[Dtb-talk] No $330.00 player for me,

[Pratik Patel]

The NLS can play favorites so long as the manufacturer of a player is
attempting to develop a software player for NLS books.  Due to inherently
large risks associated with software players, NLS has chosen not to
authorize a software player for now.  Hardware devices are another matter.
Keep in mind that the AMRB+ codec requires some processing on the hardware
device since it a a highly compressable format.  The player must also be
able to decode the encryption scheme and support various DAISY features.
The current set of devices such as the Braille Note, Pac Mate, etc being
able to support this functionality will highly depend on hardware upgrades
or performance compromises.  We'll have to wait and see.

Pratik


Pratik Patel
Director, IT Access. Director, PeopleTech.
The City University of New York

-----Original Message-----
From: dtb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:dtb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Greg Kearney
Sent: Sunday, November 25, 2007 11:38 AM
To: Discussion of Digital Talking Books
Subject: Re: [Dtb-talk] No $330.00 player for me,

I own a Stream, and just about every other player known as well. This  
should come as no great surprise to anyone who knows me as I am  
engaged in the production of books and book production software and  
used the player for testing. I am also involved in the development of  
playback systems for various Apple products. I will say this that play  
back is much more difficult than is production in terms of software  
requirements. Part of that complexity is the need to build in the  
ultimately ineffective digital rights management routines into any  
player to deal with NLS and RFB&D.

Everyone seems to forget that any book, regardless of what ever DRM  
has been applied to it can be copied with nothing more than a $2 patch  
cord. And don't be lulled into believing that authorized player will  
not show up on Ebay where nearly every day there are NLS tape players  
for sale. My views on DRM in DAISY are well known and I need not go  
into them here. Needless to say I find it a fool errand than hampers  
the honest and does nothing to deter the criminal.

All that said the Stream is very convenient and better than shlepping  
about thee players. In the end we will all end up with a NLS issued  
player, someday, maybe, if the weather is good and the moon is full  
and, well you get the idea.

Just what the NLS is going to do when Apple or some other maker of a  
consumer device come to them to have the iPod authorized to play NLS  
books is an interesting question indeed. As a government agency I  
don't think they can  play favorites, authorizing HumanWare but not  
Apple.  We are already faced with the issue of being unable to  
authorize Audible playback with out a Windows computer in the Stream  
and that is a private company. When Apple introduces DAISY playback in  
the iPod what will the NLS or RFB&D position be about that playback in  
a consumer device?

As far as I am aware the U.S. is the only nation engaged in DRM in  
talking books. Is that right George?

As for my production tools they do not now nor will they ever produce  
any form of DRM books. If a book is produced the right way, with mp3  
files named in playable order that book is playable on any consumer  
grade device now.

Greg Kearney
535 S. Jackson St.
Casper, Wyoming 82601
307-224-4022
gkearney at gmail.com



On Nov 25, 2007, at 7:06 AM, kb7uen gene wrote:

> Message
> I have been using a ipod photo for the last three years, and read  
> Audible books on it all the time.  Well, since then, I have added a  
> ipod shuffle, a Pioneer Inno, for XM, the Pacmate, and the Olympus  
> DS50.  All these devices will play Audible books.  Now the Victor  
> Stream comes along for $330.00, which will also read Audible, NLS,  
> and probably soon, the RFB&D books as well.  I don't need the Victor  
> Stream for Audible, and I have a Victor Wave for RFB&D books, so why  
> spend $330.00 for a portable device just to read NLS books?  Can the  
> ipod and other devices I mentioned above be updated to read these  
> books?  It just seems like overkill to buy the Stream just to read  
> NLS books.  Couldn't someone make a small player which would be the  
> size of a thin remote for under $100.00 which could do the same  
> thing?  Anyway, I am just curious what the rest of you have to about  
> what I posted here.
>
> Gene
>
> _______________________________________________
> Dtb-talk mailing list
> Dtb-talk at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/dtb-talk

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