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Prerecorded video needs an audio description or media alternative

Rule media-alternative · Document, language & navigation · impact moderate · Static + live

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Why it matters

At Level A, prerecorded video must offer either an audio description of its visual information or a full text alternative (a descriptive transcript) so people who cannot see it still get what it shows. This heuristic passes a

How to fix

Add a with timed descriptions, or place/link a descriptive transcript next to the player (e.g. inside the same

) and name it "Transcript" so it is discoverable. An explicitly linked audio-described version of the video also satisfies 1.2.3.

Example

✕ Fails
<video src="clip.mp4" controls></video>
✓ Passes
<figure><video src="clip.mp4" controls></video><a href="/clip-transcript">Read the transcript</a></figure>

Example

✕ Fails
<video src="tour.mp4" controls><track kind="captions" srclang="en" src="tour.vtt"></video>
✓ Passes
<video src="tour.mp4" controls><track kind="descriptions" srclang="en" src="tour-ad.vtt"></video>

Captions alone don’t satisfy 1.2.3 — the text alternative must convey the visual information, which a descriptions track (or transcript) does.

WCAG success criteria

1.2.3 Audio Description or Media Alternative (Prerecorded) — Level A

Prerecorded video needs either an audio description of its visual information or a full text alternative (a descriptive transcript), so people who cannot see the video still get what it shows.

Understanding 1.2.3

Standards

This rule contributes to the following standards:

WCAG A EN 301 549 Section 508

Standard Criteria
Section 508 1194.22(b)
EN 301 549 9.1.2.3

References