AMIS 3.0 beta

AMIS is an open-source DAISY book player that will allow you to read any DAISY 2.02 or DAISY 3 digital talking book. This self-voiced application supports the three main types of DTBs available – text only, audio only with NCC, and synchronized text and audio. Though fully compatible with your favorite screen reader, its built-in TTS capabilities allow you to use it independently.

AMIS is the only DAISY player developed by the DAISY Consortium, and though initially designed for blind and visually impaired users, it has been made freely available to anyone interested in reading DAISY books on his computer. This Windows-based application is completely self-voiced, allowing blind users to know exactly where they are while moving around the menus. However, if you feel more comfortable using your screen reader’s voice, AMIS is fully compatible with Jaws for Windows, Window Eyes, Hal, and Supernova. Those visually impaired users with good residual sight, can customize the appearance of the screen by selecting among four different style sheets with different text and background color contrast, and adjust the type and size of the font according to their preferences.

The full functionality of AMIS is better perceived when reading text and audio DAISY books (also known as hybrid books). These highly structured books allow you to listen to a book while seeing its text on the screen. The part that is being read aloud is automatically highlighted in the viewer, helping users with other print disabilities (such as dyslexia) to make the most of this new reading experience. Besides, when text is present, you can also make use of its text search functionality, which will automatically take you to the part of the book where the text is located.

Its clear and well-structured interface (which relies heavily on Windows Internet Explorer) allows you to have the full structure of the book displayed together with the text. If you prefer, and if they are included in the structure of the book, you can use page numbers as a quick reference to certain parts of the text. The program includes another useful navigation tool – bookmarks. You can set up as many bookmarks as you wish, and go back to any of them with just a few clicks.