Audio Description: What It Is and How to Turn It On or Off

Audio description is a narration that tells you what is happening on screen. In the pauses between the dialogue, a narrator describes actions, facial expressions, costumes, settings and scene changes, so that people who are blind or have low vision can follow a movie or a show (ACB; Netflix). It is an extra audio track. You turn it on or off by choosing a different track in the audio or language menu, and on some devices there is also an accessibility setting that keeps it on.

If you are here because your TV started describing everything and you want it to stop, jump to how to turn audio description off. Every source was checked on October 29, 2026, and each step below comes from the platform's own help page. Menus change with updates, models and countries, so names on your screen may differ a little.

Key points

• What it is: a narrated description of the visual parts of a video, a live show or a work of art, made for blind and low-vision people.
• Who else uses it: people with cognitive difficulties, language learners, and anyone who wants to listen while doing something else, says the American Council of the Blind (ACB).
• How to turn it off: pick an audio track without "Audio Description" or "AD" in its name. If it keeps coming back, turn off the device's audio description setting in its accessibility menu.
• Other names: video description, described video, descriptive video. The W3C notes that different regions use different terms.
• It shouldn't cost extra. ACB says viewers should never be charged more for audio description.
• In the US, TV networks must provide some. The four big broadcast networks' local stations in the largest markets must air 87.5 hours of described programming per quarter.

What is audio description?

Audio description makes the visual parts of media accessible to people with visual impairments and other disabilities. It describes actions and images in recorded films and TV shows, live broadcasts, live performances and art, with short, objective descriptions of what matters to understand the story (ACB).

The W3C, which writes the web's accessibility standards, gives a simple example of a description line: "Pat opens a small box, looks at a diamond engagement ring, and cries." Without it, a blind viewer would hear silence, maybe music, and miss the scene (W3C).

The meaning of "AD" on a TV, a remote or a streaming menu is audio description. You may also see:

Sources: W3C, ACB, ACB on DVS.

Who uses audio description?

The main audience is people who are blind or have low vision. ACB lists others who find it useful: it can clarify fast-paced scenes for people with cognitive difficulties, help language learners practice, and let anyone follow a movie while cleaning the house, taking the dog out or resting tired eyes (ACB).

Most blind people also use a screen reader on their phone and computer, which reads text aloud. That is a different tool: audio description describes the images in a video, and a screen reader reads the interface (screen readers for the blind).

How to turn audio description on or off

The rule is the same almost everywhere: audio description is a separate audio track. During playback, open the audio or language menu and choose the track with "Audio Description" or "AD" in its name to turn it on, or one without it to turn it off.

On streaming services there is no standard method. On some, audio description stays on once you turn it on; on others, you have to choose it again for each title (ACB).

Audio description won't turn off

If you switch the track and the narration comes back, a setting on the device is usually forcing it. Netflix's own fix:

1. Turn off the device setting. On Apple TV: Settings > Accessibility > Audio Descriptions, set to Off (Netflix's page lists it under Settings > General > Accessibility; Apple's current guide puts it under Settings > Accessibility). On iPhone or iPad: Settings > Accessibility > Audio Descriptions, off.
2. Choose a track without "Audio Description" in the app's audio menu.
3. Keep watching for at least 5 minutes, so the app saves the setting to your profile.

Source: Netflix, "Audio Descriptions won't turn off". Netflix also notes that audio preferences aren't saved for most Kids titles watched from an adult profile, so the track can reset there (Netflix).

On a Samsung TV, check the accessibility shortcuts (hold the volume button) and make sure Audio Description is off (Samsung).

Is it audio description, or is the TV reading the menus?

They sound alike, but they are two different features:

• Audio description describes what happens in the movie or show.
• A screen reader or voice guide reads menus, buttons and settings aloud. On Apple devices it is VoiceOver; on Samsung TVs it is Voice Guide. ACB notes that TVs made after December 2016 must include an audio guide for the remote's menus.

If you turned audio description off and the TV still reads the menus, the screen reader is on, not audio description (Apple; Samsung; ACB). Turn that one off in the same accessibility menu, but remember that for a blind person in the house, it may be the only way to use the TV.

Where to find movies and shows with audio description

• ACB's directory. The Audio Description Project keeps a searchable list of films and series with audio description, by service, and a daily TV schedule of described programs (ACB; TV listings).
• Netflix. Audio description is available for most Netflix originals and many other titles. Look for the Audio Description badge on a title, or search "Audio Descriptions in English" (Netflix).
• Apple TV. ACB says that essentially all titles on Apple's subscription service have audio description, in several languages (ACB).
• PBS. It was the first provider of audio description on TV and still airs more described hours than any other broadcast network (ACB).
• Spectrum Access: Enabled Media. A free app for iPhone and Android, open to everyone with no log-in, that plays audio description tracks in sync with the movie or show you are watching (ACB). It is one of many apps for blind people.

Audio description on US television: what the law requires

In the US, the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (CVAA) sets the rules for audio description on TV, and the FCC enforces them. As ACB summarizes them (ACB):

• Broadcast TV: local stations affiliated with ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC in the covered markets must air 87.5 hours of described programming per quarter, about 7 hours a week. At least 50 of those hours must be prime time or children's programming.
• Which markets: as of January 1, 2025, the top 110 TV markets. Ten more markets are added each year until all 210 are covered on January 1, 2035.
• Cable and satellite: systems with 50,000 or more subscribers must provide the same 87.5 hours on the five most-watched non-broadcast networks.
• Movie theaters: under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, theaters with digital equipment must offer audio description and closed captioning, and tell patrons about them.
• Streaming: there is no equivalent requirement. A proposed bill, the Communications, Video, and Technology Accessibility Act (CVTA), would extend audio description to internet-delivered video, but it is not law.

If a described program doesn't come through, ACB suggests contacting the local station (for broadcast networks) or your cable or satellite provider first, and then filing a complaint with the FCC's Disability Rights Office (ACB).

On the web, the accessibility standard WCAG asks for audio description of prerecorded video at Level AA. Extended audio description, which pauses the video when the dialogue leaves no room to describe, is Level AAA (W3C).

A short history of audio description

• 1981: Margaret and Cody Pfanstiehl start the Metropolitan Washington Ear's audio description program at Washington's Arena Stage, which ACB calls the first ongoing description service in the world. Margaret had been legally blind since her 30s (ACB).
• Television: the Washington Ear produced the descriptions for the pilot of what became WGBH's Descriptive Video Service (ACB).
• 1990: Margaret Pfanstiehl receives an Emmy Award for that work (ACB).
• 2009: the American Council of the Blind founds the Audio Description Project, which today keeps the directory of described titles (ACB).

One open question today is the voice. ACB supports human-voiced audio description as the preferred option and has published guidelines for when text-to-speech is used (ACB).

Where Braillito fits

Audio description turns images into words you hear. For reading, many blind people use braille, which turns letters into dots you feel (how blind people read). Braille is learned, and Braillito, our app, teaches the braille cells in lessons with exercises you play, with lives, levels and a daily streak: 59 lessons in 8 worlds in English. It also has a translator, a dictionary and a cell builder. It is meant for anyone learning the code, such as sighted parents and teachers of a braille reader (learning braille as a sighted person) or adults who are losing their sight (learning braille as an adult).

Braillito is a subscription with no free version; depending on the plan, it starts with a free trial or a discounted first period, if it's your first subscription (is Braillito free?). Get Braillito.

Frequently asked questions

What is audio description?

A narration, in the pauses of the dialogue, that describes what happens on screen: actions, facial expressions, costumes, settings and scene changes. It is made for people who are blind or have low vision.

How do I turn off audio description?

During playback, open the audio or language menu and choose a track without "Audio Description" or "AD" in its name. If it comes back, turn off Audio Descriptions in the device's accessibility settings, then watch for a few minutes so the app saves the change.

Why does my TV keep describing what's happening?

An audio description track or the device's audio description setting is on. If the TV reads menus and buttons instead, that is a screen reader such as VoiceOver or Samsung's Voice Guide, a different feature.

What does AD mean on TV?

Audio description. On remotes and menus it may also appear as SAP, MTS or Secondary Audio, the channel that often carries it.

What is descriptive video?

Another name for audio description. Many people know it from WGBH's Descriptive Video Service (DVS), whose pilot was described by the Washington Ear, the first ongoing description service.

Does Netflix have audio description?

Yes, for most Netflix originals and many other titles. Search "Audio Descriptions in English" or look for the Audio Description badge on a title.

Is audio description free?

It is part of the program or the movie: ACB says viewers should never be charged extra for it. You still need access to the service or the ticket.

Who invented audio description?

The American Council of the Blind credits Margaret and Cody Pfanstiehl with the first ongoing description service in the world, started in Washington, D.C., in 1981.