[access-uk] Re: Talking books: two questions and a reader's thoughts

  • From: "goshawk" <goshawk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Sat, 24 Dec 2005 12:09:24 -0000

I have thought for some time, that the remastering of a lot of the books has
been done at a rush, and not very well.
so far, on all the books I have had, there has been none of the promised
easy navigation features, and I would rate the quality of the actual
remastering as extremely poor.
in one book for example, it is clear that 2 copies of the same book have
been used to create the supposedly remastered version, as one copy is a lot
clearer and has a lot less noise than the other, and who ever did the
editing I think needs to get some practise in, as sometimes when one copy
was switched for the other, you actually got a bit of the last word from the
previous sentence rather than a clear transition.
quite frankly, I could have done better myself with soundforge, and given
access to some daisy making software.

Simon



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ray's Home" <rays-home@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, December 24, 2005 11:02 AM
Subject: [access-uk] Talking books: two questions and a reader's thoughts


> Here's Two questions which could possibly best be answered elsewhere, so
feel free to email me off-list if you feel that's appropriate.
>
> 1.  I have one of the RNIB provided original 'Classic' DASY players.  Most
anoying thing is that, apart from limited battery life, it appears
impossible to be able to fast wind/rewind through books if you've missed a
sentence or paragraph due to distractions.  Is an upgrade to the later
machines going to give me a rewind/fast forward facility?  Or do I have to
buy another machine to be able to do this?
>
> 2.  Well, I've just answered the question I'm about to comment on,
(smile).  Seems you can buy all the Harry Potter books from RNIB in DAISY
format, and the Half-Blood Prince is around £17.00. (Presume this is the
Stephen Fry version as available on BBC Word for Word.)  Now, I wonder,
isn't that a bit controversial, especially considering the HBP is in the
shops for at least three times that amount;  on the internet likely rather
less?  Good of course that RNIB can do this, but am I the only one to wonder
if there are going to be those with portable MP3 players who might be geting
hold of this?  OK, I hear the majority of the blind exclaiming,, 'Not our
problem'!  Maybe, but I'd like to bet that some form of copy protection is
going to rear its ugly head sooner or later.
>
> Just a final brief comment on my current reading - and I've only now
gotten around to reading DAISY books.  The spy story I'm reading just now is
a scream!  Not least because of the cut glass accent in which its being
read.  More amusing is the phrase 'four letter word' in place of say, 'F....
the party or F... the phone etc.  Obviously this was recorded thirty years
or more back;  but more anoying is the poor editing of the CD version.
Obviously banging out the titles is important with National Lotteries
funding of the 'remasters'.  All the remastering appears to amount to is
some good noise reduction, on this recording, but no inserting of silence
gaps between chapters.  Also, there are large gaps where there shouldn't be.
I'll swear , not a 'four letter word'coming on! I can hear a dog in the
background sometimes!  All this adds a good deal of unintentional amuzement
for me, to abook which isn't that good a read.
>
> Sorry if much of this belongs elsewhere, but felt sharing of my views and
questions might be of interest to a few.
>
> Ray
>
> Personal emails:  Email me at
> mailto:ray-48@xxxxxxxx
>
>
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