Sorenson to allow other VRS usage

NightwarriorJin

NightwarriorJin

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http://www.sorenson.com/press/press_release_full.php?pr_id=67

Sorenson Communications to Allow Users to Call Interpreters of Other Video Relay Service Providers


SALT LAKE CITY - Sorenson Communications, the industry leading provider of services and technology for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals, today announced plans to allow the users of its videophones to call not only Sorenson VRS interpreters but also the interpreters of other Video Relay Service (VRS) providers. By no later than July 1st, all users of the Sorenson videophone will be able to call a hearing person using sign language through the interpreters of any other VRS provider.

"We understand that members of the deaf and hard-of-hearing community want the opportunity to use Sorenson videophones to reach the interpreters of other VRS providers," said Pat Nola, President and CEO of Sorenson Communications. "We are going to unbundle our network so that our customers will be able to use our high-end technology to connect to other VRS providers if they choose. Although we continue to believe that our interpreters cannot be beat for service and quality, we want to meet the requests for easier access to other VRS interpreters. On this and other matters I encourage our users to express their wishes and to contact me directly at patrick.nola@sorenson.com."

"I have recently joined Sorenson Communications. My specific job is to help develop new ways to serve the deaf community," said Ron Burdett, Vice President of Community Relations. "I hope this unbundling decision will be the first of many steps to reach the goal of providing functionally equivalent telecommunications service to 100% of the deaf community. I encourage Sorenson customers to contact me at ron.burdett@sorenson.com"

Sorenson Communications is honored to provide this public service, enabling deaf to hearing communication through high quality integrated service of videophones and interpreters. The company remains committed to learning from its users about features and functionality to improve this service.

About Sorenson Communications:

Sorenson Communications™ (www.sorenson.com) is a provider of industry-leading communication offerings including Sorenson Video Relay Service® (VRS), the company's line of videophones, Sorenson IP Relay™ (siprelay), and Sorenson Video Remote Interpreting™ (VRI). Sorenson VRS (www.sorensonvrs.com) enables deaf callers to conduct video relay conversations with hearing friends, business colleagues, and family members through a qualified American Sign Language interpreter. The company's Sorenson VP-100 is the first consumer-based broadband videophone appliance specifically designed for deaf individuals. Sorenson IP Relay (www.siprelay.com) allows deaf and hard-of-hearing users to place instant text-based relay calls from a PC or mobile device to any telephone user. Sorenson Video Remote Interpreting™ (www.sorensonvri.com) is a fee-based video interpreting service ideal for use in situations where an interpreter cannot be physically present to interpret between hearing and deaf individuals who are at the same location.
 
Let's see if they are doing this purely as a marketing ploy. I really have a hard time believing that they won't block everything back up when they notice their usage dropping and they "prove" to the FCC that this route prevents innovation in the VRS market.
 
Do Sorsenson have deaf executive officers? I don't see any executive officer who is deaf or hard of hearing must be fluent in ASL...

Check it out their Sorenson Executive Bios.

No wonder why they need to make more profit and can not survive longer. That's why there are a lot of D-link VP1000 users to select one of 7 VRS excluding Sorenson VRS.

Why is Sorenson company attempting to steal Dlink VP 1000 people from 7 VRS competitors?
 
I'm not surprised. Interoperability paints a nice frame around a comany's image.

And................ THEY BLINKED!

Richard
 
Correction:

Ronald C. Burdett
Vice President, Community Relations
Bio and Image Coming Soon.

Ronald C. Burdett is a deaf exective officer.

For this year of 2006, Sorenson is too late to hire one deaf/hh executive officer. It has about 1/3 d/hh employees force.

CSD has large numbers of deaf/hh executive officers.

Why is Sorenson taking so long to trust deafie to become a Sorenson executive in 4 years or are they very nervous about their product patents' rights running out soon that they can no longer control their product rights? That's too bad and we the deaf probably can afford to purchase the cheap VP...

~~~~~~~~

July 14, 2004

Word out: New access for deaf
From: Salt Lake Tribune, UT - Jul 14, 2004

By Bob Mims
The Salt Lake Tribune

For Sorenson Media, hiring the deaf isn't just the socially enlightened thing to do. It has proved to be a decisive competitive advantage.

The Salt Lake City video compression and services company credits its 150 deaf or hearing-impaired employees -- nearly one-third of Sorenson Media's work force -- with more than 80 percent of its revenue in the past year.

The catalyst? The Sorenson VP-100, a paperback-sized videophone device that, hooked to a television and fast Internet connection, provides deaf clientele access to the company's Video Relay Service (VRS).

VRS, also available via a personal computer, Web cam and Sorenson's EnVision software, allows a deaf person to see an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter who then calls a hearing user via standard telephone line and relays the conversation in real time.

The system, which alternatively allows two deaf users to sign to one another, transmits video at 30 frames per second, providing an image that James L. Sorenson, the company's chief executive, boasts is unprecedented in quality.

"It's been a great thing for us and for the deaf community as well," he said Tuesday. "We've developed a solution for the deaf that is proving quite popular. And rather than trying to use hearing employees . . . we utilize the deaf to go into their own community to install and train the deaf in using the technology."

Pat Nola, chief operating officer, says that is a formula that has made Sorenson Media the nation's No. 1 provider of VRS services -- ahead of such giant competitors as Sprint and AT&T -- since launching the service 16 months ago.

"Because of the way the deaf culture works, they really like to have someone they are comfortable with come and show them how the technology works," Nola said.

Sorenson's deaf service representatives, along with several hundred ASL interpreters, give the company's VRS program "a real competitive advantage," he added.

Sorenson donates the VP-100 and router equipment, worth about $250 per customer; so far, about 10,000 of the units have been given out.

While the privately held company does not disclose specific fiscal results, Nola confirms VRS business drove most of Sor- enson's 600 percent revenue growth over the past year. The equipment may be free, but the company -- which handles 130,000 video-relay calls per month -- is reimbursed by the Federal Communications Commission at the rate of $7.29 per minute per call.

But there's more of a payoff than that, Nola stresses.

"In 20 years in the high-tech business . . . I've never before had customers come up to me crying because they were able to talk to their hearing daughter, or have a phone call with their doctor," he said. "It's not just technology we're putting out there; we're really helping to improve lives."

It is a point recognized by Gov. Olene Walker's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, which honored Sor- enson as its 2004 Golden Key Employer of the Year.

"Sorenson Media . . . [has] a demonstrated commitment to meeting the needs of the deaf and hard-of-hearing community as well as fostering economic development in our state," Walker said of the award.

Added Ron Nelson, president of the Utah Association for the Deaf: "Sorenson Media has enhanced the quality of lives for deaf and hard-of-hearing people with their innovations. More of our people are embracing their technology."

For Jon Hodson, the deaf director of National VRS Outreach for Sorenson, the value of his company's technology is in its ability to level the business playing field for the hearing-impaired, and broaden their career horizons.

Previously, the deaf had been limited to "TTY," or text telephone devices in making calls -- a welcome, though time-consuming and often frustrating, technology that falls short of approximating real conversation.

"With VRS, I can go ahead and sign as fast as you can speak to me," Hodson said through interpreter Stephanie Webb. "We can express our emotions, our thoughts and feelings.

"That is much easier and more natural than the TTY relay," he added, noting so much of ASL meaning is conveyed by facial expressions in conjunction with hand signs.

Hodson is even more excited by the future for VRS technology.

"A mobile VRS is the next step," he said. "Some day, hopefully, the technology will be there for us to interact, with something like a Palm device perhaps, instead of always typing on our pagers back and forth."
bmims@sltrib.com

Video Relay Service for the deaf: Interested people can apply for the service on the Web site http://www.sorensonvrs.com/apply/index.php

© Copyright 2004, The Salt Lake Tribune.
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I post news and now you are bashing Sorenson. So immature. I'm tired of this. Because of this, Mod, lock this thread
 
Mookie said:
Why is Sorenson taking so long to trust deafie to become a Sorenson executive in 4 years or are they very nervous about their product patents' rights running out soon that they can no longer control their product rights? That's too bad and we the deaf probably can afford to purchase the cheap VP...
Click to expand...

Utah is as hick as North Carolina. It's the hickory culture that severely disables a community's ability to recognize the abilities of people with disabilities.

Purchase a cheap VP? How about getting them GRATIS from other VRS providers.

I'm glad Sorenson has decided to come out of their bundling closet. Interoperability is good and this is a victory for consumer watchdogs like yours truly.

Richard
 
NightwarriorJin said:
I post news and now you are bashing Sorenson. So immature. I'm tired of this. Because of this, Mod, lock this thread
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Nightwarrrior,

First of all, I would sincerely like to thank you for threading about Sorenson Info. Also I do not complain directly about you but Sorenson firm.

Do you know that Sonenson firm is a monopoly company that they would never grant any permission from any VRS to change their VP functions? We in U.S.A. have right to select any VRS not Sorenson VRS that we have right to pick the right interpreters.

I have noticed that CSD or another VRS has a strong business to run and has better quality interpreters with better pay and benefits. I am not sure about Sorenson VRS has good offers for interpreters.

Why is the CSD has better reputation than Sorenson? CSD has lots of deaf executive officers. Moreover, they are aware of the deaf culture and sensitive society. CSD still has good partnerships with other VRS: Federal VRS and Sprint VRS...

I have right to provide my opinions.

Nightwarrior, I beech you not to lock your good thread….

P.S., once you lock your thread, I will open the thread...
 
Hey Nightwarrior,

I failed to mention that my wife recently applied Sorenson VP. That's why we will use it for answering machine/Caller ID.... :ty:
 
:whistle:

I know soon or later this would happen. That is beauty of competition. I already told some of you that there is no such thing as monpoly in VRS business. See what this leads to? I knew it all along, why whine, complaining, bashing to begin with? Your just wasting your time.
 
You're right!! :popcorn:

diehardbiker65 said:
:whistle:

I know soon or later this would happen. That is beauty of competition. I already told some of you that there is no such thing as monpoly in VRS business. See what this leads to? I knew it all along, why whine, complaining, bashing to begin with? Your just wasting your time.
Click to expand...
 
Sorenson unbundling

I have only 1 word to say......HALLELUJAH!!!! :cheers: :cheers:

This has been a LONG time-a-coming. Im starting to get tired of switching back and forth from DLink to Sorenson. Now I can just do everything in 1 sitting. Yay!!
 
you see that Sorenson is the same company that make VP-100 and D-Link i2eye
according to this page: http://www.sorenson.com/products/
The Sorenson VP-100 and the D-Link i2eye videophones were both developed by Sorenson Communications. However, the Sorenson-branded videophone is designed specifically for the deaf community while the D-Link i2eye videophone is intended for the mass market.
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you should have known this already when you look at D-Link screen at bottom right corner it says Sorenson blah blah
 
Boult said:
you see that Sorenson is the same company that make VP-100 and D-Link i2eye
according to this page: http://www.sorenson.com/products/
you should have known this already when you look at D-Link screen at bottom right corner it says Sorenson blah blah
Click to expand...

Naturally, I am aware of it...

Not many people still are familiar with patent-right holder (Sorenson).....
 
Mookie said:
Hey Nightwarrior,

I failed to mention that my wife recently applied Sorenson VP. That's why we will use it for answering machine/Caller ID.... :ty:
Click to expand...

hey cookie mookie you said answering machine care to explian how it work?
 
Thats Great News for this interoperability
between Sorenson VP and D-Link !!!

:thumb:
 
qwerty123 said:
hey cookie mookie you said answering machine care to explian how it work?
Click to expand...

He might mean that Sorenson have Caller ID as Missed call and include you can set up the sign mail right front of Sorenson VP-100.
 
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