Does all live media have synchronized captions?

Goal

Ensure that D/deaf people have access to the information in live audio and video events.

Why this matters

Without captions, people with D/deafness, other auditory disabilities, or who are in situations where they can’t listen to the audio (loud environment, sleeping baby) must still have a way to access the content.

How to implement

Synchronized captions are required for videos, and recommended for audio recordings.

Live captioning requires a stenographer and a live text feed to provide the caption information. Live captioning includes not only the spoken content but also descriptions of any important sound effects or music.

How to test

You probably want to test via a rehearsal, since testing during the event is likely too late.

1. Watch the event
2. Confirm the captions are timed to synchronize with the event.
3. Confirm the captions are accurate to the audio content in the event.