Hello everybody A couple of weeks ago I took the plunge and bought myself a Hims International Blaze ET. I deliberately went for the ET rather than the EZ because of a couple of important exclusions on the EZ. Firstly, I don’t think, although I could be wrong here, but I don’t think the EZ supports OCR document creation. The ET has a five-megapixel camera dedicated to its OCR functionality. I do not currently, but plan too shortly own the Premium Pack for the ET. But even with the Blaze held in my hand, I have managed to perfect the angle of approach, and I have obtained some pretty stunning OCR results using the Blaze. In fact, I have to tell you that the OCR engines used by the Blaze is very powerful. I have achieved some extraordinary results which were better on the Blaze ET than on a dedicated, stand-alone solution from Freedom Scientific.
Also, the user interface on the Blaze is both intuitive and powerful. As a direct comparison between the Hims International Blaze ET and the HumanWare Victor Reader Stream with its 2016 update applied, even with things at which the Stream and Stratus are designed to do customised, the Blaze does it better. The Blaze does not rely on internally created playlists, as does the Stream. The Stream cannot adapt to changes in network environments for streaming audio, the Blaze can. Why? Quite simple really. The Blaze has the Tune-In Radio Professional engine installed, and uses a combination of that and the OoTunes database. This gives the Blaze unsurpassed power and flexibility. Now, don’t get me wrong. The Victor Reader Stream (2013 Generation) does have some powerful functionality. For instance, its internal recording functions are quite good, and one can easily use the device to produce very basic DAISY content. But the blaze can also do that, and do it better. One can assign slices of audio, for example, and by doing so repeatedly, one can make a quite navigable DAISY title. Nothing, of course, to match professional publications, but then again that isn’t what the device was designed for. But again, I think the stand-out function of the Blaze is not, for instance, it’s FM radio. Although that is not a bad function either. Quite precise tuning can be accomplished, and the sensitivity of the receiver can be adjusted. No, that isn’t the stand-out feature. Its intuitive menu and clean interface isn’t the stand-out feature either. Actually I think Hims International have done rather well to produce a device of this type, given that their underlying operating system is Windows Mobile which, as we all know, has now been dropped by Microsoft. Again, the stand-out feature, for me at least, is definitely the OCR engine and interface. The OCR interface can be called from anywhere in the product by a press of a button. I have found, for best results, placing one’s printed source about 6 inches below the camera works very well. Although I haven’t yet found a way to put the device into batch scan mode for a multi-page document, it’s almost possible to simulate batch scanning by pressing the OCR button just after the recognition process has completed. No, it isn’t as good as batch mode. Not quite at any rate. But this is a portable device we’re talking about here, not a device whose creators deliberately set out to create as a professional quality device. The aim of the Blaze ET is to help the individual to accomplish some simple tasks such as, for instance, sitting down in a restaurant and reading a menu. sitting down in a library or one’s own lounge and reading a newspaper. Such things are now possible without having to stand out from the crowd, (something which I for one would definitely not wish to do). With the appearance of the Blaze ET, and I am sure the many portable accessible devices we’ll be seeing over the next 2 to 3 years, those of us who are visually impaired can, at least in this area, look forward to huge strides forward being made by developers. I for one am looking forward with anticipation to the next phase in the battle for supremacy in the field of accessibility. But for now, the Blaze ET is not at all a bad place to start. ======================================== My compliments and kindest regards Gordon Smith: <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> Accessibility & Information Technology Support Specialist. Mobile/SMS: +44 (0)7907 823971 ————————————————————
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