36 CFR Part 1194 Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards (Section 508 Standards) - Preamble

Section 1194.24 Video and Multimedia Products (Preamble, Section-by-Section Analysis)

Paragraph (a) requires that television displays 13 inches and larger, and computer equipment that includes television receiver or display circuitry be equipped with the capacity to decode and display captioning for audio material. (See §1194.23(e)(1) in the NPRM.)

Comment. Commenters supported this provision in general, but provided suggestions for clarification. They noted that the FCC defines "television receiver" as a device that can receive and display signals from broadcast, satellite, cable transmission, or other similar transmission sources. The commenters recommended that the provision should also address television monitors that are used with video cassette recorders (VCRs), digital video disks (DVDs), or direct video input, but do not include tuners. These non-receiver displays are commonly used throughout the government and in educational institutions and therefore, should have the capability to decode closed captions. According to commenters, the provision should reference analog television's "line-21, NTSC" or "EIA-608" caption data decoding capabilities. Many DVD presentations already include line-21 captions and commenters expressed frustration with their inability to see these captions on their desktop or laptop computers. Commenters noted that subtitles are not a substitute for captions, as captions convey more than just dialog. One commenter stated that the provision should apply to screens 10 inches or larger; while another said that digital television (DTV) will allow usable captions on smaller screens and the Board should reference the digital captioning standard EIA-708.

Response. This provision has been clarified to cover all television displays, not just those defined as a receiver under the FCC definition. The 13-inch display size was chosen because it is consistent with the Television Decoder Circuitry Act of 1990. The term "analog" added to this provision clarifies the application of the provision.

At the time of the issuance of the NPRM, the FCC was considering a rule on digital television, but had not completed its rulemaking. On July 21, 2000, the FCC issued an order on decoder circuitry standards for DTV. That standard will take effect on July 1, 2002. Devices covered under the FCC rules include DTV sets with integrated "widescreen" displays measuring at least 7.8 inches vertically, DTV sets with conventional displays measuring at least 13 inches vertically, and stand-alone DTV tuners, whether or not they are marketed with display screens. The provision in the final rule has been changed to reflect the FCC regulation.

Paragraph (b) requires that television tuners, including tuner cards for use in computers, have the ability to handle a secondary audio track used for audio description of visual material. The secondary audio channel is commonly used for audio description. An "audio description" is a verbal description of the visual content of a presentation. Audio descriptions are important for persons who are blind or who have low vision because they provide a description of the visual content of a presentation synchronized with verbal information. (See §1194.23(e)(2) in the NPRM.) No substantive comments were received and no changes have been made to this section in the final rule.

Paragraph (c) requires the captioning of audio material in certain multimedia presentations. (See §1194.23(e)(3) in the NPRM.)

Comment. The NPRM limited the provision for captioning to productions that were procured or developed for repeated showings to audiences that may include people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Commenters were concerned that agencies would avoid this provision by saying that they did not anticipate having members of the audience who were deaf or hard of hearing. Commenters noted that in many instances providing an interpreter may not be a suitable alternative. They also pointed out that subtitles are not an effective substitute for captioning multimedia presentations because subtitles do not display the environmental sounds, descriptions of music, or additional text that conveys a richer content than mere translation of the spoken dialogue.

Response. As proposed, the provision was intended to require captioning whenever the audience might include a person who was deaf or hard of hearing. The final rule has been modified to require that all training and informational video and multimedia presentations that contain speech or other audio information necessary for the comprehension of the content and which supports an agency's mission, shall be open or closed captioned regardless of the anticipated audience. This provision would not require that a videotape recorded by a field investigator to document a safety violation be captioned or audio described, for example. On the other hand, if such a videotape were subsequently used as part of a training or informational presentation, it would have to be captioned and audio described. A video of a retirement celebration would not be in support of an agency's mission and would thus not be required to be captioned. Also, this provision applies only to video and multimedia presentations which contain speech or other audio information necessary for the comprehension of the content. A video that is not narrated would not be required to be captioned since it does not contain speech. The NPRM asked a question about the availability of software products that could be used to provide captioning or description to multimedia computer presentations. Information supplied by commenters suggests such products are readily available.

Paragraph (d) requires that certain multimedia presentations provide an audio description of visual material. (See §1194.23(e)(4) in the NPRM.)

Comment. The proposed rule limited the provision for audio description to productions that were procured or developed for repeated showings to audiences that may include people who are blind or who have low vision. Similar to (c) above, commenters were concerned that agencies may use the limitation to avoid providing the audio description.

Response. This provision has been modified to require audio description regardless of the anticipated audience. The final rule has been modified to require that all training and informational video and multimedia productions which support the agency's mission, regardless of format, that contain visual information necessary for the comprehension of the content, shall be audio described. A video or multimedia presentation that does not support an agency's mission would not be required to be audio described. Also, this provision applies only to videos or multimedia presentations which contain visual information necessary for the comprehension of the content. A "talking heads" video does not generally contain visual information necessary for the comprehension of the content and would therefore not be required to be audio described.

Paragraph (e) provides that the captioning and audio description required in (c) and (d) above must be user selectable unless permanent. (See §1194.23(e)(5) in the NPRM.)

Comment. The National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM) at public television station WGBH indicated that unlike captioning, audio descriptions can only be hidden and then activated on request on broadcast or cablecast video. The videotape format VHS commonly used by consumers and many companies cannot encode audio description for later activation like closed captions. Videos in the VHS format must have their descriptions permanently recorded as part of the main audio program. As a result, the audio descriptions on VHS cannot be turned off. As a solution, NCAM suggested that it may be desirable to have a separate videotape available that was not described, along with a described version to allow a user to choose which version they wish to present. Unlike the VHS format, CD-ROMs, DVDs and other multimedia can support alternate audio channels for descriptions (or alternate languages). The means of choosing those alternate tracks varies by the medium, but usually involves selection from an on-screen menu. Those menus must be made audible or otherwise readily selectable so that people who are blind or visually impaired can independently select and gain access to those audio descriptions.

Response. While the displaying of captioning is user selectable, there may be instances where the audio description would be considered permanent. The provision provides that when permanent, the user selectability provision does not apply. No changes have been made to this section in the final rule.