[access-uk] Re: Access to DAB info

Regarding not having the display info read, on DAB, I share the same
frustration.  Many a time I would like easy access to what's being
played on The Jazz or The Arrow, for example.

I fear the best we might hope for is that somewhere along the line
Wireless for the Blind Fund will get Roberts to make a set that does
this.  They've been promising a box called the Concerto for some time
now which it is said will play MP3 CDs, as well as recordings carried
on USB sticks.  I've heard nothing though suggesting they're
interested in
including accessible DAB in the design.

Wonder if anyone here knows what's happening or is this another case
of another charity not sharing the knowledge?

It is all a great shame when you feel as I do that commitment of funds
and even mandating of accessibility in digital equipment should be on
someone's agenda.  Before the digital onslaught we could get by of
course, with cassettes and analogue radio;  now, unless we decide to
go the computer root so much equipment is a no go area.  I'm not
convinced it has to be this way, but no one seems to give aproverbial
dam about it.

(Thanks for the change of subject line, even if I've moved around it a
bit.)

Cheers,

From Ray
I can be contacted off-list at:
mailto:ray-48@xxxxxxxx


-----Original Message-----
Jackie Cairns


Hi Ray

I've adjusted the subject line to suit this topic more aptly as you
hinted
(smile).

I think it's a great pity that Pure, and anyone studying what they did
with
the Sonus, didn't take it further.  The voices are very good, my
preference
being Mr Sonus, and I think they could have done a lot more with their
more
integrated hi-fi systems where menu access is crucial and only got at
by
cycling through various modes.  While I'm not a lover of their
products,
apart from the little Move radio which I think is ace, I thought they
had
tapped into a market that I would have expected to be warmly received.

It's not as if the Sonus was particularly over-priced anyway compared
to say
the Dualit, which is expensive but oh so superior anyway.

Having used radio all my life, it's not that I want it to tell me
every move
I make.  I just feel that there is a lot of info on the display that
I'd
like to tap into, like song names and artists, and some of the menu
functions.

Oh well, a golden opportunity missed perhaps?

Jackie
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ray's Home" <rays-home@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, December 03, 2007 10:40 PM
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Portset.


> Jackie, I'm sure I've heard that, indeed, Pure aren't going to
update
> the Sonus.  Not only that, but they were disappointed at the low
> take-up of the Sonus.  The same happened I believe with the Netgem
> Box.
>
> I think It isn't just the limitations of the audio tagging idea in
> these products;  it's as much to do with few of us wanting to pay
any
> sort of premium for an accessible product even though that premium
is
> nothing like the stratospheric realms of the Portset.  The idea that
> RNIB and others had of a market willing and ready to buy just didn't
> hold water.
>
> Not that things couldn't have been done differently, and an overlap
> with the in-car market for this sort of talking DAB product does
look
> like a missed opportunity .
>
> What chance of the parallel idea of an interface to take, say, an SD
> card add-on?  Yes, I know these card formats like so many things
> change, but then so do the product lines of Pure and their likes.  I
> do think this idea should be a goer, but where's the impetus for
> funding development of some sort of standard?
>
> Oh, and what's so wrong with changing the subject lines of threads
> like this?  As so often, we've drifted considerably.
>
> Cheers,
>
> From Ray
> I can be contacted off-list at:
> mailto:ray-48@xxxxxxxx
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> Jackie Cairns
>
> Chris, yes I know it does.  But that drives me up the wall because
by
> the
> time you've got it to spell a line of text, the display has changed.
> I
> don't think Pure are going to do anything else to that radio, which
is
> a
> pity.  Like all things that use a tagging system, they outdate very
> quickly.
>
> Jackie
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Chris Hallsworth" <christopherhallsworth71@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Monday, December 03, 2007 8:50 AM
> Subject: [access-uk] Re: Portset.
>
>
>> Hi, the Pure Sonus 1 XT does, but only by pressing and holding the
> info
>> button, and only then the recorded voice will spell out the text
> rather
>> than read it word by word. Wish they'd improve on that, but there
> you go.
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Jackie Cairns" <cairnsplace@xxxxxxx>
>> To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> Sent: Sunday, December 02, 2007 1:20 PM
>> Subject: [access-uk] Re: Portset.
>>
>>
>>> Hi Wendy
>>>
>>> The Netgem box no longer provides accurate channel names of some
>>> stations. This is because it was originally tagged to speak
certain
>>> channel names, and updates have caused its tagging system to go
>>> out-of-date.  But since I don't watch much TV other than news and
> sport,
>>> it doesn't affect me.
>>>
>>> I am curious to know, however, whether the Media Centre from
> Portset you
>>> mention you have lets you find out the name of a song on a DAB
> station
>>> using the text system.  Lots of stations now show the names of the
> track
>>> they are playing, and I wonder if you can find out that info on
the
>>> Centre?
>>>
>>> Jackie
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "Wendy Sharpe" <w.sharpe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>>> To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>>> Sent: Sunday, December 02, 2007 12:53 PM
>>> Subject: [access-uk] Re: Portset.
>>>
>>>
>>>>I think there were some dots in the URL which should be slashes.
> Try:
>>>>
>>>> http://www.tvhelp.org.uk/audes/equipment/index.html
>>>>
>>>> This gives details of TV's with audio description and the Logic
> and
>>>> Portset
>>>> equipment.  The Logic is very cheap from Curries, but it doesn't
> talk,
>>>> so
>>>> not much use to anyone who can't see the screen.  A pity Netgem
> have
>>>> stopped
>>>> making their set top box.
>>>> Wendy
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
> Behalf
>>>> Of
>>>> David W Wood
>>>> Sent: 02 December 2007 12:46
>>>> To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>> Subject: [access-uk] Re: Portset.
>>>>
>>>> Hi Gordon:
>>>>
>>>> The full URL  doesn't work, with an audio error message from the
> page.
>>>> Also saying something about one colour to go back, and another
> continue.
>>>>
>>>> www.tvhelp.org.uk/audes does work however.
>>>>
>>>> David
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
> Behalf
>>>> Of
>>>> Gordon Keen
>>>> Sent: 02 December 2007 12:38
>>>> To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>> Cc: Gordon Keen
>>>> Subject: [access-uk] Re: Portset.
>>>>
>>>> Strange, safari went straight to it and I've just browsed through
> the
>>>> models available.
>>>> World wide weirdness!
>>>> Cheers
>>>> G
>>>> From glorious Devon, England.
>>>>
>>>> On 2 Dec 2007, at 12:26, David W Wood wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Hi Gordon - this link gives:
>>>>>
>>>>> This page is not available
>>>>>
>>>>> David
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>> From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On
>>>>> Behalf Of
>>>>> Gordon Keen
>>>>> Sent: 02 December 2007 12:16
>>>>> To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>>> Cc: Gordon Keen
>>>>> Subject: [access-uk] Re: Portset.
>>>>>
>>>>> Hi
>>>>> For alternatives check out:
>>>>> http://www.tvhelp.org.uk/audes/equipment.index.html
>>>>> Hopefully competition will force down prices in the not too
> distant
>>>>> future.
>>>>>
>>>>> Cheers
>>>>> G
>>>>> From glorious Devon, England.
>>>>>
>>>>> On 2 Dec 2007, at 11:03, Jackie Cairns wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> My only comment, and please feel free to jump on me if you want
>>>>> folks (though not literally) (smile), is that it's a rip-off for
>>>>> £620 or
>>>>> whatever it costs.  I know it speaks, but £620 for that?  Phew!
>>>>>
>>>>> I loved their Talking Teletext unit when I had mine, but that
was
>>>>> when there wasn't so much information available elsewhere.
> Certain
>>>>> Freeview
>>>>> boxes, while they don't provide speech navigation, do offer
Audio
>>>>> Description, and there are also lots of DAISY players on the
> market
>>>>> to tap
>>>>> into.  I just think it's well OTT.
>>>>>
>>>>> Jackie
>>>>>
>>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>>> From: sue morgan <mailto:sue@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>>>>> To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>>> Sent: Sunday, December 02, 2007 12:35 AM
>>>>> Subject: [access-uk] Portset.
>>>>>
>>>>> Hi list.
>>>>>
>>>>> I've been reading about the Portset Accessible Freeview
>>>>> Receiver and I'm quite interested in it.  I'm wondering if
anyone
> on
>>>>> this
>>>>> list has one, or knows anything about them.  I've listened to
the
>>>>> audio demo
>>>>> on the Portset website and it seems very accessible.
>>>>>
>>>>> Any feedback would be grate as I'd love to have an
>>>>> accessible freeview receiver.
>>>>>
>>>>> Sue.
>>>>> e-mail sue@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>>> mobile 07968825286
>>>>> msn sue@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>>> skype suemorgan1006
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Gordon Keen
>>>>> gordonkeen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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