No experience with this but a bit of thought...
Given the wide availability of MP3 players why not make the files available on your website for people to download to their own MP3 player before they visit? This would save you having to buy and maintain / replace the players.
Obviously this wouldn't address the issues for accessibility for the visually impaired, and it also rather assumes that folk visit your website before they visit the museum / gallery. But it might encourage a few extra folk to visit your museum to see the things they have heard about, or maybe visit more than once.
By not committing yourself to one fixed handheld system I would also have thought it opens up more possibilities to produce alternative audio guides for different audiences, or update the guides on a more regular basis.
Best wishes,
Edmund Lee
Standards and Guidelines Manager
English Heritage
National Monuments Record Centre
Kemble Drive
Swindon
SN2 2GZ
email: [log in to unmask]
tel: +44 (0)1793 414719 (please note change - previously ext 4791)
fax: +44 (0)1793 414770
-----Original Message-----
From: Museums Computer Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Joe Cutting
Sent: 16 May 2005 15:14
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: MP3 players for audio tours
Has anyone successfully used MP3 players for museum/gallery audio tours.
My local Asda is selling MP3 players for £30 which is much cheaper than
professional handsets
but I've got a few worries about using them such as:
- Visitors won't want to share earpieces so you'll need some kind of headset
- The controls can be really small and fiddly which isn't great for the
visually impaired who otherwise can get a lot out of an audio tour
- They're obviously useful for other things so visitors may walk off with them.
Anyone tried this in the wild or have any recommendations?
Best Wishes
Joe
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