unusual text-to-speech glitch

Hollow Man · 02-19-2011, 02:53 PM

I noticed with my new Kindle 3 that when I turn on text-to-speech, it will skip the first word, or a few syllables. After that first glitch, it's perfectly fine. If I turn TTS off, then instantly on again, it behaves fine. If I leave it off for a bit (about a minute), then turn it back on, the problem surfaces again. This happens with the speakers or headphones, so it seems to be an issue with the sound chip. Almost like it needs a small bit of warm up before it's able to produce sound.

I doubt I'm going to use this feature much (or play mp3s), so I'm not too worried about it, but wondering if anyone else has this issue. Thanks!

-HM

Kenneth_irl · 02-19-2011, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hollow Man

I noticed with my new Kindle 3 that when I turn on text-to-speech, it will skip the first word, or a few syllables. After that first glitch, it's perfectly fine. If I turn TTS off, then instantly on again, it behaves fine. If I leave it off for a bit (about a minute), then turn it back on, the problem surfaces again. This happens with the speakers or headphones, so it seems to be an issue with the sound chip. Almost like it needs a small bit of warm up before it's able to produce sound.

I doubt I'm going to use this feature much (or play mp3s), so I'm not too worried about it, but wondering if anyone else has this issue. Thanks!

-HM

Must be how TTS works on the Kindle cause it's the same on mine. I usually turn it on a sentence before the one I actually want to start at.

They might have fixed it in 3.1.0. I'm on 3.0.3.

Hollow Man · 02-19-2011, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kenneth_irl

Must be how TTS works on the Kindle cause it's the same on mine. I usually turn it on a sentence before the one I actually want to start at.

Thanks for the confirmation. It doesn't appear to do it on my wife's Kindle 2 though, so I wonder what they changed in the sound chip.

-HM

Kenneth_irl · 02-19-2011, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hollow Man

Thanks for the confirmation. It doesn't appear to do it on my wife's Kindle 2 though, so I wonder what they changed in the sound chip.

-HM

Which version is your Kindle, mate ?

Hollow Man · 02-19-2011, 03:26 PM

I manually ran the update to 3.1.

-HM

Tiersten · 02-19-2011, 04:36 PM

I expect that its more that the Nuance TTS server process that actually does the conversion isn't ready and takes a couple seconds to initialize so its dropping the first few phonemes.

kranu · 02-19-2011, 09:59 PM

Actually, the problem is the speaker. The speaker is turned off automatically by the Kindle to conserve power. So each time a sound is made, the speaker needs a second to turn back on. Thus, the beginning of all of the sounds are cut off.

I tested this on my K3G (3.1) by playing music and then immediately using TTS, an it had not cutoff.

Hollow Man · 02-19-2011, 10:04 PM

I don't think it's the external speakers, per se, since it also happens when headphones are plugged in. But I wouldn't be surprised if some power related component is late to turning on, causing the problem.

-HM

02-19-2011, 02:53 PM	#1
Hollow Man Addict Posts: 260 Karma: 1645894 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Connecticut Device: Kindle Oasis, Kindle Keyboard, iPhone 13 Pro, iPad Air	unusual text-to-speech glitch I noticed with my new Kindle 3 that when I turn on text-to-speech, it will skip the first word, or a few syllables. After that first glitch, it's perfectly fine. If I turn TTS off, then instantly on again, it behaves fine. If I leave it off for a bit (about a minute), then turn it back on, the problem surfaces again. This happens with the speakers or headphones, so it seems to be an issue with the sound chip. Almost like it needs a small bit of warm up before it's able to produce sound. I doubt I'm going to use this feature much (or play mp3s), so I'm not too worried about it, but wondering if anyone else has this issue. Thanks! -HM

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02-19-2011, 03:26 PM	#5
Hollow Man Addict Posts: 260 Karma: 1645894 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Connecticut Device: Kindle Oasis, Kindle Keyboard, iPhone 13 Pro, iPad Air	I manually ran the update to 3.1. -HM

02-19-2011, 04:36 PM	#6
Tiersten Guru Posts: 987 Karma: 8641 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: Kindle 3G+WiFi	I expect that its more that the Nuance TTS server process that actually does the conversion isn't ready and takes a couple seconds to initialize so its dropping the first few phonemes.

02-19-2011, 09:59 PM	#7
kranu I <3 my Kindle Posts: 528 Karma: 51332 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: United States Device: Kindle 3G + WiFi	Actually, the problem is the speaker. The speaker is turned off automatically by the Kindle to conserve power. So each time a sound is made, the speaker needs a second to turn back on. Thus, the beginning of all of the sounds are cut off. I tested this on my K3G (3.1) by playing music and then immediately using TTS, an it had not cutoff.

02-19-2011, 10:04 PM	#8
Hollow Man Addict Posts: 260 Karma: 1645894 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Connecticut Device: Kindle Oasis, Kindle Keyboard, iPhone 13 Pro, iPad Air	I don't think it's the external speakers, per se, since it also happens when headphones are plugged in. But I wouldn't be surprised if some power related component is late to turning on, causing the problem. -HM