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Media Accessibility Information, Guidelines and Research

How to Access Audio Description on Your TV and Through DCMP

Image of a television with a scene from the American Revolution. Captions say They're commanded by a farmer, John Parker. A word balloon shows audio description narration which says, A ragtag militia stands at the ready.

Television, movies, and videos are made accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired through the addition of audio description. Audio description is a secondary audio track with additional narration that describes important visual information in a video. It can be accessed in a number of ways, including through your TV remote through a button or voice controls, and DCMP's accessible video player. Instructions specific to many television providers and television sets can be found at the following link on the Audio Description Project (ADP) website:

How Do I Receive Audio Description on TV?

How to Access Audio Description or Voice Menus Using Their Devices


Additional information pertaining to television accessibility can be found below on the InMyArea website:

Guide to Cable Providers and Streaming Services for People With Disabilities


For families and educators who have children with disabilities, the Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP) provides free access to thousands of educational videos through funding from the U.S. Department of Education. This includes hundreds of educational television series that have captions and audio description available through our accessible video player. Many videos also have American Sign Language interpretation. Learn more about what DCMP offers:

Services for Families and Educators


Listen to this example of a video with audio description:


Work With DCMP

DCMP works with content creators to make their productions accessible through captions and audio description. These partners include Paramount Global, Steve Rotfeld Productions, Fred Rogers Productions, Schoolyard Films, A&E, Eyewitness Kids News, BBC, Emily Calandrelli, and scores of others. If you are interested in making your content accessible, please contact us:

Meg LeVigne
mlevigne@dcmp.org
O: 978-318-0084
C: 404-326-1060



Tags: description, consumers, technology, producers-and-distributors

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