[GUI Plugin] TTS to MP3: Create MP3 audiobook using Windows TTS

[Muskillogemi]

Originally Posted by Doitsu

You might have to change the default Narrator voice in Windows 10.
(Turn on Narrator, change the default voice, then turn off Narrator.)

This'll add the missing registry key.

I've tried but it still doesn't show up in the register. I think I'm missing voices from Microsoft or the system doesn't recognize them. Is there a way to reinstall them? I recently installed TextAloud and I installed several new voices in my language, Spanish, perhaps that has broken the Windows registry. Can you help me? Thank you.

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by Muskillogemi

I've tried but it still doesn't show up in the register. I think I'm missing voices from Microsoft or the system doesn't recognize them. Is there a way to reinstall them? I recently installed TextAloud and I installed several new voices in my language, Spanish, perhaps that has broken the Windows registry. Can you help me? Thank you.

I was hoping some investigation of your Windows Narrator settings might help but if it hasn't then please try this plugin beta update which no longer attempts to find the Windows default voice.

You'll need to download it to your PC then install it manually via calibre:
Preferences > Plugins > Load plugin from file
Then restart calibre and see if 'TTS to MP3' is now available to add to your various menus/toolbars.

[Muskillogemi]

Thank you very much Jackie. Now everything is working properly. Thank you very much for the great work and for the trouble I could create for you. It is a great plugin for Calibre, for me it is the best and you have helped me a lot. A cordial greeting.

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by Muskillogemi

Thank you very much Jackie. Now everything is working properly. Thank you very much for the great work and for the trouble I could create for you. It is a great plugin for Calibre, for me it is the best and you have helped me a lot. A cordial greeting.

Thank goodness for that! We got there in the end.

If you had this problem with Windows default voice it's only a matter of time until someone else does, too. So I will be releasing an official plugin update soon to incorporate the change.

[jackie_w]

At least one user has experienced a problem with calibre failing to load 'TTS to MP3' correctly at calibre start up. Consequently the plugin has been slightly simplified so it no longer tries to look for the Windows default Voice.

As always, you can still use the plugin's config option to set your own preferred Voice from the list of all Voices visible to the plugin.

The update should be available within the next couple of hours via calibre's standard plugin update system.

[Muskillogemi]

Hello Jackie, I have found a mistake that although it is not of great importance can happen to many people, at least in countries where the words are accentuated as in my case, Spain. I noticed it by chance. When you try to record the MP3 in a folder which has some accented word in its name, an error appears and the conversion does not continue. For example, if I choose a folder named "Jose", the conversion from TTS to MP3 occurs correctly, but if the folder is named "José" the error appears. It's not as important as changing the name of the folder, but for many people it can cause a real headache if they don't know why the error occurs. I'm sending you the error statement:

calibre, version 5.5.0 (win32, embedded-python: True)
Failed to run TTS to MP3: Fallo: TTS to MP3:Arturo Pérez-Reverte - No me cogeréis vivo (9195)

TTS to MP3:Arturo Pérez-Reverte - No me cogeréis vivo (9195)
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "runpy.py", line 194, in _run_module_as_main
File "runpy.py", line 87, in _run_code
File "site.py", line 82, in <module>
File "site.py", line 77, in main
File "site.py", line 49, in run_entry_point
File "calibre\utils\ipc\worker.py", line 215, in main
File "calibre\utils\ipc\worker.py", line 146, in arbitrary_n
File "calibre_plugins.tts_to_mp3_plugin.jobs", line 89, in do_book_action_worker
TypeError: cannot unpack non-iterable NoneType object

Logfile for 9195 / 002 / OEBPS/Text/titulo.xhtml

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by Muskillogemi

Hello Jackie, I have found a mistake that although it is not of great importance can happen to many people, at least in countries where the words are accentuated as in my case, Spain. I noticed it by chance. When you try to record the MP3 in a folder which has some accented word in its name, an error appears and the conversion does not continue. For example, if I choose a folder named "Jose", the conversion from TTS to MP3 occurs correctly, but if the folder is named "José" the error appears. It's not as important as changing the name of the folder, but for many people it can cause a real headache if they don't know why the error occurs.

I'll have to do some research into this as I don't know of a quick fix. This plugin has been around since mid-2018 so it's a bit surprising no-one's mentioned it before.

The plugin already takes some steps to only create sanitised directory and filenames by changing unicode characters to their ASCII equivalents, e.g. in your example book 'No me cogeréis vivo' the MP3s would currently be saved in a created subdirectory called 'No me cogereis vivo' (as you've probably already noticed). But, as you say, if you ask the plugin to create the MP3s inside a pre-existing accented directory then the error you've logged occurs.

For now you'll need to save the MP3s to a non-accented parent directory, then, after completion, move the resulting MP3 directory into your pre-existing 'Arturo Pérez-Reverte' directory.

I'll investigate whether calibre has some unicode tricks I'm not currently aware of that might help.

[Muskillogemi]

Originally Posted by jackie_w

I'll have to do some research into this as I don't know of a quick fix. This plugin has been around since mid-2018 so it's a bit surprising no-one's mentioned it before.

The plugin already takes some steps to only create sanitised directory and filenames by changing unicode characters to their ASCII equivalents, e.g. in your example book 'No me cogeréis vivo' the MP3s would currently be saved in a created subdirectory called 'No me cogereis vivo' (as you've probably already noticed). But, as you say, if you ask the plugin to create the MP3s inside a pre-existing accented directory then the error you've logged occurs.

For now you'll need to save the MP3s to a non-accented parent directory, then, after completion, move the resulting MP3 directory into your pre-existing 'Arturo Pérez-Reverte' directory.

I'll investigate whether calibre has some unicode tricks I'm not currently aware of that might help.

Perfect, thanks again. Greetings.

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by jackie_w

I'll investigate whether calibre has some unicode tricks I'm not currently aware of that might help.

Originally Posted by Muskillogemi

Perfect, thanks again. Greetings.

Here's another beta version for you to try. Once again you'll need to install it via Preferences > Plugins > Load plugin from file

There's no need to rush back with an answer. I'd prefer you tested it a lot before I do another official release. Let's see if any other problems crawl out of the woodwork.

[Muskillogemi]

Hi Jackie, I detected an error in the program when we customized the plugin options and checked the embed option in each MP3. The problem is that if I am converting several books at once to MP3 format, the images of the covers of the different books in each of the folders that are created are mixed. You can see it yourself in this screenshot, although the same thing happens in all the folders. To avoid this, you have to do it one by one and wait until the process is over to start with a new book.

https://ibb.co/vvpvKS1

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by Muskillogemi

... To avoid this, you have to do it one by one and wait until the process is over to start with a new book.

Ah, yes, I can see why that would happen if multiple books are being processed at the same time.

I'll post another beta if (or, hopefully, when) I find a solution.

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by Muskillogemi

To avoid this, you have to do it one by one and wait until the process is over to start with a new book.

Here's another beta which I hope will cope better with simultaneous creation of audiobooks. Sorting out the cover thumbnail issue turned out to be just the tip of the iceberg!

[Logarithmic]

JFYI. Amazon Polly works fricken amazing for this. Made some ebooks out of it and it almost feels legit human.

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by Logarithmic

JFYI. Amazon Polly works fricken amazing for this. Made some ebooks out of it and it almost feels legit human.

It's not free, is it?

[Muskillogemi]

Originally Posted by jackie_w

Here's another beta which I hope will cope better with simultaneous creation of audiobooks. Sorting out the cover thumbnail issue turned out to be just the tip of the iceberg!

Thank you very much Jackie. Few professionals are as good as you. Thanks for the fast support and for this great plug-in. Best regards.