National Library Service DS1 User manual

National Library Service
for the Blind and
Physically Handicapped
The Library of Congress
Digital Talking-Book Player
Models DS1 and DA1
Service Manual
Technician Edition

July 2009 Digital Talking-Book Player ii
Service Manual–Service Center Edition
Version 0.994, July 2009

Table of Contents
1Cautions and Warnings...........................................................................................3
1.1 Electrical Shock Hazard ...................................................................................................3
1.2 Electrostatic Discharge Prevention...................................................................................3
2General Information................................................................................................4
2.1 General Description..........................................................................................................4
2.2 USB Flash Cartridge.........................................................................................................9
2.3 Abbreviations, Definitions, and Acronyms ....................................................................10
2.4 Theory of Operation .......................................................................................................11
2.5 Assembly Diagrams........................................................................................................13
2.6 Digital Talking Book......................................................................................................16
3User Operation and Controls................................................................................19
3.1 Player Controls ...............................................................................................................19
3.2 Player Controls Using Assistive Technology Devices ...................................................28
4Special Features for Libraries and Technicians..................................................31
4.1 Library Service Operations (via Keypad).......................................................................34
4.2 Technician Service Operations (via Keypad) .................................................................38
4.3 Player Configuration and Operation with an XML file ..................................................47
4.4 Technician Plus Sevice Operation (via USB port)..........................................................48
4.5 Developer Service Operations (via internal serial port).................................................57
5Materials.................................................................................................................58
5.1 Tools and Equipment......................................................................................................58
5.2 Cartridges .......................................................................................................................58
5.3 Repair Parts ....................................................................................................................58
6Player Checkout Procedure...................................................................................59
6.1 General Inspection..........................................................................................................62
6.2 Operation on AC Power..................................................................................................63
6.3 Operation on Battery Power ...........................................................................................64
6.4 Battery Recharge ............................................................................................................65
6.5 Battery Condition and Software Version........................................................................66
6.6 Player Statistics...............................................................................................................67
6.7 Keypad Operation...........................................................................................................68
6.8 Cartridge Operation ........................................................................................................69
6.9 Audio Quality .................................................................................................................70
6.10 Headphone Operation.....................................................................................................70
6.11 AT Device Port Operation..............................................................................................71
6.12 Player Disposition...........................................................................................................72
7Troubleshooting Activities.....................................................................................73
7.1 Open and Close the Player..............................................................................................76
7.2 Player Will Not Play on Battery Power, but Will Play on AC Power ............................78
7.3 Player Will Not Play on AC Power ................................................................................81
7.4 No or Distorted Speaker Audio ......................................................................................84
7.5 Cartridge USB failure.....................................................................................................86
7.6 AT USB failure...............................................................................................................88
7.7 Headphone failure...........................................................................................................90
8Repair Activities.....................................................................................................92
8.1 Exterior Cleaning............................................................................................................92
8.2 Battery Replacement.......................................................................................................93
8.3 Upper Housing Service...................................................................................................95
8.4 Cartridge USB Cable Replacement ................................................................................98
8.5 Headphone Cable Replacement....................................................................................100

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8.6 AT USB Cable Replacement........................................................................................102
8.7 Power Input Cord Replacement....................................................................................103
8.8 Power Supply Cable Replacement................................................................................104
8.9 Power Supply Replacement..........................................................................................105
8.10 Handle and Retainer Spring Replacement....................................................................106
8.11 Skid Resistant Feet Replacement..................................................................................108
8.12 Lower Housing Replacement .......................................................................................108
8.13 Software Upgrade.........................................................................................................110
9Prepare to Ship.....................................................................................................111
10 Long-Term Player Storage..................................................................................112
11 Appendix...............................................................................................................113
11.1 Post-Service Acceptance Test Procedures....................................................................113
11.2 Post-Service Acceptance Test Record..........................................................................116
11.3 DTB Player Repair Parts List .......................................................................................117
11.4 Player Checkout Worksheet......................................................................................119
11.5 Statistics Table..............................................................................................................121
11.6 List of Error Announcements .......................................................................................124
11.7 List of USB-Serial Adapter Vendors............................................................................126
11.8 Component Layout .......................................................................................................127
11.9 Player Schematic ..........................................................................................................128
This publication has been prepared by:
Engineering Section, Materials Development Division
National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress
Comments and corrections should be directed to:
Head, Engineering Section
NLS/BPH
Library of Congress
1291 Taylor Street NW,
Washington DC 20542
[email protected]
This document is dedicated to the thousands of volunteer repairers whose skill and
commitment have maintained talking-book players for more than forty years.
The design of this digital talking-book player incorporates many of their ideas to improve
reliability, speed diagnosis, and streamline repair.

Section 1.0
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1 Cautions and Warnings
1.1 Electrical Shock Hazard
WARNING: Hazardous live conductors are exposed if the player is
opened for servicing while the unit is connected to utility power through
the mains power cord and plug. If the player is not plugged into utility
power during servicing, no hazardous live voltages are present; but
Safety Extra Low Voltages (SELV) will be present on many conductors
inside of the player.
1.2 Electrostatic Discharge Prevention
CAUTION: The circuit board inside the player can be damaged by
electrostatic discharge (ESD) when the housing is opened for service.
ESD protective handling must be practiced when the player housing is
opened. At a minimum, technicians must wear grounded
wrist straps and the work surface must be covered with a
grounded mat.
Guidance for implementation and operation for service facilities is ANSI/ESD S20.20-19999, ESD Association
Standard for the Development of an Electrostatic Discharge Control Program for Protection of Electrical and
Electronic Parts, Assemblies, and Equipment (excluding Electrically Initiated Explosive Devices).

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2 General Information
2.1 General Description
The digital-talking book player is used to play audiobooks stored on USB flash-drive cartridges. These players are
supplied to eligible patrons through a network of co-operating libraries under the program administered by the
National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress in executing United States
Public Law 89-522.
The player is able to play digital-talking books (DTBs) structured in ANSI/NISO Z39.86-2002, DAISY 2.02, or
CEA-2003 formats. The player can play audio files stored as AMR-WB+, MPEG I/Layer 3 (MP3) and RIFF WAV
format, either as part of a talking book or as stand-alone audio files.
The user operates the player using a number of buttons located on the top surface. In addition several player functions
occur automatically in response to patron actions or inactions. The player automatically powers on and gives an
audible greeting when the patron plugs the power cord into a live AC power outlet. When powered on, the player will
start or resume the playing of a DTB automatically when the cartridge is inserted into the player. When operating on
battery power and not playing a book, the player will turn off after 30 minutes of inactivity.
There are two models of the digital-talking book player, the Standard Model (DS1) and the Advanced Model (DA1).
Features Common to Both Models
The Rewind, Play/Stop, and Fast Forward controls are centered and located close to the front edge of the player.
These primary controls are used to start and stop the book and to move the reading position.
Power
On/Off
Sleep
Rewind
Assistive Technology
USB Socket
Tone Down
Speed Up
Speed Down
Volume Down
Play/Stop
Headphone Socket
Tone Up
Volume Up
Fast
Forward
Figure 2-1 Standard Player (DS1)

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The square, green Play/Stop button initiates the playing of a book or stops a book or message already playing.
Holding this button down on the Standard Player enters and exits the built-in User Guide.
The white, triangular Rewind and Fast Forward buttons to the left and right of the Play/Stop button move
the reading position through the book, further in time and book structure the longer the button is held down.
Periodically the amount of book time traversed is announced, while beeps indicate the crossing of chapter
boundaries during both Rewind and Fast Forward.
Just behind the Rewind, Play, and Fast Forward controls are the Power, Sleep, and Volume buttons.
The round, red Power button is pressed to turn the player on and off.
1
It is located close to the left edge of the player.
The Power button can also be used to perform a hardware reset to reboot the player. A hardware reset is
accomplished by holding the button down until a beep is heard (more than 7 seconds).
The white Sleep button, shaped like a crescent moon, is used to start or continue playback for 15, 30, 45 or
60 minutes.
It is centered just behind the Play/Stop button.
At the conclusion of the sleep period the player’s volume will fade and playback will stop.
The yellow Volume buttons are shaped like arrowheads and point up and down.
They are close to the right edge of the player.
Behind the Power, Sleep, and Volume controls is a raised line running from one side of the player to the other. This
line divides the six most frequently used controls on the front of the player from the Tone and Speed controls located
behind the raised line and on either side of the round speaker.
The Tone and Speed buttons are shaped like up-and-down arrowheads, like the Volume buttons. They are located
between the round speaker and the edges of the player.
The Tone buttons are close to the top left edge.
The Speed buttons are close to the top right edge.
The Volume, Tone, and Speed controls all announce the direction of adjustment with each press of the button (e.g.,
“Tone up” or “Tone down”, with similar announcements for the other controls). When playing a book, the Advanced
Model enunciates the adjustments only by simple beeps, with a second beep to represent the normal or middle setting.
The Speed control changes the speed of the speech from 50 percent to 300 percent of normal, with no change in pitch.
The player can be powered from a 120 volt AC wall outlet or from an internal battery pack. The battery pack was
designed specifically for this player. It is not replaceable by patrons.
The player is designed to resist entry of small liquid spills and insects. The speaker is water-resistant and further
protected by a water-resistant speaker grill cloth. The keypad is seated into channels inside the player housing to
resist liquid spills entering the player.
The digital talking-book cartridge is inserted into the cartridge dock opening on the front of the player directly below
the Play/Stop button. The cartridge plugs into a USB type A receptacle socket at the rear of the cartridge dock. When
the player is powered, inserting a cartridge will start playback automatically.
The player has a pull-out handle located below the cartridge dock opening.
A compartment in the back of the player can be used for power cord storage while using battery power or when the
player is not in use.
1
When connected to AC power, turning the player off does not disconnect power from the electronics. Most of the
controls are disabled; however, the circuit is still active so that battery charging can occur, if necessary.
When the player is turned off while using batteries, power is completely disconnected from all electronics except the
battery monitoring integrated circuit.

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The cartridge used with the player is about the size of a common cassette, but with a more complex shape. The end of
the cartridge with the round finger hole is beveled, so that when that end of the cartridge is pressed down on a flat
surface in front of the player, the other end of the cartridge, with the USB Connector, tilts up and can slide smoothly
into the player. The end of the cartridge with the USB connector is also beveled so it will fit into the player only one
way.
Advanced Features
The Advanced Model has an additional row of controls between the raised line and the round speaker. The
advanced controls are for setting and retrieving bookmarks and for navigating through the structured levels of a
NISO, Daisy 2.02, or CEA-2003 book.
The white, rectangular Menu button in the center of the player selects the level at which step navigation by
the Next and Previous buttons occurs. Pressing this button repeatedly selects progressively finer navigation
levels available in a particular book. Navigation by phrase and by bookmark is also selectable.
The white, blunt arrow-shaped Previous and Next buttons on the left and right sides of the Menu button
respectively move the reading position to the previous or next element in the book. The level at which
navigation occurs by the Previous and Next buttons is set by using the Menu button. When set to the
bookmark level, the Previous button can be used to go to the beginning and the Next button to move to the
end of the book. These are two non-erasable bookmarks.
The white, diamond-shaped Information button near the left edge of the player is used to obtain
information about the reading position, the book currently being read, and the power and battery status of the
player.
The white, rectangular Bookmark button near the right edge is used to insert and delete bookmarks. Once a
bookmark is set, the reading position may be returned to the bookmark by using the Previous and Next
Menu
Next Element
Bookmark
(Select Navigation Level)
Information
Previous
Element
Figure 2-2 Additional Controls on the Advanced Model (DA1)

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buttons provided the bookmark navigation level has been selected with the Menu button. Pressing this button
at a previously set bookmark will remove it.
External Connectors
Headphone
A bright green, circular headphone jack is located on the right side of the player. The player accepts headphones with
a 3.5 mm (mini) ring, tip, and sleeve plug. It will also accept a mono 3.5 mm (mini) tip and sleeve connector. The
player senses the presence of a connector and disconnects the speaker audio output. This output may be used to drive
external amplified speakers or a pillow speaker.
USB host
Behind the headphone jack is a USB port. This USB port can be used for several purposes:
Patrons may connect Assistive Technology (AT) remote control devices to control the player. (Refer to
section 3.2.)
Patrons can connect commercial off-the-shelf USB flash drives
2
to play books obtained from the NLS
Internet library.
Repair personnel may use this port to access diagnostic information during servicing.
This USB receptacle is provided with a cover to protect it when not in use.
Battery
The battery pack comprises 6 Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) cells, a self resetting fuse and a 70°C thermostat for
safety, and a thermistor for end of charge detection. The nominal capacity of the battery is 2000mAH which will
provide approximately 35 hours of play time (at normal speed and normal volume settings). To preserve the service
life of the battery, a charge cycle is initiated only if the remaining capacity is estimated to have fallen to less than 75
percent of full capacity. (Note: unlike many simple consumer devices, the battery is not recharged on application of
AC power)
The player continually monitors the charge state of the battery pack. The battery’s self discharge
3
is estimated and is
used to modify the capacity measurement.
The player reports the remaining capacity in number of hours of play time available unless this is greater than 75% of
the full capacity in which case the player reports “greater than H hours” (where H is 75% of the number of hours that
the player can play on battery). When the player estimates that the capacity is than half an hour, the announcement
will be “Battery Low”. If the battery pack has been depleted so that the voltage is less than 6 Volts, and the player is
powered on using battery power, the message “Battery Low, Powering Off” is played and the player will immediately
power off. Due to the uncertainty of the capacity measurement the player underestimates the actual capacity.
It is estimated that the battery pack will have a service life in excess of 600 charge cycles. Under moderate battery
usage (4 hours per day for 5 days per week), the battery life should exceed 4 years. At the end of its service life the
capacity of the battery pack will be 75 percent of its initial value. A count of the number of charge cycles for the
current battery pack is kept by the player. This may be read by library staff through a service function.
2
Most but not all commercially available USB flash drives will function correctly as a DTB storage medium. NLS
maintains a list of known compatible and incompatible drives.
3
Self discharge is the loss of stored charge due to chemical reactions within the battery. The rate of self discharge
doubles for every 10oC rise in temperature.

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Digital Talking-Book Player Specifications
Player size
157 mm (6.2 in.) width; 224 mm (8.8 in.) depth; 43 mm (1.7 in.) height
Player volume
1.51 l (93 in3)
Player weight
1.15 kg (2.52 lb)
Player box size
317.5 mm (12.5 in.) width; 232 mm (9.1 in.) depth; 97mm (3.8 in.) height
Player overpack (8 players)
480 mm (19 in.) width; 406 mm (16 in.) depth; 330 mm (13 in.) height
Book formats
ANSI/NISO Z39.86-2002, Daisy 2.02, CEA-2003
Audio formats
AMR-WB+ (3GP file format), MPEG 1/layer 3, RIFF WAV
Speaker
frequency response
200 Hz to 10 kHz (+/- 6 dB)
Headphone
frequency response
20 Hz to 20 kHz (+/- 3 dB)
Speaker power (max)
2 W
Headphone power (max)
60 mW
AT remote protocol
USB HID (keyboard and gamepad devices)
AC voltage
120 VAC nominal, 60 Hz
AC current draw
Maximum 9 mA RMS (when charging the battery pack)
DC current draw (nominal)
55 mA
AC protection
1 Ampere fuse: non-replaceable component of the internal AC/DC power supply
DC power
Battery pack: custom nickel-metal hydride, Part No. 42824591310
(7.2 volt nickel-metal-hydride pack: 6 cells in series with a nominal capacity of
2000 mAh)
DC protection
Within battery pack: 2.5 Amp resettable fuse. Thermal fuse at 70oC.

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2.2 USB Flash Cartridge
The player plays DTBs stored on USB flash drive cartridges. These cartridges contain a type of solid state memory
that is nonvolatile and can be rewritten thousands of times. They are resistant to damage by extremes of temperature,
humidity, and other environmental conditions expected to be encountered by patrons and libraries.
The cartridge has a feature that enables erasing or rewriting of the contents, but only by authorized parties. Thus, it is
impossible for patrons to inadvertently or maliciously alter the contents of the book.
Cartridges are manufactured in several sizes. The nominal capacities are 512 MB and 1 GB and 2GB. About 99.5
percent of NLS DTB titles are less than 1GB in size.
Cartridges accommodate a print and braille label in a slightly recessed area to protect the embossed braille. This label
contains two 30-point print lines, four large-print (14-point) lines, and five rows of book information in braille. The
underside of the cartridge has an area available for a library-specific label or identifier.
The cartridge has mechanical features that assist handling by physically handicapped persons. It can be inserted into
the player in only one orientation.
Figure 2-3. USB Flash Drive Cartridge (Top)
Figure 2-4. USB Flash Drive Cartridge (Underside)

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Digital Talking-Book Cartridge Specifications
Cartridge size
57 mm (2.25 in.) width; 95 mm (3.75 in.) depth; 10 mm (0.39 in.) height
Cartridge weight
37 g (1.3 oz)
Technology
USB high speed mass storage device
Capacity (unformatted)
512 MB, 1 GB, 2GB, 4GB
File system
FAT12, FAT16, FAT32
Container size
112 mm (4.4 in.) width; 152 mm (6 in.) depth; 19 mm (0.75 in.) height
Container weight
110 g (3.87 oz)
2.3 Abbreviations, Definitions, and Acronyms
Abbreviations and Acronyms
AT
Assistive Technology
AMR-WB+
Adaptive MultiRate-WideBand+
ANSI
American National Standards Institute
DAISY
Digital Accessible Information System Consortium
DTB
Digital Talking Book
DTBM
Digital Talking-Book Machine
CRC
Cyclic Redundancy Check (Checksum)
DAC
Digital to Analog Converter
ESD
Electrostatic Discharge
HID
Human Interface Device
IPA
Isopropyl Alcohol
mAh
milliAmpere hour
MLA
Machine Lending Agency
MP3
MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 Format
NISO
National Information Standards Organization
PC
Personal Computer
PTC
Positive Temperature Coefficient
PDTB
Protected Digital Talking Book (Using DAISY PDTB2)
RMS
Root Mean Square
Service Center
During the warranty period: the manufacturer; post warranty, the contract repair
entity specified by NLS
USB
Universal Serial Bus
VAC
Volts Alternating Current
VDC
Volts Direct Current
WAV
Waveform Audio Format (audio file format variant of RIFF bitstream format)
3GP
Multimedia Container Format defined by the Third Generation Partnership
Project
3GPP
Third Generation Partnership Project

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2.4 Theory of Operation
Basic Description
The Digital Talking-Book Machine (DTBM) is comprised of several main component blocks. The circuit board is the
most complex of these and is the heart of the player. Power for the player is obtained from either the AC power
supply or the internal battery pack. The battery pack is used to provide the player power when AC power is not
available and is recharged, when required, with power from the AC power supply. The user operates the player by
using the keypad, a rubber membrane laying on the circuit board. The keypad has conductive pills that, when
depressed, contact terminals connected to the microprocessor. The Digital Talking Book (DTB) is a set of computer
files stored on a cartridge comprising a custom USB flash drive enclosed in a plastic housing. These files contain
digitized and (usually) compressed audio and metadata defining the characteristics of the book structure. The DTB is
connected, upon insertion, to the player via a USB interface.
The player’s main circuit contains several major circuit blocks:
1. Microprocessor
This integrated circuit is a Freescale Semiconductor ARM9E processor clocked at 266MHz. It operates with
16MB of low voltage SDRAM (in addition to its high speed internal RAM) and 64MB of NAND Flash
memory. Upon boot up, the microprocessor copies the operating system (CE Linux) and the DTBM
application from the NAND Flash to SDRAM where it is executed. The “user guide” DTB and non-volatile
data, including audio messages and prompts, are stored on the NAND flash and are accessed on demand.
The keypad is connected directly to the microprocessor, which has a dedicated internal keyboard-scan
circuit. A reset integrated circuit will actively reset the microprocessor on power-up from battery or if the
On/Off button is held down for longer than 7 seconds.
2. Power converters
The DC power (12.9V) from the AC power supply, or the nominal 7.2V from the battery must be converted
to several voltages used throughout the circuit. The input voltage is first converted by a high efficiency
switch-mode converter to 5V and then to other voltages (3.3V 1.8V and 1.2V) by either switch-mode or
linear regulators. The core voltage of the microprocessor is 1.2V, the SDRAM and NAND flash memory
operate from 1.8V and the ADC, USB circuits, and headphone driver require 3.3V. The speaker power
amplifier and the power for external USB devices require 5V. The player is switched from battery power to
external power by MOSFETS when the presence of external power is sensed.
3. Audio Circuit
The microprocessor converts the audio data retrieved from the files on the book cartridge to 16-bit PCM at a
rate of 44.1ksps. This digital data is clocked into the Digital–to-Analog Converter (DAC) where it is
converted to an analog voltage (Max 1V RMS). This analog audio signal is amplified by a high efficiency
2W-class-D amplifier when the player is using the internal speaker, or an 80mW linear driver when
headphones are used. If headphones are inserted, the microprocessor senses this and enables the headphone
amplifier while disabling the speaker amplifier. The headphone driver has a balanced output around 0V (an
internal power supply generates a negative voltage supply). It can drive stereo headphones and is protected
from short circuits either to ground or between the two outputs.
The volume control, when used to control the speaker volume, is distributed between the DAC ( +6 to -33 )
and the speaker amplifier (+6dB or +12dB). The distribution of gain is also governed by the setting of the
tone control. For the very low tone settings the speaker gain may be set at +18dB or +23.5dB to compensate
for the scaling applied to avoid the tone digital signal processing from overflowing. When used with
headphones, the volume adjustment is accomplished solely through the built in control of the DAC. The
DAC attenuator is adjusted over the range of -38dB to + 6dB (at flat tone).
4. Battery Management and Charging
The battery pack comprises 6 Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) cells, a self resetting fuse and a 70°C
thermostat for safety, and a thermistor for end of charge detection. The nominal capacity of the battery is
2000mAH. The state of charge is monitored by a circuit measuring the charge into and out of the batteries

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and by predicting self discharge. This ‘gas gauge’ chip is monitored by the microprocessor to determine
when a charge cycle should be initiated. To preserve the service life of the battery, a charge cycle is only
started if the remaining capacity is estimated to have fallen to 75 percent of full capacity. (Note: unlike many
simple consumer devices, the battery is not recharged on application of AC power)
Once the microprocessor has determined that a charge should commence it enables the battery-charger chip,
which independently handles the charging process. Charging proceeds at a 1A rate and normally terminates
when the charger detects a rapid rise in the battery pack’s temperature. As a fail-safe, three other termination
criteria are monitored in case the temperature rise is not detected. These are a dip in voltage, which occurs
when the battery is fully charged, an absolute temperature of greater than 60º C or after charging for more
than three hours. A charge time of more than three hours is considered a fault and is recorded. If the battery
attempts three charge cycles and they all result in timeout faults, no further charging is attempted.
If the battery pack voltage is below 6.3V, the player will either shut down if operating, or will not power-up
if the player is off. This helps protect the battery pack from the effect of over-discharge (cell reversal).
5. USB Interface
The player has two USB interfaces. One is for the main book cartridge, the other for Accessible Technology
(AT) devices or for use as a second book port. USB driver chips ensure that the signals conform to the USB
standard. The 5V power available from the USB ports is controlled by a chip that detects over-current to
protect the player from USB device malfunctions.
Basic Operation
The player is able to play talking books structured in ANSI/NISO Z39.86-2002, DAISY 2.02, or CEA-2003 formats.
The player can play audio files stored as AMR-WB+, MPEG II/Layer 3 (MP3) and RIFF WAV format, either as part
of a talking book or as stand-alone audio files.
The player is powered on either by pressing the power button, while not connected to AC power, or by the
application of AC power.
4
On power up or reset the operating system and player application program are copied from
NAND flash to SDRAM and executed. Peripheral devices are initialized and a power-on message is played.
The operating system monitors peripherals such as the keypad, power state and USB ports for a change of state.
When a change is detected, such as a key press or USB cartridge insertion, a signal is sent to the player application.
Upon receipt, the application decides the appropriate course of action. In the case of cartridge insertion, the
application attempts to mount the cartridge’s file system and determine the contents of the cartridge. When found on
the cartridge or USB flash drive, a DTB or audio file will play.
The player’s operation is altered by:
1. The user (by pressing keypad buttons or by changing the AC power state)
2. The contents of the cartridge (the player will follow the structure of the DTB)
3. A change in the battery or AC power conditions (e.g., power off when battery voltage falls below 6V)
4. Time. Power off after thirty minutes when powered from battery, when not playing a book and with no user
action.
Note: In this document, power outlet is defined as a 60 Hertz, 120 volts AC outlet.
4
While connected to an AC power source operating the On/Off does not completely power down the player. The
microprocessor and battery monitoring/charge circuit are still operating. Only when powered from battery, will the
On/Off button completely power down the player.

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2.5 Assembly Diagrams
Figure 2-5. Standard Player Assembly
Figure 2-6. Standard Player Upper Subassembly

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Figure 2-8. Advanced Player Upper Sub-Assembly
Figure 2-7. Advanced Player Assembly

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Figure 2-9. Lower Player Assembly (Common to both models)

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2.6 Digital Talking Book
A digital talking book is composed of a collection of computer files. These files contain the digitized audio content
along with information on the book’s structure to permit both random access and linear reading of the material. To
play the book, a compatible player requires information on how all the audio files fit together and the location of the
book structure elements such as parts, chapters, and optionally page numbers.
Digital talking books created for NLS are built to conform to the ANSI/NISO Z39.86-2002 standard. Using the
complete standard, books can be created in many formats such as audio, text, or mixed text and audio. The content of
NLS digital talking books contains only human narrated speech. In the following description of the DTB, only those
parts of the standard relevant to NLS-produced books are described.
2.6.1 Files That Make Up a Typical DTB
Figure 2-10. Example DTB files
2.6.1.1 Package File
The Package file contains administrative information about the DTB, the files that compose it, and how these files
interrelate.
The major parts of the Package file are as follows:
Package Identity –a unique identifier for the DTB
Metadata –Publication metadata (title, author, publisher, etc.)
Manifest –A list of files that make up the DTB
Spine –An arrangement of files providing a linear reading order
File Name
Purpose
Purpose
db54321.ppf
Protected Package file (PPF)
Book structure
db54321.pncx
Protected Navigation Control file (NCX)
Book navigation
db54321-01.smil
Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language
(SMIL) files
Audio clip organization
db54321-02.smil
db54321-01.3gp
AMR-WB+ files
Compressed audio
db54321-02.3gp
db54321-03.3gp
db54321-04.3gp
db54321-05.3gp
db54321-06.3gp
db54321-07.3gp
db54321ann.3gp
AMR-WB+ announcement file
db54321hdgs.3gp
AMR-WB+ headings file
us-nls-db54321.ao
Authorization object
contains the symmetric keys for the encrypted files
encrypted in the NLS public key
Book protection
dtbsmil110.dtd
Document Type Definition file
Administrative files for
book validation but not
required to play the book
ncx110.dtd
Document Type Definition file
oeb1.ent
Entity file
oebpkg101.dtd
Document Type Definition file
pdtb_protected.smil
Façade Book SMIL presentation
Façade Book
protected.mp3
Façade Book announcement
db54321.ncx
Façade Book Navigation Control file (NCX)
db54321.opf
Façade Book Package file (OPF)

General Information
Section 1
July 2009 Digital Talking-Book Player 17
Service Manual–Service Center Edition
2.6.1.2 Navigation Control File
The Navigation Control file (NCX) exposes the hierarchical structure of a DTB to allow the user to navigate through
it. The NCX is similar to a table of contents in that it enables the reader to jump directly to any of the major structural
elements of the document, i.e., part, chapter, or section. However, it will often contain more elements of the
document than the publisher chooses to include in the original print table of contents. Other elements such as pages
can be included in separate, nonhierarchical lists and can be accessed by the user as well. These NCX elements
contain pointers to elements in the SMIL file. Each NCX element has an associated audio label (or tag) that the player
renders to notify the user (e.g., “Chapter One”). These labels access clips in audio files directly, not through the
SMIL files.
It is important to emphasize that these navigation features are intended as a convenience for users who want them,
and not as a burden to those who do not. The NCX is used primarily by the Advanced Model. It does not contain
information required for linear playback of the book.
2.6.1.3 SMIL Files
The SMIL (Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language) files contain information that weaves together the
various parts of the audiobook into a complete presentation. These files define the order, timing, and location of the
audio clips that compose the DTB. There will be one or more SMIL files in each DTB. Each SMIL element will
identify an audio file that contains the clip. The start and end times of the clips referenced in the SMIL elements are
relative to the audio file and not the entire DTB.
2.6.1.4 Audio Files
The digitized audio files are compressed during the production of the DTB to reduce their size. NLS uses AMR-
Wideband Plus (WB+), an advanced compression standard specifically designed for high-quality voice compression.
The compressed audio is stored on the cartridge in the 3GP file format.
2.6.1.5 Authorization Object File
The audio files and the content of some other files are encrypted to meet the requirements of copyright law. The keys
to decrypt the audio and markup files are unique for each book and are themselves encrypted and stored in the
Authorization Object file. The player contains a private key that is used to decrypt the Authorization Object file and
recover the book keys required to decrypt the book content. Commercial players that have not been enabled to play
NLS books do not contain this key and thus are unable to play NLS protected books.
2.6.1.6 Administrative Files
A DTB contains several files that play no role in rendering the book. These files describe the rules that the book
content must follow to be valid. They are used in the production and validation of the DTB.
2.6.1.7 Façade Book
All NLS DTBs actually have a second book contained on the cartridge. This so called Façade Book is played only
when the encrypted book cannot be played. A Façade Book will never be heard when playing a book on an NLS
player, but it may be played on a third party commercial player that has not been authorized to play NLS books. The
Façade Book merely informs users that they are not authorized to read the book.
2.6.2 How the Player Uses the Files
To read a book linearly, that is to say from beginning to end, the player opens the Package File and uses the “spine”
to identify the sequence of one or more SMIL file presentations to play. The SMIL file contains a series of pointers
to audio clips to be played. These clips are located in the compressed 3GP Audio Files.
If a user wishes to use the features of the Advanced Model to move directly to a place in hierarchical book structure,
such as a chapter, the player will use the information contained in the NCX file that will point to the position in a

General Information
Section 1
July 2009 Digital Talking-Book Player 18
Service Manual–Service Center Edition
SMIL file where the chapter begins. The NCX file will also have a direct pointer to the audio clip that will render the
name of the chapter so that the user can quickly locate the navigation point of interest. Both the standard and
advanced players use information in the NCX file to report the book title and reading position location.
Before a protected book can be played, the player examines the Authorization Object to determine the secret key
required to extract the unique book keys from the Authorization Object. If the player has the key required, it will
decrypt the book keys and use them in turn to decrypt the book’s audio and navigation information. If it does not
have the secret key that this book was protected with, it will play the Façade Book.
Figure 2-11. Representation of a Typical NLS Digital Talking Book
Audio Files
db54321ann.3gp
db54321-01.3gp
db54321-02.3gp
db54321-03.3gp
db54321-04.3gp
db54321-05.3gp
db54321-06.3gp
db54321-07.3gp
SMIL Files
db54321-01.smil
db54321-02.smil
Package File
db54321.ppf
NCX File
(Navigation)
db54321.pncx
Audio File
db54321hdgs.3gp
Each navigation
mark points to a
SMIL element
within a SMIL file.
The “spine” of the
book contains a
list of SMIL files to
be played in
order.
Audio “label” clips
play when user
navigates (e.g.,
“Chapter One”).
Each SMIL
element points
to an audio clip
within an audio
file.
Authorization Object
us-nls-db54321.ao
“Book Keys” required
to decrypt protected
files.
Façade Book
pdtb_protected.smil
protected.mp3
db54321.ncx
db54321.opf
The player contains the “private” key to
decrypt the Authorization Object which
hold the “Book Keys”