NLS/BPH DIGITAL TALKING BOOK CARTRIDGE AND PLAYER

Cartridge and Player, Image 1.

Cartridge and Player, Image 2.

The picture of the player and cartridge on the cover of the revised business plan and another one were sent to members of the NLS National Advisory Committee on Audio Equipment after the September meeting of the Committee with permission (and encouragement) to disseminate them as widely as possible. Because an ALT tag or a LONGDESC wouldn’t do justice to the complexity of the player, I hereby provide a detailed description, for the benefit of NLS patrons who can’t see the images. The description is based on my experience with the prototype (actually, the advanced version of the player) during the Committee sessions.

The player pictured is the basic model; the advanced model, which is also at the nearly-final prototype stage, is exactly the same size but has a second row of controls between the Power, Sleep and Volume controls and the speaker. The advanced controls are for setting and retrieving bookmarks and for navigating through the structured levels of a DAISY book. The player is about 6 by 9 by 2 inches, in comparison with the CBM, which is 9 by 11 by 3 inches, or 108 cu. in. compared to 300 cu. in. Weight of the DTB player is slightly over two pounds. The body of the player will be a dark charcoal grey (not the blue of the prototype), to create maximum visual contrast between the background of the case and the colors of the buttons.

The Rewind, Play and Fast Forward controls are centered and are close to the front edge of the player: The square green Play button controls stopping and starting playback of the book. The white triangular Rewind and Fast Forward buttons to the left and right of the Play button move through the book more quickly the more times they are pressed. Each key press gives audible feedback about how far ahead or back the user is moving. Just above the navigation buttons are the Power, Sleep and Volume buttons: The round red Power button turns the player on and off. It is close to the left edge of the player. The white Sleep button, shaped like a crescent moon, will turn the player off thirty minutes after it is pressed. It is centered, just above the Play button. The yellow Volume controls are shaped like the halves of a narrow pointed oval pulled apart along its narrow axis, or, less pretentiously, like halves of a football. They are close to the right edge of the player. Just above these controls is a raised line running from one side of the player to the other, demarcating the six most frequently used controls from Tone and Speed (and, in the advanced model, from the Bookmark and Navigation controls).

The Tone and Speed controls are located above the tactile raised line and on either side of the speaker. Both Tone and Speed are shaped like the Volume buttons, a narrow pointed oval pulled apart along its narrow axis. The Tone buttons are close to the left edge of the play; the Volume button is close to the right edge. The Volume, Tone and Speed controls all announce each press of the button, e.g. "tone lower," "tone higher," "tone middle," with similar announcements for the other controls. Speed will change the speech from 50% to 300% of normal, with no change in pitch.

The white band along the front edge of the player is a pull-out handle, similar to the one on the CBM. Above the handle is the opening for the Digital Talking Book cartridge. On the right side of the player are the headphone jack, with a brightly-colored surround for easy location (color, I understand, is to be determined). Next to the jack is a USB port for use by repair people for diagnostic information.

On the back of the machine, as on the back of the CBM, is a compartment for storing the power cord. On the bottom of the player are four rubber feet, the door to the battery compartment, and two recessed bars for attachment of a carrying strap. There is also plenty of room for identification labels.

The cartridge shipping container is slightly longer and wider than a green cassette box but only half the thickness. The color will not necessarily be blue, despite the photo.

The cartridge itself is the size of a cassette, but with a more complex shape. The end of the cartridge with the round finger hole is slightly thicker than a cassette, with square sides, but is also bevelled, so that when that end of the cartridge is pressed down on a flat surface in front of the player, the other end of the cartridge, with the USB connector, tilts up and can slide smoothly into the player. The end of the cartridge with the USB connector is also bevelled, but with the bevels slanting toward the center of the cartridge, so that there is only one way it will fit into the player. The USB connector is barely visible in the picture of the open mailing container.

October 19, 2006