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Guidelines: Accessible Video Applications



Categories: Must SHOULD May

The "Should Items" can make access to online materials significantly easier.

 

  1. Make sure the video is of sufficient brightness so that the different elements in the video, such as people, objects, etc, contrast with the background.Users who have visual impairments or deficits such as color-blindness may have difficulty distinguishing between the foreground and background if the picture is too dark or too light.It may also be hard to distinguish for those that have a lower brightness on their monitors. Use best judgment and testing on different monitors to determine whether the brightness is appropriate for the video.

  2. Notify the viewer of the primary language of the video.Add a disclaimer at the beginning of the movie about the primary language of the video using a video editing program such as Adobe Premiere or iMovie. If this is not possible, add a separate word or notepad file along with the video and transcript that describes the primary language of the video. This helps in allowing the user to set the preferences of a screen-reader or Braille machine accordingly.

  3. Notify the viewer of any changes in the language in the video.Included with a disclaimer of the primary language should be a notice that describes any language changes within the video. This allows a viewer using a screen-reader or Braille machine to change settings accordingly, if they wish the language to beinterpreted correctly by the assistive technologies.

  4. Make video available in the common formats so they are playable on common video players.In order for the widest audience to be able to view the video file, it is necessary for the file(s) to be in the most popular formats, so the most popular media players can play them. The following are the most common formats for movies:MOV,AVI,ASF,WMV,RM,MPG.Keeping videos limited to these files insures that many users will have access to the files.

  5. Prefer formats that allow for viewing rate adaptation and better error correction facilities like WMV, so that sudden jerks are not seen in videos that may cause epileptic shock for some users.Formats such as ASF and WMV were created for low bandwidth connections to the internet, and therefore optimized for low quality videos. If the internet is being shared over the internet, it is important to avoid jerks and skips in the picture, which could trigger an epileptic attack. Both ASF and WMV have measures against this problem by causing a haziness or graininess in the picture instead of jerking or skipping. It is therefore recommended to make videos in WMV or ASF format when streaming video over the internet.


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