Making video content usable by everyone, including people with visual, auditory, motor, or cognitive disabilities.
Video accessibility is the practice of designing and delivering video so that people with disabilities can perceive, understand, and interact with the content. This includes captions for deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers, audio descriptions for blind viewers, keyboard-navigable players for people who cannot use a mouse, and transcripts for anyone who prefers reading to watching. It is the principle that video should work for everyone, not just people with perfect sight and hearing.
Accessibility for video operates at multiple levels. Captions (or subtitles) display the spoken dialogue and relevant sound effects as text synchronized with the video. Open captions are burned into the video; closed captions can be toggled on or off by the viewer. Most standards require closed captions so viewers can choose.
Transcripts provide the full text of the video's audio content in a readable format outside the player. They serve viewers who prefer reading, those using screen readers, and search engines indexing the content. A good transcript includes speaker identification and descriptions of relevant non-speech audio.
The video player itself must be accessible: keyboard navigable (every control reachable via Tab, Space, Enter, and arrow keys), compatible with screen readers (buttons and controls have proper ARIA labels), and designed with sufficient color contrast. An inaccessible player renders even captioned content unusable for many viewers.
Legal requirements vary by jurisdiction but are converging toward mandatory accessibility. The ADA in the United States, the European Accessibility Act, and Section 508 all require accessible video content in various contexts.
Accessibility is both an ethical requirement and a business advantage. Approximately 15% of the global population lives with some form of disability. Captions alone benefit a much wider audience — people watching in noisy environments, non-native speakers, and anyone who processes information better through reading. Accessible video reaches more people, meets legal obligations, and demonstrates that your organization takes inclusion seriously.
host.video automatically generates transcripts and subtitles for every upload, removing the biggest barrier to video accessibility. The player is designed for keyboard navigation and screen reader compatibility.