Extended Audio Description (Prerecorded)
When pauses in dialogue aren't long enough to fit a standard audio description, the video must pause to let extended description play — so blind users get the full visual context even in dense, fast-paced content.
What it asks
Standard audio description (1.2.5) only works when there’s space between the original dialogue. For dialogue-heavy or fast-cut content, there isn’t. Extended audio description solves this by pausing the video itself when needed, letting a longer narration play, then resuming. The result is a longer total runtime but a fuller experience for users who can’t see the screen.
How to meet it
- Use a player that supports programmatic pause/resume around description cues — HTML5
<video>plus a JavaScript controller works. - Author a description script with two passes: one for in-gap narration, one for extended pauses.
- Mark extended pause points in the description track (
.vttwith cue settings or a custom JSON manifest). - Offer the extended-description version as an opt-in alternative — viewers who don’t need it can play the original.
- Time pauses to scene boundaries where possible to minimize disruption.
- Test with screen-reader users — extended description that interrupts mid-thought is worse than none.
Common failures
- Producing standard audio description that talks over critical dialogue because there isn’t room.
- Pauses inserted at arbitrary points instead of scene boundaries, breaking comprehension.
- No way for users to skip back over an extended description if they missed something.
- Extended description authored but only playable on a custom player that fails on iOS / Android.
Why it matters
AAA-level, and rarely required outside broadcasting and government public-information content. Most teams meet 1.2.5 with a standalone described version and never reach 1.2.7. Worth noting on contracts where the SOW says “WCAG AAA where applicable” — flag it as out of scope unless the content is dialogue-dense.