No more text to speech??? - Page 2

rcuadro · 03-16-2009, 12:04 AM

Computer have, for a quite a while actually, have been able to read text. never used it on my computer and I dont see me using it on the Kindle. Well, I may use it just to listen to it once, but that is about it.
When I cant read (I get car sick too) I just will listen to music or do something else. I have never tried an audio book but my cousin swears by them. She gets them from the library, puts the on her iPod, and listens away while she cooks, cleans, knits...

sian · 08-28-2009, 06:50 AM

my partner and i need the text to speech option. i hope that future e readers have this option includeded in future models.

we love the option of being able to read ebooks on different formats as we have alot of books on sd card.

geneven · 09-04-2009, 01:51 PM

Text to speech is far more wonderful than most people give it credit for, and the Kindle text to speech is among the best you can get right now. I seem to be in the minority, in that I greatly prefer the woman's voice (her name is Samantha, btw).

I am looking forward to more voices being made available. If you want a taste of what's in store, try the samples at www.nextup.com. Text to speech is not just good for when you're traveling, it's good for any time. It is superb for helping pull yourself past text that you have a hard time reading because, say, it's boring. It is excellent for a lot of special purposes, and the more choice of voices, the better it will be.

Many books that I have purchased allow text to speech, and all of the many I've gotten for free do.

HarryT · 09-04-2009, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by geneven

I am looking forward to more voices being made available.

My Garmin Sat-Nav has dozens of voices to choose from. My favourite is the Swedish girl, "Ingrid"

.

geneven · 10-13-2009, 12:53 AM

Well, Harry, your Satnav probably has a limited vocab and so Ingrid is probably a real girl! The text-to-speech on the Kindle is also based on real people, but the vocabulary is NOT limited, so it's harder to have elegant voices. But I still say that the female Kindle voice, Samantha, is much better than the male voice.

I think that a lot of people who despise text-to-speech are mainly basing their opinions on memories of what text-to-speech used to sound like, or on FREE voices. These days, even the free voice that comes with my prerelease Windows 7 -- her name is Anna -- isn't that bad.

Here is what is great about text-to-speech produced by a computer: it gives you the thoughts of the author without the intervention of some actor. When you listen to a human reading, you are hearing a PERFORMANCE, an interpretation. You think the actor talked to Dickens before adopting a certain tone of voice? No, he didn't! He's just making it up. The computer makes no assumptions and just reads the material to you in the clearest way it can. It doesn't try to sell you on hearing the text the way it imagines it.

WT Sharpe · 10-13-2009, 02:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by astromusic

I think this "no more text to speech" is misleading, and not supported by Amazon's announcement. All they said was that they will give copyright holders a way to turn of TTS for selected titles, at their option.

Which is why I didn't cat a vote.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jemmagirl

TTS is a wonderful thing to have when you are driving across country ... my husband and I put in a lot of miles between his family and mine (1500 miles between 'em!) and we are loving the TTS option. Audiobooks are really expensive ... this is a wonderful option for us.

I only tried the text-to-speech function once -- in my car. The A/C drowned out the tiny speakers. Perhaps if I used earplugs it would be a different story, but then I would probably (and deservedly) get pulled for reckless driving.

If I ever get a car system that allows me to plug into the radio, I may try it again. I have listened to audiobooks on my iPod that were broadcast through the car speakers. Of course, that involved books that were read by real people; not some computer-generated voice.

PiVi1962 · 11-16-2009, 01:37 PM

TTS is a very important feature for non-native speakers of the language.
I hope Amazon will allow to install other voices (my mothertongue is Italian, and I am interested not only in English, but also in French and Spanish).

TTF is also very important for visually impared people.

In my opinion, any device that will support TTS will corner in the market devices not supporting it.

Rootman · 11-16-2009, 04:27 PM

Just got my Kindle. I was shocked that the text-to-speech worked as well as it did and am enjoying reading along with the read word. i find I retain more and don't find myself daydreaming and mechanically reading.

View Poll Results: Will you miss text to speech?
Yes...	28	51.85%
Nope.	26	48.15%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 54. You may not vote on this poll

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03-16-2009, 12:04 AM	#16
rcuadro Wizard Posts: 1,686 Karma: 874275 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Virginia Beach, VA Device: Kindle DX	Computer have, for a quite a while actually, have been able to read text. never used it on my computer and I dont see me using it on the Kindle. Well, I may use it just to listen to it once, but that is about it. When I cant read (I get car sick too) I just will listen to music or do something else. I have never tried an audio book but my cousin swears by them. She gets them from the library, puts the on her iPod, and listens away while she cooks, cleans, knits...

08-28-2009, 06:50 AM	#17
sian Addict Posts: 245 Karma: 55958 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: UK Device: kindle oasis ( 2018) kindle Fire hd 10 ( 2017)	my partner and i need the text to speech option. i hope that future e readers have this option includeded in future models. we love the option of being able to read ebooks on different formats as we have alot of books on sd card.

09-04-2009, 01:51 PM	#18
geneven Member Retired Posts: 124 Karma: 340 Join Date: Aug 2008 Device: Nokia N800, N810, Kindle 2	Text to speech is far more wonderful than most people give it credit for, and the Kindle text to speech is among the best you can get right now. I seem to be in the minority, in that I greatly prefer the woman's voice (her name is Samantha, btw). I am looking forward to more voices being made available. If you want a taste of what's in store, try the samples at www.nextup.com. Text to speech is not just good for when you're traveling, it's good for any time. It is superb for helping pull yourself past text that you have a hard time reading because, say, it's boring. It is excellent for a lot of special purposes, and the more choice of voices, the better it will be. Many books that I have purchased allow text to speech, and all of the many I've gotten for free do.

10-13-2009, 12:53 AM	#20
geneven Member Retired Posts: 124 Karma: 340 Join Date: Aug 2008 Device: Nokia N800, N810, Kindle 2	Well, Harry, your Satnav probably has a limited vocab and so Ingrid is probably a real girl! The text-to-speech on the Kindle is also based on real people, but the vocabulary is NOT limited, so it's harder to have elegant voices. But I still say that the female Kindle voice, Samantha, is much better than the male voice. I think that a lot of people who despise text-to-speech are mainly basing their opinions on memories of what text-to-speech used to sound like, or on FREE voices. These days, even the free voice that comes with my prerelease Windows 7 -- her name is Anna -- isn't that bad. Here is what is great about text-to-speech produced by a computer: it gives you the thoughts of the author without the intervention of some actor. When you listen to a human reading, you are hearing a PERFORMANCE, an interpretation. You think the actor talked to Dickens before adopting a certain tone of voice? No, he didn't! He's just making it up. The computer makes no assumptions and just reads the material to you in the clearest way it can. It doesn't try to sell you on hearing the text the way it imagines it.

11-16-2009, 01:37 PM	#22
PiVi1962 Member Posts: 12 Karma: 60 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: none	TTS is a very important feature for non-native speakers of the language. I hope Amazon will allow to install other voices (my mothertongue is Italian, and I am interested not only in English, but also in French and Spanish). TTF is also very important for visually impared people. In my opinion, any device that will support TTS will corner in the market devices not supporting it.

11-16-2009, 04:27 PM	#23
Rootman Groupie Posts: 181 Karma: 478 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Android & FBReader	Just got my Kindle. I was shocked that the text-to-speech worked as well as it did and am enjoying reading along with the read word. i find I retain more and don't find myself daydreaming and mechanically reading.

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