Author Archives: pbravin

VRS Numbering 101-Lesson #8-"Must I make all VRS calls to my default or primary provider?" (NEW)

Numbering 101-Lesson #8

Must I make all VRS calls to my default or primary provider??

This is another question which has come up as a result of Dr. Z’s travels across the country. People wonder about the term “default (or primary) provider”.

1. You do not have to make all VRS calls to your default provider!

2. You are free to make VRS calls to any provider you prefer, such as ZVRS from your VP-200, Z-150, P3 or any other device you have.

3. Will my provider take away my device if I make VRS calls to a provider other than the one supplied by my provider? The anwer is a resounding “NO”. Some provider’s representatives may lead you to believe this. You are a consumer, and you should feel free to call your favorite VRS company.

4. Will my provider disable (or take away) my contact list if I call another provider? The answer, again is “NO”.

5. Why is there a “default provider”? Each videophone unit is supplied by a provider and that provider becomes the default provider for that device. The default provider has your profile which can be used in the event of a 911 call. If you have a device supplied by another company, that other company is the default provider for that device and also has your profile information.

Dr. Z is here to help you. We want you to communicate happily ever after!

Week of 11/8/09-Episode #20 (VLOG) (NEW)

The first person every week who guesses the location of where Dr. Z correctly will receive a $5 Starbucks or Target gift card. We will post the name of the winner every week on this site. There was a correct guess for Episode #19. The place was Ayers Rock, Australia. The winner is in the process of being notified. For this episode, you need to name the landmark which is a well-known mountain.


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Ask Dr. Z-"Why doesn't my mobile videophone work in a hotel or motel?" (NEW)

As part of Dr. Z’s travels across the country, this question has come up in almost every city he goes to.

The answer is simple–most hotels and motels have firewalls as part of their router configuration which makes it difficult to process most videophone calls. There may be a way around it–ZVRS’ Z Connect may work in cases where there is no browser access required; but for the most part, it is not recommended.

In the event of an emergency in your hotel and motel room, you should not use your videophone to dial 911–use the hotel’s regular phone in the room–dial “911” and leave the phone off the hook–it should be suffiecient to get assistance from the first responder (police, fire, ambulance.) After dialing 911, and LEAVING your phone off the hook, go to the front desk to be sure they are aware of the emergency.

No one likes to talk about 911 situations–but one day, it may happen to you, so it is always good to be proactive.

Week of 11/1/09-Episode #19 (VLOG)

The first person every week who guesses the location of where Dr. Z correctly will receive a $5 Starbucks or Target gift card. We will post the name of the winner every week on this site. There was a correct guess for Episode #18. The place was Dallas, Texas. The winner is in the process of being notified. For this episode, you need to name the landmark and the country.


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Editorial #10-Stop! Stop! Treating Us as Second Class Citizens!!!(NEW)

Here we go again–how can a market leader dictate how we deaf and hard of hearing people live our own lives? Here’s one example…Sorenson Communications filed a Petition for Rulemaking with the FCC on October 2nd, 2009. (Link to Sorenson filing)

For the most part, this petition makes sense, it is a very lengthy document and Sorenson has been beating its drums as to how it has been a good citizen in doing such things. But they need to be realistic–they cannot tell us how to live our lives. In the fine print of the aforementioned document, they say that deaf and hard of hearing people should not use VRS to listen in on “podcast” or recorded calls. How dare they? Where’s the functional equivalency in this? Hearing people can do that from their phones without a problem. If the FCC takes up Sorenson on this suggestion, deaf and hard of hearing people will be cut off from being able to listen on audio announcements recorded by some entity out there. What is the alternative? Back to the Dark Ages by asking a hearing person or interpreter to interpret the audio for us?

I urge Sorenson to be more proactive by listening to the deaf and hard of hearing people and prior to filing such comments, to check with its Consumer Advisory Board or whatever name they give to that fine group of people. I doubt it if that Board had passed judgment in this specific instance. I am continuing to read this thick petition to see if there are other examples of trying to cut us off from the world of communications.

A market leader has a responsibility to be sensitive to the constituency it serves, not to make assumptions that they think because “we are a leader, we can dictate how the market serves its consumers.” It is not supposed to be the case.

VRS Numbering 101-Lesson #7-"Why do you have several local numbers and 800 numbers?" (NEW)

Numbering 101-Lesson #7

Why do you have several local numbers and 800 numbers?

1. The most important thing to keep keep in mind is that you need one number per videophone device and also one per ip-relay device just like hearing people who have one number for each cell phone they have.

2. Why not one number per house? If that is the case, you won’t know which phone to use when an incoming call comes in. For your friends and relatives, you need to give the phone number for that videophone you usually use for incoming calls.

3. How so you know which phone rings when an incoming call comes in? If you have an alerting device you need to know which device is connected to the lights in your house, otherwise you won’t be able to know which phone rings when the light flashes.

4. What other ways can you be alerted? If you have one of the Z phones from ZVRS (Z150, Z340, Z-Ojo, Z-PC100 or the new Z4), you can have incoming call alert your pager and you can answer the phone.

5. What about 800 numbers? They are like local numbers-you will have an 800 number for each videophone.

Dr. Z is here to help you. We want you to communicate happily ever after!

Week of 10/25/09-Episode #18 (VLOG)

The first person every week who guesses the location of where Dr. Z correctly will receive a $5 Starbucks or Target gift card. We will post the name of the winner every week on this site. There was no correct guess for Episode #17. The place was Yosemite, California. For this episode, you need to name the city and the state.


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VRS Numbering 101-Lesson #6-"Does 911 service work in a power failure with VRS?" (NEW)

Numbering 101-Lesson #6

Does 911 service work in a power failure with VRS?

Dr. Z just returned from a trip to the Midwest where he spoke to audiences in 3 cities on numbering. The reaction has been very positive. One topic of several that came up was whether VRS service would work in the event of a power failure and how it impacts 911 service.

1-When there is a power failure, there is no power in the house–that means your VRS device, your TV, your cable or DSL modem and your router will not work.

2-If they all do not work, you will not have VRS service.

3-If you do not have VRS service, you will not have 911 service.

4-What should you do for 911 service in the event of a power failure? If you have a TTY with phone service, be sure the TTY has fresh batteries that will work when power goes down. Usually the phone lines continue to work when there is a power failure; BUT, if you have phone service provided by the cable company, this phone will not work as it depends on the cable modem which needs power to operate. You must have phone service from the local phone company in order for your traditional phone to work in case of a power failure. In rare cases, especially when wires are downed, both the phone service and the power goes down.

5-What is an alternative to call 911 if my power goes down and my phone doesn’t work? You can use your pager and use an IP relay service to call 911. Sometimes in cases where there is a bad storm, pagers sometimes won’t work if the tower goes down. This is a very rare occurrence.

Dr. Z is speaking from experience. He lives in a rural area in Vermont where there are power outages several times a year. He has a TTY with fresh batteries on hand and regular phone service (not cable phone service); also a pager.

Dr. Z is here to help you. We want you to communicate happily ever after!

Editorial #9-Still Tapping My Fingers…(NEW)

A couple months ago, I brought to your attention the tactics of “you know whom” still doing the following…

1) Not passing the caller id to non-VP-200 devices
2) Using a non standard method for missed calls
3) Dragging their feet on updating the national data base with VP-200 local numbers (they did update mine after quite some time, but we are still hearing that others are still waiting for theirs to be updated)
4) Asking the FCC to restrict homes to 1 IP address per household
5) Confusing the public with numbering information

All this from what is a market leader? And this is treating deaf and hard of hearing people as second-class citizens. They have been “deaf” to all of the above–not listening to the real needs and concerns of deaf and hard of hearing consumers, instead barging ahead with their own agenda.

History tells us market leaders like this have a life of its own. Come on, treat us well and make all calls functionally equivalent–respect the needs of the deaf and hard of hearing people in making video calls.

Why Do We Talk About Numbering? (NEW)

People ask us–why do you keep talking about numbering. Do we have all the issues resolved? The answer is no because we checked and checked–there is still a lot of confusion in America. Many of you who are reading this would agree. So, we decided to go national–go to every corner of America and clear the air. It is like defrosting your car window. Right now, the numbering issue is frosting your window. We are applying de-icer to the window so you can see (and then understand numbering) and make calls without hesitation or puzzlement. There are sources out there who are not exactly giving you the right information. We are here to make the many wrongs into rights.

The following is a list of the top things in your mind—

What is right, what is wrong?
Why are there too many numbers out there?
Which number should I use?
What is a default provider?
How does 911 work?

When you are able to understand all this–you will be happy ever after making video calls, with the help of Dr. Z and his team! We are here to work with you.