Nice list of upgrade. What is obviously missing is the ability of backing up RFB&D books from disk to card. As the lock can be easily circumvented by using Windows Explorer on a PC, the legally-mandated PTR1 limitation remains rather silly.
Guido Guido D. Corona IBM Accessibility Center, Austin Tx. IBM Research, Phone: (512) 838-9735 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit my weekly Accessibility WebLog at: http://www-3.ibm.com/able/weblog/corona_weblog.html "Jeff Samco" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 06/07/2004 03:14 PM Please respond to ptr1-users To <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> cc Subject Revised PTR1 Firmware Upgrade Schedule and Features List This was recently posted on the Plextalk website. Jeff Samco IRTI Customer Support Grass Valley, CAlifornia --- Revised PTR1 Firmware Upgrade Schedule and Features List Posted date June 4, 2004 http://www.plextalk.com/news_20040604.html Dear PTR1 users, Thank you for your support of our products and for your valuable suggestions for further improvement. This announcement revises the release schedule for the upcoming PTR1 firmware upgrade. We are obliged to inform you the release date will be delayed from original announcement to the end of July. The reason is we need additional time for thorough quality testing in order to ensure the new firmware will be as reliable as possible. We thank you in advance for your understanding and patience. Please refer to the following revised list of features. 1. Playback Features Easy Fast Rewind and Forward Feature Added In new firmware, when you press and hold fast rewind and forward for a while, it continues fast rewind/forward until you press the play key. Fast Rewind and Fast Forward sound level In current firmware, the fast rewind and fast forward operations create a loud queuing sound. With the new firmware these operations will now have a reduced sound level. Time Jump Navigation Feature Added The time jump option is added in the navigation menu. First press the 2 or 8 key until you hear the âtimeâ. Then each press of the 4 or 6 key will cause a jump of one minute, and press and hold 2 or 8 key to move by 10 minutes. Changed MP3 or CD-DA Playback Navigation In the current firmware, a user can go back to the previous music track by pressing the 4 key. In the new firmware, the 4 key will moves to the beginning of the current track as with standard CD players. Changed The Playback Behavior The existing firmware automatically jumps to the beginning of a new title when a current title comes to an end. New firmware does not jump to the beginning of a new title, user must do it manually to prevent overwriting the original recordings. Enhanced MP3 playback on the memory card The existing firmware can not play MP3 files in the PC card. New firmware allows playback of MP3 files in the PC card Change in Playback Behavior at End of Title In the current firmware, when playback of a current title comes to an end, playback stops at the end. When the play key is pressed again, playback automatically jumps to the beginning of the title. In the new firmware, playback will not automatically jump to the beginning of a title when you press the play key. User must do so manually to prevent accidental overwriting of the original recordings. Enhanced MP3 Playback on a Memory Card The current firmware cannot play MP3 files in the PC card without DAISY navigation files. In the new firmware, the PC card will be recognized as an MP3 card and allow playback of MP3 files which are not part of a Daisy title. Improved Compatibility for Playback of Different MP3 Formats The current firmware has limited playback compatibility with various MP3 file formats especially for the variable bit rate (VBR) format. The new firmware allows playback of most MP3 file formats. 2. Recording Features Recording Level Adjustment Feature Added The current firmware only allows adjustment of the recording level at the beginning of recording procedure. The new firmware allows adjustment of the recording level at any time during recording by just pressing the information key. To exit level adjustment press the information key again. Improved MP3 Encoding Audio Quality and Added High Bit rate Stereo Encoding New firmware improves MP3 audio quality during playback and added 256kbps high bit rate stereo encoding. 3. Editing Features Page and Heading Number Guide during Recording and Editing The current firmware does not give page nor heading guide numbers when the pages or headings are marked. New firmware will offer these features during recording and editing. 4. Voice Guidance Features Low Battery Warning Feature Added In current firmware, when the battery level is low the unit automatically shuts down without any warnings to prevent any recording or memory failures. With the new firmware, users will receive a one minute low battery warning. This way, the user can choose to plug the unit into an electrical outlet or stop the recording before the unit automatically shuts down. Capacity Announcement Feature Added The current firmware announces the amount of remaining recording time when a user wants to know the data space. However, since many users are using high capacity memory cards, data space announced in GB or MB is useful in addition to the remaining recording time. New firmware will announce the remaining data volume in both MB and recordable time as well as data volume of current title. Corrected Announcement for 5GB PCMCIA Type II Hard Disk Card The current firmware can only recognize 2GB cards for recording since the calculation comes from the limitation of maximum one audio file capacity as 2GB. New firmware will announce the entire available recording time and the remaining capacity. Change in Selection of Waiting Sounds With new firmware, users can select from three different waiting sounds: musical, a single tone or No sound. No Voice Announcement When Changing The Main Volume Level According to user feedback, it is not necessary to announce the adjustment of the playback volume during playback of a title. New firmware will not feature a volume level announcement when adjusted during playback. Change in Order of Time Report for Current Title When the Play Stop key is pressed, the current time report is not in the best possible order. New firmware will change the order to, first, the elapsed time, second, remaining time and, last, total time of current title. Since the total time never changes in a book, it should be reported last and many users want to know elapsed and remaining time information as quickly as possible. 5. Bookmark Features The current firmware cannot take over all bookmarks when finalizing. New firmware takes over all bookmarks whenever finalized. If you have any questions , comments or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact to us. Yours faithfully, --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
