Web Site Accessibility Blog

However, it is only video . . .

CNN is now allowing users to search video content on the web. The video content is limited-time only, as only recent segments are available. The service is pretty good and the video is very high quality.

However, there are some major accessibility hindrances. None of the video presented has subtitles, which are available when the video airs live on television. I thought the subtitles would be easily transferred to the web video, but apparently not.

To enable subtitles in Windows Media Player, if they are available: Play > Captions and Subtitles > On if Available. There are also many default languages available.

Another problem is the lack of accessibility and player controls when Microsoft’s Media Player is embedded into the page, rather than independent. WebAim studied the accessibility of multiple media players and found that embedded video has serious accessibility issues. When the player is embedded, controls are not accessible through a screen reader or through keyboard commands. When used as a stand-alone player, Windows Media Player 9 was the most accessible media player, yet all media players lose major accessibility functions when embedded.

Back to the main story, it would be nice to see subtitled content from CNN, especially knowing that these are previously broadcast stories and features. Hey – why not even present the content in an alternate text format? NPR allows users to order (what – order? – why?) transcripts of all of their broadcasts.