HTML5 Video Element — Alternative Text - Stack Overflow

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Learn more about Labs HTML5 video element — alternative text Ask Question Asked 9 years, 4 months ago Modified 1 month ago Viewed 18k times 13

Unlike the img element, the video element doesn’t include an alt attribute for missing or inaccessible content. It seems to me that video is more likely to cause loading or accessibility problems than the humble image.

The note in the W3C Document Doesn’t make make clear a simple alternative.

Is there a recommended procedure for providing a suitable alternative text, or, say a link to a transcript?

• html
• html5-video

Share Improve this question Follow asked Aug 20, 2015 at 22:08 ManngoManngo 16.2k1313 gold badges102102 silver badges142142 bronze badges 1

• 1 have you looked at adding ARIA attributes to the content, and using javascript handlers to trap any loading errors – Offbeatmammal Commented Aug 21, 2015 at 1:47

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2 Answers 2

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As you pointed out, the tag <video> doesn't have an alt attribute.

I have two ideas to satisfy at least in part this need.

1) Adding a paragraph inside the <video> tag

<video> <source src="my-video-path.mp4" type="video/mp4"> <p>Description of the video...</p> </video>

2) Adding schema data

<video itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/VideoObject"> <source src="my-video-path.mp4" type="video/mp4"> <meta itemprop="name" content="Name of the video"> <meta itemprop="description" content="Description of the video..."> <meta itemprop="duration" content="PT1M33S"> <meta itemprop="thumbnail" content="my-video-thumbnail-path.jpg"> </video> Share Improve this answer Follow edited Jan 17, 2024 at 9:39 ixany 6,03099 gold badges5151 silver badges7171 bronze badges answered Aug 27, 2020 at 10:38 Marco PanichiMarco Panichi 1,18711 gold badge2020 silver badges3131 bronze badges 1

• 9 Any non-<source> and non-<track> content inside the <video> tag should only be a replacement for the video and not supplemental to it — it’s only intended for browsers that don’t support the video element. (kindof like <noscript>.) The spec even says “this content is not intended to address accessibility concerns.” – chharvey Commented May 25, 2023 at 21:03

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We can use ARIA attributes for accessibility on audio and video elements:

• aria-label can serve in place of the alt attribute
• aria-details can give the ID of an element holding the transcript, or the ID of a link to the transcript, or whatever other details you might have

Example:

<video controls src="/developers.mp4" aria-label="Steve Ballmer Going Crazy on Stage" aria-details="developers-transcript-link"> </video> <a id="developers-transcript-link" href="/developers-transcript.html">Transcript</a> Share Improve this answer Follow answered Dec 4, 2024 at 12:09 Sam WatkinsSam Watkins 8,28033 gold badges4343 silver badges4141 bronze badges 1

• Thanks for this, do you happen to have any sources on whether this is considered a best practice to make videos accessible for blind or vision-impaired users? (I guess that there would also need to be a VTT track for deaf users.) It's surprisingly hard to find legible resources on this. – Robin Métral Commented Dec 20, 2024 at 6:38

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