[Promotion-technology] stream vs. BookPort+?

[Andrews, David B B (DEED)]

I mostly agree with Curtis.  Some functions on Bookport Plus take a number of keystrokes like deleting a book.  Pe3rsonally I think the Bookport Plus is a better recorder then the Stream, and the Stream is a better DAISY player, NLS, RFB&D.  Its time scale modification software is better.  This is the stuff that keeps the pitch the same when you speed up a book.  I find its DAISY player functions well integrated and easy to use.  

Dave



-----Original Message-----
From: promotion-technology-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:promotion-technology-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Curtis Chong
Sent: Thursday, October 21, 2010 9:19 AM
To: Committee on the Promotion, Evaluation and Advancement of Technology
Subject: Re: [Promotion-technology] stream vs. BookPort+?

Greetings:

I have both a Victor Reader Stream and the Book Port Plus.  The $299 price on the Book Port Plus is still in effect.

>From my perspective, both of these machines are great for reading NLS books from BARD and books from Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic.  If I may say so, the Book Port Plus tends to have a better class of audio recorder as compared to the Stream; it has the ability to record either through a microphone or from the line out of a cassette deck or other analog audio device.  Also, the Book Port Plus has a speaker that is slightly louder than the Stream; I use it to read books on the way to work every day without benefit of ear buds<smile>.

My only real complaint about the Book Port Plus has to do with how it handles music and audio books that are, in actuality, MP3 files.  As of right now, it treats both music files and audio MP3 book files identically and does not recognize or honor any folder trees in music files that you may have created to better organize your music.  Other than that, I find the Book Port Plus to be quite comparable with the Victor Reader Stream and, in some cases, better.

Cordially,

Curtis Chong




-----Original Message-----
>From: Ed Meskys <edmeskys at roadrunner.com>
>Sent: Oct 21, 2010 6:17 AM
>To: bardtalk <bardtalk at yahoogroups.com>, nhblind-talk <nhblind-talk at listserv.icors.org>, nfb-promotion/evaluation technology list <promotion-technology at nfbnet.org>
>Subject: [Promotion-technology] stream vs. BookPort+?
>
>I love my digital player and download many books and some magazines from 
>BARD, but I want to buy a smaller machine for use while traveling. For five 
>years I used my original BookPort to download and read BookShare titles, but 
>want advice on buying the new BookPort+ vs. a Victor Stream. Are there any 
>opinions? Was the July $300 price for the BookPort+ a convention special, or 
>is that still the current price? Is there a third machine I should consider?
>
>Thanks, Ed Meskys
>edmeskys at roadrunner dot com