Via:
http://press.aol.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=1016§ion_id=14
DULLES, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 20, 2006--AOL:
Captioning Will Provide Web Users Who Are Deaf Or Hard of Hearing With
Enhanced Access To CNN Streaming Video Content
Initiative Extends AOL's Commitment To Serving People With
Disabilities
AOL today announced it is now testing closed captions for streaming
news content from CNN that will enhance the online media experience
for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Captioned CNN video
content will be available throughout the AOL network, including the
AOL service, the free AOL.com Web portal (
http://www.aol.com) and the
AOL Video portal (
http://www.aol.com/video).
AOL(R), which is the first consumer Internet service to provide
captioned online videos, has offered closed captioning since 2003 for
select content on its KOL(R) service for kids aged 6 to 12, including
"Princess Natasha(TM)," the original cartoon series created
exclusively for KOL. AOL also offered synchronized text transcripts
for CNN news updates that were limited to the text of a news anchor's
script. Now, content from CNN, including videos for the day's
headlines, current events, new stories, entertainment and more, will
be manually captioned to ensure all of the audio in a video stream is
completely accessible. AOL plans to provide closed captioning for
additional video content over the coming months.
AOL has been working on this initiative with WGBH's Media Access
Group, the pioneering organization behind the development of
technologies and services that make all forms of media accessible to
the 36 million Americans who rely on captioning or video descriptions.
This work was also supported by a grant to WGBH from NEC Foundation of
America, which supports programs with national reach and impact in
assistive technology for people with disabilities.
"Online captioning is a central accessibility issue for the deaf
community and hard-of-hearing community and we are excited to be at
the forefront of the movement," said Tom Wlodkowski, Director of
Accessibility, for AOL. "Key to our progress has been our
collaboration with WGBH and support from content partners such as CNN.
We look forward to working with additional content providers to expand
the availability of captioned video content across the AOL network."
"Offering consumers a complete and comprehensive online video
experience is one of AOL's top priorities and a big part of that is
providing them with a top-notch playback experience," said Kevin
Conroy, Executive Vice President, for AOL. "Closed captioning unlocks
a new world for millions of consumers who, until now, have been unable
to fully experience viewing videos online."
"The Media Access Group at WGBH is honored to have worked with AOL on
the pioneering effort to bring closed captions to the Web," said Larry
Goldberg, Director of the Media Access Group at WGBH. "The numerous
challenges that needed to be overcome were matched by AOL's
institutional commitment to serving everyone, everywhere. AOL is to be
congratulated for committing serious resources to adding cutting-edge
accessibility to their services."
This launch underscores AOL's commitment to accessibility and
ease-of-use and is an important milestone for both AOL and for the
deaf community, whose leaders have been advocating for online
captioning similar to ongoing advocacy efforts for captions on
television programming. With the tremendous growth of video content
online, AOL is focused on addressing the technical and production
complexities that will lead to an increased availability of captioned
video streams.
Similar to closed captioning for television, AOL captions are
displayed directly beneath the video window and correspond to the
audio content. Activating the captions is easy and convenient with a
simple click on the "CC" button that appears on AOL's media player.
"The League for the Hard of Hearing congratulates AOL on their
initiative to produce and deliver closed captions for video assets.
Captions are an essential tool for deaf and hard of hearing people and
now AOL's captioned videos will enable them to better comprehend what
they're seeing and hearing on the Web," said Joseph Gordon, Committee
Chair, for the League for the Hard of Hearing. "This is a major step
forward in the company's implementation of products and services for
consumers with disabilities and is coherent with accessibility
principles."
"The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) salutes AOL's efforts to
make the online world accessible to all," said Nancy J. Bloch, Chief
Executive Officer, of the NAD.
"Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc. (TDI)
commends AOL on this pace-setting initiative," said Claude Stout,
Executive Director for TDI. "This is a rare instance where we do not
have to rely on regulation to make captioning access happen for us on
the Internet. A big round of congratulations goes to AOL for extending
a number of fully accessible videos to individuals who depend on text
or captions to view videos. AOL continues to lead in its pursuits to
make accessible its information services to all."
"AOL's launch of closed captioned streaming videos is a tremendous
step towards making the Internet more accessible for consumers who are
deaf or hard of hearing," said Cheryl Heppner, Executive Director, for
the Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Persons. "It's been difficult for them to enjoy video content on the
Web, but with AOL's closed captioning initiative, now they'll be able
to understand the audio component of streaming video."
AOL's captioning initiative is an extension of AOL's Accessibility
Policy, a company wide priority that aims to address and meet the
technology needs of people with disabilities. More information on
AOL's accessibility efforts is available at
http://www.aol.com/accessibility.
Closed captions for streaming videos builds upon AOL's leadership
position as one of the best online destinations for video. AOL
delivers an array of products and services that together provide a
complete video experience, including compelling video programming,
best-in-class video search and a high-quality video playback
experience for all Internet consumers.
Availability
For more information on AOL's closed captioning initiative and for
direct links to closed captioned videos, please visit
http://www.aol.com/video/cc.
The minimum system requirements to view closed captioned videos are:
* Operating System: Windows 2000 SP4; Windows XP SP1, SP2; Windows XP
MCE 2005; and Win XP MCE 2005 rollup 2.
* Media Player: Windows Media Player version 7.1 or higher.
* Browser: Internet Explorer version 6.0 or higher; Firefox version
1.07 or higher; Netscape 7.2 or higher; AOL Explorer version 1.1 or
higher.
About AOL
AOL and its subsidiaries operate a leading network of Web brands and
the largest Internet access subscription service in the United States.
Web brands include the AOL.com(R) website, AIM(R), MapQuest(R) and
Netscape(R). AOL offers a range of digital services in the areas of
education, safety and security, communications and music. The company
also has operations in Europe and Canada. AOL LLC is a majority-owned
subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX) and is based in Dulles,
Virginia.
Off-line captioning is hotter 
