Accessibility at NSW CLIC

Review date October 2007

Introduction

This is a portable DAISY player. It can also provide access to a wide variety of audio file formats and has voice recording facilities. Its in-built synthetic speech provides access to text and HTML files. It is powered by a rechargeable battery, has a tiny speaker, in-built microphone and sockets for headphones and external microphone.

For a summary of DAISY books and a description of one option for producing them, see the Dolphin Producer review posted in June. A product which is similar to the Stream is the Book Port . It has not yet been possible to obtain a Book Port for review, but the comparison table below summarises the similarities and differences between it and the Victor Stream. It is also helpful to compare these products with the Olympus DS-50, also reviewed in June. While the Stream and Book Port are specifically designed for people with little or no vision, the DS-50 is aimed at a broader market. Nevertheless, its smaller size and some features will appeal to some students with special needs.

Brief Description

The Stream held in a hand showing buttons on the front. The user's thumb is on the side of the unit, pressing the on/off button.

The Stream has 18 keys. Twelve are laid out like a telephone keypad. The key above the 1 key is the go-to-page key, while the one above the 3 provides bookmarking facilities. The sleep key is below the zero. It is used to turn the unit off after a predetermined time, presumably set according to the level of interest in the material. On the bottom row are the rewind, play-stop and fast forward keys.

The on/off button is on one side of the unit. It must be depressed for several seconds to turn the unit on and off. Pressing it quickly cycles through volume, speed and tone. These adjustments are made with two keys below the on/off button.

On the other side are the stereo headphone and monaural microphone sockets. Below these is the record button.

An SD (secure digital) card is used to store material to be read on the Stream. Material can be placed on it either via the USB port or by putting the card into a card reader on a computer.

Navigation

The 2 and 8 keys are used to set the increment of movement. When reading a DAISY book these include phrase, various heading levels, page and time jump. For text and HTML files options include character, word, line and paragraph. for music (any non-DAISY audio) files, navigation can be by either folder or file. The 4 and 6 keys move backwards and forwards respectively according to the currently selected increment. In DAISY books, a specific page is reached by pressing the go-to-page key, entering its number on the numeric keypad and pressing either the hash (#) or play key.

The bookmark key is used both to set and clear bookmarks and to locate a specific mark. A highlight bookmark sets the beginning and end points of a passage. This is helpful if repeated review of that section is required.

Summary of Features

Facilities for reading DAISY books are very effective. If the book includes both spoken audio and text, the user can hear either the audio or use the Stream’s synthetic speech to read the text. There are two current limitations to text access within DAISY books. It is not possible to check the spelling of words. Nor is it possible to search for a word or phrase.

Text and HTML files are read with the unit’s synthetic speech. Again, there is no search facility. Spelling can be checked by selecting character as the navigation increment. It is not possible, however, to confirm a character by expanding it to the military alphabet.

The Stream is a very effective music player. If music is put into folders according to artist and subfolders according to album, this information is provided via synthetic speech.

The voice recording facility is very effective, with one potentially significant limitation. Sound quality is very acceptable and individual notes can be deleted when no longer required. The potential limitation involves the use of the 3gp file format. For use within the Stream, this format offers relatively high sound quality combined with a small file size. If material is to be transferred to a computer for editing or permanent storage, facilities for processing the 3gp file format is currently not readily available, but it is understood that conversion software is under development.

The Victor Reader Stream is a significant product. It provides people who have print disabilities with very effective access to study and recreational material. Its compact dimensions, versatility and ease of use make it an effective study tool. New versions of the software can be installed by the user, allowing easy updating as new features become available.

Victor Stream and Bookport Comparison