Audio Description (AD) is an additional narration track that explains key visual elements in a video, such as actions, settings, gestures, scene changes, and on-screen text. It plays during natural pauses in dialogue, allowing people who are blind or have low vision to understand what’s happening on screen.

It ensures all users can follow the story or information being presented, even when visuals convey essential meaning that isn’t spoken aloud.

Audio Description can be generated in the same language as the original video.
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Supported languages:
English (UK, USA, Australia, Canada), Japanese, Chinese, German, Hindi, French (France, Canada), Korean, Portuguese (Brazil, Portugal), Italian, Spanish (Spain, Mexico), Indonesian, Dutch, Turkish, Filipino, Polish, Swedish, Bulgarian, Romanian, Arabic (Saudi Arabia, UAE), Czech, Greek, Finnish, Croatian, Malay, Slovak, Danish, Tamil, Ukrainian, and Russian.

Subly supports extended Audio Description only.

Extended AD pauses the video to add longer narration when there isn’t enough space between dialogue, ensuring no visual detail is missed. You can edit and adjust these narrations in the Subly Accessibility Editor before exporting.

This format meets WCAG 2.2 Level AA and AAA requirements for pre-recorded video that includes important visual information.

You can export Audio Description from Subly in the following formats:

Full video with Audio Description: .mp4 (includes pauses and AD voice-over)
Audio Description track: .mp3
Audio Description script: .srt, .webvtt, .txt, .docx, .pdf

These options let you publish or share accessible videos easily across players, platforms, and CMS systems.

Audio Description (AD): an additional audio track that narrates important visual detailsbetween dialogue for blind or low-vision users.
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Captions/Subtitles: on-screen text showing dialogue and limited sound cues; they do not describe visuals.

Standard Transcript: text of spoken content only; usually lacks visuals, sound effects and speaker names.

Descriptive Transcript (W3 Language): a text-only alternative that includes dialogue, sound effects, speaker names and visual descriptions to make videos fully accessible without audio or visuals.

Audio Description narrations describe key on-screen actions, text, facial expressions, gestures, scene changes, and visual context.

Example:
“Sarah picks up the letter and smiles. Text on screen reads ‘Welcome Home.’ ”

These descriptions are placed between dialogue or during pauses, synchronised with the video. Extended AD allows longer segments when necessary.

Yes, under WCAG 2.1 and 2.2:
Level A (1.2.3): Requires either Audio Description or a descriptive transcript for pre-recorded video.
Level AA (1.2.5): Requires Audio Description for all pre-recorded video content that includes important visuals not conveyed in the audio.
Level AAA (1.2.7): Adds further enhancement for extended descriptions.

In short: Audio Description is mandatory for Level AA compliance, which is the benchmark referenced by most global regulations.

Yes, indirectly. The EAA references EN 301 549, which requires conformance with WCAG 2.1 Level AA for all digital products and services.

This means that any video containing important visual information not present in the audio must include Audio Description (or a descriptive transcript at Level A). For commercial and public-sector organisations in the EU, this requirement became enforceable in June 2025.

Yes. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the 2024 DOJ Title II web-accessibility rule adopt WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the standard.

For videos used by public agencies, education providers, and private companies, Audio Description is required when visuals convey key information. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act applies the same rule for U.S. federal websites and media.

Providing Audio Description ensures “effective communication”, the ADA’s core accessibility principle, and reduces legal risk for non-compliance. ADA.gov