Viable Enhances VCO Experience for ViableVRS Callers
Rockville, Maryland - February 21, 2008 - Viable Inc., a provider of video relay services (VRS) and technologies for deaf and hard of hearing, has enhanced its provision of the Voice Carryover (VCO) feature for its ViableVRS™ offering.
With VCO, ViableVRS callers can choose to use their voice when speaking to the person they are calling and limit the participation of the Video Interpreter (VI) to signing what the other person says. Enhancements to this feature include:
→ Instant VCO setup with Viable Vision™, our VRS software for PC users
→ Instant VCO setup with the VPAD(TM), our videophone hardware
→ VI listen-in and support for the VCO user
"We are excited to enable a richer VCO experience with ViableVRS," said Jason T. Yeh, vice president of technology. "We believe each ViableVRS caller has unique expectations and we are delighted to add value to the VCO feature."
To use VCO via ViableVRS, the VRS user will need an audio input device, such as a microphone plugged into the videophone or computer, a cell phone, or a standard telephone. Upon connection to ViableVRS, all the VRS user needs to do is tell the VI, "I would like to use VCO" and the VI will promptly set up a connection with the audio input device.
Ways VRS users can connect to ViableVRS include:
→ Via dialing ViableVRS.TV on any videophone
→ Via Viable Vision
→ Via XMeeting for Mac users
→ Via the VPAD
A diagram showing the flow of a VCO call made through ViableVRS is available at the company website.
Viable develops videophones and provides next-generation video relay services for deaf and hard of hearing persons, opening them to a world of communication possibilities. Founded in 2006, Viable is a private, deaf-owned company, and the majority of its employees are deaf and hard of hearing and are personally vested in the innovation and development of the company's products and services. Visit www.viable.net for further information.
About Telecommunications Relay Services Mandated by Title IV of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, telecommunications relay services (TRS) enables individuals with hearing or speech disabilities to achieve functional equivalence by accessing telephone systems to place or receive calls through an intermediary known as a relay operator or relay interpreter. Emergent IP technology has given rise to video-based solutions, which are known as video relay services (VRS). VRS options include using a webcam or a videophone to connect to a video relay interpreter, and allow deaf and hard of hearing callers for whom sign language is native to fully achieve the ideal of functional equivalence.