[access-uk] Re: RNIB Overdrive - Still titles with conversion problems
- From: "Jackie Brown" <jackieannbrown62@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 17 Dec 2014 11:36:06 -0000
Hi Henry
All I know is that 150 people, myself included, took part in the OverDrive
trial last spring. We were given a selection of books to download, and all
the titles I listened to did not have issues. I offered my thoughts on the
actual site layout, and advised that it would be better to go with headings
in table format like the existing Talking Book catalogue.
To my knowledge, there was no consultation with users on what platform would
be used, we were simply given OverDrive to work with, and told this had been
chosen by RNIB.
I can and do use the service, so this is not my issue personally. I just
don't think it has been thought through and implemented properly. It seems
the team is doing a good enough job in responding to queries and issues, but
the whole thing was initiated and developed at a much higher level and, like
a lot of charitable organisations, this is where things seem to go wrong!
Kind regards,
Jackie Brown
Emails: jackieannbrown62@xxxxxxxxx
thebrownsplace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Twitter: @thebrownsplace
Skype: Thejackmate
-----Original Message-----
From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
Henry Miller
Sent: 17 December 2014 11:05
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [access-uk] Re: RNIB Overdrive - Still titles with conversion
problems
Hi Steve
I fully agree with your points, But why is there no full explanation on
this list from the RNIB with regards to the whole issue of the Overdrive
project?
I think its time the RNIB revisited this project, and seek advice from the
vast experience of blind people young and old.
After all the RNIB ask the general public for funds towards the provision
of the Talking Book Service, so where is the consultation with members of
the service.
best wishes
Henry
-----Original Message-----
From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
Steve Nutt
Sent: 17 December 2014 08:58
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [access-uk] Re: RNIB Overdrive - Still titles with conversion
problems
Hi Paul,
It sounds to me like RNIB have actually caused themselves more work by
converting from Daisy, which already existed and in a reasonable quality of
file, to low bit-rate, frankly crappy, versions of MP3 files and stripping
out Daisy navigation files, which are tiny, the XML and SMIL files for
example.
I still say they should have left well alone, copied zipped images of the
CDs and let us download them in a secure environment, instead of causing us
to use Overdrive, which in my view, is quite frankly, equally crap. Daisy
books play equally well on non-Daisy media players.
I can't accept the excuse about the security of borrowing books, since all
you need to do is copy the books to a media device and you have the book for
ever.
So my Christmas wish would be to have all the books available in Daisy
format, as they were written to the CDs and memory sticks.
All the best
Steve
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-----Original Message-----
From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
Paul Warner
Sent: 17 December 2014 06:00
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [access-uk] RNIB Overdrive - Still titles with conversion problems
A week ago, I notified this list that I had received an email from the
RNIB Overdrive team advising that they had completed a careful analysis
of their converted titles and that they had removed those which were
found to be faulty. The email contained the assurance, "Firstly, we
have hidden away the faulty titles so don't worry about choosing the
books you love."
Unfortunately, this is not the case. I have just downloaded to my PC
Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens and proofed the title in the
Overdrive Media Console software. The title is split into 48 files
named Part 1 to Part 48. In this title, a Part file usually contains a
complete chapter but there are quite a few which contain two chapters.
If you start playback in the Overdrive Media Console, you can quickly
skip to the next Part by pressing control shift right arrow. You then
hear 'Chapter x' and the relevant text. Skipping through the Parts is
about the easiest way you will have to ensure that the chapters are in
the right order although you won't be sure if a chapter has been
completely missed since one Part file can contain more than one chapter.
The first problem with Our Mutual Friend is that Parts 13 and 14 are
duplicates - they contain exactly the same chapter and their file sizes
are identical when viewed in Windows Explorer.
The same is almost true of Parts 26 and 27 but, in this case, Part 27
includes all of Part 26 plus the subsequent chapter. Windows Explorer
shows that Part 27 is 50% bigger than Part 26. What this means is that
unlike with the repetition in Part 14, you can't easily skip to the next
Part (Part 28) in order to skip the repeated chapter since doing so will
miss the additional chapter contained in Part 27. This is very
confusing and I am glad that I identified these issues before reading
the book for real.
If users are continuing to download titles from Overdrive to play back
on any platform, I would advise them to do the following:
1. Before reading the book, make sure that chapters are not out of
order. Do this by jumping to the next Part and noting the chapter
number which begins that Part. All you can hope for here is that the
chapter number of the next Part is higher than the one in the previous
Part but beware that more than one chapter can be contained in a Part.
2. If you find any issues at all, you can either fix them yourself or
abandon the book and let the RNIB know. Of course, even if you do try
to fix the problems yourself, you should still tell the RNIB.
3. If you do decide to fix the problems yourself, do not play the book
using the Overdrive software or apps as the amendments you make will
cause the navigation information in the software to become even more
unreliable. Instead, play the files on your media player or use
different apps on your smartphone.
4. Where you spot a duplicated file, delete one of the files in Windows
Explorer. Before doing so, check the respective file sizes of the
duplicate Parts. You might find that one of them includes more chapters
so you should always delete the smaller file.
5. If you find that a Part file contains chapter(s) which are out of
order, you can always rename the file(s) to correct the Part numbers.
6. If you find that all this is too much bother, which frankly it is,
do nothing and just advise the RNIB.
The key point is that it is quite disheartening to find that, despite
RNIB assurances, their quality inspection has not identified and removed
all corrupted titles. I will certainly not begin reading any title
until I have proofed it in the way described above.
Paul
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