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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