Accessible YouTube & HTML5 Video

YouTube is obviously a great site for video, but not for everyone as it contains various accessibility challenges, particularly keyboard access. The use of Flash itself to play the video can be problematic, not be mention requiring support of the Flash plugin. HTML5 is a pending solution (HTML5 video is available on YouTube as a "trial"), but in its infancy, HTML5 video has accessibility issues that still need to be resolved, as does HTML5 itself.

In the meantime, here are a few alternatives to the YouTube website which provide more accessible controls and a much cleaner interface.

• Easy YouTube - by Chris Heilmann.
• Your Tube - Accessible YouTube - by Dylan Neale, in joint venture with Povidi.com.
• Accessible Interface to YouTube - by Tom at majestyc.net.

If you still don't have what you need or want, why not build your own interface?! The following are tools and resources for building more accessible YouTube videos including captioning:

• Accessible YouTube player controls
• Keyboard controlled YouTube player
• Captioning YouTube Video and Providing Accessible Controls
• Easy YouTube caption creator (Accessify)
• Captions and Subtitles (YouTube)

Further reading:

• Accessible HTML5 Video with JW Player as Fallback
• YouTube and the Push to Improve Tech for Disabled
• Flash and the HTML5 video tag (YouTube API Blog)
• 10 YouYube URL Tricks You Should Know

If you developed an accessible YouTube solution, or know of another not listed, please leave a comment.

HTML5 Sanity Check

Most of us are excited about HTML5 and all the benefits it will bring. Overly excited maybe is a more accurate term, which includes myself. We as a community need a "sanity check" about the readiness of HTML5 and its accessibility because:

1. The spec isn't complete (2012 for Candidate Recommendation) thus requirements may still change.
2. The browsers are in the middle of implementation and much accessibility support isn't provided yet.
3. There are many accessibility issues remaining such as Canvas in general; no semantic information to assistive technology for many elements; keyboard access lacking in audio & video controls in most conditions.

The web site HTML5Accessibility.com is a great place to learn about these issues for each major web browser. Along with that is a presentation by Steve Faulkner (@stevefaulkner) of the Paciello Group: HTML5 Accessibility - Is It Ready Yet? presentation by Steve Faulkner and and Hans Hillen (SlideShare).

Because of this intermediate stage, we developers must implement more complex code as desired, including fallback methods for user agents which don't yet support the HTML5 features. Here are some great resources on doing so:

• HTML5 Cross browser Polyfills - Shims, fallbacks, and polyfills in order to implant html5 functionality in browsers that don't natively support them.
• The most pressing Accessibility issue in HTML5 today? <video> by John Foliot (@johnfoliot).
• Creating Your Own Accessible HTML5 Media Player by Terry Thompson (@terrillthompson)
• HTML5, ARIA Roles, and Screen Readers by Accessible Culture

Podcast #86: EDUCAUSE Review, AHG Preview, HTML5 Audio with Terrill Thompson

Dennis speaks with Terrill Thompson about a variety of topics including a summary of the EDUCAUSE conference; a preview of the Accessing Higher Ground (AHG) conference; community efforts to fix the web; HTML5 audio, video, and controls; and captioning.

Download Web Axe Episode 86 (Educause review, AHG preview, HTML5 audio with Terrill Thompson)

[Transcript of podcast 86]

Mentioned links

• Creating Your Own Accessible HTML5 Media Player
• The Quest for an Accessible Flash MP3 Player
• Accessible University 2.0 (test exercise page)
• EDUCAUSE IT Accessibility Constituent Group
• Mozilla Audio Data API
• DO-IT Video Search - even searches captions!

More on the EDUCAUSE Twitter backchannel

• View the E10 backchannel tweets on EDUCAUSE site
• #EDUCAUSE10 backchannel blog by Eric Stoller

News

• WebAIM: Using VoiceOver to Evaluate Web Accessibility (and also Using NVDA to Evaluate Web Accessibility)
• Topsy, a great app for searching tweets
• Tips for Designing For Colorblind Users
• Integrating Accessibility Through Design

Podcast #84: Web Axe 5-Year Anniversary

In celebration of its 5th anniversary, Dennis and Ross discuss the history of Web Axe and several memorable moments. Then, nine special guests provide excellent insight and information relating to web accessibility including Paul Boag and Bruce Lawson. It's great stuff, don't miss it!

Download Web Axe Episode 84 (Web Axe 5-Year Anniversary)

[Transcript of podcast 84]

Some History

• Dennis Lembree launched Web Axe in September 2005 with a boost from the Detroit Podcasters Network.
• Co-host Ross Johnson joined September of 2006 in Lists and Accessibility -- How and Why? (podcast #26).
• Readership continues to grow; over 5,400 Web Axe RSS subscribers (85% of my RSS subscribers are using Google Reader or iGoogle). Number of Twitter followers continues to grow (@WebAxe).
• Interesting topics for web accessibility: business reasons, bandwidth and loadtime, and screen resolution.

Memorable Moments

• Nominated three years in a row in the .net magazine Best of the Web awards.
• Web Axe featured in BBC Podcast, segment on accessibility in Pods & Blogs show.
• First interview: Jared Smith of WebAIM, Podcast #27 (September 2006).
• Podcast #74: Awards, Events & Back to Basics recorded from Santa Cruz, California (September 2009).
• Podcast #35: Usability and Accessibility Conference recorded from event in Lansing, Michigan (November 2006).
• Visit to Yahoo! Accessibility Testing Lab (July 2009).
• NFB vs. Target Lawsuit is Settled!
• Critiques invoke responses: Recovery.gov, ca.gov, section508.gov

Special Episode Podcast Contributors

• Bruce Lawson (Opera, HTML5Doctor) - great HTML5 info.
• Denis Boudreau (A11Y_MTL) - French Canadian up very late recording.
• Jennison Asuncion - Accessibility tester, researcher, and all-around nice guy.
• Karen Mardahl (STCAccess) - Wicked good technical communicator.
• Mike Gifford (OpenConcept) - Drupal expert.
• Paul Boag (Boagworld) - Well, everyone knows this guy!
• Steve Grobschmidt - User Experience Lead and blogger.
• Terrill Thompson - A cool musician, basketball fan, and Technology Accessibility Specialist.
• Tom Babinszki (Even Grounds) - Accessibility consultant and blogger.

Addendum: Podcast Corrections

• Steve Grobschmidt's last name was announced incorrectly (it's not "Aquinas", that's part of his Twitter handle).
• We state that there are 8 guest speakers; there's actually 9!
• We mentioned that Boagworld is no longer podcasting, but failed to mention that they plan on returning in January 2011. (Paul mentions this in his commentary.)

Podcast #83: Fate of Longdesc in HTML5

What's the fate of the "longdesc" attribute in HTML5? Can or should the "aria-labelledby" ARIA attribute replace it? These are some of the controversial issues discussed by Dennis and guests John Foliot (@johnfoliot), Everett Zufelt (@ezufelt), and Joe Dolson (@joedolson).

Download Web Axe Episode 83 (Fate of Longdesc in HTML5)

[transcript of podcast 83]

Related Links

• WCAG 2 longdesc technique
• W3C HTML 4.01 longdesc Specification
• Creating Accessible Images - Long Descriptions (WebAIM)
• What should be the minimum / maximum length of alternate text? (see comments)
• Firefox Longdesc add-on by Patrick Lauke

Link Roundup - May 2010

• Do Your Flashing Ads Cause Seizures?
• FAQ on software development for the blind or visually impaired
• Why You Should Adopt An Accessible Content Strategy (business case for accessibility)
• 4 Easy Steps to Make Your Site More Usable (and accessible) to Older People
• Program to help locate screen cursor: PinPoint 3 "Never Lose Your Mouse Again"
• Use ARIA to Indicate When Form Fields Are Required
• Google Slaps People with Disabilities in the Face
• Kill Accessibility (great comments)
• Test cases with HTML5, ARIA Roles & Screen Readers
• What are your favorite accessibility & UX blogs?
• HTML5: Techniques for providing useful text alternatives
• Next accessibility unconference is A11yCamp, Guelph, Canada, June 8
• Text CAPTCHA service - alternative to image or audio CAPTCHAs
• The new GNU accessibility statement
• iPad Assistive Technology Roundup
• Slides from Access U presentation HTML5 & Accessibility
• NFB files complaints against 9 law schools for inaccessible web site
• Importance of HTML Headings for Accessibility
• Future Web Accessibility: HTML5 Semantic Elements (Part 2 in a series)
• A few problems with the concept of accessible PDFs
• Do we need a new game plan to make the Web accessible? (great comments)

Podcast #81: HTML5 and John Foliot

HTML5 is hot. It's new, powerful, and exciting. But what is it exactly, and how will it make the web more accessible? Dennis discusses these issues and more with web accessibility veteran John Foliot. Topics include background on HTML5, browser support, new form functionality, how Canvas can be accessible, and much more!

Mr. Foliot runs the Stanford Online Accessibility Program. He is an active member of the W3C and is an integral part of the web accessibility community. He writes a blog entitled Unrepentant and you can find John on Twitter.

Download Web Axe Episode 81 (HTML5 and John Foliot)

[transcript of podcast 81]

Mentioned Resources

• HTML: The Markup Language
• HTML5 differences from HTML4
• HTML5 Doctor
• Bruce Lawson
• Remy Sharp
• Dive Into HTML5
• Book: Introducing HTML5 by Bruce Lawson and Remy Sharp (there's also HTML5 For Web Designers by Jeremy Keith)

Other HTML5 Resources

• Test cases with HTML5, ARIA Roles & Screen Readers
• HTML5: Techniques for providing useful text alternatives
• Slides from Access U presentation HTML5 & Accessibility
• Future Web Accessibility: HTML5 Semantic Elements (Part 2 in a series)
• HTML5 Demos and Examples