Where Technology Provides People with Disabilities Access to Information
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gh PLAYER™ 2.2

Reading With Ease

gh has developed a software reading system designed for reading NIMAS, DAISY Digital Talking Books, and plain text files (*.txt) while providing multiple sensory output. Whether you read with high contrast large text, recorded or synthesized speech, or Braille output to a refreshable display, the gh PLAYER™ gives you access to the content you need!

  • Read DAISY, NIMAS, Save As DAISY XML, and Plain Text files
  • Select from six synthesized voices (with the premium version)
  • Read MathML-embedded books with enhanced navigation
  • Adjust color settings for custom contrast
  • Use word tracking to highlight word-by-word
  • Zoom up to 16x with the ability to pan around the document
  • Navigate to any part of a book with ease
  • Set bookmarks and take notes
Three Screenshots of the gh PLAYER 2.2 for Digital Talking Books.

Accessible Electronic Media (AEM) is an exciting new approach to providing print-disabled readers with a paperless approach to gaining access to the content they need. Downloading electronic books has never been easier with companies like BookShare online. You can even join libraries like RFB&D and gain access to nearly 100,000 titles! Simply download or order your new book, load it on your computer, and open it in the gh PLAYER™ to get a complete reading experience through multiple sensory inputs!

About the gh PLAYER™ 2.2

The gh PLAYER™ is a Section 508 compliant software player that is designed with accessibility as a priority. This software supports the following file formats:

  • NIMAS
  • Plain Text (.txt)
  • DAISY 2.02
  • ANSI-NISO (Z39.86-2002)
  • DAISY/NISO 2005 (Z36.86-2005)

The gh PLAYER accessibility toolbar with callouts describing the accessibility buttons.

The gh PLAYER™ provides people with disabilities access to information sources including large documents, textbooks, training manuals and publications. It also offers a variety of accessibility features for a fuller reading experience. These features include:

  • Text-to-Speech functionality
  • Digital magnification
  • Contrast enhancement
  • Synchronized text highlighting

New Features of the gh PLAYER™ 2.2

The gh PLAYER™ 2.2 has many new features that have been added to improve your reading experience. These new features are listed below.

1. Support for NIMAS 1.1 and DAISY/NISO 2005

The National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS) has been updated to version 1.1 and the DAISY/NISO Digital Talking Book specification has been updated to version 2005. For more information on the updated specifications, visit nimas.cast.org and www.daisy.org.

The gh PLAYER™ fully supports both updated specifications, and utilizes new features available in both. Additionally, the gh PLAYER™ enables the conversion from NIMAS files to DAISY/NISO 2005 books.

2. Support for MathML-enabled NIMAS and Digital Talking Books

One limitation of DAISY was support for math and science until the DAISY Consortium adopted the MathML in DAISY modular extension. Now you can get your math and science material in a DAISY format. The gh PLAYER™ is the first DAISY DTB player that supports MathML.

The gh PLAYER™ fully supports MathML-extended NIMAS and Digital Talking Books with character-by-character navigation, fully anti-aliased display, and up to 16x zoom.

Screenshot of a math book opened in the gh PLAYER

3. Additional navigation for escapable and skippable text

Tired of having to listen to every bit of information on a page? Now, using the gh PLAYER™, you can skip the items you don't want to hear, such as page numbers, footnotes, and sidebars. Additionally, the gh PLAYER™ now allows you to jump out of large items, such as tables, once you've found the information you're looking for. With these advanced navigation options, you are better able to listen to books as you want.

4. Easier book import

The gh PLAYER™ has greatly improved the process of adding and importing books into your library. Now, importing a title is as easy as a click of a mouse, with nothing slowing you from getting to the information you want.

5. New navigation pane

For visual users, a navigation pane has been added along the left hand side of the player. This resizable pane allows for quick access to sections, bookmarks, pages, and indices. Additionally, the pane zooms along with the text, so you will always be able to access the content of the pane, regardless of your zoom preferences.

Screenshot of the new section navigator in the gh PLAYER

6. SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) support

Scalar Vector Graphics (SVG) is an image format that allows for crystal clear images, regardless of zoom. The gh PLAYER™ fully supports SVG and you will see no image degradation of any SVG images in a document, no matter how high your zoom preferences are. At 16x, the images will be as crisp and clear as they are at 1x.

7. Roaming activation for greater portability

Want to use your gh PLAYER™ at work or school? Now you can take it with you! Product activation for the gh PLAYER™ has been made easier, allowing users to move their gh PLAYER™ license from one computer to another with little hassle.

8. Optimized for large books

Extremely large books aren't a problem any more! From textbooks to encyclopedias, a large book will open quickly, navigating and processing at the same speed as smaller books. You will never have to wait to get access to the information you need.

9. Page-by-page display

The gh PLAYER™ now displays each page of a book independently. This improvement allows for finer navigation control and puts users of high zoom settings in control of viewing a page. You will no longer get lost in a book when trying to view a magnified image.

10. Improved support for books on CD

As soon as you pop in a CD containing Digital Talking Books or NIMAS files, the gh PLAYER™ will give you a list of all of the books on the disc, allowing you to immediately begin playing your books. Further, the gh PLAYER™ doesn't support just CDs—any removable media is treated the same way, whether it's a USB key or a removable hard drive.

11. Revised keyboard shortcuts and support for multi-media keys

The keyboard shortcuts have been updated to help laptop users more effectively use the gh PLAYER™. Additionally, the gh PLAYER™ now supports multi-media keys on keyboards, so you can play, pause, skip, and stop playback at any time with just the press of a key.

12. New AT hardware support

The gh PLAYER™ now supports pedal controls, such as the "V-Pedal". This is in addition to the existing support of many types of AT hardware, ranging from Braille displays to head mice.

13. Continuous playback without focus

The gh PLAYER™ no longer pauses playback when you switch to another program, allowing you to continue your playback while using your computer in other ways. When used in conjunction with the new support of multi-media keys, the gh PLAYER™ now has unprecedented playback control.

For example, you can now edit a spreadsheet while listening to a Digital Talking Book, pausing and playing without ever switching back to the gh PLAYER™. The gh PLAYER™ gives you access to your information the way you want!

14. Windows 7 compatible

With the upgrade of Microsoft Windows 7, many programs experienced compatibility issues—but not the gh PLAYER™. The gh PLAYER™ is fully compatible with Microsoft Windows 7, while still maintaining its existing compatibility with Microsoft Windows 2000, XP, and Vista.

15. Automatic update checking

The gh PLAYER™ now regularly checks for updates so you will always have the most recent version available. The instant a gh PLAYER™ upgrade is made available, you will be notified and prompted to install the update.

16. Save As DAISY compatibility

Using the gh PLAYER™ Premium edition, you can directly open any DAISY xml file produced by Microsoft Word's Save As DAISY Feature. For example, you can drag and drop the generated DAISY xml file into the PLAYER, and it is immediately ready to be used.

Once the file is open in the gh PLAYER™, you can use its Save As feature, which will produce a full text only DAISY 3 book. Now, your custom DTB can be shared with anyone!

Buy It Now! or download a 30-day free trial

Read the product brochure (PDF) or Contact Us for more information about the gh PLAYER.