[DECtalk] a decent speech synthesizer for primary use

mattias mjonsson1986 at gmail.com
Sun Aug 31 11:00:32 EDT 2014


how to actually get the tts working?
win8
Jim Hunt via Dectalk skrev den 2014-08-31 16:26:
> Very well said Alex.  For those who quivel about the legalities of
> abandonware ... who cares?  The point here is that SoftVoice is abandonware.
> Abandonware is software that has been and is abandoned and no longer
> supported.  Some of the companies who developed abandonware are no longer
> even in existence anymore.  (As a side note, there is a BT Sync archive
> dedicated to abandonware games.)  Folks, as long as there's an interest in
> playing with these older synths, I say, friends, play away!
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Dectalk [mailto:dectalk-bounces at bluegrasspals.com] On Behalf Of Alex
> H. via Dectalk
> Sent: Sunday, August 31, 2014 10:14 AM
> To: DECtalk
> Subject: Re: [DECtalk] a decent speech synthesizer for primary use
>
> I'll say something and I hope you're reading carefully.
>
> Please stop asking if everything is legal. Most people will disregard your
> message anyway, as legal/illegal software is a touchy topic for some people,
> and honestly, it gets old that you ask after every message. Read licenses,
> and either care to follow them, or don't.
> That's entirely up to you.
>
> I believe the Softvoice corp is long dead, so for all purposes just keep
> using it. It's antiquated and 16-bit stuff that works with SAPI4.
>
>
>
> On 8/30/14, brandon T via Dectalk <dectalk at bluegrasspals.com> wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> I know that the Chatterbox voice has some things wrong, but it is
>> working pretty well for me. I have the new driver.
>>
>> How can this be free and legal if it is based on a commercial product,
>> Softvoice, that was not free?
>>
>> Thank you very much for your time and I look forward to any assistance
>> you are willing to provide.
>>
>> Sincerely,
>>
>> Brandon Tyson
>>
>> On 8/30/14, Alex H. via Dectalk <dectalk at bluegrasspals.com> wrote:
>>> Chatterbox has issues and reads numbers as single digits, e.g., 301
>>> as
>>> 3 0 1.It also breaks when using the shift key to pause or start
>>> typing. I modified the sapi4 NVDA driver about 2 years ago, but cant
>>> find the file now.
>>>
>>> I use Vocalizer or Orpheus or espeak these days, with some Eloquence
>>> in their too. My DEC USB is at home sadly, so I can't use it
>>> currently. I avoid synths with issues, but they're fun to play with
>>> for sure.
>>>
>>> On 8/30/14, brandon T via Dectalk <dectalk at bluegrasspals.com> wrote:
>>>> Hello,
>>>>
>>>> I agree with you on that it sounds like Softvoice. Do you think they
>>>> would have intentionally modified the license file to make us think
>>>> it was free?
>>>>
>>>> Thank you very much for your time and I look forward to a response.
>>>>
>>>> Sincerely,
>>>> BRANDON TYSON
>>>>
>>>> On 8/30/14, Jake Gross via Dectalk <dectalk at bluegrasspals.com> wrote:
>>>>> This synth sounds like softvoice, an abandonware speech synthesizer
>>>>> that wasn't free.
>>>>> I assumed this was a sapi4 version.
>>>>> Maybe chatterbox uses similar speech technology.
>>>>>
>>>>>   ----- Original Message -----
>>>>> From: brandon T via Dectalk <dectalk at bluegrasspals.com
>>>>> To: DECtalk <dectalk at bluegrasspals.com Date sent: Sat, 30 Aug 2014
>>>>> 18:49:35 -0400
>>>>> Subject: Re: [DECtalk] a decent speech synthesizer for primary use
>>>>>
>>>>> Hello,
>>>>>
>>>>> The license.txt file says that we are able to redistribute this
>>>>> freely, and it also says that we got this for free. So, do you mind
>>>>> if I please ask how this is abandonware please?
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>>
>>>>> Brandon
>>>>>
>>>>> On 8/30/14, Jake Gross via Dectalk <dectalk at bluegrasspals.com>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>   To me, Nv speech player sounds similar to Infovox 230 , and
>>>>> Monologue sounds like Doubletalk.
>>>>>
>>>>>    ----- Original Message -----
>>>>>   From: brandon T via Dectalk <dectalk at bluegrasspals.com
>>>>>   To: DECtalk <dectalk at bluegrasspals.com  Date sent: Sat, 30 Aug
>>>>> 2014 00:29:19 -0400
>>>>>   Subject: Re: [DECtalk] a decent speech synthesizer for primary
>>>>> use
>>>>>
>>>>>   Hi,
>>>>>
>>>>>   So, if I read the license correctly, it said something about I
>>>>> can  redistribute this software and that it's free, why does it say
>>>>> that if  it's abandonware? It says that in the license.txt file.
>>>>> How do  you  know that the modified sapi4.py file is legal?
>>>>>
>>>>>   Thanks,
>>>>>
>>>>>   Brandon
>>>>>
>>>>>   On 8/30/14, Jake Gross via Dectalk <dectalk at bluegrasspals.com
>>>>>   wrote:
>>>>>    It is abandonware.
>>>>>    Speech rate is not supported.
>>>>>    Did you copy the sapi4.py file to your nvda user configuration
>>>>>    directory?
>>>>>    This driver prevents the synth from crashing.
>>>>>
>>>>>     ----- Original Message -----
>>>>>    From: brandon T viaDectalk <dectalk at bluegrasspals.com
>>>>>    To: DECtalk <dectalk at bluegrasspals.com
>>>>>    Date sent: Fri, 29 Aug 2014 23:42:52 -0400
>>>>>    Subject: Re: [DECtalk] a decent speech synthesizer for primary
>>>>>    use
>>>>>
>>>>>    Hello,
>>>>>
>>>>>    Is this synthesizer illegal?
>>>>>
>>>>>    Also, it isn't speaking as I change the speed of the voice.
>>>>>   Also,
>>>>>    it
>>>>>    is crashing sometimes.
>>>>>
>>>>>    Thank you very much for your time and I look forward to a
>>>>>    response.
>>>>>
>>>>>    Sincerely,
>>>>>
>>>>>    Brandon Tyson
>>>>>
>>>>>    On 8/29/14, Jake Gross via Dectalk <dectalk at bluegrasspals.com
>>>>>    wrote:
>>>>>     What part of the installer can't you read.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>      ----- Original Message -----
>>>>>     From: brandon T via Dectalk <dectalk at bluegrasspals.com
>>>>>     To: DECtalk <dectalk at bluegrasspals.com
>>>>>     Date sent: Fri, 29 Aug 2014 23:06:51 -0400
>>>>>     Subject: Re: [DECtalk] a decent speech synthesizer for primary
>>>>>     use
>>>>>
>>>>>     Hi,
>>>>>
>>>>>     Unfortunately I can't read the installer. I am not sure if it
>>>>> is
>>>>>     in English.
>>>>>
>>>>>     Thanks for telling me about this, I really appreciate it!
>>>>>
>>>>>     Thanks,
>>>>>
>>>>>     Brandon
>>>>>
>>>>>     On 8/29/14, Jake Gross via Dectalk <dectalk at bluegrasspals.com
>>>>>     wrote:
>>>>>      Have you ever tried chatterbox?
>>>>>      It is a sapi4 english/rushen speech synthesizer.
>>>>>      You can find it at
>>>>>      http://grossgang.com/tts/sapi_voices/chatterbox.zip
>>>>>      Jake
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>       ----- Original Message -----
>>>>>      From: brandon T via Dectalk <dectalk at bluegrasspals.com
>>>>>      To: DECtalk <dectalk at bluegrasspals.com
>>>>>      Date sent: Fri, 29 Aug 2014 21:12:00 -0400
>>>>>      Subject: Re: [DECtalk] a decent speech synthesizer for primary
>>>>>      use
>>>>>
>>>>>      Hi,
>>>>>
>>>>>      Thank you for this information. I thought that maybe another
>>>>>      thing
>>>>>      was, with the Microsoft voices, I should try them at a faster
>>>>>      speed.
>>>>>      For now, they are ok.
>>>>>
>>>>>      Thank you very much for your time, I really appreciate it.
>>>>>
>>>>>      I hope that you are having an awesome day!
>>>>>
>>>>>      Thanks,
>>>>>
>>>>>      Brandon
>>>>>
>>>>>      On 8/29/14, Blake Roberts via Dectalk
>>>>>    <dectalk at bluegrasspals.com
>>>>>      wrote:
>>>>>       I know that the AT&T Natural voices were recorded at 16k
>>>>>     instead
>>>>>      of the
>>>>>       typical 22k for recorded speech samples. However, they might
>>>>>     not
>>>>>      work as
>>>>>       your primary synth due to large size of each voice. I
>>>>>    purchased
>>>>>      some AT&T
>>>>>       voices which I use as primary voices within OpenBook, but
>>>>> they
>>>>>      are used for
>>>>>       short periods. AT&T voices might work as your primary synth
>>>>> if
>>>>>      you have a
>>>>>       lot of Ram memory in your computer, i.e. more than a gig or
>>>>>     two.
>>>>>       Blake
>>>>>
>>>>>       -----Original Message-----
>>>>>       From: Dectalk [mailto:dectalk-bounces at bluegrasspals.com] On
>>>>>      Behalf Of
>>>>>       brandon T via Dectalk
>>>>>       Sent: Friday, August 29, 2014 8:40 PM
>>>>>       To: DECtalk
>>>>>       Subject: Re: [DECtalk] a decent speech synthesizer for
>>>>> primary
>>>>>      use
>>>>>
>>>>>       Hi,
>>>>>
>>>>>       I am wondering if maybe the voices are just sounding too real
>>>>>     to
>>>>>      me.
>>>>>       Are there any that are recorded at a lower audio quality
>>>>>     please?
>>>>>
>>>>>       Thank you very much for your time and I look forward to any
>>>>>      assistance
>>>>>       you are willing to provide.
>>>>>
>>>>>       Sincerely,
>>>>>
>>>>>       Brandon Tyson
>>>>>
>>>>>       On 8/29/14, Blake Roberts via Dectalk
>>>>>      <dectalk at bluegrasspals.com> wrote:
>>>>>       Daniel,
>>>>>       Ivona voices are SAPI5. To use them in NVDA I simply changed
>>>>>      from ESpeak
>>>>>       to
>>>>>       SAPI version 5 in the synthesizers list.
>>>>>       Blake
>>>>>
>>>>>       -----Original Message-----
>>>>>       From: Dectalk [mailto:dectalk-bounces at bluegrasspals.com] On
>>>>>      Behalf Of
>>>>>       Daniel
>>>>>       Wolak via Dectalk
>>>>>       Sent: Friday, August 29, 2014 8:07 PM
>>>>>       To: DECtalk
>>>>>       Subject: Re: [DECtalk] a decent speech synthesizer for
>>>>> primary
>>>>>      use
>>>>>
>>>>>       Hi,
>>>>>       I mostly use eloquence with nvda... A question for you
>>>>> blake:
>>>>>      what do
>>>>>       you use to interface the ivona voices with nvda as I've been
>>>>>      thinking of
>>>>>       trying them?
>>>>>       Thanks,
>>>>>
>>>>>       Daniel
>>>>>       On 29/08/2014 8:00 PM, Blake Roberts via Dectalk wrote:
>>>>>       Brandon,
>>>>>       Although I use Eloquence as my primary synth in Jaws, Ivona
>>>>>      voices are a
>>>>>       close second. They are my primary voices within NVDA. Voices
>>>>>      from Ivona
>>>>>       are
>>>>>       not free but you can trial each voice for 30 days before
>>>>>      purchase is
>>>>>       required. I prefer slow speeds so I'm not sure how Ivona
>>>>>    sounds
>>>>>      at fast
>>>>>       rates. I use Ivona voices because all of the voices sound
>>>>> very
>>>>>      natural.
>>>>>
>>>>>       Have you tried the Orpheus synth? I purchased Orpheus but
>>>>>    don't
>>>>>      use it
>>>>>       anymore because those voices are too fast for my liking.
>>>>> Like
>>>>>      Ivona, you
>>>>>       can
>>>>>       trial Orpheus for 30 days before purchase is required. The
>>>>>      difference is
>>>>>       with Orpheus you receive all voices, whereas Ivona voices are
>>>>>      downloaded
>>>>>       one
>>>>>       voice at a time.
>>>>>       Blake
>>>>>
>>>>>       -----Original Message-----
>>>>>       From: Dectalk [mailto:dectalk-bounces at bluegrasspals.com] On
>>>>>      Behalf Of
>>>>>       brandon T via Dectalk
>>>>>       Sent: Friday, August 29, 2014 7:48 PM
>>>>>       To: DECtalk Discussions
>>>>>       Subject: [DECtalk] a decent speech synthesizer for primary
>>>>> use
>>>>>
>>>>>       Hello,
>>>>>
>>>>>       I have been looking at Sapi 4 and Sapi 5 voices today. Also,
>>>>> I
>>>>>      have
>>>>>       been looking at Speech Player. I am familiar with a lot of
>>>>>      voices,
>>>>>       including Acapela, Eloquence, DecTalk, Microsoft voices like
>>>>>      Sam, the
>>>>>       LH synthesizer, the Digalo voices, Infovox 230 and 330,
>>>>>    eSpeak,
>>>>>       Neospeech and others. Here is my problem. I have been majorly
>>>>>       investigating voices for years. I guess the main problem is
>>>>>     that
>>>>>      all
>>>>>       of the voices do something that I don't like. Eloquence makes
>>>>>    a
>>>>>       clicking sound when it goes really fast. I have trouble
>>>>>      understanding
>>>>>       DecTalk when it goes really fast. The Acapela voices are, in
>>>>>    my
>>>>>       opinion, too hard to use as a primary voice. I have thought
>>>>>      about
>>>>>       Infovox 230 and 330, but I cant do anything legally except
>>>>> use
>>>>>      the
>>>>>       trial. Also, I can't use Eloquence legally with NVDA. The
>>>>>     Digalo
>>>>>       voices are hard to understand when speaking long amounts of
>>>>>     text
>>>>>       because they stop reading for a few seconds in the middle of
>>>>> a
>>>>>       sentence. The Microsoft voices are ok, but again, the way
>>>>> that
>>>>>      they
>>>>>       read is hard for me to get used to. ESpeak sometimes is hard
>>>>>     for
>>>>>      me
>>>>>       because when it goes fast, I hear this sort of interesting
>>>>>     sound
>>>>>      in
>>>>>       the middle of the speech. The LH voices are hard because,
>>>>>    well,
>>>>>      I
>>>>>       unfortunately can't explain it. Do you mind if I please ask,
>>>>>      what
>>>>>       synthesizer do you use primarily, the reasons you use it,
>>>>> what
>>>>>      is good
>>>>>       about it, and what is not as good please? I am hoping that,
>>>>>     with
>>>>>      input
>>>>>       and suggestions, I can hopefully find something that I will
>>>>> be
>>>>>      able to
>>>>>       use primarily.
>>>>>
>>>>>       Thank you very much for your time and I look forward to any
>>>>>      assistance
>>>>>       you are willing to provide
>>>>>
>>>>>       .Sincerely,
>>>>>
>>>>>       Brandon Tyson
>>>>>       _______________________________________________
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