Text-To-Speech Fans - Page 3

copyrite · 03-01-2016, 10:22 PM

The Android Kindle app can't do TTS.

Can't help you with the Fire 6 issue as my daughter's roommate is using it since I wasn't.

Atunah · 03-01-2016, 10:33 PM

I think at least I found where the setting is. Its in settings-keyboard&languages. It says I have 2 options, Amy GB and Salli USA. And I guess one can download more. I'll play with it tomorrow.

Barbara1955 · 03-01-2016, 10:45 PM

I found 2 options in English M/F and 6 in other English speaking countries! For the Fire 10 once some one on Amazon told me How to get to them. Really Why don't they cover these options in the Guide?
Oops! Consider it a Rhetorical Question.. as this thread is Not in the Amazon Fire Forum

crossi · 03-02-2016, 03:58 AM

Echo is quite nice. It's useful if you want to listen to your book while cooking or doing dishes. Not like the performance of a real narrator but good enough to follow the story most of which is in my head anyway.

HarryT · 03-02-2016, 04:20 AM

I often use TTS on my iPhone in the car, playing it through the car's speakers. Works pretty well.

QuantumIguana · 03-02-2016, 11:02 AM

I use it quite a lot. Every night, when I put my daughter to bed, I start up her Kindle Touch on TTS. Right now, she wants the Kindle reading the novelization of The Empire Strikes Back every night, and has for weeks. Before that, she had the Kindle read her the Miss Peregrine series. I use TTS on my Kindle Keyboard when I'm at my desk or in my car and don't feel like listening to a podcast.

My wife doesn't like TTS at all. I think it does take a lot of getting used to, like understanding someone who speaks with a heavy accent. At first, I often had a hard time understanding it, but the more I listened to it, the easier it became. I got to the point where I could listen to it at maximum speed. After a while, maximum speed doesn't even seem that fast, because as you get adapted to it, you're brain doesn't have to work as hard to understand it. For my daughter, that voice is like an old friend at bedtime. She prefers it at normal speed or even slow speed, which makes sense if it's reading to you at bedtime.

Conan46 · 03-02-2016, 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barty

Speakers on tablets tend to be tinny and horrible. I try to use an external Bluetooth speaker when I can.

When it comes to computers, don't say never

Anyway, it isn't necessarily bad thing that TTS does not perform like a person. A human reader invariably brings a little bit of their personality and puts their own interpretation to the text . TTS, on the other hand, is neutral and unvaried. That may work better in some instances.

For things like poetry, you want the human performance. For example, listen to Alan Rickman read My Mistress' Eyes are Nothing Like the Sun (you can find it on Spotify). Marvelous.

Not too sound ghoulish, but I can see some company licensing a celebrity's voice for computerized speech in the future, the way images of past celebs can currently be digitized, manipulated, and used in commercials and films, etc.

I also use bluetooth speakers. I have a Samsung Galaxy Light phone I retired and re-purposed as a TTS reader using Moon+. Connecting it to a bluetooth speaker works great.
I am convinced, based on how horrible TTS was just a few years ago and how it has improved, about 3 years and you will not be able to tell it is a computer speaking on TTS.
100% agree, whole industry of copyrighted famous voices for TTS. The legal questions of who owns what will be legion though.

Conan46 · 03-02-2016, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

I use it quite a lot. Every night, when I put my daughter to bed, I start up her Kindle Touch on TTS. Right now, she wants the Kindle reading the novelization of The Empire Strikes Back every night, and has for weeks. Before that, she had the Kindle read her the Miss Peregrine series. I use TTS on my Kindle Keyboard when I'm at my desk or in my car and don't feel like listening to a podcast.

My wife doesn't like TTS at all. I think it does take a lot of getting used to, like understanding someone who speaks with a heavy accent. At first, I often had a hard time understanding it, but the more I listened to it, the easier it became. I got to the point where I could listen to it at maximum speed. After a while, maximum speed doesn't even seem that fast, because as you get adapted to it, you're brain doesn't have to work as hard to understand it. For my daughter, that voice is like an old friend at bedtime. She prefers it at normal speed or even slow speed, which makes sense if it's reading to you at bedtime.

That's awesome, but why do I have this vision of the not-too-distant-future of children wanting their robots to tuck them in and read them a bedtime story?

tomsem · 03-02-2016, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Atunah

For the life of me I can't figure out how to see what voice my Fire6 has or how to change the voice. I been looking all over the place, can't find nothing. Its a female and she sounds british. But I have no clue where it came from or who it is or anything. Can someone tell me where those settings are please?

I have the same issue on my phone, which is a android. I use the kindle app as I have kindle books pretty much exclusively. But I don't think my android has text to speech in the kindle app so its a moot point there.

Settings->Keyboard and Language->Text-To-Speech

Default Voice shows languages and default voice for each
Download Additional Voices lets you download other voices/languages

It's similar on Android. But the Kindle app does not support TTS. You can turn on TalkBack to have it read out text, and the Kindle app has good support for that, but it is not as simple to use.

QuantumIguana · 03-02-2016, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Conan46

That's awesome, but why do I have this vision of the not-too-distant-future of children wanting their robots to tuck them in and read them a bedtime story?

:-) I still put her to bed, the Kindle reading to her just lets me leave the room. She's apparently unable to cover herself with blankets on her own, unless she's just sandbagging it to get me to do it for her. ;-) I recently read her Coraline, now I'm reading her A Princess of Mars. The Kindle only comes on after I'm done reading to her. She makes me stay for a couple minutes after the Kindle starts reading. I used to have to read to her until my throat was dry, her liking the Kindle was really a help. She doesn't seem to prefer audiobooks to TTS, she's become so used to TTS.

Conan46 · 03-02-2016, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

:-) I still put her to bed, the Kindle reading to her just lets me leave the room. She's apparently unable to cover herself with blankets on her own, unless she's just sandbagging it to get me to do it for her. ;-) I recently read her Coraline, now I'm reading her A Princess of Mars. The Kindle only comes on after I'm done reading to her. She makes me stay for a couple minutes after the Kindle starts reading. I used to have to read to her until my throat was dry, her liking the Kindle was really a help. She doesn't seem to prefer audiobooks to TTS, she's become so used to TTS.

I miss my kiddo being that age. They grow up way too fast.

agua102 · 03-03-2016, 10:23 AM

What about TTS in Windows 8.1?

Leonatus · 03-04-2016, 03:59 AM

Methinks TTS has a great future, for it encreases considerably the community of "readers", not only by the blind, but also by people who have little time to read, but who are interested in literature and who find it easier to listen to books in the audible version, f. ex. while driving. Audiobooks are expensive, and the covered segments are quite small. I personally would, besides, have my ebooks (in epub format) available in an audible version, too, just for the times "on the road".

But there are lots problems: The car audio system supports no reading format, of course, and only .wav, mp3 and such. Thus, I would have to convert the epubs. But how can I manipulate the voices, then? How can I make the voice respect the xml:lang attribute in my epubs, if there are language changes in the current of a book? This is difficult in epubs already.

It seems to me that it would be justified to create a dedicated "TTS" thread that deals with such technical problems. How do the pals think about this?

HarryT · 03-04-2016, 04:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leonatus

But there are lots problems: The car audio system supports no reading format, of course, and only .wav, mp3 and such. Thus, I would have to convert the epubs. But how can I manipulate the voices, then? How can I make the voice respect the xml:lang attribute in my epubs, if there are language changes in the current of a book? This is difficult in epubs already.

Most modern car audio systems have a "line in" socket allowing you to connect your phone or tablet. Some can also connect by other methods, such as Bluetooth.

If you think it would be useful to create a new thread to discuss the technicalities of using TTS in a car (or, indeed, any other aspect of it), please feel free to do so.

Conan46 · 03-04-2016, 12:46 PM

I see Amazon has added new Echos to their line up, and they already own IMO the best text-to-speech Ivona. I can see them licensing this technology down the road to auto manufacturers and others to bring quality TTS to a variety of areas.

03-01-2016, 10:45 PM	#33
Barbara1955 Non-Techy Posts: 4,454 Karma: 15499273 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: WV---USA Device: Samsung Cell Phone & Amazon Fires & Kobo eReaders	I found 2 options in English M/F and 6 in other English speaking countries! For the Fire 10 once some one on Amazon told me How to get to them. Really Why don't they cover these options in the Guide? Oops! Consider it a Rhetorical Question.. as this thread is Not in the Amazon Fire Forum Last edited by Barbara1955; 03-01-2016 at 10:48 PM.

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03-01-2016, 10:22 PM	#31
copyrite Wizard Posts: 1,814 Karma: 4985051 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Maryland Device: ...lots! ;) mostly reading on a Kindle Voyage	The Android Kindle app can't do TTS. Can't help you with the Fire 6 issue as my daughter's roommate is using it since I wasn't.

03-01-2016, 10:33 PM	#32
Atunah Wizard Posts: 1,817 Karma: 23400001 Join Date: May 2012 Location: USA Device: K1/K3/BasicK Voyage/Oasis1/Oasis3	I think at least I found where the setting is. Its in settings-keyboard&languages. It says I have 2 options, Amy GB and Salli USA. And I guess one can download more. I'll play with it tomorrow.

03-02-2016, 03:58 AM	#34
crossi Guru Posts: 992 Karma: 12000001 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Seattle Wahington U.S. Device: kindle	Echo is quite nice. It's useful if you want to listen to your book while cooking or doing dishes. Not like the performance of a real narrator but good enough to follow the story most of which is in my head anyway.

03-02-2016, 04:20 AM	#35
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	I often use TTS on my iPhone in the car, playing it through the car's speakers. Works pretty well.

03-02-2016, 11:02 AM	#36
QuantumIguana Philosopher Posts: 2,034 Karma: 18736532 Join Date: Jan 2012 Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2 gen, Kindle Fire 1st Gen, Kindle Touch	I use it quite a lot. Every night, when I put my daughter to bed, I start up her Kindle Touch on TTS. Right now, she wants the Kindle reading the novelization of The Empire Strikes Back every night, and has for weeks. Before that, she had the Kindle read her the Miss Peregrine series. I use TTS on my Kindle Keyboard when I'm at my desk or in my car and don't feel like listening to a podcast. My wife doesn't like TTS at all. I think it does take a lot of getting used to, like understanding someone who speaks with a heavy accent. At first, I often had a hard time understanding it, but the more I listened to it, the easier it became. I got to the point where I could listen to it at maximum speed. After a while, maximum speed doesn't even seem that fast, because as you get adapted to it, you're brain doesn't have to work as hard to understand it. For my daughter, that voice is like an old friend at bedtime. She prefers it at normal speed or even slow speed, which makes sense if it's reading to you at bedtime.

03-03-2016, 10:23 AM	#42
agua102 Member Posts: 22 Karma: 1312946 Join Date: Feb 2008 Device: tablet w8,android,ipad,prs1,boox92	What about TTS in Windows 8.1?

03-04-2016, 03:59 AM	#43
Leonatus Wizard Posts: 1,027 Karma: 11123121 Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Guben, Brandenburg, Germany Device: Kobo Clara 2E, Tolino Shine 3	Methinks TTS has a great future, for it encreases considerably the community of "readers", not only by the blind, but also by people who have little time to read, but who are interested in literature and who find it easier to listen to books in the audible version, f. ex. while driving. Audiobooks are expensive, and the covered segments are quite small. I personally would, besides, have my ebooks (in epub format) available in an audible version, too, just for the times "on the road". But there are lots problems: The car audio system supports no reading format, of course, and only .wav, mp3 and such. Thus, I would have to convert the epubs. But how can I manipulate the voices, then? How can I make the voice respect the xml:lang attribute in my epubs, if there are language changes in the current of a book? This is difficult in epubs already. It seems to me that it would be justified to create a dedicated "TTS" thread that deals with such technical problems. How do the pals think about this?

03-04-2016, 12:46 PM	#45
Conan46 Fanatic Posts: 575 Karma: 3400000 Join Date: Apr 2010 Device: Paperwhite 3	I see Amazon has added new Echos to their line up, and they already own IMO the best text-to-speech Ivona. I can see them licensing this technology down the road to auto manufacturers and others to bring quality TTS to a variety of areas.

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