Audio Description Customization

Abstract

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Blind and low-vision (BLV) people use audio descriptions (ADs) to access\nvideos. However, current ADs are unalterable by end users, thus are incapable\nof supporting BLV individuals' potentially diverse needs and preferences. This\nresearch investigates if customizing AD could improve how BLV individuals\nconsume videos. We conducted an interview study (Study 1) with fifteen BLV\nparticipants, which revealed desires for customizing properties like length,\nemphasis, speed, voice, format, tone, and language. At the same time, concerns\nlike interruptions and increased interaction load due to customization emerged.\nTo examine AD customization's effectiveness and tradeoffs, we designed\nCustomAD, a prototype that enables BLV users to customize AD content and\npresentation. An evaluation study (Study 2) with twelve BLV participants showed\nusing CustomAD significantly enhanced BLV people's video understanding,\nimmersion, and information navigation efficiency. Our work illustrates the\nimportance of AD customization and offers a design that enhances video\naccessibility for BLV individuals.\n