Media Player Accessibility Features

When deciding what media player to use for your content, it is important to select a media player that is accessible and supports accessibility features.

Some essential considerations for accessible media players include:

  • Supports captions and audio descriptions: Captions and audio descriptions added to the media will be presented correctly when using the player.
  • Keyboard and screen reader accessible: People can navigate to and use all the media player controls with their technologies, including with keyboard and with a screen reader.

Learn more about accessible media players from W3C.

Page Content

MiVideo

MiVideo is a fully accessible player that supports captions, transcripts, and audio description. MiVideo is supported at U-M and integrated with Canvas.

Captions are automatically generated for all English language videos uploaded to MiVideo. Remember to check auto captions for accuracy. Learn more at the links below.

Additional guidance on MiVideo can be found by searching the ITS Knowledge Base.

YouTube

YouTube offers a player with many accessibility features and supports captions, transcripts, and audio descriptions. YouTube is not supported at U-M, but can be used with a U-M Google account.

Captions are automatically generated in multiple languages for videos uploaded to YouTube. Remember to check auto captions for accuracy. Learn more at the links below.

Zoom

Recorded Zoom meetings and webinars can be viewed on Zoom’s cloud recordings player, or downloaded for use and sharing on other platforms. Zoom is supported at U-M.

According to Zoom Accessibility FAQ, the Zoom cloud player is accessible to screen readers and keyboard, and supports closed captioning and transcript views.

Vimeo

Vimeo offers a player with many accessibility features, but use of features like auto captions and transcript editing require a paid account. Vimeo is not supported at U-M.

Vimeo supports multiple audio tracks to allow for audio description overlay.