Software Playback Tools

AMIS is free open source DAISY playback software developed by the DAISY Consortium. Highlights of AMIS include its self-voicing interface, playback rate control, text searching and bookmarking, reading options, and page style customization. AMIS is available in multiple languages.

AMIS runs on Windows and supports DAISY 2.02 and DAISY/NISO-2005 books. Learn more about AMIS, DAISY Software Player and download AMIS at the AMIS project page on the DAISY Consortium website.

Book Wizard Reader

Book Wizard Reader, software from the American Printing House for the Blind (APH), offers users the ability to read both DAISY 2.02 and DAISY 3, ANSI/NISO Z39.86-2002 digital talking books. Review the manual, download a demonstration copy, or purchase the software by going to the APH website.

For more information, please visit the official website for Book Wizard Reader.

DaisyWorm App for the Apple iPhone, iPad and iPod touch

DaisyWorm, developed by the Association for the Blind of Western Australia is a DAISY digital talking book playback app for the Apple iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. This application can be used to play books from the Association for the Blind of Western Australia library as well as other talking book libraries worldwide. DaisyWorm supports the playback of non-encrypted DAISY 2.02, DAISY/NISO z3986 audio only and full text full audio books. For support in using DaisyWorm please contact developers at dtb(at)guidedogswa.com.au. DaisyWorm can be purchased from the Apple iTunes Store.

Dolphin SaySo Toolbar

SaySo highlights the words as they are spoken, helping users to focus and build their understanding of the text. Sit back, read and absorb an entire report or just hear a tricky sentence while researching online. SaySo will also read your emails.

Latest Release: Dolphin SaySo Toolbar for Reading & Writing Version 1.03

In v1.03, Dolphin has changed the way audio-only DAISY books are displayed in Bookshelf, making it clearer to users that the book does not contain any text. A full list of improvements is available on the Dolphin Computer Access website.

Dorina DAISY Reader (DDReader) for Windows

This DAISY 3 reading software was developed by the Dorina Nowill Foundation for the Blind in Brazil and is free to use and share. The DAISY books can be read by synthesized voice, pre-recorded narration, or text only. The DDR DAISY reading software can be downloaded in 3 different language versions: English, Español, and Português (Note: DDR is the first free Portuguese DAISY 3.0 reader).

DDR is designed as an add-on to the Firefox browser and is available from the Firefox add-on site. Links to DDReader tutorials in each language are also available on the download page and are included in the add-on (press T for tutorial on any DDR mode).

Latest Release: Dorina DAISY Reader 1.0.2 for Windows

DDR is designed as a Firefox add-on. For support, please go to the DDReader home page.

EasyReader

EasyReader is an accessible talking book reader software, allowing readers to read and listen to content through a combination of text, speech and images. Mattias Karlsson explains: “Students of all ages extract information from books and cite them in their own work. A reader with a vision impairment or learning disability such as dyslexia is no different. With version 6, learners can now select and copy text from the EasyReader reading window, ready to paste into Microsoft Word, or whatever their preferred application may be".

Latest Release: Dolphin EasyReader Version 6.02

Version 6.02 includes a healthy mix of new features and improved functionality to provide a more seamless reading experience for readers with visual impairments and dyslexia. More information can be found on the Dolphin Computer Access website.

For more information, please visit the official website for EasyReader.

EasyReader Express

Olav Indergaard explains the benefits that the Norwegian Library of Talking Books and Braille (NLB) have experienced in adding EasyReader Express to their DAISY talking books: "NLB (The Norwegian Library of Talking Books and Braille) has been a provider of DAISY-content for several years. One of our challenges as a DAISY-content provider has been to ensure that our users have access to DAISY-playback systems in order to fully utilize the DAISY-format. NLB therefore decided to provide DAISY-player software to all our users by including a DAISY-player in all our books. EasyReader Express was the software of choice." More information is available on the Dolphin Computer Access website.

Latest Release: EasyReader Express

Dolphin EasyReader Express is a new web-based subscription service which allows DAISY talking book providers to add an Express version of EasyReader to their DAISY talking book.

Emerson - EPUB and DAISY Reader

Emerson is a cross-platform audio DTB player. Currently it does not support text-only DTBs and it supports only MP3 encoded DTBs. The DAISY formats supported: DAISY 2.02 and DAISY 3 Version 2005 (formally ANSI/NISO Z3986-2005).

Download Emerson

Go Read

Go Read is a free, open source eBook reader for Android.

Latest Release: Go Read App for Android

Access and download books directly from Bookshare (must be a Bookshare member to download). Read with voiced navigation and text-to-speech in DAISY and EPUB formats. Available from Google Play.

HumanWare Companion

The Stream Companion software has been renamed to HumanWare Companion because this software now supports both of the HumanWare digital talking book players: Victor Reader Stream and ClassMate Reader. Users do not need to uninstall the previous version of Stream Companion or ClassMate Companion. Previous programs can remain on your computer along with the new HumanWare Companion. Once you are familiar with the new HumanWare Companion, you can then remove the old Stream or ClassMate Companion using the Windows Add/Remove option of Control Panel. HumanWare Companion can be downloaded from the HumanWare website.

Latest Release: HumanWare Companion 3.5.6

Victor Reader Stream users can obtain the HumanWare Companion version 3.5.6 from the HumanWare website.

ida-reader

The ida-reader reads aloud digital content from a variety of file formats or original book pages, highlighting the text as it is being read aloud. It has plenty of attractive features, which have been incorporated keeping in mind the special needs of the people faced with challenges when reading text, such as dyslexia.

Latest Release: ida-reader

xml-text and Planman Technologies have launched the ida-reader©, a software application (currently for Windows only) that enables users to read aloud a book, which can be in several formats such as DAISY, HTML, RTF or XML. It can also display the scanned pages of a book while the text is being read aloud. This application was developed for people faced with reading difficulties such as dyslexia. For their benefit, the text being read aloud also gets highlighted. Download is available for purchase or trial use from the ida-reader website.

IVEO® from Viewplus, Speaking Tactile Diagrams

The IVEO® Hands-on-Learning from viewplus Technologies enables learning through touch, sound, and sight. IVEO® lets you use any one, two, or all three of these learning modalities together to learn faster and retain longer. This tool makes learning structured concepts more engaging and inclusive. IVEO® includes sounds, speech or links, in objects to further stimulate learning. It is compatible with DAISY SVG plug-in.

Latest Release: IVEO Version 2.0, Speaking Tactile Diagrams

IVEO is for those who learn better with touch, sound, and sight combined, thus utilizing any or all three learning modalities to learn faster and retain longer. A free IVEO viewer, compatible with DAISY SVG plug-in, is available from ViewPlus Technologies.

For more information, please visit the official website for IVEO® from Viewplus, Speaking Tactile Diagrams.

KBLL Reader

The Korean Braille Library has developed the KBLL Reader 1.0 with the Sims Line, a software developing company in Korea.

KBLL Reader supports only audio and NCC DAISY books. The software is able to set book marking, control speed and volume, and allows the reader to move to chapter, page, or sentence. KBLL Reader can also search word and number (for instance page).

If you close the KBLL Reader to end reading, it automatically says the end page of reading. If a user uses KBLL Reader in a common place, like a library or school, this function is very useful. Because many users use KBLL Reader together, nobody set book marking.

We provide KBLL Reader to users, libraries and schools free of charge. Everybody can download KBLL Reader free of charge, at http://infor.kbll.or.kr/.

KBLL Reader currently supports only Korean, so we are considering supporting other languages. We also are considering having KBLL Reader 2.0 support audio and full text.

For more information, send email to youk@kbll.or.kr.

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

Learning Ally Audiobook Player App for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad

Gain instant access to RFB&D’s (now Learning Ally) downloadable DAISY formatted books. Learning Ally members can explore Learning Ally’s extensive library of more than 65,000 audiobooks that are designed for people with print and learning disabilities. Learning Ally Audio application for iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad is available to individuals via the Apple iTunes store. Learning Ally online account is required to use the product, which offers advanced features for accessibility like bookmarking, chapter and page navigation, last position playback, variable speed control and more.

Latest Release: Learning Ally Audiobook Player App

The Learning Ally app now allows users to download books directly to their device without passing through iTunes. More information is available on the Learning Ally website.

Read2Go App for the Apple iPad, iPhone and iPod touch

Directly from within the Read2Go app, Bookshare members can find, download, and read books on their Apple device. Please submit your feedback to the Read2Go user forum.

Latest Release: Read2Go App Version 1.0.3.0

Update your Read2Go for iOS 6. Read2Go is available for purchase on the iTunes Store.

ReadHear™ Mac

Features:

Support for MathML, NIMAS 1.1., & DAISY/ NISO 2005. ReadHear Mac is the first DAISY DTB player that supports all updated specifications on the Macintosh.
Roaming Activation for greater portability. The license can be moved from one computer to another making it cost-effective for school licensing, at home and at work.
Continuous audio when using another program simultaneously. ReadHear Mac works like a media player, so it will continue reading while you do other things on your computer.
Optimized for large books. From encyclopedias to textbooks, any large book will open quickly, navigating and processing at the speed of a smaller book.
Automatic Update. ReadHear Mac regularly checks for updates so users will always have the most recent version available.
Bookshare, Learning Ally AudioPlus, Educational Publishers, EPUB, & DRM Supported soon

Latest Release: ReadHear™ Mac

The first ever fully-featured Digital Talking Book player for the Mac! The great accessibility features available in the gh PLAYER™ are no longer limited to the PC. ReadHear Mac provides excellent benefits to those who enjoy and appreciate learning and listening to all types of books, articles, and documents.
Details are available on the gh, LLC website.

ReadHear™ PC - Premium

The ReadHear™ PC Premium Version provides the functionality present in ReadHear™ PC, but also includes additional features.

The latest update includes a number of small improvements;. Among these are:

Improved support for \Save as DAISY\ files
Improved support for SVG images
Additional units of 1 and 2 seconds to the Time Navigation mode for recorded audio
Additional checkbox in My Library to show only book titles
Support for ADPCM2 audio files used by some DAISY 2.02 books

The ReadHear™ PC Premium and Professional provide people with disabilities access to multiple information sources, with improved features and easier navigation. Full details are provided on the gh LLC Web site.

Latest Release: ReadHear PC Premium

A features' comparison list for ReadHear PC Professional and Premium Version is provided on the gh LLC website.

For more information, please visit the official website for ReadHear™ PC - Premium .

ReadHear™ PC - Professional

The ReadHear™ PC is a Section 508 compliant software player that is designed with accessibility as a priority. This software supports the following file formats:

NIMAS
Simple text (.txt)
DAISY 2.02
DAISY 3.0
ANSI-NISO (Z39.86-2002)
DAISY/NISO 2005
EPUB

The ReadHear™ PC provides people with disabilities access to multiple information sources. The ReadHear™ PC now has improved features and easier navigation. Full details are provided on the gh LLC Web site.

TAB Player for Thai and English

This free software player supports DAISY 2.0 and 2.02.

For more information, please visit the official website for TAB Player for Thai and English.

TPB Reader

TPB Reader is a DAISY 2.0 and DAISY 2.02 compliant software player designed to be easy to learn even by those with little or no computer experience. Even though it is easy-to-use, the software is powerful enough to satisfy more "advanced" users.

TPB Reader works on Windows® operating systems.

Feature highlights include:

Auto-detection of available books. TPB Reader automatically scans the system and presents available DTBs to the user in a bookshelf;
NCC-only and Full Text view modes;
Time Scale Modification - ability to speed up or slow down the narration without affecting the pitch;
Fully selfvoicing - external speech synthesizer is not necessary;
Stylesheets - the user may apply his/her own or predefined Cascading Stylesheets (CSS) to control the visual display of the text;
IPP Support - TPB Reader can play protected DAISY DTBs; and
National Language Customization - The user interface (auditory and textual prompts) of TPB Reader can be translated into any language.

TPB Reader is made available at no cost worldwide. However, TPB (The Swedish Library of Talking Books and Braille) does not offer end-user support outside Sweden.

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