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From: Terrill Thompson
Date: Wed, Feb 10 2010 12:18PM
Subject: YouTube caption button missing?
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Hi All,

I'm trying to get a handle on what's happening on YouTube in recent days. The video player seems to have changed in some contexts, and one of the changes is that the button in the lower right corner that triggers captions and related features is no longer there. For example, check out the channel home page for the DO-IT Center:

http://www.youtube.com/TheDOITCenter

The featured video ("World Wide Access") as I'm seeing it in Firefox 3.6, IE 8, and Chrome 4, does not have the caption button in the lower right corner. The only buttons there are volume and full screen. This is in fact a captioned video, but if I play it in this player, captions are not displayed and there doesn't seem to be a way to turn them on.

However, if I click on any video in the list to the right of the player, the player reverts back to the previous version, which does include the caption button. Interestingly, this even works for the World Wide Access video, so the problem doesn't seem to be connected to characteristics of a particular video, but instead it seems to be dependent on context.

Is everyone else experiencing the same issue, or is it user-dependent? Assuming it's the same for everyone, does anyone have any insights? Is there some way to turn on captions in this new "improved" player that I'm just not finding? This is especially frustrating given Google's recent unveiling of automated captioning. That feature may have lots of potential, but it doesn't do any good at all if users can't turn on captions.

Thanks,

Terrill Thompson
Technology Accessibility Specialist
DO-IT, Accessible Technology
UW Technology Services
University of Washington
= EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =

From: John E. Brandt
Date: Wed, Feb 10 2010 12:36PM
Subject: Re: YouTube caption button missing?
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I believe that "feature" has been out there for some time. It has to do with
viewing the "spotlight video" on your "Channel" page - YouTube's version of
your personal home page. If you click on the link below the primary video
where it says "View comments, related videos, and more" the video will
re-appear on a standard YouTube page and include the CC "arrow" button. You
can also get at it by right clicking on the spotlighted video and choose
"View in YouTube" from the dropdown menu.

But, you are right, there have been a number design changes over the past
year regarding the layout of the YouTube interface, and I am not sure they
are more accessible. In fact, it might be exactly the opposite.

The only workaround for this that I can see in playing with the settings on
my own channel is to choose the "grid view" in the channel set up. That way,
visitors will be shown thumbnails of the first bunch of your videos. When
they click on one, it will pull up the video in the standard page with the
CC controls present.

It is worth making a complaint to YouTube/Google about this too.

~j

John E. Brandt
jebswebs.com
Augusta, ME USA
= EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
www.jebswebs.com

From: Loretta Guarino Reid
Date: Wed, Feb 10 2010 12:39PM
Subject: Re: YouTube caption button missing?
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Hi, Terrill,

Yes, unfortunately this is a known problem with many channel home
pages, caused by changes in the player and the context used to
invoke it. We're working hard to fix these issues but can't
provide a specific date yet.

Loretta

On Wed, Feb 10, 2010 at 7:49 AM, Terrill Thompson < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> I'm trying to get a handle on what's happening on YouTube in recent days. The video player seems to have changed in some contexts, and one of the changes is that the button in the lower right corner that triggers captions and related features is no longer there. For example, check out the channel home page for the DO-IT Center:
>
> http://www.youtube.com/TheDOITCenter
>
> The featured video ("World Wide Access") as I'm seeing it in Firefox 3.6, IE 8, and Chrome 4, does not have the caption button in the lower right corner. The only buttons there are volume and full screen. This is in fact a captioned video, but if I play it in this player, captions are not displayed and there doesn't seem to be a way to turn them on.
>
> However, if I click on any video in the list to the right of the player, the player reverts back to the previous version, which does include the caption button. Interestingly, this even works for the World Wide Access video, so the problem doesn't seem to be connected to characteristics of a particular video, but instead it seems to be dependent on context.
>
> Is everyone else experiencing the same issue, or is it user-dependent? Assuming it's the same for everyone, does anyone have any insights? Is there some way to turn on captions in this new "improved" player that I'm just not finding?  This is especially frustrating given Google's recent unveiling of automated captioning. That feature may have lots of potential, but it doesn't do any good at all if users can't turn on captions.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Terrill Thompson
> Technology Accessibility Specialist
> DO-IT, Accessible Technology
> UW Technology Services
> University of Washington
> = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
>
>

From: Terrill Thompson
Date: Wed, Feb 10 2010 12:57PM
Subject: Re: YouTube caption button missing?
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OK, thanks Loretta. I'm glad you're on top of it!

Terrill