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Synchronised media ambiguity again

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From: Steve Green
Date: Sep 7, 2020 6:19AM

I am trying to work out which WCAG success criteria apply to a video in which information is only conveyed visually. There is a continuous music track that is purely decorative. The visual content is not actually a video, but it's an animation with text.

The decision regarding which success criteria apply depends on whether you classify the video as video-only, synchronised media or time-based media. My inclination is to say it's not synchronised media, but in a previous discussion the overwhelming view was that it's synchronised media if audio and video tracks are started by a single action, which they are.

If it's video-only, then 1.2.1 requires an alternative, which would have to be a text version because there are no gaps in the audio track. 1.2.3 and 1.2.5 would not apply, because they relate to synchronised media.

If it's synchronised media, 1.2.1 does not apply. 1.2.3 and 1.2.5 require an audio description. This would need to be a separate audio described version of the video because there are no gaps in the music.

If it's time-based media, then 1.2.3 requires an alternative, which would have to be a text version. 1.2.1 and 1.2.5 would not apply.

I honestly don't know the answer. What do you think? For context, the client is only interested in doing what is necessary to achieve WCAG conformance, not what would be best for the user experience, otherwise we would just tell them to provide both text and audio described versions.

Regards,
Steve Green
Managing Director
Test Partners Ltd
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