[bookport] Re: Synthersizer was:RE: Re: gripes and wishes from a new subscriber
- From: "PAMELA RADER" <PRADER@xxxxxxx>
- To: <bookport@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 02 Jan 2007 10:39:09 -0500
Hello:
I don't know right off, because I have not had time to try those
voices. Usually, the Freedom Sci. folks have mad it so that you cannot
use any of their voices outside their product. However, I am told that
the Real Speak voices are different and can be used separately, but
again, I don't know. You say your software isn't working, well, if you
are speaking of Book Port Transfer, you'll have to get that working
before you can utalize this feature.
Pamela Rader, TECHNICAL SUPPORT
American Printing House For The Blind
1839 Frankfort Ave.
Louisville, KY 40206
PHONE: 1-800-223-1839, Ext. 307
>>> mehgcap@xxxxxxx 12/27/06 11:20PM >>>
I just got the RealSpeak Sapi 5 voices with JAWS 8.0. Can I use
those? Again, I ask here instead of trying it because my software
will not work.
Have a great day and a happy New Year,
Alex
> ----- Original Message -----
>From: "David Allen" <wd8ldy@xxxxxxxxxx
>To: <bookport@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Date sent: Wed, 27 Dec 2006 17:57:35 +1300
>Subject: [bookport] Re: Synthersizer was:RE: Re: gripes and
wishes from a new subscriber
>Hi Alex and list:
>When you choose an alternative synthesiser, the file is first
converted to
>MP3 before it is sent to the Book port. You must use the transfer
software
>to access this feature unless you have another way of converting
the text to
>MP3 such as the option offered in recent versions of Kurzweil
1000 and Open
>Book.
>Cheers,
>Dave
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Alex Parks" <mehgcap@xxxxxxx
>To: <bookport@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Sent: Wednesday, December 27, 2006 4:22 PM
>Subject: [bookport] Re: Synthersizer was:RE: Re: gripes and
wishes from a
>new subscriber
>> About that feature... The audio is saved as MP3 when transfered,
I assume?
>> I have not had occasion to use it, and my transfer software will
not
>> launch. I want to try it, however.
>> Have a great day and a happy New Year,
>> Alex
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>From: "David Allen" <wd8ldy@xxxxxxxxxx
>>>To: <bookport@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>Date sent: Wed, 27 Dec 2006 15:52:34 +1300
>>>Subject: [bookport] Re: Synthersizer was:RE: Re: gripes and
>> wishes from a new subscriber
>>>Hi Scott and list:
>>>Agreed on Doubletalk. If it doesn't work for you, perhaps you
>> need a
>>>computer. It is a reading device that can do more demanding
>> tasks.
>>>In the meantime, the book port already allows you to use any
>> Sapi5 compliant
>>>voice your computer has for reading non-audio files.
>>>The archives of this list will reveal that it is a regular item
>> discussed
>>>here quite often. Similarly, the disadvantages of USB1 and the
>> issue of
>>>power consumption particularly during data transfers.
>>>Odd that some claim Compact Flash to be "going oug". My
>> experience only
>>>indicates it is increasingly wider available and cheaper. This is
>> mentioned
>>>in the book port manual which is current.
>>>Cheers,
>>>Dave
>>>----- Original Message -----
>>>From: "Scott Erichsen" <pianoman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>To: <bookport@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>Sent: Wednesday, December 27, 2006 1:40 PM
>>>Subject: [bookport] Synthersizer was:RE: Re: gripes and wishes
>> from a new
>>>subscriber
>>>> Doubletalk really isn't that bad.
>>>> The reason it's used is the fact that it is responsive and
>> doesn't require
>>>> any operating system to run whereas keynote gold and elequence
>> or any of
>>>> those other synths do.
>>>> DecTalk would be a nice option as well but again it needs an OS
>> as I
>>>> understand it.
>>>> I think doubletalk is fine for the book port and all the other
>> devices
>>>> it's
>>>> used in such as the IDMate and a few others.
>>>> Cheers,
>>>> Scott
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: bookport-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> [mailto:bookport-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
>>>> On Behalf Of Alex Parks
>>>> Sent: Wednesday, 27 December 2006 11:19 AM
>>>> To: bookport@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>> Subject: [bookport] Re: gripes and wishes from a new subscriber
>>>> I agree with everything you said, especially file sorting, SD
>> cards and
>>>> playlists. I would also like to see a better speech synthesizer.
>> I know
>>>> that
>>>> the quality of a synth is mostly personal opinion, but the one
>> on the BP
>>>> right now is quite bad. I would like to see Eloquence or KeyNote
>> Gold, if
>>>> not RealSpeak or the speech of Natural TTS.
>>>> Have a great day and a happy New Year,
>>>> Alex
>>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>>>From: "Chris Zenchenko" <wb9rsq@xxxxxxxxxx
>>>>>To: <bookport@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>>>Date sent: Tue, 26 Dec 2006 16:46:03 -0600
>>>>>Subject: [bookport] gripes and wishes from a new subscriber
>>>>>I have decided to put my favorite gripes and wishes out on the
>>>> list before
>>>>>trying to find out if they have been posted before.
>>>>>In this way anyone at APH who sees my comments will know that
>>>> they are not
>>>>>influenced by people already on this list.
>>>>>I have supported several folks running bookports and finally
>>>> decided I
>>>>>wanted one of my own so my understanding of the product is based
>>>> on more
>>>>>than first impressions.
>>>>>So here we go.
>>>>> hardware issues
>>>>>1. USB power:
>>>>>I can see no reason not to allow USB power to operate the
>>>> bookport when it
>>>>>is connected to a computer.
>>>>>In addition this would allow external battery packs or power
>>>> supplies to run
>>>>>the bookport without having to add a power jack.
>>>>>2. If USB power is possible then why not charge batteries with
>>>> it:
>>>>>This one gets slightly more tricky since if you had normal
>>>> batteries in the
>>>>>BP you would have an issue with automatically charging via USB.
>>>>>A switch either software or hardware could be added to make this
>>>> possible.
>>>>>I have a ham radio portable that has a menu choice that sets
>>>> battery type
>>>>>and switches off the charging current when normal battery pack is
>>>> selected.
>>>>>I realize that this suggestion does open up a support nightmare.
>>>>>3. Add an SD slot or CF to SD converter card:
>>>>>CF is on it's way out. SD is moving up and many products and
>>>> companies no
>>>>>longer find CF viable.
>>>>>I have many CF cards but the prices have probably gone as low as
>>>> they will
>>>>>and in some cases are starting to rise on mid to high sized
>>>> cards.
>>>>>SD is clearly moving up and with the release of the HC specc (up
>>>> to 32GB)
>>>>>will take more and more market share since the target is video
>>>> and digital
>>>>>cameras.
>>>>>That's it from the hardware side of things.
>>>>> Software functions and issues.bpar >> from a new
>>>subscriber
>>>>>1. File sort order:
>>>>>This one is a real PITA!
>>>>>Let's say you have file names such as
>>>>>3145_01.mp3
>>>>>3145_02.mp3
>>>>>3145_03.mp3
>>>>>3149_01.mp3
>>>>>3149_02.mp3
>>>>>3149_03.mp3
>>>>>Now you copy all of these to the BP.
>>>>>They should play in sequence but in fact the last file
>>>> 3149_03.mp3 will be
>>>>>first in the BP list.
>>>>>If you load several files at different times the sequence will be
>>>> almost in
>>>>>order from each load session but the order issue remains within
>>>> each group
>>>>>and overall causes files to play in scrambled order if you use
>>>> automatic
>>>>>file advance.
>>>>>This is a major gripe since if you have a book in chapters, one
>>>> per file,
>>>>>and the files are not sorted by name correctly you can't read the
>>>> book from
>>>>>start to finish without user intervention.
>>>>>2. Playlists:
>>>>>This one would in part solve item 1 but would just be nice.
>>>>>The ability to have a simple text file that would step the BP
>>>> through files
>>>>>in the order the user wants would be great.
>>>>>Also playlists in the .m3u format are almost universal. It would
>>>> also allow
>>>>>applications such as Winamp to generate lists to go along with
>>>> the files you
>>>>>send to the BP.
>>>>>3. file titles from ID tags:
>>>>>ID v2.0 tags for .mp3 and .mp4 along with many other file types
>>>> including
>>>>>..wav are industry standard and almost universal.
>>>>>I think the BP should be able to read the file name or any one of
>>>> the major
>>>>>ID tag items such as artist, title, album, through a user menu
>>>> selection.
>>>>>A combination of these would be even better.
>>>>>Example Artist, "book title", title "Chapter number and title"
>>>> would be much
>>>>>more useful than just an alphabet soup of a file name such as
>>>> THC_b1c01.
>>>>>4. ability to read text type PDF:
>>>>>That one doesn't need much elaboration. A PDF with text rather
>>>> than picture
>>>>>based pages should be readable without jumping through
>>>> translation hoops.
>>>>>5. Better sample rates for memos:
>>>>>Nice to see 22,050 mono 16 bit. Huge improvement in quality and
>>>> with the
>>>>>size of CF cards these days should not be to much trouble for
>>>> many users.
>>>>>I run several 4gb cards and have at least two 2gb and one 1gb for
>>>> stand-by.
>>>>>That's it for now. Clearly I still like the BP and think it was
>>>> the best
>>>>>option out there or I would not have purchased one.
>>>>>The items listed above would in my opinion just make it that much
>>>> better. I
>>>>>am sure there are users on this list who will find fault with my
>>>> list but
>>>>>probably there are just as many who have noticed these themselves
>>>> and may
>>>>>have even written to the list.
>>>>>I will be happy to discuss any of these with list members or APH
>>>> developers,
>>>>>but no flames!
>>>>>With more than 20 years on the net and in news groups and on
>>>> listservs I
>>>>>know how simple comments can be blown sky high.
>>>>>So feel free to write me privately or via the list but let's keep
>>>> it
>>>>>professional and constructive.
>>>>>Thanks in advance and 73
>>>>>Chris Zenchenko
>>>>>Skype wb9rsq
>>>> --
>>>> Internal Virus Database is out-of-date.
>>>> Checked by AVG Free Edition.
>>>> Version: 7.5.409 / Virus Database: 268.15.22/590 - Release Date:
>>>> 16/12/2006 5:39 p.m.
>> --
>> Internal Virus Database is out-of-date.
>> Checked by AVG Free Edition.
>>Version: 7.5.409 / Virus Database: 268.15.22/590 - Release Date:
16/12/2006
>>5:39 p.m.
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