Quote:
Originally Posted by snipenekkid
TTS will never match the high quality readings of audiobooks. Thus the function is not a threat to my buying audiobooks. I buy several dozen annually and would continue to do so as I actually enjoy hearing a book I have read performed by every talented individuals.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Krystian Galaj
That will be around the day when we start using robots to perform Shakespeare's plays, because they give better performances than living actors?
I can imagine listening to audiobook partially because I want to hear the voice, and way of expressing words, of a particular lector.
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It will probably take a long time to get to that point. I hesitate to guess
how long a time. But, given the past decade's improvements in TTS technology, and the degree to which the stuff in the labs is better than what's on the street, I'd predict that we'll get to at least the first of those two situtations... eventually.
Even so, I see this as more a matter of format shifting than of "audio books." There's no audio involved; nor is there a public performance or a recording. As far as I can tell, the existing legal arrangements for licensing of audio performances just don't apply.
Xenophon
Obligatory disclaimer: As usual -- I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. Should you require advice on which you may rely, seek out a lawyer who specializes in the appropriate area of the law.