Netflix Introduces Interactive Video (with AD)

Netflix, which currently offers over 400 audio described videos, has introduced a new type of video called an interactive video.  By making selections presented on the screen during the show, the flow of the video is altered, with different content.  The first such offering, Puss in Book: Trapped in an Epic Tale, is audio described, as are all Netflix Original presentations.  A second offering is expected in July.  Learn more on the Netflix blog.

We would love to hear from viewers with young visually impaired children if this experience works well for them with description.  (Posted Jun 27)

Philips Television Announces Enhanced Accessibility

From a Philips Television Press Release

"The full line of 2017 Philips brand televisions and video players now offers Enhanced Accessibility to allow blind and visually impaired users to control the devices' functions. Adding Enhanced Accessibility to products entails the addition of voice guide descriptive menus, easy to read user interface, guide dots on remote controls, easy access to closed captioning/subtitles and secondary audio, easy access to support, and an easy way to identify these products both at retail and on the Philips website with the help of an Enhanced Accessibility logo."

You can view the complete list of Philips televisions supporting enhanced accessibility.  (Posted Jun 27)

FCC Will Consider Increasing Hours of AD on TV

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has released a tentative agenda for the July Open Commission Meeting scheduled for 10:30 am on Thursday, July 13, 2017. As part of the agenda, the Commission will consider a Report and Order that would increase the required hours of video described programming on television.

The meeting is open to the public and will be streamed live on the Internet with open captioning at www.fcc.gov/live and can be followed on social media with #OpenMtgFCC.  (Posted Jun 27)

2017 Audio Description Project Mini-Conference
55 Enrollments So Far!

Every second year we have a mini-conference instead of a full one.  This year our sessions are on Tuesday, July 4, as part of the ACB's Annual Convention in Sparks, NV.  Read more about this year's ADP Conference.  (Updated Jun 27)

Audio Describer Training:  Only 2 Seats Left!

The twelfth Audio Describer Institute (ADI) is being presented in conjunction with the ACB's Convention in July in Reno, NV.  The ADI dates are July 5-7.  Read the details about ADI, or see our Training and Education page for more information.  (Updated Jun 27)

White House Tours for Blind Visitors ... Not

The Trump Administration Is Behind On White House Tours For Blind Visitors is the title of an article on Buzzfeed.  The original tour, released at the start of Obama's second term, was written by ADP Project Director Joel Snyder and voiced by the late Ed Walker, a radio personality who was blind.  A new room was added after Mr Walker died, so Joel Snyder revoiced the entire tour.  When Donald Trump took office, the tour was rescinded, and no one knows why.  Read the article for more details.  (Posted Jun  20)

Australia Forms Audio Description Working Group

"The Turnbull Government has announced the formation of an Audio Description Working Group to examine options for increasing the availability of audio description services in Australia."  This follows a 15-month trial which ended last year.  Read about the AU Working Group.  (Posted Jun 20)

FCC Honors Innovators in Accessible Communications

The FCC has announced winners in the sixth annual Chairman’s Awards for Advancement in Accessibility.  Of note:

Winner: Facebook - Automatic Alt Text (AAT) Description: Alt text is hidden text that screen readers speak aloud to describe an image that cannot be "read" by those devices. This technology enables people who are blind, visually impaired or print-disabled to understand the content of photos, drawings, charts and diagrams. AAT is a new, free feature on Facebook that uses artificial intelligence and object recognition to automatically generate alt text for such images.

Winner: The Integrated Described Video Best Practices Guide Description: The Integrated Described Video Best Practices Guide is an Accessible Media Inc.-led initiative created in collaboration with the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, broadcast service providers, described video practitioners and members of the public. The guide was created to encourage producers to naturally include more descriptive text in scripts, reducing the need to add video description to program content after it is created. The free guide highlights the benefits of IDV and includes best practices and techniques that can be used to create inclusive programming that is more easily understood by blind and low-vision individuals.  (Posted Jun 15)

How Do You Watch Peak TV If You're Blind?

That's the title of a new article in Vanity Fair.  It features description on the Netflix show "House of Cards" and goes on to discuss how long it takes to write description, aspects of description such as choice of words, and how important it is to one blind viewer.  ADP director Joel Snyder contributed to the article.  [The article's statement that Amazon does not provide description is incorrect.  It was written just before Amazon announced description - see separate article on this page!]  (Posted June 15)

New Audio Described DVDs and Blu-ray Discs

There were four audio described DVDs released on June 27 and one released on June 20:  CHiPS, Saban's Power Rangers, T2 Trainspotting, The Belko Experiment, and Life.

Recent:  CHiPS, Saban's Power Rangers, T2 Trainspotting, The Belko Experiment, Life, Table 19, John Wick: Chapter 2, The LEGO Batman Movie, A Cure for Wellness, A United Kingdom, Beauty and the Beast, Land of Mine, Collide, Fist Fight, The Shack, Get Out, Logan, The Great Wall, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, xXx: Return Of Xander Cage, Fifty Shades Darker, A Dog's Purpose, Rings, The Red Turtle, The Resurrection of Gavin Stone, La La Land, Underworld: Blood Wars, Sleepless, Hidden Figures, Monster Trucks, The Bye Bye Man, Toni Erdmann, Office Christmas Party, Rogue One:  A Star Wars Story, MORE... 

See Also:

• All described DVDs released in the USA in 2017
• Alphabetical list of all commercially described USA DVDs
• Children's Described USA DVDs (rated G or PG)

Join us on Facebook or Twitter (links below) to receive new described DVD notifications, or use the page-change notification form at the top of this page.

Recent Audio Described TV Programs in the USA

Steve Harvey's FUNDERDOME 9 pm Sundays on .

Superhuman Mondays at 9 pm, Beat Shazam 8pm Thursdays, and Love Connection 9pm Thursdays on .

Claws Sundays at 9pm and Animal Kingdom Tuesdays at 9 pm on

Amazon Video Now Offers Audio Described Titles

On June 9th the ACB and Amazon were pleased to announce the initial Amazon Video offering of 117 audio described movies and 10 TV series.  All of the TV series and some of the movies are available free to Amazon Prime members.  Once you make a selection of description from the Audio menu on a given device, your choice will be remembered for future titles that have description tracks.  We will continue to update our list of described Amazon titles and announce them via social media as they become available.  You can use the new link at the top of each ADP website page to find complete information, or go directly to Amazon's Described Videos page.  (Updated Jun 27)

Do You Want Audio Description on Hulu???

Disability Rights Advocates is investigating complaints from blind individuals who report that the Hulu website and mobile applications are not accessible, and from blind individuals who want audio description tracks to be made available on Hulu.  They would greatly appreciate speaking with you if you are blind and you have chosen not to subscribe to Hulu because you have heard about access barriers or the lack of audio description.  They would also like to speak with you if you have confronted access barriers yourself while using Hulu.

To share your experiences, please contact Kyle Ruiz, by phone at (510) 665-8644 or by email at kruiz@dralegal.org.  (Posted May 23)

Audible Emergency Information on TV

On June 8, 2017, the FCC released a Public Notice to remind multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) of the July 10, 2017 deadline to pass through audible emergency information via the secondary audio stream on second screens devices, such as tablets, smartphones, and laptops. The purpose of this rule is to make sure that people who are blind or visually impaired have audible access to televised information about emergencies (for example, tornados, hurricanes, or wildfires) when such information is displayed visually, such as an on-screen text crawl.  (Posted Jun 13)

Free Audio Description Authoring Tool

The National Center for Accessible Media at WGBH (NCAM) has developed CADET (Caption and Description Editing Tool) and is making it available free to everyone to download.  Read more about CADET.  You may also be interested in an article from several years ago entitled 508 Accessible Videos – How to Make Audio Descriptions.  (Posted Jun 13)

The DADA Project

On April 25th, a "preview unveiling" was held at the site of Major the Bull, a bronze statue in a small plaza in Durham, NC. The occasion was the introduction of recorded audio descriptions of Major and eight other pieces of public art. What is interesting is that the descriptions were written and recorded by students in Dan Ellison's Service Learning class at Duke University, in consultation with Arts Access of Raleigh, plus reviews by several blind patrons.  Read the full story about the DADA project.  (Posted May 23)