Jamie Pauls
In August of this year, Amazon reached out to AccessWorld to inform us that they were increasing the number of audio-described titles on their Prime Video service and making it more convenient to stream video. The company's statement to AccessWorld reads in part:
Amazon Prime Video has expanded the availability of audio descriptions to hundreds of titles on Prime Video, including Amazon Originals such as Good Omens and The Boys.
To increase the availability and accessibility of audio descriptions, Prime Video has made audio descriptions available in more countries, and on more devices such as Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles and Smart TVs. Customers can also access audio descriptions on Fire TV, the Prime Video website, and the iOS and Android apps.
To enable audio descriptions, select the "Subtitles and Audio" option while playing the content and choose an audio track with "[Audio Description]" in the name.
On the Prime Video app on iOS and Android, customers will see an "AD" badge on content that has audio descriptions. A complete list of Prime Video titles with audio descriptions is available online.
I first took a look at the audio-described content on Amazon Prime in the September 2017 issue. At that time, the American Counsel of the Blind's Audio Description Project listed 117 movies and 10 television series with audio description. Today, almost two thousand titles with audio description tracks are listed on the site, and about seventy new titles are added each month.
Audio Described Content on the Web
In a positive development, the Apple TV is now one of the devices that can play audio-described tracks. Unfortunately, according to the AD project, Amazon's website still requires that a blind user get sighted assistance to enable audio description for the first time. I did not enlist the help of my sighted wife in order to test the ability to watch audio-described content from the web when I reviewed the site for the first AccessWorld article, and I did not do so this time around either. I did, however, attempt to watch two different programs from the website using my Windows 10 laptop. Amazon's Help page on this topic is entitled "Select Alternative Audio Tracks or Audio Descriptions on Prime Video on Web, Amazon Devices and Mobile Devices" and there is a subheading entitled "Mobile devices." I did not find instructions specific to using the website. I was able to successfully rent programs from the web and play the content. I didn't find a way to access the audio and subtitles option of the page in order to select audio description, nor are player controls visible on screen using the Tab or Arrow keys. Fortunately, Amazon has provided some keyboard shortcuts for controlling playback. Pressing the ESC key stops playback of programs. The Spacebar plays and pauses a program. Left and Right Arrow keys rewind and fast forward the program, and the F key enters full screen mode. The M key mutes and unmutes the audio of the program you are watching. More on keyboard shortcuts is available on shortcutworld.com or from Amazon. I primarily watch Amazon Prime content on my iPhone. It had been some time since I watched any Amazon Prime programming, so I decided to take a look and see what had changed.
Audio Described Content on iOS
First, I took a look at the listing of Amazon Prime titles on ACB's AD Project. I chose the 2011 Justin Bieber documentary Never Say Never. The hyperlink on the AD Project's page allowed me to go right to the movie on the web where I could rent and watch it. When I viewed the details of the program on my iPhone using the Prime Video app, I was able to determine that the show contained audio description along with other relevant information. This is a feature Netflix has still not implemented, and I sorely wish it would! While I'm wishing for things, I would be most appreciative if it would someday be possible to purchase or rent titles right from the Amazon Prime app on my iPhone.
Let's briefly discuss how to enable audio description on the iPhone. From the app, select the program you wish to watch and then begin playing the content. Next, swipe to the Audio and Subtitles option and activate it. The program should stop playing at that point. Next, select English (audio description) and the program should continue playing, now with the audio description. You should only need to do this once. All subsequent audio-described titles you watch should begin playing the audio description track without any further work on your part. I have not used my MacBook in a while, so I didn't attempt to watch any Amazon Prime content from that computer. My experience the first time was not good, and you can read about that in the above-mentioned article.
Audio Described Content on Android
The only Android device I could test the service with was my BrailleNote Touch Plus. In my first review, I took a look at the movie 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi. Since I never actually finished watching the show, I decided to rent it a second time. I was able to easily find all controls for playing the movie and enabling the audio description track.
I don't have other devices in my home, so I will most likely watch Amazon Prime content on my iPhone. The portability of my phone makes me choose it over the BrailleNote Touch Plus.
The Bottom Line
At $119 per year, an Amazon Prime account is not inexpensive, but you get a lot for your money, and audio-described movies, original shows, and documentaries are great reasons for blind people to consider the service. Amazon should be commended for continuing to add new audio-described titles to its catalog on a regular basis and for increasing the number of devices that can play this content. I do feel, however, that the issues I had playing content online should be addressed as soon as possible. Although most people will probably use mobile devices to watch Amazon Prime movies and other programs, many will want to watch from their computers. It should be possible for a blind person to enable audio description without assistance from a sighted person.
The American Council of the Blind's Audio Description Project is a wonderful resource for learning about all things related to audio described content. The website is updated regularly, and it is possible to easily determine the newest content from a variety of services including, Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu, PBS, and iTunes. A master list of all titles on the site lets you determine where to find a particular audio-described title. The maintainers of the site do a great job of tweeting new content. ACB should be commended for their work on this project.
I vividly recall the days when the only way to acquire audio-described programs was to either listen to it on the SAP (secondary audio program) channel of a TV, or purchase it on VHS. Today, it is possible to acquire audio-described content from a variety of places, and more titles are being added all the time. AccessWorld continues to keep tabs on the latest developments in audio described content, and we will continue to bring you the latest updates.
You can grab the free Amazon Prime Video app from the Apple app store or the Google play store, but you will need an Amazon Prime account to take advantage of the service.
What are some of your favorite audio-described titles? We'd love to hear your comments!
This article is made possible in part by generous funding from the James H. and Alice Teubert Charitable Trust, Huntington, West Virginia.
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