Introduction
This following information will be helpful for people using screen
readers as it explains the steps for using YouTube with screen readers.
A screen reader is a software application that identifies and interprets
what is being displayed on the computer screen. This information is then
presented to a blind user as speech. Visually impaired or blind people
use screen readers. This article provides step-by-step process for using
YouTube making it easier for a new user to explore YouTube.
lightbulb icon *Please note:* The experience of using YouTube may not be
same with all screen readers due to inconsistency of support of
technology by the various screen readers. To learn more about using
YouTube with a screen reader that supports Adobe Flash accessibility
extensions, please see this accessibility feedback page
<http://www.google.com/accessibility>.
Read on to learn more about using YouTube with a screen-reader and
discover which keyboard shortcuts are available for the site:
Creating a YouTube account
A Google account is needed to sign in to YouTube (ex. Gmail or Calendar
etc.). If you do not have a Google account then you can go ahead and
create one using the following steps:
1. Go to www.youtube.com <http://www.youtube.com/>
2. Click the "create account" link (located at the top of the page
after the search button).
3. Complete the requested steps. Once you've signed up you'll have an
account and can get started.
Having an account allows you to sign into YouTube and take advantage of
YouTube's community features. You can upload videos, comment on videos,
save videos to playlists etc.. These are just a few of the benefits of
signing up for a YouTube account. You do not need to sign in to use some
/basic/ features of YouTube. Such as, searching for videos, viewing
videos etc..
Searching YouTube and Search Results
/Searching for YouTube videos/
1. Navigate to www.youtube.com
2. Navigate to the search edit box at the top of the page.
*Please note*: Though the search edit box does not have a label,
it is located at the top of the page, has a search button after
it, and is the only edit box on this page.
3. Type a search term and press enter.
/Search results/
* The search results page has a "did you mean" section which
suggests proper words if you misspelled the word(s).
* Prior to the search results, various sorting options are
provided to help you sort through the results.
* Each of the search results has the following information:
1. A title of the video along with the duration of the video
which is a link and a graphic. Hence, navigating using
graphics would help navigating to and through the results
quicker. Clicking on this will play the video.
2. A "+" sign which is link. Clicking on this will play the
video as well.
3. The text "added to queue".
4. The title of the video which is also a link. Clicking on it
will play the video as well.
5. A snippet of the video.
6. Name of the individual who posted the video.
7. How many years ago the video was uploaded and the number of
views it has had so far.
Sometimes you will find a heading level 2, "Related
searches" with heading level 3s below it. These are other
search categories related to the search term(s) you typed.
Clicking any of these search categories will take you to
another page which has video results for that category.
The YouTube Flash Player
Once you click one of the search results, the flash player will load and
the video will start playing automatically. Here are the components and
layout of the flash player:
* *Section headers*:
o H1 for the title of the video
o H4 for "highest rated comments", "all comments", and "suggestions".
* *The flash player has the following components*:
o *Subtitles:*
If a video has subtitles then the subtitles are placed at the
top of the video. The subtitles section begins with the text
"subtitles start" followed by two lines of subtitles and end
with the text "subtitles end". If the subtitles are on, the
screen reader should say "Subtitles Loaded". If the subtitles
are off, press the "Subtitles Unloaded" button, the button
should change to "Subtitles Loading". Then after two seconds or
so it should speak "Subtitles Loaded". From that point on the
subtitles will appear at the beginning of the Flash player.
o *Play/pause button:*
The button text toggles based on the current status of the video.
o *Seek slider:*
The seek slider is used to fast forward or rewind the video and
to increase or decrease the volume. To use the seek slider,
first turn off virtual cursor then tab to the slider.
+ Use left/right arrow keys to fast forward/rewind the video
and use the up/down arrow keys to increase/decrease volume.
+ *Mute/unmute:* This button toggles depending on whether the
video is muted or not muted.
+ *360p button:*
This button changes the quality of the video in terms of
pixels. Here are the available resolutions: 1080p, 720p,
480p, 360p (default), 240p, 240p Light
o *Pop-out button:*
The pop-out button creates a new browser window and places only
the player with the video that is currently playing. It leaves
out all the content that is outside the actual player. This
allows users to resize the player any way they like.
lightbulb icon The button is also useful for *blind users* who
might want to get rid of all the extra elements in the HTML page
around the player and be left just with the player on its own.
Its important to note, that if you have pop-up blocker enabled,
then you'll need to disable the pop-up blocker in order to open
this new window.
o *Expand/Shrink button:*
The label of the button toggles depending on the current
selection. Clicking the expand/shrink button makes the video
player larger and smaller.
This button also increases the video quality when you expand the
player, and uses a lower quality when you shrink it if the video
has multiple qualities.
o *Time elapsed/total duration:*
This section shows the total time elapsed over the total
duration of the video. It shows you how much of the video has
played already and how much there's still left to play.
Note: To *replay* the video, click on the "play" button after
the video stops playing.
*Keyboard shortcut* *Function*
O *To jump to the beginning of the flash player*
Spacebar *Play/Pause when the seek bar is selected. Activate a button
if a button has focus*
Play/Pause Media Key on keyboards *Play / Pause*
Stop Media Key on keyboards *Stop*
Next Track Media Key on keyboards *Moves to the next track in a play/list*
Left/Right arrow on the seek bar *Seek backward/forward 5 seconds*
Home/End on the seek bar *Seek to the beginning/last seconds of the
video*
Up/Down arrow on the seek bar *Increase/Decrease volume 5%*
Numbers 1 to 9 (not on the numeric pad) on the seek bar *Seek to the
10% to 90% of the video*
Number 0 (not on t
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