Specialized DVD Player to Render Audio Description and Its Usability Performance
Claude Chapdelaine · 2012 · Proceedings of the 14th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2012) · doi:10.1145/2384916.2384954
Summary
This demonstration paper presents the CRIM DVDPlayer, a specialized software DVD player designed to enhance the audio description (AD) experience for blind and visually impaired (BVI) individuals. Developed at the Centre de Recherche Informatique de Montréal (CRIM), the player was motivated by the acute shortage of audio-described content in French Canada — only two to three hours of television per week had AD, and no DVDs in French were available with audio description. The player synchronizes externally produced AD with commercial DVDs in real time, effectively adding audio description to content that ships without it. Beyond standard accessible player functions (play, stop, rewind, forward with audio feedback on all interactions), the CRIM DVDPlayer adds three specialized features identified through prior in-situ research with BVI users: (1) contextual information about the content before playback begins, (2) standard and extended quantities of audio description that users can toggle between, and (3) recall functions that let users query key information at any point — including scene identification, actions in the current scene, and actors present in the scene.
Key findings
The player introduces a production process for adding AD to commercial DVDs, including audio description for starting images and the DVD selection menu — addressing the common problem that even DVDs with AD cannot be independently started and navigated by BVI users since menus lack audio feedback. The recall functions represent a novel interaction model for audio description: rather than passively receiving AD during natural pauses in dialogue, users can actively request information about what is happening, who is on screen, and where the scene is set. The toggle between standard and extended AD quantities addresses the finding that different users need different amounts of description. The system was evaluated through a seven-month usability study, demonstrating its practical viability for extended home use. The approach of synchronizing externally produced AD with commercial media is significant because it bypasses the need for content producers to include AD — the description can be created independently and paired with any copy of the DVD.
Relevance
This paper addresses a critical gap in media accessibility: the lack of audio-described content, particularly in minority-language markets. The approach of decoupling audio description from the media itself — producing AD separately and synchronizing it with commercial content — has become increasingly relevant with modern streaming platforms. For accessibility practitioners, the recall functions represent an important user-centered innovation: rather than treating AD as a fixed, passive narration, they give users agency to request information when they need it. This aligns with the principle that accessible solutions should empower users rather than impose a single experience. The seven-month usability study provides valuable longitudinal evidence about how BVI users engage with enhanced AD features in their homes over time. The work also highlights regional disparities in media accessibility — a problem that persists today across many languages and markets.
Tags: audio description · visual impairment · blind users · multimedia accessibility · DVD · video player · usability testing · media accessibility