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Hardware Playback Tools

BookSense/BookSense XT Firmware Version 2.0

BookSense Player

BookSense plays various types of audio and DAISY content as well as NLS, RFB&D® and Bookshare books. Main features of Version 2.0:

  • Text or audio DAISY playback. This will offer a choice on whether to play the text content or the audio content of DAISY books
  • "Undo" and "redo" features
  • Highlight Mark: The highlight mark allows you to select a beginning and ending point of a section of the book or file so you can refer to it via the mark list
  • Backup and restore: you can now backup and restore the BookSense settings under the "Advanced" menu

Latest Release:

BookSense/BookSense XT Version 2.0 2010-01-14 BookSense plays various types of audio and DAISY content as well as NLS, RFB&D® and Bookshare books. It also supports variety of document formats: txt, rtf, doc, docx, html, brl, brf. BookSense features quality recording and one touch date and time checking. BookSense XT comes with Bluetooth, FM radio and built in 4GB flash memory. More information is available on the official BookSense website.

DM-4 Audio Recorder

Olympus DM-4

8GB of internal memory allows 2,000 hours of recording time, microSD card compatibility extends it to 16GB. Supports DAISY, Audible.com books, MP3 and WMA and PCM formats.

VOICE ACTIVATION - makes automatic starting and stopping of the recorder an extra benefit that saves time and energy.

OLYMPUS SONORITY - Edit files with Olympus Sonority sound editing software (included), which is compatible with PCs and MACs.

VOICE RECOGNITION - Use simple voice commands to create calendar entries, to-do lists and other basic functions.


Latest Release:

DM-4 Audio Recorder 2010-02-08 8GB of internal memory allows 2,000 hours of recording time, microSD card compatibility extends it to 16GB. Supports DAISY, Audible.com books, MP3 and WMA and PCM formats. Details are available on the Olympus website.

HumanWare ClassMate Reader

HumanWare ClassMate Reader

The ClassMate Reader is a unique, portable and lightweight system about the size of a portable gaming system with a large LCD screen. Students can listen to the audio version of their textbooks and study materials, while following the highlighted text on screen. This portable system is ideal for students in any learning setting, including the classroom, resource room, library, extended learning programs and at home. The system promotes phonetic recognition and fluency and will significantly boost the support of teachers who work with students with learning disabilities.

It has several features only found on PC-based software solutions such as text-to-speech, highlighting, dictionary, text and vocal notes and audio book navigation. The ClassMate Reader now supports a wide variety of electronic formats, including DAISY, NIMAS (National Instructional Material Accessible Standard) format, Bookshare.org, Audible.com, text, wav, MP3 and audio file formats. The player also provides integrated text-to-speech for reading books in text format. It uses a removable SD flash memory card or USB memory stick to store the electronic files. It can transfer files from a PC with a standard USB connection.


Latest Release:

HumanWare ClassMate Reader 1.2 2009-02-26

The ClassMate Reader 1.2 is able to read DAISY/NIMAS, MP3, WAV, txt, xml, rtf, ogg vorbis, audible.com format 4, unprotected WMA, and html files. The User Guide has been updated to version 1.2. Upgrading to version 1.2 will automatically place the User Guide on the ClassMate Reader. More information about upgrading is available on the HumanWare website.


For more information, please visit the official website for HumanWare ClassMate Reader.

Intel® Reader

Intel Reader

The Intel Reader, about the size of a paperback book, converts printed text to digital text, and then reads it aloud to the user. Its unique design combines a high-resolution camera, allowing users to point, shoot and listen to printed text. Supported file formats: DAISY 2.02, ANSI/NISO Z39.86-2002 (DAISY 3), NIMAS 1.0/1.1, MP3, WAV and ASCII text.


Latest Release:

New Mobile Intel® Reader 2009-12-01 - 2010-12-01

The Intel Reader, about the size of a paperback book, converts printed text to digital text, and then reads it aloud to the user. Its unique design combines a high-resolution camera, allowing users to point, shoot and listen to printed text. Supported file formats: DAISY 2.02, ANSI/NISO Z39.86-2002 (DAISY 3), NIMAS 1.0/1.1, MP3, WAV and ASCII text. More information is available on the HumanWare website.


For more information, please visit the official website for Intel® Reader.

Milestone 212 DAISY Player

Milestone 212

Milestone 212 is a Book Reader which opens the world of digital talking books. The newest member of the Milestone family focuses on simplicity. In this spirit the device is reduced to the most important functions, and performs very strong on those. It supports the playback of DAISY 2.02, MP3, WMA, AA(X), AAC and TXT files. Details are available on the Bones Ltd. website.


Latest Release:

Milestone 212 DAISY Player 2009-10-17

Milestone 212 is a Book Reader which opens the world of digital talking books. The newest member of the Milestone family focuses on simplicity. In this spirit the device is reduced to the most important functions, and performs very strong on those. It supports the playback of DAISY 2.02, MP3, WMA, AA(X), AAC and TXT files. Details are available on the Bones Ltd. website.

Milestone 312 DAISY Player

Milestone 312 DAISY Player

The Milestone 312 from Bones GmbH is the smallest MP3/DAISY Player/voice recorder on the market. Functionalities include audio books player, MP3/AAC player, voice recorder, FM tuner/recorder, alarm clock and RFID tag reader, all integrated into 50 grams, in the size of a credit card.

Milestone 312 uses the MP3/AAC/WMA decoder software from DSP Spirit, providing excellent sound quality. It is very configurable to support a variety of reading and listening needs. Functions not used, not purchased or not desired can be disabled/enabled.

DAISY: This pocket-size device provides full access to heading levels, page numbers, phrases, etc. It also supports bookmark setting and switch between books on the memory card.

MP3: The Milestone 312 provides accessible MP3 navigation, supported by audible prompts. Folder names can be tagged with recorded voice.

Voice Recorder: The Milestone's small internal speaker produces crisp, clear audio even in noisy environments.

The RFID tag reader allows users to tag and identify daily living objects such as medications, CD's, and food labels.

Milestone 312 has 1 Gigabyte internal memory plus an SD card interface for up to 32 Gigabytes storage. Both work in parallel and are fully accessible via USB connection - no software needs to be installed.


Latest Release:

Milestone 312 DAISY Player 2008-12-16

The Milestone 312 from Bones GmbH is the smallest MP3/Daisy Player/voice recorder on the market. Functionalities include audio books player, MP3/AAC player, voice recorder, FM tuner/recorder, alarm clock and RFID tag reader, all integrated into 50 grams, in the size of a credit card.

This pocket-size device provides full access to heading levels, page numbers, phrases, etc. It also supports bookmark setting and switch between books on the memory card.


For more information, please visit the official website for Milestone 312 DAISY Player.

Plextalk Model PTN2

PLEXTALK PTN2

The Plextalk Model PTN2 is a DAISY 2.02 and DAISY 3 hardware player, ideal for leisure-reading. It has a high-quality built-in speaker and comes with a fully rechargeable battery to provide listeners with up to five hours of playing time.

Using the Plextalk PTN2, a person with low vision or other print disability can navigate to a particular point in a book from the table of contents or the index, by browsing headings, selecting pages, or by setting and reviewing bookmarks. Users can make a bookmark index consisting of up to 10,000 bookmarks. In addition, users are able to fast forward, rewind, and even speed up the audio narration.


Latest Release:

Plextalk PTN2: Version 3 2010-02-17 Version 3 comes with simplified operation and is more intuitive as it offers faster touch key response as well as automatic bookmark numbering. For more information, please visit the official website for PLEXTALK PTN2.

For more information, please visit the official website for Plextalk Model PTN2.

Plextalk Pocket PTP1

Plextalk Pocket DAISY Player/Recorder

The Plextalk Pocket PTP1 is a lightweight, pocket-sized, DAISY-compliant music, voice, and book player/recorder that reaches a new level of mobility and offers ease of use for business, education and leisure. It is a true crossover media player/recorder which contains a host of applications and which also comes with extensive features that support complete accessibility for people with sight problems or learning difficulties. Although this tiny player/recorder is only 55mm X 112mm X 16mm (2.2in X 4.4in X 0.6in) in size, it supports both DAISY 2.02 and DAISY 3 playback, records DAISY 2.02 and has recording time capacity of 120 hours. Multiple audio playback formats are also supported. Starting with Version 2.00, PLEXTALK Pocket supports DAISY books provided by major library services and content providers (NLS, RFB&D®, Bookshare.org in the U.S.), etc. The complete Plextalk Pocket Features list and Specifications are provided on the PLEXTALK website.


Latest Release:

PLEXTALK Pocket Firmware Version 3 2009-12-22 Firmware Version 3 for the PLEXTALK Pocket, a powerful DAISY playback and recording device is now available. For more information, please visit www.plextalk.com/in/ptp1/.

For more information, please visit the official website for Plextalk Pocket PTP1.

Plextalk Portable Recorder (Model: PTR2)

Plextor's PTR2 replaces the PTR1 and is designed to be a high quality recorder with the ability to create DAISY 2.02 books with audio, headings and pages, as well as music CDs. It can also play DAISY books, music CDs, Audio File CDs and CF cards. It can be used as a CD-RW or memory card drive when connected to a computer. For quicker and easier editing of DAISY content, the PTR2 is supplied with the Plextalk Recording Software (PRS). This package provides all the necessary tools to record, edit and finalize audio DAISY 2.02 books. This portable unit has a built-in microphone and an optional external microphone, providing recording versatility.

The PTR2 can be operated in 2 main modes: "Normal" mode and "Book Creator" mode. It is possible to switch between these 2 modes at any time. Normal mode has a simplified interface and makes the process of recording very straightforward. This mode is ideal for a beginner or for someone who wants to make a recording quickly and easily. Book Creator mode provides all of the necessary tools to create a fully structured DAISY 2.02 book including insert, punch in and overwrite recording, phrase editing and the ability to set heading levels.


For more information, please visit the official website for Plextalk Portable Recorder (Model: PTR2).

Victor Reader ClassicX

Victor Reader ClassicX

Simple, easy navigation through novels, magazines and other leisure books. Simple and friendly, Victor Reader ClassicX is ideal for your favorite leisure reading, best-sellers, novels, magazines etc. It offers basic navigation features like browsing the table of contents, skipping from section to section or from page to page.


For more information, please visit the official website for Victor Reader ClassicX.

Victor Reader ClassicX +

Victor Reader ClassicX +

The professional solution for more demanding environments (schools, libraries, public areas) Designed for professionals and students, it's essential for reading complex and highly structured books like textbooks, reference works and school manuals. It supports all DAISY navigation levels and has advanced functionality such as skipping instantly to a specific page and placing multiple bookmarks.


For more information, please visit the official website for Victor Reader ClassicX +.

Victor Reader Stream

Victor Reader Stream

The Stream is HumanWare's most portable, powerful DAISY/NISO and MP3 player. It is a hand-held (117 x 66 x 22mm) player using an SD flash memory card for storing content. It connects to computers as a USB device to transfer book and music files. The Stream also has an embedded text-to-speech capability to play text only or synchronized full text/full audio DAISY books, simple text and html files. Variable speed playback is supported for all recorded and text formats. Other advanced DAISY features including Go To Page, Go To Heading, simple bookmarks, highlight bookmarks, and processing skippable elements. It also built-in voice recording capability for recording voice notes, audio bookmarks, etc.

Highlights of 3.1 include:

  • Multi-level bookshelf navigation for other books, podcasts, as well as text and multi-level folder navigation within music files.
  • Music can be organized by levels such as genre, artist, and album and users can navigate at those levels to more quickly find desired music. Random play can be turned on or off with a single key press like many commercial MP3 players.
  • Users can enter words to search for in text files or text-only DAISY books.
  • Users have the ability to create nested folders on the Other Books, Podcast, and Text File bookshelves that were introduced in version 3.0. Now extended to include the multi-level Talking Books bookshelf. Victor Reader Stream users can now optionally create nested folders within the $VRDTB bookshelf folder and navigate the structure while browsing the Talking Books bookshelf.
  • Stream 3.1 will allow you to copy DAISY books from USB flash media such as flash memory sticks or the NLS cartridges used by the NLS library in the USA and the AFWA library in Western Australia. Each USB flash book must be in its own folder. When you attach a cartridge or flash media the Stream will automatically start playing the first DAISY book on the media. Once the book is playing you can optionally press key 3 to copy it to the Talking Books bookshelf of your SD card.

For full details and the most recent news on the Stream, visit the VictorReader Stream page on the HumanWare site.


Latest Release:

Victor Reader Stream 3.1 2010-02-19 Users have the ability to create nested folders on the Other Books, Podcast, and Text File bookshelves that were introduced in version 3.0. Now extended to include the multi-level Talking Books bookshelf. Readers can now optionally create nested folders within the $VRDTB bookshelf folder and navigate the structure while browsing the Talking Books bookshelf.

Read more on the HumanWare website.

For more information, please visit the official website for Victor Reader Stream.

Victor Reader Stream Library Edition

HumanWare logo

The new Victor Reader Stream Library Edition is easy to use and it plays the new NLS book cartridges. It comes with a book cartridge holder that attaches to the back of the Stream and allows users to play the cartridge directly on the player. It is designed to detect and start playing the book cartridge when you insert it. It will even resume playing the book from where you left it the last time. More information is available on the HumanWare website.


Latest Release:

Victor Reader Stream Library Edition 2009-09-30

The new Victor Reader Stream Library Edition is easy to use. It plays the new NLS book cartridges and comes with a book cartridge holder that attaches to the back of the Stream and allows users to play the cartridge directly on the player. More information is available on the HumanWare website.

Victor Reader Wave

Victor Reader Wave

Based on the popular Victor Reader Vibe, the world's first mainstream MP3 player adapted to play DAISY books, the Victor Reader Wave has the same advantages of an adapted mainstream player with its portable design and affordable price but it includes many enhancements over the Vibe:

  • The popular clam shell style lid of the Vibe remains but has been modified to use the familiar telephone style keypad of the Victor Reader Classic+ player.
  • Enlarged file system to play complex DAISY books.
  • Expanded memory to store hundreds of bookmarks.
  • Saves playback position of DAISY, MP3 and music CDs.
  • Audio prompts have been added for MP3 CD playback.

Learning disabled users will benefit from a larger screen with text feedback for commands and display of book title and current section heading.


For more information, please visit the official website for Victor Reader Wave.
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