Audio Description for Enterprise

At 3Play we have big dreams, and want ALL video to be accessible. We know that often times many factors play a role in deciding what videos to make accessible – and to what extent. Although all enterprise video can greatly benefit from being accessible, most organizations want to know, “What accessibility laws apply to me?” Here’s what you need to know about audio description for enterprise – including common challenges and crucial features.

What is important for those for audio description for enterprise?

• Competitive pricing: Budget plays a critical role in most of the decisions we make, including implementing audio description. Traditional audio description is very costly, as the extensive process includes production time, recording, writing a description into specific time codes, and often utilizes human voice actors. Competitive pricing is important to enterprise organizations, so as not to break the bank  – even when producing a lot of video content.
• Easy account management: When it comes to process and workflow, simple-to-use and efficient is the way to go. Additional steps in a workflow can add time and quickly consume valuable resources. Audio description that has easy account management can minimize the time and resources needed for the entire process. As they say, “time is money!”
• Legal compliance: Several US federal laws, including Title II and Title III of the ADA require video accessibility for enterprise organizations. Additionally, audio description is a requirement that is written into Section 508 refresh. Failing to comply with such laws has resulted in several corporate lawsuits including one with FedEx. Finding an audio description vendor that is both aware of and compliant with these laws can help to ensure that you won’t face legal penalties.

What are the common challenges in audio description for enterprise?

• Pricing: As more and more video infiltrates our work, budget certainly becomes a factor. Making videos isn’t always cheap, and making them accessible can add significant costs. 70% of enterprise captioning budgets fall under $10,000. Being that audio description is less well known than captioning, we can infer that these organizations don’t have a large budget for audio description either. Additionally, traditional audio description is significantly more expensive than captioning, making price a frequent challenge for implementing description.
• Publishing: Unlike with captions, most players don’t support audio description. This makes publishing another hurdle – and often even an added expense. Many times the only way to publish is to link to a second version of your video with description. This can take time up additional time and resources.

What vendor features are important in audio description for enterprise?

• Price: Price is a critical component of audio description. At 3Play, we combine humans and technology in the description process. This has allowed us to make the process of writing and time coding description easier, faster, and more cost-effective. We use certified human describers to write high quality descriptions, then use synthesized speech to vocalize these descriptions. This process has allowed us to offer high quality audio description for a fraction of the price, so that more video can be accessible video.
• Integrations and publishing tools: Since publishing audio description can  create a challenge,
  

  

  it’s important to find a vendor that can help with this process, by providing integrations and publishing tools. Our 3Play Plugin offers an audio description feature, which allows you to easily add audio description to any video! The audio description feature provides a simple embed that references your video and plays a secondary audio description track along with your video. This plugin alleviates the need to produce a second version of your video with audio description. It is also keyboard and screen reader accessible, and is completely free!

• Dedicated support: Our wonderful support team is here to answer your questions and get you on the right path, so you can sit back and relax. Like any service or product, you may need support with audio description along the way. We understand that if you need help, you need it now. In addition to a dedicated support team, we have an expansive library of support documentation that can be accessed on our support site at any time!

Enterprise Customers Who Use 3Play Media

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