(b) Equivalent alternatives for any multimedia presentation shall be synchronized with the presentation. 

What are considered equivalent alternatives?
Captioning for the audio portion and audio description of visual information of multimedia presentations are considered equivalent alternatives. This provision requires that when an audio portion of a multimedia production is captioned, as required in provision (a), the captioning must be synchronized with the audio. Synchronized captioning would be required so someone reading the captions could also watch the speaker and associate relevant body language with the speech.

If a website offers audio files with no video, do they have to be captioned?
No, because it is not multimedia. However, since audio is a non-text element, a text equivalent, such as a transcript, must be available. Similarly, a (silent) web slide show presentation does not need to have an audio description accompanying it, but does require text alternatives to be associated with the graphics.

If a Federal agency official delivers a live audio and video webcast speech, does it need to be captioned?
Yes, this would qualify as a multimedia presentation and would require the speech to be captioned.

Example: 

National Endowment for the Humanities
www.neh.gov/media/scottcaptions.ram

National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM)
http://main.wgbh.org/wgbh/access/dvs/lion.ram

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 8.  Animation and Multimedia

Relevance to Accessibility
Captioning for the audio portion and audio description of visual information of multimedia presentations are considered equivalent alternatives. This provision requires that when an audio portion of a multimedia production is captioned, as required in provision (a), the captioning must be synchronized with the audio. Synchronized captioning would be required so someone reading the captions could also watch the speaker and associate relevant body language with the speech.
The use of animation on a screen can pose serious access problems for users of screen readers or other assistive technology applications. When important elements such as push-buttons or relevant text are animated, the user of assistive technology cannot access the application reliably. This provision requires that in addition to the animation, an application shall provide an option to turn off animation.

 
508 Software (Subpart B)(1194.21)
(h)
When animation is displayed, the information shall be displayable in at least one non-animated presentation mode at the option of the user.
508 Web (Subpart B)(1194.22)
(b)
Equivalent alternatives for any multimedia presentation shall be synchronized with the presentation.
508 Functional Performance (Subpart C)
(a)
At least one mode of operation and information retrieval that does not require user vision shall be provided, or support for assistive technology used by people who are blind or visually impaired shall be provided.
(b)
At least one mode of operation and information retrieval that does not require visual acuity greater than 20/70 (when corrected with glasses) must be provided in audio and enlarged print output that works together or independently. In the alternative, support for assistive technology used by people who are blind or who have low vision must be provided.
(c)
At least one mode of operation and information retrieval that does not require user hearing must be provided, or support for assistive technology used by people who are deaf or hard of hearing shall be provided. This provision is met when a product provides visual redundancy for any audible cues or audio output. If this redundancy cannot be built-into a product then the product shall support the use of assistive technology.
(d)
Requires that audio information important for the use of a product, must be provided in an enhanced auditory fashion by allowing for an increase in volume and/or altering the tonal quality or increasing the signal-to-noise ratio.
(e)
At least one mode of operation and information retrieval which does not require user speech must be provided, or support for assistive technology shall be provided. Most products do not require speech input. However, if speech input is required to operate a product, this paragraph requires that at least one alternative input mode also be provided. For example, an interactive telephone menu that requires the user to say or press "one" would meet this provision.
(f)
At least one mode of operation and information retrieval that does not require fine motor control or simultaneous actions and which is operable with limited reach and strength must be provided.
508 Information, Documentation, and Support (Subpart D)
None or In Progress of Mapping

 
Comparison

Comment:
This is an interesting one because it sounds like an authoring requirement to me. Our checkpoints for control of animation (including video, animated images, and animated text) are: 3.2, 3.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.7, and 4.8.

UAAG 1.0 Requirements & Priority

 
2.1 Render content according to specification
 
  1. Render content according to format specification (e.g., for a markup language or style sheet).
  2. When a rendering requirement of another specification contradicts a requirement of the current document, the user agent may disregard the rendering requirement of the other specification and still satisfy this checkpoint.
  3. Rendering requirements include format-defined interactions between author preferences and user preferences/capabilities (e.g., when to render the "alt" attribute in HTML, the rendering order of nested OBJECT elements in HTML, test attributes in SMIL, and the cascade in CSS2).
Who benefits: Users with disabilities when specifications include features that promote accessibility (e.g., scalable graphics benefit users with low vision, style sheets allow users to override author and user style sheets).
[Priority 1]

 
2.5 Make captions, transcripts available
Allow configuration or control to render text transcripts , collated text transcripts , captions , and auditory descriptions at the same time as the associated audio tracks and visual tracks.
Who benefits: Users with blindness or low vision (auditory descriptions and text captions, etc.) and users with deafness or who are hard of hearing.
[Priority 1]

 
2.6 Respect synchronization cues
Respect synchronization cues (e.g., in markup) during rendering.
Who benefits: Users with deafness or who are hard of hearing (e.g., for auditory descriptions and audio tracks), and some users with a cognitive disability.
[Priority 1]

 
4.4 Slow multimedia.
 
  1. Allow the user to slow the presentation rate of rendered audio and animations (including video and animated images).
  2. For a visual track , provide at least one setting between 40% and 60% of the original speed.
  3. For a prerecorded audio track including audio-only presentations , provide at least one setting between 75% and 80% of the original speed.
  4. When the user agent allows the user to slow the visual track of a synchronized multimedia presentation to between 100% and 80% of its original speed, synchronize the visual and audio tracks. Below 80%, the user agent is not required to render the audio track.
Who benefits: Some users with a learning or cognitive disability, or some users with newly acquired sensory limitations (such as a person who is newly blind and learning to use a screen reader). Users who have beginning familiarity with a natural language may also benefit.
[Priority 1]

 
4.5 Start, stop, pause, and navigate multimedia
 
  1. Allow the user to stop, pause, and resume rendered audio and animations (including video and animated images) that last three or more seconds at their default playback rate.
  2. Allow the user to navigate efficiently within audio and animations (including video and animated images) that last three or more seconds at their default playback rate. The user agent may satisfy this requirement through forward and backward sequential access techniques (e.g., advance three seconds), or direct access techniques (e.g., play starting at the 10-minute mark), or some combination.
  3. When serial techniques are used to satisfy the previous requirement, the user agent is not required to play back content during serial advance or rewind (though doing so may help orient the user).
  4. The user agent is not required to satisfy this checkpoint for audio and animations whose recognized role is to create a purely stylistic effect.
  5. When the user pauses a real-time audio or animation, the user agent may discard packets that continue to arrive during the pause.
Who benefits: Some users with a cognitive disability. Some users with a physical disability who may not have fine control over advance and rewind functionalities will find useful the ability to advance or rewind the presentation in (configurable) increments.
[Priority 1]

 
4.6 Position captions
 
  1. For graphical viewports, allow the user to position rendered captions with respect to synchronized visual tracks as follows: o if the user agent satisfies this checkpoint by using a markup language or style sheet language to provide configuration or control, then the user agent must allow the user to choose from among at least the range of positions enabled by the format o otherwise the user agent must allow both non-overlapping and overlapping positions (e.g., by rendering captions in a separate viewport that may be positioned on top of the visual track).
  2. In either case, the user agent must allow the user to override the author's specified position.
  3. The user agent is not required to change the layout of other content (i.e., reflow) after the user has changed the position of captions.
  4. The user agent is not required to make the captions background transparent when those captions are rendered above a related video track.
Who benefits: Some users (e.g., with a cognitive disability) may need to be able to position captions, etc. so that they do not obscure other content or are not obscured by other content. Other users (e.g., users with a screen magnifier) may require pieces of content to be in a particular relation to one another, even if this means that some content will obscure other content.
[Priority 1]