1.2.1 Audio-only and Video-only (Prerecorded)

Who it helps

Deaf and hard-of-hearing people rely on a transcript to get the content of audio. Blind people and people with low vision need a text or audio version of what a silent video shows. Transcripts also help people who read faster than they listen.

How to meet it

• Publish a full transcript with every prerecorded audio file, including all speech, speaker names and meaningful sounds.
• For video with no sound, write a text description of what happens, in order, or add a narrated audio track that describes it.
• Place the transcript, or a clearly named link to it, right next to the player.
• Use real HTML text for the transcript, not an image of text or a scanned PDF.
• Know the exception: media that only repeats text already on the page, and is clearly labeled as an alternative, needs nothing more.
• This covers prerecorded media only; live audio falls under 1.2.9.

Examples

<h2>Episode 12: Writing alt text</h2>
<audio controls src="/audio/ep12.mp3"></audio>

<h2>Set up your device</h2>
<video controls src="/video/setup-steps.mp4"></video>

<h2>Episode 12: Writing alt text</h2>
<audio controls src="/audio/ep12.mp3"></audio>
<details>
  <summary>Transcript</summary>
  <p><strong>Dana:</strong> Welcome back to the show.</p>
  <p><strong>Sam:</strong> Today we're talking about alt text.</p>
  <p>[Theme music fades out]</p>
</details>

<h2>Set up your device</h2>
<figure>
  <video controls src="/video/setup-steps.mp4"></video>
  <figcaption>
    <a href="/setup-steps-description">Read a text description of the video</a>
  </figcaption>
</figure>

Common mistakes

• Posting an automatic transcript that nobody checked against the recording.
• Leaving out speaker names and important sounds, so the transcript is not equivalent.
• Assuming a silent video needs nothing because there is no audio to caption.
• Using a filename or "transcript coming soon" as the alternative.

Related criteria

• 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded)
• 1.2.3 Audio Description or Media Alternative (Prerecorded)
• 1.2.9 Audio-only (Live)
• 1.1.1 Non-text Content

Official W3C explanation of 1.2.1