WCAG 1.2 (time-based media) and video-only with background music

Hello WAI IG,

Thank you for hosting this mailing list. I’m writing to ask for help in interpreting a few definitions of WCAG guideline 1.2 (Time-based Media)<https://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/media-equiv.html>—specifically, prerecorded video-only vs. synchronized media.

It’s not uncommon to find a video that’s accompanied by an audio track which only contains background music that has no meaningful information, and doesn’t supplement or synchronize with the information in the video track. Example: a slideshow video or montage of video-only clips that includes background music.

I see the case for treating the content like synchronized media—that means the caption track would indicate the music playing, and a transcript and descriptive audio would be made available to meet all A/AA guidelines.

Realistically, it could be the case for some videos of this format that creating a descriptive audio track might not provide a significant benefit that the transcript doesn’t already cover. Logistically, this is also considering the challenge that the media player might not support a separate descriptive audio track. If the content isn’t treated as synchronized media, providing a transcript and also tagging the background music in the CC track would more than meet WCAG A/AA.

Is it the intention of W3C/WCAG that such a video would be interpreted as being synchronized media? It does not fit the definition of prerecorded video-only, since an audio track is present. But it’s also odd to say that the video/audio tracks contain synchronized information, since there’s really no information in the audio track, and the timing of the audio track isn’t critical.

Any feedback or perspective is welcome. I recognize that it’s a good practice to include as many accessible/inclusive features as possible, but it’s also important to understand what WCAG says we should be doing.

Thank you,

Casey Hickey
Web and Digital Marketing Specialist
State University of New York College at Cortland
Marketing Office