Webstandards, Accessibility and Usability at Penn State

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1. Synopsis
2. Accessible Audio/Video Example
3. Captioning Tips and Tools

Synopsis

1. If you use audio files, a text transcript should be provided. See Section 508 regulations below for details.

2. It may be better to use an A tag than an EMBED tag to link to a file. Not all browsers can detect an implement an EMBED tag.

3. If video files are used, a synchronized text transcript or captions should be provided unless it is not technically feasible. In that case, a text transcript with description of video events can be substituted.

SECTION 508

(a) A text equivalent for every non-text element shall be provided.

(b) Equivalent alternatives for any multimedia presentation shall be synchronized with the presentation.

(k) A text-only page, with equivalent information or functionality, shall be provided to make a web site comply with the provisions of these standards, when compliance cannot be accomplished in any other way. The content of the text-only page shall be updated whenever the primary page changes.

NOTE: Transcripts are also beneficial for users who may not be able to access audio on their computers. This is a very frequent situation.

Accessible Audio/Video Example

Another Good Example - FMC iMovie Tutorial
This is accessible because text is reproduced under each video clip.

Captioning Tips and Tools

1. Popular media editors such as Quicktime Pro, Flash Video (including YouTube), Real Player and Windows Media include captioning options. In many cases captions are stored in an external text file which can be easily edited.
   Note: It is recommended that you do a Google search to determine the latest options.

2. If you have a script for an audio or video production, this can be the basis for a text transcript. Otherwise you may need to manually transcribe the text.

3. Speech recognition software such as Dragon Naturally Speaking, can automate some transcription, but should be reviewed for errors, especially on unusual words or low-quality audio.

4. Avoid automatically playing an audio or video file on a Web page. It can be potentially distracting for different users and could interfere with users who rely on speech recognition software to navigate the Web.

5. Visually impaired users may need additional information about images in a video.

Captioning How-tos

• WebAIM Captioning Overview - View links at bottom for specific platforms
• Joe Clark Best Practices in Online Captioning

Captioning Software

• MovCaptioner (Mac) - Mac only, but supports many captioning types. Free license available to Penn State users. Contact the Penn State Synchromedia Contact (E-mail) for details.
• MAGPIE (W.G.B.H.) - freeware for Quicktime. Beta Flash captioning version available.
• DCMP Caption It Yourself and Other tools - list of available tools for Windows and Mac
• CapScribe - Free caption editor from the University of Toronto. Comes in a Web and Mac Desktop version.
• Macaw - Macintosh freeware for Quicktime

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