The FeedRoom to Power `508-Compliant' Videos for two U.S. Federal Agencies, Ensuring Web Video...

First-of its-kind FeedRoom Access solution will make video offerings of U.S. General Services Administration, Dept. of Health and Human Services compliant with federal Rehabilitation Act

NEW YORK -- The FeedRoom, a leading provider of Web video solutions for media companies, corporations

and government agencies, today announced that both the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will deploy FeedRoom Access, an end-to-end streaming web video solution that affords accessibility to disabled users. The launch will ensure that the new web-based video offerings from the GSA and HHS are in compliance with Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act, which regulates the accessibility of electronic and information technology to people with disabilities.

FeedRoom Access is the first component based on the company's new next-generation web video platform, which will be released throughout the year.

FeedRoom Access addresses the individual needs of those afflicted by disabilities including blindness or partial or poor vision, colorblind users, deaf users and those limited to only keyboard/voice input. FeedRoom Access's patent-pending technology is compliant with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended in 1998, and provides an array of features designed to work with or without assistive technology (AT).

Included in this functionality is the display of synchronous captions for individual videos and an "AccessMap" that provides an HTML representation of the video library with navigation that is comparable to that in the standard user interface. Other features include transcript files for blind users to process while listening to accompanying audio, screen reader or alternative input device capabilities for those unable to use their limbs and speech recognition technology to automatically link to different screens.

"Web video has become a mainstream source of both entertainment and important information, so the next logical step in this emergence is to make sure that it is accessible to individuals with disabilities," said Mark Portu, President and CEO of The FeedRoom. "The GSA and HHS are taking leadership positions in making their video offerings 508 compliant. We're proud to be a part of the process and see unlimited potential for this technology in both the public and corporate sectors."