Software for DTBs
These applications are designed for use with digital talking books, such as DAISY format DTBs. See also the Screenreaders & TTS Applications page.
AMIS
AMIS is a DAISY 2 & 3 playback software application for DTBs. Features include navigation by section, sub-section, page, and phrase; bookmarking; customize font, color; control voice rate and volume; navigation shortcuts; two views. Go to the 
AMIS web site for more information.
Blio
Blio "is a reading application that presents e-books just like the printed version, in full color … with …features" and allows purchased books to be used on up to 5 devices with "reading views, including text-only mode, single page, dual page, tiled pages, or 3D ‘book view’" (from the web site). Go to the Blio web site for more information.
Book Wizard Reader by APH
reads "a wide variety of types of digital talking books using [a] PC’s sound card and speakers. APH’s Book Wizard Reader allows [users] to read digital talking books as outlined in the specifications designed by the National Information Standards Organization (NISO) and the Digital Audio Information System (DAISY) Consortium" (from the web site). Features include phrase, local, and global navigation of a book, as well as a choice of views (depending on source structure). Go to the APH web site for more information. (More information is also available at the NCAIM Center web site’s AIM Products Feature Chart.)
Dolphin EasyReader
Dolphin’s web site describes EasyReader as a "software digital talking book player, allowing the user to read and listen to content through a combination of text, audio, and images" and as able to create audio using Microsoft’s ‘Save As DAISY XML’ Word plug-in." Features include voice, highlighting, playback volume and speed, text and background style, and magnification options. Supports Word, RTF, TXT, SVG, MathML, NIMAS, DAISY. Go to the Dolphin web site for more information. (More information is also available at the NCAIM Center web site’s AIM Products Feature Chart.)
E-Text Reader
E-Text Reader is designed to be a reading tool. It can be used for opening and reading existing documents or with content copied and pasted from any program. Pictures can be added to the text. It is an "easy to use" reader that gives users the ability to change voices, read at any speed, and to make notes in a document being read. Go to the E-Text Reader web site for more information.
GhostReader
GhostReader is a multilingual speech solution for Mac OSX that allows documents to be listened to with naturally sounding voices in a language of choice. It can also be used to create podcasts or audio books by exporting to iPod ready iTunes tracks. It can be used to speak selected text in a handy reader window with play, fast forward, and rewind functionality. Text playback can be activated by pointing the cursor and GhostReader reads the text under the cursor. Go to the GhostReader web site for more information.
Kindle for PC with Accessibility Plug-in
Amazon describes their Kindle for PC with Accessibility Plug-in as a free application (for use with Windows OS) with text-to-speech, adjustable voice settings, voice-guided menu navigation, keyboard navigation, and more. Go to the plug-in's download page for more information.
Kurzweil
Kurzweil makes three different accessibility products. Kurzweil 1000 is reading software that makes printed or electronic text accessible to people who are blind. It converts a PC and scanner into an advanced reading machine. Kurzweil 3000 a "reading, writing and learning software" with a variety of tools and smaller applications built in, and includes TTS in English and Spanish, voice speed and tone control, highlighting, note-taking, as well as other components such as a picture dictionary, translator, templates, and access to web-based content. Supported formats include HTML, NIMAS, DAISY 2 & 3, MathML, PDF. Version 12 offers online licensing (traditional and hybrid also available). Go to the Kurzweil web site for more information. (More information is also available at the NCAIM Center web site’s AIM Products Feature Chart.)
Microsoft Reader
Microsoft Reader (with text-to-speech) boasts accessibility features that are bringing e-books to more communities and providing a richer on-screen reading experience with additional TTS and Verbosity functionality. To enable Microsoft Reader to take advantage of existing speech technologies, it is necessary to install the new Microsoft Reader Text-to-Speech (TTS) Package 1.0. This enhances texts with highlighting, bookmarks, notes, and drawings, and it is possible to view annotations and re-name or erase any of them at any time. Activate Microsoft Reader on a desktop and mobile devices and take the e-reading library anywhere. Create your own e-books from Microsoft Word documents using the Read in Microsoft Reader add-in for Microsoft Word 2000 and higher. Go to the Microsoft Reader web site for more information.
Mobipocket Reader
Mobipocket Reader is software for e-books that works with a variety of hand-held devices, such as PDAs, cell phones, smart phones, and e-book readers; as well as PCs, Macs, and Linux-based machines. Mobipocket features differ depending on support offered by the device using the software, but can include highlighting, note-taking, bookmarking, categorization, export, conversion. Many Mobipocket-provided e-books include a biography of their author. Go to the Mobipocket web site for more information.
ReadHear Mac & ReadHear PC
ReadHear Mac version is DTB player software for Macs by gh which features keyboard shortcuts, highlighting, bookmarking, continuous audio (enabling use of another program simultaneously), library, dictionary, and spell-check. Supported formats: text, NIMAS, DAISY 2 and 3, MathML, and SVG. Go to gh's ReadHear Mac web page for more information. Formerly gh Player, ReadHear PC software is capable of reading DAISY, NIMAS, and txt file formats, as well as MathML. Features include navigation options, support for SVG images, Windows Vista compatibility, text highlighting with TTS, voice speed, volume, and tone control; magnification; color and style options; bookmarking and note-taking. Go to gh's ReadHear PC web page for more information. (More information is also available at the NCAIM Center web site’s AIM Products Feature Chart.)
READ:OutLoud
Read:OutLoud is a component of Solo software that is capable of importing and reading files in the following formats: NIMAS, txt, rtf, pdf, HTML, and XML. Features include text-to-speech, highlighting, a built-in browser, templates, and a dictionary. Go to the Read:OutLoud web site for more information. (More information is also available at the NCAIM Center web site’s AIM Products Feature Chart.)
Read&Write GOLD
Read&Write GOLD is software designed to help K–12 students with reading, writing, research, and test-taking. Features include TTS, two-color highlighting, and other components including a dictionary, pronunciation tutor, a customizable toolbar, speech input, a speech-enabled calculator, and word predictor. Works with Word, text, PDF, DAISY, and NIMAS formats. Go to the TextHELP web site for more information. (More information is also available at the NCAIM Center web site’s AIM Products Feature Chart.)
Stanza
Stanza is a free application for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. Download any of over 100,000 books and periodicals from Lexcycle’s online catalogue. Works with iTunes or Calibre software for transfer between device and a Mac or PC. Features include bookmarking, font size and color options, portrait or landscape view, and formatting options such as justification, line spacing, and hyphenation. Stanza has built-in support for English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Danish, Portuguese, and Swedish. Supported formats: text, ePUB, DjVu, Comic Book Archive (both CBR & CBZ), eReader, PDF files. Go to the Lexcycle web site for more information.
WYNN
WYNN is a literacy software tool designed to enhance success for individuals with reading challenges and writing difficulties. By using a bi-modal approach—simultaneous highlighting of the text as it is spoken—WYNN transforms printed text into understandable information that benefits readers of all ages. There are two versions of the tool, WYNN Wizard and WYNN Reader. WYNN Wizard, the premier product, includes optical character recognition (OCR), the ability to scan printed pages and convert them into electronic text. Speech synthesis enables this scanned text to be read aloud. WYNN Wizard can read word processing documents, PDF files, text files, and the Internet. WYNN Reader includes all features of WYNN Wizard except OCR, or scanning. Go to the Freedom Scientific web site for more information.