Captions

The accessibility of Google’s YouTube video service looks set to improve thanks to the recent decision by the internet giant to abandon Adobe’s Flash technology in favour of the fifth and final version of the Hyper Text Markup Language, HTML5.

The access company Red Bee Media Australia, which provides the captions for the Seven Network’s My Kitchen Rules, is seeking feedback from caption viewers on the positioning of closed caption text for this program.

A new review into current and future trends in technology, media and telecommunications refutes the idea that younger people are reluctant to spend money on media content, including video on demand (VOD) services, and reinforces the need for these services to be made accessible with captions and audio description.

The Federal Government today released a consultation paper which proposes a number of changes to the regulations governing free-to-air television. The consultation process provides an opportunity for consumers to comment on current captioning regulations, and the fact that multi-channels such as Gem, 7Two, Eleven, ABC2 and SBS2 remain exempt from the captioning requirements that apply to primary channels.