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Re: transcription of audio

for

From: Jared Smith
Date: Nov 5, 2018 7:57AM

> I have just looked through the WCAG 2.1 guidelines and I did not find any SC
> for transcription of Video with Audio. Is this a part of WCAG or not?

The media requirements of WCAG are difficult to understand because of
the odd and confusing terminology. The term "transcript" does not
appear in WCAG. A transcript is, very literally, only the verbatim
version of spoken content. WCAG instead uses the phrase "alternative
for time-based media" to describe the document that presents any
spoken content, content presented only via audio (explosions,
laughter, background music, etc., if they are relevant), or content
presented only via visuals in the media. I typically use the phrase
"descriptive transcript" to explain what this thing is.

Under 1.2.1 (Level A), if you have audio-only content (e.g., an MP3
file or podcast) or video-only content (a video without any spoken
content), then you must provide a descriptive transcript.

Under 1.2.3 (Level A), for multimedia content that presents any
visual-only content, you must provide EITHER a descriptive transcript
or audio description. This is in addition to captions. Because a
transcript is necessary to generate captions, most would provide a
transcript here. However, if there is no visual-only content, then you
don't have to provide either.

Under 1.2.5 (Level AA), you must provide audio description for
multimedia content. As above, this is only necessary if the media has
any visual-only content. This essentially supersedes 1.2.3 above.

In summary, you are not required to provide a transcript for WCAG AA
conformance.

Under 1.2.8 (Level AAA), you must provide a descriptive transcript for
multimedia content.

Because of the numerous and significant benefits of transcripts, we
recommend them for all audio and multimedia content. I believe the
WCAG structure above does not adequately meet the needs of users with
disabilities. If I could restructure things, I would swap 1.2.5 to AAA
and 1.2.8 to Level AA, essentially requiring transcripts at AA and
requiring audio descriptions (if necessary) at AAA.

Thanks,

Jared