Equipment and Accessories
We provide free equipment to patrons who need devices to
play NLS talking books or read electronic braille materials. Below are brief descriptions of the available equipment and accessories. For more detailed information, visit the Equipment for NLS Materials page.
Standard Digital Talking Book Player (DS1)
The standard digital player is the simplified basic model of the free player provided to all users of Talking Books. It has buttons for power, play/stop, fast forward and rewind, volume, speed, tone, and a sleep timer. With fewer buttons it is ideal for users who like things easy.
Advanced Digital Talking Book Player (DA1)
The advanced digital player is identical to the standard player in size and shape, and it has all the same buttons, but with an extra row of buttons that give the user even more ways to navigate through a book. The next and previous buttons allow the user to jump ahead or back by amounts of content (chapters, sections, etc.) rather than just time, and the bookmark button lets the user place markers wherever they choose in the book that they can go back to for reference later. This player is ideal for users more comfortable with technology, as well as Bible users.
Digital Advanced Player (DA2)
Available soon in limited quantities, the DA2 is the newest player from NLS, offering built-in Wi-Fi for connecting to BARD, Bluetooth
connectivity, 28GB internal storage, embedded Text-to-Speech (TTS)
engine with TTS voice options, buttons with high-contrast color, braille
and print labels for keypad controls, sleep timer, built-in audio
instructions, bookshelf feature and audio playback from NLS cartridges
and USB thumb drives.
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NLS Braille eReader
Braille eReaders, also known as refreshable braille displays,
are devices with small pins that electronically move up and down through
holes representing a braille cell. Users move their fingers across the
cells as if they were reading braille on paper.
Cartridge & Container
Audio books and magazines come on cartridges that are essentially
flash drives with large plastic casings. An entire book comes on one
cartridge, and in some cases multiple books or magazine issues will
arrive on a single cartridge.
These cartridges travel through the mail inside specially-designed rigid plastic containers. The container is held shut by two plastic snaps, and has flaps on the bottom that hold the mailing card.
Headphones
Any pair of headphones with the standard 3.5mm plug will work with the digital player, but if a user does not have a personal pair then Talking Books can provide you with one. These stereo headphones sit on the ear and are adjustable.
USB Adaptor
Users who download books from BARD can load the books onto flash drives, which plug into the USB port on the player’s right side. This adaptor positions a flash drive so it is flush along the side of the player rather than sticking straight out. This accessory is ONLY needed if a user plans to download books.
USB Cartridge Cable
Some users who download books from BARD prefer to load them onto a blank cartridge. This three-foot cable has a special adaptor on one end that makes it possible to connect the cartridge to the USB port on a computer.