Accessibility/Video a11y resources

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This page collects resources related to video accessibility.

Example data files

Videos with auditive annotations:

RealMedia player examples (probably SMIL)

Adobe Flash player examples

Examples of different subtitle formats:

• MicroDVD, SubViewer, SubViewer 2.0, SubRip, Substation Alpha, SAMI

• USF

• Sources for example files: has a list of links to subtitle sites

• example SAMI file

• NCAM collection of enriched media files

Existing software

A pretty good list from WGBH and captions.org

Authoring Software

Any text editor creates text annotation formats - it then takes either a player that can synchronise the external text format with the video, or an encoder to encapsualte the text inside a video stream.

Open Source software:

• CMMLwiki allows creation of Ogg Theora/Vorbis/CMML
• Metavid allows creation of CMML
• Keystroke creates CMML, srt and plain text
• Arkaiv creates CMML
• command-line tool anxenc encapsulates CMML within Ogg
• command-line tool kateenc encapsulates kate within Ogg

• Oatsoft collection of open source software for a11y

• Accessible Media tools from the University of Toronto
  • CapScribe: Mac only captioning tool
  • JustTheCaps: caption editor for Mac and Windows

• Advene video annotation with multitrack annotations - can use ELAN, CMML, eaf, and srt

• Jubler for SSA, ASS, subrip, subviewer, MicroDVD, MPL2 and Spruce DVD Maestro

• D-subtitler for the Mac exports DVD subtitles to srt

• Gaupol platform-independent open source subtitle editor for multiple formats

• ksubtitle KDE based srt subtitle editor

Proprietary software:

• MAGpie from WGBH - captions and audio descriptions; Windows only - for DFXP (W3C TT), SAMI, SMIL, and QTtext
• URUSoft's Subtitle Workshop creates DVDSubtitle, SAMI, Sonic Scenarist, SubStation Alpha, SubViewer 1 & 2, TMPlayer formats, and custom formats
• Miyu creates subtitles in srt, ssa, edl, proprietary miyu, QTtext, sdl, SPU DVD, stl DVD
• SynchriMedia's MovCaptioner creates QTText, SMIL, Flash, srt, sub, stl, sami
• Manitu Group's Captionate, which produces markers, captions, and cue points for flash, with xml export
• VideoToolShed's SubBits subtitler or scc files
• Hi-Caption Studio for SAMI, Real Text
• MPEGRepair from PixelTools does Line 21 CC for MPEG (EDL files)
• Audio Annotation Tool from Project Pad for MP3 files in TRS (transcriber) format
• BBC annotatable audio - format unknown
• BelleNuit subtitler - proprietary xml format, described on site
• Captionate - xml import & export with their own format
• CaptionKeeper from WGBH - exports SAMI, SMIL, QTText from line-21 closed captions
• UniSay subtitler - probably just SAMI & QTtext
• AnnotationEdit from Zeitanker - exports multiple formats, including SSA, SCC, DFXP, stl, MicroDVD, Avid DS, MS Excel XML, QTtext, subrip

Captioning Services:

• List here, e.g. SubPly provides a flash plugin and creates captions in the language the customer is asking for

Playback Software

Open Source Software:

• JW Flash player plays externally referenced DFXP, e.g. http://ecorner.stanford.edu/authorMaterialInfo.html?mid=1532
• GRiNS player plays SMIL
• Ambulant player plays SMIL
• CMMLwiki plays Ogg Theora/Vorbis/CMML
• Metavid plays Ogg Theora/Vorbis/CMML
• liboggplay supports CMML & Kate
• Mplayer supports srt, DVD subtitles, VobSUB, MicroDVD, OGM, SubViewer, Sami, VPlayer, RT, SSA, AQTitle, JACOsub, PJS and player's own: MPsub (all externally referenced)
• VLC supports srt, MicroDVD, SubRIP, SubViewer, SSA1-5, SAMI, VPlayer, VobSUB (all externaly referenced), DVD subtitles, CMML, OGM (encapsulated)

Proprietary Software:

• Quicktime player plays externally referenced SMIL, 3GPP Text, internal cue points (chapter tracks) and QTtext tracks
• Real player plays externally referenced SMIL
• Windows Mediaplayer plays externally referenced SAMI & SMIL files
• YouTube flash player plays srt, subrip subtitles (externally referenced)

DVD ripping software

• VirtualDub with the VobSubRip plugin to extract DVD subtitles
• SubRip exports DVD subtitles to srt