.
Web pages do not contain anything that flashes more than three times in any one second
period, or the flash is below the general flash and red flash thresholds.
Copyright and Fair Use
What is Copyright?
In general, copyright is a form of legal protection given to content creators through the
assignment of specific rights to works that qualify protection.
The main goals of copyright are to encourage the development of culture, science and
innovation, while providing a financial benefit to copyright holders for their works, and to
facilitate access to knowledge and entertainment for the public. Copyright provides a framework
for relationships between the different players in the content industries, as well as for
relationships between rights-holders and the consumers of content. Copyright is a form of
Intellectual Property, along with trademarks and patents in all countries, and other creations that
may vary from country to country.
Which types of work are subject to copyright?
When a person creates an original work that is fixed in a physical medium, he or she
automatically owns copyright to the work. Copyright ownership gives the owner the exclusive
right to use the work in certain, specific ways. Many types of works are eligible for copyright
protection, including:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Audiovisual works, such as TV shows, movies, and online videos
Sound recordings and musical compositions
Written works, such as lectures, articles, books, and musical compositions
Visual works, such as paintings, posters, and advertisements
Video games and computer software
Dramatic works, such as plays and musicals
Ideas, facts, and processes are not subject to copyright. In order to be eligible for copyright
protection, a work must be both creative and fixed in a tangible medium. Names and titles are
not, by themselves, subject to copyright protection.
Is it possible to use a copyright-protected work without infringing?
In some circumstances, it is possible to use a copyright-protected work without infringing the
owner’s copyright. It is important to note that your video can still be affected by a claim of
copyright infringement, even if you have...
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Given credit to the copyright owner
Refrained from monetizing the infringing video
Purchased the content on iTunes, a CD, or DVD
Recorded the content yourself from TV, a movie theater, or the radio
Stated that “no copyright infringement is intended”
Some content creators choose to make their work available for reuse with certain
requirements. For more about this, you may wish to learn about the Creative Commons license.
What is the difference between copyright and privacy?
Just because you appear in a video, image or audio recording does not mean you own the
copyright to it. For example, if your friend filmed a conversation between the two of you, she
would own the copyright to that video recording she made. The words the two of you are
speaking are not subject to copyright separately from the video itself unless they were fixed in
advance.
What is fair use?
In many countries, certain uses of copyright-protected works do not infringe the owner’s rights.
In the United States, copyright rights are limited by the doctrine of “fair use.” In certain other
countries, there is a similar concept called "fair dealing." It is your responsibility to understand
the relevant law and whether it protects the use you have in mind.
In the United States, fair use can only be determined in a court of law. To determine whether a
fair use defense is valid, judges examine the allegedly infringing use according to four factors:
1. The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial
nature or is for nonprofit education purposes.
Courts typically focus on whether the use is “transformative.” That is, whether it adds new
expression or meaning to the original, or whether it merely copies from the original. Nonprofit
education purposes tend to be considered fair more often than commercial uses, but it is not
automatic one way or the other.
2. The nature of the copyrighted work
Using material from largely factual works is more likely to be fair than using purely fictional
works.
3. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work
as a whole.
Borrowing small bits of material from an original work is more likely to be considered fair use
than borrowing large portions. However, even a small taking may weigh against fair use in some
situations if it constitutes the “heart” of the work.
4. The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted work
Uses that harm the copyright owner’s ability to profit from his or her original work are less
likely to be fair uses. Courts have sometimes made an exception under this factor in cases
involving parodies.
Uses for criticism, commentary, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research may be
considered fair.
If you plan to use even a small portion of copyrighted material, we'd strongly advise you to take
legal advice first.
Captioning & Transcription Services
AutomaticSync Technologies (AST)
ASTs CaptionSync web-automated captioning is straightforward and simple and significantly
faster and less expensive than alternative captioning methods. Because CaptionSync is a webbased service, there is no software to purchase, and it is available for use whenever you need it.
AST and the CSU have entered into a System-wide agreement that provides special discounted
pricing to all CSU users.
Costs for Captioning



Captioning from your Transcription $0.62 a minute (5-minute turnaround)
Captioning and Transcription $1.37 a minute (3-day turnaround)
RUSH – Captioning and Transcription $2.54 a minute (24-hour turnaround)
Prices are valid through July 31, 2013
All submissions are rounded up to nearest minute
ACM Video Production
Contact James Trotter at captioning@csusb.edu for:
1. Setting up an account with AST
2. Or ACM transcribing , captioning and/or hosting the video costs
3. Attending YouTube training prodev@csusb.edu
ACM must have your department chargeback account numbers to pay for services. Complete the
authorization ACM Captioning Request Form. Send the completed form to
captioning@csusb.edu. Once the request form is received an account will be created for you.
Setting up your AST Profile - Output Formats
CaptionSync produces a wide variety of output file formats to support captioning for broadcasts,
DVDs, videotape, web players, video-sharing sites, and podcasts. Following is a list of the
various output file extensions and what they are typically used for:
AST Search Formats

AST search data file (.sdf)
DVD Formats



Scenarist Closed Captions (.scc .ndf.scc)
SonicDVD Creator subtitles (sonic.sub)
Drop-frame timecode version of DVD subtitles for Encore (.adb.txt)

+ Non-drop-frame time code version of DVD subtitles for Encore (.adb.ndf.txt)
Flash Formats
 DFXP Timed Text for Flash (.adb.xml)
 DFXP Timed Text with begin/end tags (.dfxp.xml)
MP4 Formats
 QuickTime TeXML subtitles. These are like QT.TXT (see below) but have a more
modern UTF-8 character set support (.qt.xml)
QuickTime Formats
 Quick Time Captions (.qt.txt .qt.smil)
 Sonic Scenarist DVD captions (.scc .ndf.scc)
Subtitle Formats



DVD Studio Pro subtitles (.stl .ndf.stl)
SubRip subtitles (.srt)
Subtitles for MicroDVD (.microdvd.sub)
YouTube Formats



SubRip subtitles (.srt)
Scenarist Closed Captions (.scc .ndf.scc)
SonicDVD Creator subtitles (sonic.sub)
Windows Media Player

Windows Media Player (.smi .asx) .smi - Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange

Captions for embedding into Windows Media video (.wmp.txt)
Support Files

Clean text transcriptions without any timing information (.clean.txt)
AST Output Formats
Transcripts and Support Files
Extension
.CLEAN.TXT
.TXT
.ID
Production Transcript Files
Extension
.PROD.TXT
Web Result Types
Extension
.ADB.XML
.VTT
.SRT
.QT.XML
.QT.TXT
.QT.SMIL
.SMI
Description
Clean text transcript without any timing
information, formatted with blank lines
between speaker changes.
Raw text transcript without any timing
information but may contain sync markers
(used for redos).
A simple XML file noting the original AST ID
pertaining to the submission (only present for ASTLink submissions which are not Batched)
Description
A time-stamped text transcript, with a timestamp at every speaker change and periodically
within each speaker’s monolog.
Description
DFXP timed text for Flash (uses dur syntax).
Also used for Panopto Lecture Capture
systems. See .DFXP.XML below for DFXP
timed text with begin/end syntax.
WebVTT format for HTML5 video
Captions for YouTube, older JW FLV Player
or for DVD subtitles longer than 32 characters
per line
QuickTime TeXML subtitles. These are like
QT.TXT (see below) but have a more modern
UTF-8 character set support.
Text track captions for QuickTime video or
audio (.MOV, .MP3, .M4A, .M4V, .MP4,
.WAV …). See QT.XML above for more
modern character set support.
+ SMIL pointer file to tell the QuickTime
player how to play the QuickTime text track
captions with the QuickTime video or audio
SAMI captions for Windows Media video or
audio (.WMV, .WMA, .ASF, .MP3, .WAV
…). Also used for Camtasia and Mediasite
Lecture Capture systems.
Extension
.ASX
.WMP.TXT
.RT
.RT.SMIL
.DFXP.XML
.LRC
.APRESO.XML
.IT.XML
.3GP.XML
.RT.HTML.ZIP
.ETEACH.TXT
.PPT.XML
.TEGRITY.TXT
.BC.XML
.ENSEMBLE.XML
.CUE.XML
.GPAC.TTXT
.CPT.XML
.RIT.CAP.XML
.RIT.XML
.QTWRD.TXT
.QTWRD.SMIL
Description
+ ASX pointer file to tell the Windows Media
player how to play the SAMI text captions
with the Windows Media video or audio
Captions for embedding into Windows Media
video (.WMV)
RealText captions for RealMedia video or
audio (.RM, .RA, .MP3, .WAV, …)
+ SMIL pointer file to tell the RealPlayer how
to play the RealText captions with the
RealMedia video or audio
DFXP timed text for Flash with begin/end tags.
See .ADB.XML above for DFXP timed text
with dur syntax.
MP3 Lyric file
XML captions for Apreso and Echo360
Lecture Capture systems
iTunes chapter data captions for iTunes audio
(.M4A, .M4B)
Apple’s version of 3GPP Timed Text files for
subtitling QuickTime, iTunes, iPod, iPhone
content
HTML and RealMedia SMIL files to allow
stand-alone search with Real Media video or
audio
eTeach captions
Captions for the STAMP plugin for
Powerpoint
Captions for Tegrity Lecture Capture systems
DFXP captions for Brightcove Video
DFXP captions for Ensemble Video
Adobe Cuepoint file
Caption file format used by mp4box
XML captions for Captionate to encode into
Flash video
XML captions for RIT’s Flash video
component
+ Pointer file to tell RIT’s Flash video
component how to play the captions with the
Flash video
QuickTime word level text track captions for
QuickTime video or audio (.MOV, .MP3,
.M4A, .M4V, .MP4, .WAV …). Words
highlighted as spoken.
+ SMIL pointer file to tell the QuickTime
player how to play the QuickTime word level
Extension
.QTWRDRVL.TXT
.QTWRDRVL.SMIL
.QT.HTML.ZIP
.KAR.TXT
.KAR.SMIL
Broadcast Result Types
Extension
.CAP
.ASC
.XMS
.SCC
.NDF.SCC
.SRT
.STL
.NDF.STL
Description
text track captions with the QuickTime video
or audio
QuickTime word level text track captions for
QuickTime video or audio (.MOV, .MP3,
.M4A, .M4V, .MP4, .WAV …). Words
revealed as spoken.
+ SMIL pointer file to tell the QuickTime
player how to play the QuickTime word level
text track captions with the QuickTime video
or audio
HTML and QuickTime SMIL files to allow
stand-alone search with QuickTime video or
audio
QuickTime karaoke captions for QuickTime
video or audio (.MOV, .MP3, .M4A, .M4V,
.MP4, .WAV, …)
+ SMIL pointer file to tell the QuickTime
player how to play the QuickTime karaoke
captions with the QuickTime video or audio
Description
Cheetah binary captions
Cheetah text captions
Rapidtext captions
Drop-frame time code version of DVD
captions for Sonic Scenarist, DVD Studio Pro,
Encore, and others (Important for DVD Studio
Pro that the time code of captions match the
time code of the MPEG video). Also used to
caption content for iTunes, iPods, and iPhones
(see our Podcast page for info).
+ Non-drop-frame time code version of DVD
captions for Sonic Scenarist, DVD Studio Pro,
Encore, and others (Important for DVD Studio
Pro that the time code of captions match the
time code of the MPEG video)
Subtitles for SubRip
Drop-frame time code version of DVD
subtitles for DVD Studio Pro (Important that
the time code of subtitles match the time code
of the MPEG video)
+ Non-drop-frame time code version of DVD
subtitles for DVD Studio Pro (Important that
the time code of subtitles match the time code
Extension
.ADB.TXT
.ADB.NDF.TXT
.DVDIT.TXT
.SONIC.SUB
.AVIDDS.TXT
.AVIDDS.NDF.TXT
.AVIDDVD.TXT
.MICRODVD.SUB
.PAL.STL
.PC.SCC
.PC.NDF.SCC
Search Result Types
Extension
.XML
.SDF
.GV.TXT
Description
of the MPEG video)
Drop-frame time code version of DVD
subtitles for Encore
+ Non-drop-frame time code version of DVD
subtitles for Encore
Subtitles for Sonic DVDit
Subtitles for Sony DVD Architect and for
Sonic DVD Creator
Drop-frame time code version of subtitles for
the Avid DS system
+ Non-drop-frame time code version of
subtitles for the Avid DS system
Subtitles for Avid DVD by Sonic
Subtitles for MicroDVD; used by many
programs to format subtitles, including
mplayer
PAL 24 fps time code version of DVD
subtitles for DVD Studio Pro (Important that
the time code of subtitles match the time code
of the MPEG video)
Drop-frame time code version of DVD
captions for Sonic Scenarist, Adobe Premiere,
and others. Uses PC CR/LF line breaks and has
workaround for Premiere bug. See .SCC file
above for the more standard variety.
+ Non-drop-frame time code version of DVD
captions for Sonic Scenarist, Adobe Premiere,
and others. Uses PC CR/LF line breaks and has
workaround for Premiere bug. See .NDF.SCC
file above for the more standard variety.
Description
Pictron XML search data
AST search data file
Google Video (time stamped) transcript
Website References
Copyright.com website
http://www.copyright.com/content/cc3/en/toolbar/education/resources/copyright_basics.html
Chancellor’s office
http://www.calstate.edu/accessibility/documents/copyrightanswerstocampuses7-2-08.doc
Fundamentals of Copyright and Fair Use
http://www.calstate.edu/gc/docs/fair_use.doc
Creative Commons
http://creativecommons.org/about
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref/
CSUSB – Web Accessibility Guidelines
http://webaccessibility.csusb.edu/guidelines/index.html
Automatic Sync Technologies (AST) – CaptionSync
http://www.automaticsync.com/captionsync/services/captions-subtitles/podcast-captions-2/