Retroreader 2026.10.18

Alpha software: back up books and recordings before installing.

Highlights:

• Resume MP3 and M4B playback from the saved position.
• Optional audio-folder playlists resume the last file and position.
• Hold Up to cycle among reader interfaces; hold another key to leave settings submenus.
• Retain the clock over software restarts.
• Global and engine-specific pronunciation substitution files.
• Browser-based reader settings and pronunciation-substitution editors.
• Directional-key and rapid-navigation fixes.

Includes 12 complete firmware images, the Windows installer and an updated SD-card template.

Retroreader 2026.10.17

Adds the British Dolphin Apollo II speech synthesizer, with rate, voice volume, pitch, speaker and expression controls. Apollo speech streams during synthesis for responsive reading and menus. This release also fixes a crash in engine-specific speech settings and adds the Apollo firmware, speed-4 voice sample and source provenance to the installer and website.

Updated on 17 October 2026 to add the tested 1988 Speech Plus Prose 2000 v3.4.1 US English synthesizer, including rate, voice-volume, pitch and three voice-character controls, firmware, installer entry, sample and source provenance.

Retroreader 2026.10.16

This is the first date-numbered Retroreader release and a substantial change
to how speech engines and firmware images are packaged.

Highlights

• Use the chosen speech engine consistently across the reader, menus, file
  transfer and NVDA Remote, rather than falling back to OpenEVV in network
  modes.
• Provide one complete firmware image for each engine and voice. The web
  installer and downloadable files now use the exact same images.
• Add OpenEVV pause modes: always pause, pause at sentence endings, or disable
  automatic pauses. Eloquence fans will want to set this to always for a faster reading experience, which sounds counterintuitive.
• Improve long-sentence splitting so speech is not unnecessarily broken in
  the middle of a sentence. Examples of this were rare, but it broke my flow.
• Add an accessible browser file manager alongside WebDAV file transfer, with
  browsing, upload, download, rename, folder creation and deletion. Opening the
  reader's address in a web browser forwards to the file manager automatically.
• Expand the website documentation, installation guidance, speech samples and
  measured speaking-rate information.

Identity and storage changes

• Rename product-specific identifiers from EVV to Retroreader or RR. OpenEVV
  remains the name of one available speech engine.
• Change device hostnames from EVVxxxx to RRxxxx.
• Change the hidden SD-card settings folder from .evv to .rr.
• Supply a new SD-card template for the revised layout. Earlier alpha layouts
  are not supported by this release.

Speech engines

Complete images are prepared for:

• OpenEVV (Eloquence), US and British English;
• SVOX Pico, US and British English;
• DECtalk DTC-01;
• DECtalk 4.3;
• OpenBST (Keynote Gold), 1998 English;
• Monologue XEN11K8; and
• TruVoice US English.

Packaging

• Introduce a dated firmware manifest as the single catalogue used by release
  builds, direct downloads and the browser installer.
• Replace separate bootloader, reader and network-service downloads with one
  complete .bin file per engine and voice.
• Rebuild the standalone Windows installer for the complete images.
• Add SHA-256 checksums for downloadable firmware.

Experimental addition

• Add DoubleTalk Hybrid, based on the early-1990s RC Systems DoubleTalk PC. It retains the authentic firmware front end for pronunciation and prosody while using a native ESP32 acoustic renderer. Rate boost, pitch, voice, tone, articulation and expression are available in Speech settings.

Retroreader 0.5 alpha

Retroreader 0.5 alpha adds the TruVoice US English speech synthesizer to the public installer and downloads.

The downloadable ZIP contains the Windows firmware installer, current complete firmware images including TruVoice US English, and the SD-card template with example configuration files.

This remains alpha software for the Freenove Media Kit for ESP32-S3, 1.14-inch model.

Retroreader 0.4 alpha

Adds the Monologue XEN11K8 speech synthesizer and its configurable rate, pitch, voice volume, native dictionary and sentence-pause controls. Adds freshly rebuilt British English OpenEVV and Pico firmware alongside the existing US English engines. The bundle contains all current complete firmware images, the Windows installer and the SD-card template.

EVV Reader 0.3 alpha

Public alpha package for the 1.14-inch Freenove Media Kit for ESP32-S3. This release adds folder-aware library browsing, recent files and sorting; plain-text, MP3, M4A and M4B playback; improved EPUB indexing, caching and large-book handling; expanded navigation and status settings; recording and keypad responsiveness fixes; conditional File Transfer, NVDA Remote and RemSound modes; and a browser-based Web Serial installer. The ZIP contains the Windows installer, complete US English, British English and French-voice firmware images, and the full SD-card template with clean Wi-Fi, NVDA Remote and RemSound configuration examples. The French build currently retains the English interface. This remains experimental firmware: keep backup copies of books and recordings.

EVV Reader 0.2 alpha

Public alpha package for the Freenove Media Kit for ESP32-S3, 1.14-inch model. The ZIP now includes both the release folder—with the standalone Windows installer and complete US English, British English, and French firmware images—and the full SD-card template, including hidden .evv configuration examples and the EVV Reader Guide. The guide now includes Sean Randall's tactile physical description of the Freenove kit. The French build speaks book text with a French voice but currently retains the English user interface. This is experimental firmware; keep backup copies of books and recordings.

EVV Reader 0.1 alpha

First public alpha package for the Freenove Media Kit for ESP32-S3, 1.14-inch model. Includes the standalone Windows installer and complete US English, British English, and French firmware images. The French build speaks book text with a French voice but currently retains the English user interface. This is experimental firmware; keep backup copies of books and recordings.