Soundproofed Books

[RWood]

Many of the DRM books we find offered at sites like Fictionwise have the "read aloud" function disabled. A recent article from the DAISY Consortium discusses some of the reasons why the Text to Speech (TTS) is feature is turned off in many DRM books.

This is a critical problem for any visually impaired person. While it may not be an issue for users of the Sony Reader, the Cybook Gen3, or the Amazon Kindle (to name a few) as they do not have a built in TTS feature (wouldn't that be a killer application for the next generation?) However the Microsoft Reader and Adobe's Acrobat Reader do have these features.

[shousa]

Originally Posted by RWood

Many of the DRM books we find offered at sites like Fictionwise have the "read aloud" function disabled. A recent article from the DAISY Consortium discusses some of the reasons why the Text to Speech (TTS) is feature is turned off in many DRM books.

This is a critical problem for any visually impaired person. While it may not be an issue for users of the Sony Reader, the Cybook Gen3, or the Amazon Kindle (to name a few) as they do not have a built in TTS feature (wouldn't that be a killer application for the next generation?) However the Microsoft Reader and Adobe's Acrobat Reader do have these features.

Agreed, sounds unkind to me. By the way one of the Korean readers (same price as Sony) has text to speech ALREADY! ( I am sure you know this but for those that don't)
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11463

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by RWood

Many of the DRM books we find offered at sites like Fictionwise have the "read aloud" function disabled. A recent article from the DAISY Consortium discusses some of the reasons why the Text to Speech (TTS) is feature is turned off in many DRM books.

This is a critical problem for any visually impaired person. While it may not be an issue for users of the Sony Reader, the Cybook Gen3, or the Amazon Kindle (to name a few) as they do not have a built in TTS feature (wouldn't that be a killer application for the next generation?) However the Microsoft Reader and Adobe's Acrobat Reader do have these features.

Interesting article. I believe visually impaired readers should be covered at mobileread and have started about 1/2 dozen pages in the wiki that have information on this aspect of mobile reading. The needs to be much more but it is a start. As I get time I will add more. I did place a link to this article in the wiki article on DRM just as a reminder.

Dale

[Razi]

Don't ebook retailers fall foul of the EU directive requiring them to facilitate the access to their services to disabled people by disabling text-to-speech? But then, you can get away with anything in the name of protecting the intellectual property and digital rights. I don't think they would have any legs to stand on if a disabled person took them to the authorities over this one. Till then they will do what they can to rip us off. I like the text-to-speech function in Adobe Acrobat Reader. I am sure we will hear more about the ebook pricing policies as well in near future.

[HarryT]

If someone wants to "listen" to a book, why not just buy the audiobook in the first place? It seems that most fiction published these days is available as an audiobook.

[RWood]

Originally Posted by HarryT

If someone wants to "listen" to a book, why not just buy the audiobook in the first place? It seems that most fiction published these days is available as an audiobook.

Often the audiobook is several months or more behind the printed/ebook. While the rights are reserved, most books published are not made into audiobooks.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by RWood

Many of the DRM books we find offered at sites like Fictionwise have the "read aloud" function disabled. A recent article from the DAISY Consortium discusses some of the reasons why the Text to Speech (TTS) is feature is turned off in many DRM books.

This is a critical problem for any visually impaired person. While it may not be an issue for users of the Sony Reader, the Cybook Gen3, or the Amazon Kindle (to name a few) as they do not have a built in TTS feature (wouldn't that be a killer application for the next generation?) However the Microsoft Reader and Adobe's Acrobat Reader do have these features.

Well, the solution in this case is to purchase MS Reader format eBooks and remove the DRM. Because of the TTS issue, the US government has made it legal to remove the DRM so the TTS works.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by RWood

Often the audiobook is several months or more behind the printed/ebook. While the rights are reserved, most books published are not made into audiobooks.

And sometimes the aBook is abridged which means you lose part of the story. That's not good if you want it unabridged.

[Justy]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

And sometimes the aBook is abridged which means you lose part of the story. That's not good if you want it unabridged.

Many of the audiobooks cost up to 3 times more than an eBook to cover the salary of the narrator.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

And sometimes the aBook is abridged which means you lose part of the story. That's not good if you want it unabridged.

I'm a fan of audiobooks (I listen to them in my car on my way to and from work) and personally I can't stand books read in a "computer voice". The human element is a vital factor in the experience for me.

In the days when audiobooks were supplied on cassette or CD you're right - they were generally abridged. Now that the standard medium is MP3, most books are unabridged.

[Jaapjan]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I'm a fan of audiobooks (I listen to them in my car on my way to and from work) and personally I can't stand books read in a "computer voice". The human element is a vital factor in the experience for me.

In the days when audiobooks were supplied on cassette or CD you're right - they were generally abridged. Now that the standard medium is MP3, most books are unabridged.

I tried it. But it requires too much attention to follow the books that my driving abilities degenerate too far to be able to drive safely. I quickly stopped trying to listen to books in the car.

If I didn't listen I'd miss parts of the book. Annoying.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Jaapjan

I tried it. But it requires too much attention to follow the books that my driving abilities degenerate too far to be able to drive safely. I quickly stopped trying to listen to books in the car.

If I didn't listen I'd miss parts of the book. Annoying.

I actually find the fact that it DOES require attention keeps me alert on long journeys. Since I normally drive on my own, this is a real benefit - without them I start falling asleep after a couple of hours, which is not good!