Archive for the ‘Victor Reader Stream with Softpack’ Category
Victor Reader Stream with SoftPack
(22 July 2010 by Andrew Downie)
Background
A comprehensive review of the Stream was conducted in 2007. This review covers the optional SoftPack which has recently become available. For $US49, it increases the functionality of the Stream to provide access to:
- Books in the EPUB format
- Enhanced Audio books from Audible
- MP4 audio, including iTunes
- MS-Word docx (Word 2007 and later) files
- Record in MP3 and wav, as well as the unusual 3gp format already available
Purchasing SoftPack
The SoftPack can be purchased online from the SoftPack section of the Humanware website. It is necessary to provide an email address, serial number of the Stream onto which the SoftPack is to be installed and credit card details . The process, however, is not automatic. In the case of Australian customers, information is passed from a North American office to the Australian office. In our case, there was also a problem with the serial number being recognised by the system, which was resolved after several days.
Installation
Before installing the SoftPack, it is important to upgrade the Stream firmware to version 3.2. It is free and is available from the Humanware Support site. A small file is sent via email. This is copied to the root folder of the SD card in the Stream and it is turned on. The Stream announces that the SoftPack has been installed and, from then on, the additional features are part of the system.
Features
As mentioned above, MS Word 2007 and later files can be read on the Stream. If correctly structured, a file can be navigated by the various heading levels. Disappointingly, it cannot be navigated by specific page numbers. Another disappointment is that earlier MS Word files cannot be read. Once installed on a host computer, the free Stream Companion software can convert these to HTML, providing a reasonable level of navigation.
Availability of books in the EPUB format is very welcome. Importantly, protected books cannot be read. However, a large number of free and commercially available unprotected EPUB books are available.
EPUB is a subset of the DAISY format. Unlike DAISY books, an EPUB book is ultimately contained in just one file. These books do not include an audio component and are therefore read via the Stream’s inbuilt synthesizer. There are many thousands of both free and commercially available EPUB books. Access to this format therefore has the potential to expand markedly ones access to literature.
Navigation options are similar to those in DAISY books – various heading levels, paragraph, sentence etc. Navigation to a specific page is not available, at least in the books sampled so far. This is apparently an EPUB formatting issue rather than a limitation in the Stream, but investigation continues. Bookmarks can be inserted at any point. .
Audio recordings made on a Stream that does not include the SoftPack are in the unusual 3gp format. The Softpack adds MP3 and wav files as options. Importantly, the hardware limits recordings to mono. If nothing else, having access to the extra two formats demonstrates just how space-efficient the 3GP format is. one hour of recording in that format produces a 9 mb file, increasing to 41mb for MP3 and a substantial 303mb for a wav file. If recordings are to be used on anything but the Stream, 3GP files must be converted using the Companion software. MP3 and wav files, on the other hand, do not require this process. When listening to recordings made through the Stream’s internal microphone, there was negligible difference in sound quality across the three formats. The benefit of MP3 recordings is immediate compatibility with other equipment. There seems little point in choosing the wav format unless a high quality external microphone is to be used.
Enhanced Audible and MP4 files have not yet been tested. The latter, provided they are unprotected, should not pose a problem. It is necessary to have an Audible account to access that material.
