Video — subtitles + audio description (WCAG 1.2)

Video on your site is fully regulated under WCAG 1.2.1-1.2.5. Required media alternatives per type: Pre-recorded video with audio: subtitles (1.2.2 AA), audio description or media alternative text (1.2.5 AA). Live: live captions (1.2.4 AA, can be AI or human). Audio only (podcast): text transcript (1.2.1 A). Video only without audio: text description or audio track (1.2.1 A). Subtitles vs transcript? Subtitles = sync with video, including sound descriptions ("[door closes]"). Transcript = full text version separately readable. What is audio description? Narrator explaining in silences what happens visually — "Marie walks into the room, she's tense." Essential for blind users on non-self-explanatory visuals. Cheap production: YouTube auto-captioning + correction (free, ~30 min per hour of video). Otter.ai / Descript for transcripts (€/month). VEED / Kapwing for in-video burnt-in captions. For audio description: write script + studio software (Audacity) — own voice-over costs nothing. EAA + AVMSD: Audiovisual Media Services Directive has forced broadcasters into accessibility since 2018. EAA expands to VOD platforms + on-demand video on websites. Practical: start by subtitling all videos — biggest impact, smallest cost. Audio description later for commercially most important content.