Re: Urgent - How to Adjust Iriver IFP899 Recording Levels - Terrible Overall Setup Experience

  • From: "Gary Wood" <k8hlx@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <blindcasting@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Mon, 6 Feb 2006 16:19:53 -0500

Hi Darrel.  That's great!  
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Darrell Shandrow 
  To: blindcasting@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
  Sent: Sunday, February 05, 2006 4:40 PM
  Subject: Re: Urgent - How to Adjust Iriver IFP899 Recording Levels - Terrible 
Overall Setup Experience


  Hi Gary,

  A friend of mine and his sighted son helped me initially configure mine, then 
later I had to get some other sighted help to fix it later.

  Darrell Shandrow - Shandrow Communications!
  Technology consultant/instructor, network/systems administrator!
  A+, CSSA, Network+!
  Visit http://www.petitiononline.com/captcha and sign the Google Word 
Verification Accessibility Petition today!
  Information should be accessible to us without need of translation by another 
person.
  Blind Access Journal blog and podcast: http://www.blindaccessjournal.com
    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: Gary Wood 
    To: blindcasting@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
    Sent: Sunday, February 05, 2006 2:37 PM
    Subject: Re: Urgent - How to Adjust Iriver IFP899 Recording Levels - 
Terrible Overall Setup Experience


    It sounds like the IRiver is very technical.  With all the problems and 
complications, it sounds like it could drive anyone to drink!  
      ----- Original Message ----- 
      From: Mika Pyyhkala 
      To: blindcasting@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
      Sent: Friday, February 03, 2006 8:51 PM
      Subject: Urgent - How to Adjust Iriver IFP899 Recording Levels - Terrible 
Overall Setup Experience


      Hi,

      I recently got an Iriver IFP899, and I cannot figure out how to set the 
recording level and the monitoring level, are these two different things?

      Also I have had a terrible experience as a blind person getting the unit 
configured.  I was able to record mono voice files using the built in mic 
myself just by reading and listening to some podcasts and talking to 1-2 other 
Iriver users.

      However, I was not able to:
      *Set the device to Line In/External Microphone mode;
      *Tell it I wanted to record in stereo, and set sampling rate, etc.;
      and
      *Set the recording levels.

      I also tried to get three different sighted people to help me with it:

      Experience 1, Roommate: Could not figure out how to set the device to 
record in line in mode.  Even after you set this in the control menu, there are 
additional modes that you must select which were not obvfious;

      Experience 2, Radio Shack: I took the device to a local Radio Shack where 
I have bought some electronic equipment.  They looked at it, and also were not 
able to set it to line in recording mode.  Again, they made adjustments in the 
control menu, but there is some other place in the interface where you must 
switch it from internal mic to line in external mic mode;

      Experience 3, Roomates Girlfriend: Finally I got the manual out, and I 
worked on it with my roomates girlfriend.  After a frustrating series of steps, 
we were able to get it to switch to line in mode, though we don't know really 
how we did it.  She followed the instruction manual, and read the screen, and 
still it took several tries and the process was not clear.  I asked her "what 
the trick was," and she didn't know.

      Still we are unable to set the recording levels, and it is recording very 
softly for both a bi noral mics, as well as a power microphone.  My roomates 
girlfriend was unable to see anything in the screen talking about recording 
levels.

      Given that 3 sighted people of average or greater intelligence could not 
figure out how to make a simple change on the device (changing it from internal 
mic to external source/mic recording) I would suggest that the user interface 
leaves a lot to be desired.

      I was surprised that so many blindcasters like the Iriver given this.  It 
seems like maybe you could get it to work, but you would have to sit down with 
an intelligent sighted person perhaps for 2-3 hours, and map out all the menus 
and memorize how many key presses are needed for the functions you need to do.

      I suppose the device is somewhat accessible if after you configure it you 
don't need to make any changes.

      But if you buy one of these (now you must get it on Ebay because the 
IFP899 is discontinued) you may need to spend a good deal of time with a 
sighted person getting it set up.  And the later models are even less 
accessible?  And you will probably need to find a person who is good with 
gadgets and reading manuals that are unclear.

      If I am missing something please let me know.  I suppose there is a good 
market for someone to make a top to bottom tutorial for the blind on the Iriver.

      Have other people who are blind had a similar problem getting this device 
configured, or am I missing something and in fact there is some straightforward 
way for me to adjust all of these settings.

      Thanks...

      I'll now go and read the manual some more, or have a drink :).

      -Mika

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