Find an ARD Mediathek item with audio description, then select its AD version or audio track. Browser and mobile controls differ. On HbbTV, also decide whether you want audio description for the current item or a continuing preference for available programmes.
Choose the AD item before adjusting sound
Audio description adds spoken information about visual action. ARD’s help identifies AD-marked content and an Audiodeskription filter in search. It also offers a discovery route through Barrierefrei, then Audiodeskription. Use one of those routes when the accessibility feature is essential to your programme choice.
Start with the exact episode you want and confirm its AD indication. A series may have several versions or editions, so a familiar title alone is not the complete reference. When recommending the programme to someone who needs description, share the identified item and mention the AD version.
Browser and mobile selection
ARD documents the following controls for items offering the relevant track:
| Surface | Documented choice |
|---|---|
| Browser | Reveal the player controls, open the speech bubble, then Audiosprache → Deutsch (Audiodeskription). |
| Phone or tablet app | Reveal the controls, open the three-dot menu, then Sprache und Barrierefreiheit → Audiosprache → Deutsch (Audiodeskription). |
Confirm the available track
ARD says that if the AD option is absent, it is not available for that content. Before changing general device sound settings, confirm you have the intended AD item and inspect the options in its own player.
To turn the selected track off in these controls, choose Deutsch instead. If you are assisting someone on another screen, identify the surface first; describing the browser speech bubble to someone in the mobile app can send them looking in the wrong place.
HbbTV: a current-item choice or a continuing preference
ARD’s HbbTV guidance requires an internet-connected compatible receiver. For a continuing choice, use an ARD channel’s red-button start bar, then Einstellungen → Audiokanal and select the available audio-description option. To reverse it, return there and choose Standardton.
For a single current live programme or Mediathek video, reveal its HbbTV player controls, open Sprache via the speech bubble and select Deutsch-Audiodeskription. ARD says this current-item selection normally does not remain after a channel change. The HbbTV Mediathek also provides a Barrierefreiheit discovery tile with an Audiodeskription filter.
Choose persistence around the household’s need
If audio description is normally required on that television, the continuing preference is the useful starting point. If someone needs it only for the present programme, the current-item selection keeps the decision tied to that session. Tell other household viewers which scope you chose so that a later change is understandable.
If the result is unexpected, record the programme edition, surface and whether you changed the player track or HbbTV preference. Those facts make the accessibility question specific. They are more useful than a report that the whole television has “the wrong audio”, especially when only one programme or edition is affected.