36 CFR Part 1193 Telecommunications Act (Section 255) Accessibility Guidelines - Preamble

Alternate Modes (Section-by-Section Analysis)

Alternate modes are different means of providing information to users of products including product documentation and information about the status or operation of controls. For example, if a manufacturer provides product instructions on a video cassette, captioning or video description would be required. Further discussion of alternate modes is provided in section 1193.33 and in the appendix.

Comment. Some commenters noted that the proposed definition did not actually define alternate modes, but simply gave a listing of examples. Also, several commenters, including the American Council of the Blind and the American Foundation for the Blind recommended that the term "audio description" be changed to "video description" because the term "video" more accurately describes the means of providing the information.

Response. A definition is provided for the term "alternate modes" in the final rule. In addition, the term "audio description" has been changed to "video description."