[Athen] Which CCTV would you recommend?

[Daminna Standfield]

Is anyone familiar with Enhanced Vision's Merlin or Humanware's Smartview
Extend?  We are trying to decide which CCTV would be the better choice?  Also
any feedback on Clarity's line ie Flexmate, PCMate?

Daminna Standfield
Assistive Technology Consultant
CSU East Bay
25800 Carlos Bee Blvd., LI1121
Hayward, CA  94542
Phone:  510.885.4346

-----Original Message-----
From: Gaeir Dietrich [mailto:gdietrich at htctu.net] 
Sent: Friday, April 27, 2007 1:38 PM
To: Alternate Media
Cc: Athen at athenpro.org
Subject: RE: What Brand/Model CCTV's Do You Use?

I really, really like the Ergo. The maker (Rehan) is a European company, but
the CCTVs are carried by Abledata:
http://www.abledata.com/abledata.cfm?pageid=113583&top=0&productid=75780&tra
il=0

I love the easy motion of the tray and the fact that the CCTV is adjustable
on its cart. The cart itself is easy to roll, and you can get oversize
wheels so that it moves easily across things like asphalt and tile.

It is the only CCTV that I have ever had users tell me that they actually
enjoyed using. Folks love the smooth tray movement, and I even had one
person say that it was the first CCTV she had used that did not make her
neck hurt.

It's a bit large for a home situation, but it's great for a campus.

Hope this helps!

******************************************************
Gaeir (rhymes with "fire") Dietrich
High Tech Center Training Unit of the
California Community Colleges
De Anza College, Cupertino, CA
www.htctu.net
408-996-6043

-----Original Message-----
From: Cassandra Tex [mailto:tex at humboldt.edu] 
Sent: Friday, April 27, 2007 1:11 PM
To: Alternate Media
Subject: What Brand/Model CCTV's Do You Use?

Greetings All,

Sorry for the cross-posting...

We're in the market for a CCTV, and I've never purchased one 
before.  Anything in particular I should be looking at?  What are the 
best brands/models as far as durability, functionality, etc.?  Is 
there a particular brand/model that the California Community Colleges 
recommend?  Are there some that are better than others?  What about 
service?  Which companies provide the best service?

 From the research I've done so far, they all seem to have similar 
feature sets and functionality.  The CCTV will be in the Library 
where students and community members will have access to it.  My hope 
is that I can get a product that has a rich feature set while being 
easy and intuitive to use.

Thanks for your help!

Cassandra Tex
Assistive Technology Specialist
Humboldt State University