AOL Announces Closed Captions for Online Video

AOL today announced it is now testing closed captions forstreaming news content from CNN that will enhance the online mediaexperience for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Captioned CNNvideo content will be available throughout the AOL network, includingthe AOL service, the free AOL.com Web portal (http://www.aol.com) andthe AOL Video portal (http://www.aol.com/video).

AOL(R), which is the first consumer Internet service to providecaptioned online videos, has offered closed captioning since 2003 forselect content on its KOL(R) service for kids aged 6 to 12, including"Princess Natasha(TM)," the original cartoon series createdexclusively for KOL. AOL also offered synchronized text transcriptsfor CNN news updates that were limited to the text of a news anchor'sscript. Now, content from CNN, including videos for the day'sheadlines, current events, new stories, entertainment and more, willbe manually captioned to ensure all of the audio in a video stream iscompletely accessible. AOL plans to provide closed captioning foradditional video content over the coming months.

AOL has been working on this initiative with WGBH's Media AccessGroup, the pioneering organization behind the development oftechnologies and services that make all forms of media accessible tothe 36 million Americans who rely on captioning or video descriptions.This work was also supported by a grant to WGBH from NEC Foundation ofAmerica, which supports programs with national reach and impact inassistive technology for people with disabilities.

"Online captioning is a central accessibility issue for the deafcommunity and hard-of-hearing community and we are excited to be atthe forefront of the movement," said Tom Wlodkowski, Director ofAccessibility, for AOL. "Key to our progress has been ourcollaboration with WGBH and support from content partners such as CNN.We look forward to working with additional content providers to expandthe availability of captioned video content across the AOL network."

"Offering consumers a complete and comprehensive online videoexperience is one of AOL's top priorities and a big part of that isproviding them with a top-notch playback experience," said KevinConroy, Executive Vice President, for AOL. "Closed captioning unlocksa new world for millions of consumers who, until now, have been unableto fully experience viewing videos online."

"The Media Access Group at WGBH is honored to have worked with AOLon the pioneering effort to bring closed captions to the Web," saidLarry Goldberg, Director of the Media Access Group at WGBH. "Thenumerous challenges that needed to be overcome were matched by AOL'sinstitutional commitment to serving everyone, everywhere. AOL is to becongratulated for committing serious resources to adding cutting-edgeaccessibility to their services."

This launch underscores AOL's commitment to accessibility andease-of-use and is an important milestone for both AOL and for thedeaf community, whose leaders have been advocating for onlinecaptioning similar to ongoing advocacy efforts for captions ontelevision programming. With the tremendous growth of video contentonline, AOL is focused on addressing the technical and productioncomplexities that will lead to an increased availability of captionedvideo streams.

Similar to closed captioning for television, AOL captions aredisplayed directly beneath the video window and correspond to theaudio content. Activating the captions is easy and convenient with asimple click on the "CC" button that appears on AOL's media player.

"The League for the Hard of Hearing congratulates AOL on theirinitiative to produce and deliver closed captions for video assets.Captions are an essential tool for deaf and hard of hearing people andnow AOL's captioned videos will enable them to better comprehend whatthey're seeing and hearing on the Web," said Joseph Gordon, CommitteeChair, for the League for the Hard of Hearing. "This is a major stepforward in the company's implementation of products and services forconsumers with disabilities and is coherent with accessibilityprinciples."

"The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) salutes AOL's effortsto 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 nothave to rely on regulation to make captioning access happen for us onthe Internet. A big round of congratulations goes to AOL for extendinga number of fully accessible videos to individuals who depend on textor captions to view videos. AOL continues to lead in its pursuits tomake accessible its information services to all."

"AOL's launch of closed captioned streaming videos is a tremendousstep towards making the Internet more accessible for consumers who aredeaf or hard of hearing," said Cheryl Heppner, Executive Director, forthe Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of HearingPersons. "It's been difficult for them to enjoy video content on theWeb, but with AOL's closed captioning initiative, now they'll be ableto understand the audio component of streaming video."

AOL's captioning initiative is an extension of AOL's AccessibilityPolicy, a company wide priority that aims to address and meet thetechnology needs of people with disabilities. More information onAOL's accessibility efforts is available athttp://www.aol.com/accessibility.

Closed captions for streaming videos builds upon AOL's leadershipposition as one of the best online destinations for video. AOLdelivers an array of products and services that together provide acomplete video experience, including compelling video programming,best-in-class video search and a high-quality video playbackexperience for all Internet consumers.

Availability

For more information on AOL's closed captioning initiative and fordirect links to closed captioned videos, please visithttp://www.aol.com/video/cc.

The minimum system requirements to view closed captioned videosare:

* Operating System: Windows 2000 SP4; Windows XP SP1, SP2; WindowsXP 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; Firefoxversion 1.07 or higher; Netscape 7.2 or higher; AOL Explorer version1.1 or higher.

About AOL

AOL and its subsidiaries operate a leading network of Web brandsand the largest Internet access subscription service in the UnitedStates. Web brands include the AOL.com(R) website, AIM(R), MapQuest(R)and Netscape(R). AOL offers a range of digital services in the areasof education, safety and security, communications and music. Thecompany also has operations in Europe and Canada. AOL LLC is amajority-owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX) and is basedin Dulles, Virginia.