The AODA has requirements for web accessibility, as well as requirements for the procurement of self-service kiosks. However, the third review of the AODA recommends that future AODA standards should align with existing standards in other parts of the country.
For instance, Accessibility Standards Canada (ASC) has adopted European standards for accessibility in information and communication technology (ICT). Future AODA standards may include some or all of these guidelines and requirements to make ICT products and services more accessible. In this article, we explore guidelines in the federal standards for accessible video communication technology.
Accessible Video Communication Technology
ICT offering video with two-way voice communication should have high resolution for people using Sign language or speechreading. Therefore, the standards include guidelines for:
- Resolution quality
- Frame rates
- Limited lag time between audio and video
In addition, video should provide a visual indicator that someone is using voice communication, such as a dot or LED flickering on and off. Alternatively, captions can also identify each speaker in different colours. Moreover, ICT products that identify speakers who use voice should also identify speakers who use Sign language.
Likewise, everyone should be able to access information or complete tasks in voice-based services. For example, voice-based services include:
- Answering machines
- Auto-attendant
- Interactive voice response
People should be able to check their answering machines, or interact with services, without:
For instance, people could use these services with real-time text (RTT) or captions.
Captions
ICT products displaying video that includes audio should have a mode that displays captions. These captions should be timed to coincide with dialogue and other audio content. The standards list measurements for caption timing. In addition, captions on the screen should not block other information on the screen. Moreover, people should be able to turn closed captions on or off. Similarly, people can read captions on a Braille display.
ICT products and services that transmit, record, or convert videos with captions should preserve the caption data. In other words, every copy of a video should have captions that display in the same way, including:
- Timing
- Position
- Colours
- Visual styles
- Fonts
Some of these visual elements may convey meaning. Therefore, changes to these elements could change the meaning of a video and should be avoided.
However, people should be able to modify some other elements of captions to improve accessibility, such as:
- Foreground and background colours
- Font type, size, and contour
Subtitles
Subtitles, such as translations from a video’s original language into another language, should be accessible for everyone. Therefore, ICT products and services offering subtitles should provide them with audio output. However, subtitles that are not compatible with screen readers do not need audio output. For example, images of subtitles are not compatible with screen readers.
People should be able to control audio output for subtitles separately from other audio output they use on their devices. In other words, people should be able to control their screen reader speech separately from their video subtitles. For example, ICT products and services can provide videos with synchronized audio subtitles that people can turn on and off. Subtitles and captions should be provided separately from each other because they meet different needs, and people use them in different ways.
Audio Description
Videos with audio capability should also include audio description of visual elements. People should be able to turn audio description on and off, in a default audio channel if possible. However, technologies that cannot integrate an audio description track into a default audio channel should allow people to play a video and its audio description in separate tracks at the same time.
Audio description should be timed to coincide with pauses in dialogue or other sounds. However, some videos may have extended audio description, when description takes more time than the pauses in dialogue allow. People can choose to watch videos with extended audio description on their own devices with digital media players that support extended description.
ICT products and services that transmit, record, or convert videos with audio should preserve the audio description data. In other words, every copy of a video should have audio description:
- That people can turn on or off
- Integrated into the default audio channel, or on a separate track
- Timed to coincide with pauses in dialogue
- With extended description included, if it exists
User Controls for Captions and Audio Description
User controls for captions and audio description should be at the same level as other primary video controls, such as:
- Play
- Stop
- Rewind
- Fast forward
People should be able to toggle captions or audio description on or off with hardware or software. In addition, people should be able to have captions or audio description turn on by default.