[macvoiceover] Re: Voice of DAISY

  • From: Bryan Smart <bryansmart@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: "macvoiceover@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <macvoiceover@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Fri, 25 Jun 2010 08:23:14 -0400

David, that is what I said. There is no public way to use the TTS on iOS. Tim's 
self-voicing app, as far as we know, would require that he purchase his own 
license for a speech synth/library, and then he'd have to pass along that cost 
in the prices of the app.

There should be a way to use the built-in TTS on iOS, or to speak through 
VoiceOver, but, as far as we know, that isn't possible.

Bryan 

-----Original Message-----
From: macvoiceover-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
[mailto:macvoiceover-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of David Poehlman
Sent: Thursday, June 24, 2010 9:35 AM
To: macvoiceover@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [macvoiceover] Re: Voice of DAISY

good question for the apple apps developer site.

On Jun 24, 2010, at 8:53 AM, Tim Burgess wrote:

OK, fair comment and it shows how much research I've got left to do - is there 
script support or a published API to access the TTS functionality?



Best wishes.

Tim Burgess
Raised Bar Ltd
Phone:  +44 (0)1827 719822
Mobile:  07989 486976
Web:  http://www.raisedbar.net
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Atherstone-United-Kingdom/Raised-Bar-Ltd/12023
4896800

Don't forget to vote for improved access to music and music technology at

http://www.raisedbar.net/petition.htm



-----Original Message-----
From: macvoiceover-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:macvoiceover-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of David Poehlman
Sent: 24 June 2010 13:14
To: macvoiceover@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [macvoiceover] Re: Voice of DAISY

if it is a self voicing app, it only needs the tts not voiceover.

On Jun 24, 2010, at 7:57 AM, Tim Burgess wrote:

Hi David,

You're only missing the context of the conversation.  Bryan's been testing a PC 
application that I've written to help VI musicians and I'm examining the 
practicalities of porting it to the Mac and/or Iphone.  This is a self-voicing 
application, so the ability to tell VoiceOver to announce a particular string 
is essential for such a project to fly.

Best wishes.

Tim Burgess
Raised Bar Ltd
Phone:  +44 (0)1827 719822
Mobile:  07989 486976
Web:  http://www.raisedbar.net
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Atherstone-United-Kingdom/Raised-Bar-Ltd/12023
4896800

Don't forget to vote for improved access to music and music technology at

http://www.raisedbar.net/petition.htm


-----Original Message-----
From: macvoiceover-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:macvoiceover-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of David Poehlman
Sent: 24 June 2010 12:17
To: macvoiceover@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [macvoiceover] Re: Voice of DAISY

am I missing something?

On Jun 24, 2010, at 6:19 AM, Tim Burgess wrote:

Bryan,

Since I was the one who told you that this situation has changed with OS4, I've 
been unable to find the page where I read it - think I may be becoming 
delusional with age, but I'll keep looking as it directly affects an 
application I'm planning to develop. 

Best wishes.

Tim Burgess
Raised Bar Ltd
Phone:  +44 (0)1827 719822
Mobile:  07989 486976
Web:  http://www.raisedbar.net
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Atherstone-United-Kingdom/Raised-Bar-Ltd/12023
4896800

Don't forget to vote for improved access to music and music technology at

http://www.raisedbar.net/petition.htm


-----Original Message-----
From: macvoiceover-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:macvoiceover-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Bryan Smart
Sent: 23 June 2010 18:21
To: macvoiceover@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [macvoiceover] Re: Voice of DAISY

So, it doesn't support Daisy 2 or 3 standards, but 

"Voice of DAISY cannot play a DAISY audio book that does not completely conform 
to DAISY 2.02 standard."

That sounds confusing.

I think that the bottom line is that it only plays audio books. It doesn't 
support TTS, so can't play anything other than audio.

The nonprogrammer types on the list might not be aware, but, unlike desktop 
software on OS X or Windows, iPhone OS doesn't provide any way for an 
application to speak through the system's global speech synthesizer. It is 
possible for an app to do this (Apple software does) but you must use private 
APIs, which Apple doesn't allow in apps that are published on the app store. It 
also isn't possible for an accessible app to speak through VoiceOver's voice, 
like is possible for OS X or Windows apps to do with their screen readers. So, 
if you're making an app, and you want your app to speak, you must license a 
text-to-speech engine to be specifically used by your app. Since you must pass 
that licensing cost along to your users, that is why those talking apps tend to 
cost more than most apps

I don't know the exact reason for this. My only guess is that Apple has a 
special license with Nuance that gives them distribution rights to Vocalizer at 
an extremely low per-unit cost, with the qualification that they only use it 
with Apple software. Nuance, for example, will happily sell an developer a 
license to use Vocalizer, which is already installed on all of the newer Apple 
mobile devices.

Someone told me that the TTS situation had changed in iOS 4. Supposedly, apps 
can now speak directly with the system voice. However, I've been unable to find 
any official confirmation of this, or technical docs on how to accomplish it.

Until then, though, these book readers will either be missing any Daisy text 
support, or else will have to jack up their prices to pay for a speech synth 
license. Is too bad. There is a lot more Daisy material out there in text form 
than audio.

Bryan

-----Original Message-----
From: macvoiceover-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:macvoiceover-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of David Poehlman
Sent: Wednesday, June 23, 2010 6:43 AM
To: macvoiceover@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [macvoiceover] Re: Voice of DAISY

well, what it supports seems clear from the page:
Voice of DAISY
About Voice of DAISY
Voice of DAISY (VOD) is a DAISY audio book player that supports multimedia 
DAISY. DAISY (Digital Accessible Information System) is an international 
standard for the people who have difficulty in reading ordinary printed 
materials including those with visual impairment or dyslexia to "read"
books. By using Voice of DAISY, you can play and listen to DAISY format audio 
books.
Type of Supported DAISY Audio Books
By Voice of DAISY, you can play DAISY audio books of "Full audio with NCC only" 
and "Full audio and full text" that are defined by DAISY 2.02.
Restrictions
Voice of DAISY has the following restrictions:

Voice of DAISY does not support DAISY 2.0 and DAISY 3 standards.
Voice of DAISY does not support the following DAISY audio books and you cannot 
play those by Voice of DAISY: "Full audio with Title element only,"
"Full audio with NCC partial text," "Full text and some audio," and "Full text 
and no audio."
Voice of DAISY cannot play audio files recorded by ADPCM2 (codec) that is 
unique to DAISY.
Voice of DAISY cannot play a DAISY audio book that does not completely conform 
to DAISY 2.02 standard.

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