Re: Free TTS engines

I have mine on 65 with punctuation set to all, which a lot of people don't 
like, but since I listen to a lot of computer science mail in which 
punctuation is significant, it is what I have gotten used to.  Still it's 
kind of a pain to listen to "we apostrophy l l" and other contractions even 
if it is at high speed.  I'm impressed that you have it on 64 with english 
not being your native language.
--le


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Octavian Rasnita" <orasnita@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, December 22, 2007 5:43 AM
Subject: Re: Free TTS engines


I am using Jaws with Eloquence, and In the menu
Options/Basics/Voices/Global  adjustment, I have set the rate to 64%.

This is because english is not my native language, but maybe other users use
a higher rate.

Octavian

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Andreas Stefik" <stefika@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, December 22, 2007 1:03 AM
Subject: Re: Free TTS engines


> People talk quite a bit about how fast they have the TTS engines going.
>
> Would anyone mind posting a couple soundfiles of your screenreader
> reading computer code at your "usual" pace? I'm curious how fast folks
> typically have it going. I suspect that, in our pilot studies, we have
> the TTS engine going way slower than you folks do.
>
> Andreas
>
>
>
> On Dec 21, 2007 2:38 PM, tribble <lauraeaves@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>> Should have read ahead -- thanks Lloyd and all.  I agree.
>> --le
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Lloyd Rasmussen" <lras@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>> To: <programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> Sent: Thursday, December 20, 2007 10:41 PM
>> Subject: RE: Free TTS engines
>>
>>
>>
>> Natural Voices, VoiceText, Loquento and other modern synthesizers are
>> concatenative, requiring speech segments to be looked up, best match
>> found,
>> then interpolated in order to be modeled on a particular human voice and
>> sound natural.  To adjust their speed, you have to do some more
>> interpolation and matching, as you do for time-scale modification of
>> natural
>> speech, and this begins to get rough and less intelligible as you go to
>> twice normal speed or faster.
>>
>> The older synthesizers, such as DecTalk, Eloquence and the SSI263 speech
>> chip used by Artic, Braille 'n Speak, Votrax, Accent, etc. are formant
>> synthesizers.  They work on a vocal tract model, and the parameters can
>> be
>> varied systematically to alter the speed without creating quite as much
>> distortion or losing consonants.  Of course they don't sound as natural,
>> but
>> this is mostly a hindrance to people who don't spend days and days
>> listening
>> to them, for whom speed is more valuable than naturalness.  The other
>> advantage of the vocal-tract synthesizers is that they don't require as
>> much
>> data to be handled, so they work better for echoing individual keystrokes
>> than the ponderous concatenative synthesizers.  Even on modern computers,
>> these speed and responsiveness issues are important.
>>
>> Lloyd Rasmussen, Kensington, Maryland
>> Home:  http://lras.home.sprynet.com
>> Work:  http://www.loc.gov/nls
>>
>>
>> > -----Original Message-----
>> > From: programmingblind-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:programmingblind-
>> > bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Andreas Stefik
>> > Sent: Thursday, December 20, 2007 7:34 PM
>> > To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> > Subject: Re: Free TTS engines
>> >
>> > Peter says:
>> >
>> > > I have several of these voices.
>> > > Wonderful sound for reading but to slow for use in a Gui.
>> >
>> > I say
>> >
>> > You talking about the AT &T ones? Can't you just speed them up? I know
>> > that, on windows at least, there is a slider bar you can adjust. Maybe
>> > you mean something else, though. Might not be true for every OS, or
>> > every voice though. I readily admit I'm not an expert on such things.
>> >
>> > Inthane says:
>> >
>> > I have used the AT&T voices and find them to be the best of the TTS
>> > voices
>> > that I have herd, (well, except for there attempt to make one sound
>> > like a
>> > Scotsman, ouch! LOL),
>> >
>> > I say
>> >
>> > lol, yaa the Scotsman is hilarious. Well, I guess it's a tough
>> > decision on what to get.
>> >
>> > Thanks for the thoughts, all.
>> >
>> > Andreas
>> >
>>
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