Advisory for open captions and cc control failure

[kengdoj]

when a media player displays media content with open captions, a cc control would not be needed. If no cc control is provided, 503.4 fails, but equivalent facilitation can be asserted.

[cliffbert]

1. Would rather it not fail at all since cc control is not needed.
2. If open captions, an active (clickable) cc control may in fact be contraindicated.

[kengdoj]

If consideration for the presence of open captions was in the language of the requirement, not failing 503.4 would be an option. However, 503.4 is solely a requirement for the media player and doesn't consider the media.

[cliffbert]

Sharing this opinion offered by a mutual friend: "The 508 requirement is specific to closed captions. ...
Open captioning is sufficient for meeting WCAG Success Criteria 1.2.2 and 1.2.4. It is acceptable to provide two version of media, one uncaptioned and one opened captioned. Of course, someone testing a video in isolation might not have any way of knowing that an open captioned version exists.
"I do not agree that if the synchronized audio and video has open captions Section 508 standards still require user controls for captions in the media player because the user control might be part of the web page or even the menu/navigation process for selecting a video. I think one needs media with closed captioning to test for 503.4."

[michaelhortongsa]

For discussion: If we fail the player for not having the two buttons (CC and AD, which I agree with), then I suggest we consider how to test those two buttons for SCs:

• 503.4 User Controls for Captions and Audio Description.
• 503.4.1 Caption Controls.
• 503.4.2 Audio Description Controls

Issues:

1. For when the media is open captioned, what should the status of the button be? Should it be disabled?
2. For when the media does not have audio descriptions, what should the status of the button be? Should it be disabled?