"Experience Natural Video Relay"
Through the grapevine, I heard about a new VRS provider called ConvoRelay that is supposed to be Deaf-owned. So I went ahead and googled it and Convo Communications came up first. I thought the aesthetic of the website was well done. I was hooked immediately! It is easy to navigate also.
According to their website, they offer VRS and 911. You can call at 911.convorelay.tv, but you will need to give your emergency location to the video interpreter. Additionally, they do offer a 10-digit number and have their own blog for you to keep track of their updates.
I couldn't find a number for Hearing people to call. Also, it seems they don't offer Captel, Ip-Relay, VCO, or VRI. Again, it's a new company. I'm guessing they have plans to expand their services.
Anyhow, I borrowed a friend of mine's Macbook and downloaded their Greenbook. "A beautiful marriage between ConvoIM and iChat" might be an over-exaggeration, but I can tell you that setting it up was a piece of cake. It took me less than 1 minute to do it all. That is cool.
But of course, I cannot complete a review without a VP call. I called @ convoRelay.tv I got a woman that reminded me of a British lady, double chinned, bowled hair, and wore black sleeves. I decided to make a surprise call to my mother. My mother literally screamed, "Hello!" and the interpreter did show it in her mannerisms. I could have sworn I saw the interpreting jump off her chair. Nevertheless, I have no complaints. It's all gravy.
My mother thought the interpreter was very efficient and also very animated in her voice. She said that she felt that the intrepreter did an excellent job.
Next VRS Provider: CSDVRS (or is it ZVRS now)?
Next VRS Provider: CSDVRS (or is it ZVRS now)?
Convorelay uses the URrelay platform, but they bill NECA through SprintVRS. They are also trying to become a direct VRS provider with NECA.
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to the CSDVRS (ZVRS) write-up?
ReplyDeleteIt is coming very soon. I am waiting for more information from my friend who works at ZVRS. Thank you for checking up with me.
ReplyDeleteConvorelay using CACVRS after problem with viable and forced convorelay to switched to URelay. Convorelay only for Mac and very limited features.
ReplyDeleteUpdate from Robin Horwitz,
ReplyDelete1. No we're not certified by FCC but we've applied for certification. Urrelay is not our parent company. Convo is an independent company owned by 5 deaf people.
2. We have VP based service (convorelay.tv) and will be working on new releases for our callers. On the other hand, we're focusing on quality in other areas such as interpreting which I personally believe we have one of the best interpreters pool in this country.
Thank you