TextAloud 2Comments on:

By: Dr_who

Dr_who — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 14:12:28 +0000

This product shows some promise, but to really use it…you DO have to have some good voice to reproduce sound that’s relatively pleasing and easy to listen to. I thank those of you who took the time to provide USEFUL responses regarding the functionality of the software and some possible workarounds to identified issues.

Regarding the Omnipage solution. It was a good idea, but not fully implementable because the voices aren’t available to for use by Talkaloud. ( The reasons are posted below and they were obtained from the developer.)

All in all, it’s a decent program but the get the best use of it, you need to have some good voices. I’ve spent the last two days trying to use all of the free ones identified in this thread without success. They are free, but not available for use by this program. If there is a free solution, I’d love to hear it.

BTY, this is my first post, but I’ve been a long time fan of GOTD. You have gotten me to try a lot of programs that I would have normally never tried. I as a consequence have to restore by system once a year to ensure smooth operation, but I seen that as simply an annual tune up. Please keep up the good work.

Explination 1

http://www.nextup.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=690&sid=94177107d3f64f8f8c0c5b86e6b30bbc

PostPosted: Fri Oct 08, 2004 5:05 pm Post subject: Reply with quote
What I think is happening is ScanSoft has gone to a system where they put voices on the computer, but in a way that they aren’t available to other applications through SAPI.
_________________
Ken White
NextUp.com
The Power of Spoken Audio
http://www.NextUp.com

Explination 2

There is a way around there restrictions on using their voices, if you are desperate for them. You have to have the following software:

- Omnipage Pro 14 (or better)
- Total Recorder

Omnipage Pro 14 installs some decent voices, not quite as nice as some, but good and different. The two english voices are Dave (American male) and Jane (British female).

Total Recorder is a shareware program that will record any sound that passes through the soundcard. Omnipage won’t output to a wav file, but it will play the pages.

You have to open some image of text in Omnipage, have it recognize at least one page, then clear that in the text editor, paste in your text to play, set for speech mode, select voice, start total recorder, do it’s settings, start it’s recording, then tell Omnipage to play the full page. This is a 1x speed recording, but it does work.

Not really worth the effort. I wonder why the don’t license their voices for Nextup.com?

By: HARMONATOR

HARMONATOR — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 05:08:53 +0000

text aloud is a great program….and it works in window7….i know this because i’m a beta tester!

By: toby

toby — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 22:32:50 +0000

TextAloud — I can’t believe that only a computer sound voice
is all that I can do, without paying for the voices!

-t

By: Chadman

Chadman — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 14:52:45 +0000

To everybody comparing this to Narrator in Windows or Read Aloud in adobe reader – these can’t save to MP3 and make an audiobook! This software can right inside the program. It seems though many are missing the point. The value is being able to create mp3 files so you are making an audiobook.

By: lostinlodos

lostinlodos — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 07:16:41 +0000

#99, Just install the program and restart the system. You should now have a bunch of voice choices in the drop down menu of TA2.

By: blatz b

blatz b — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 07:01:59 +0000

Cepstral’s Callie voice is pretty good. Compared it to ATT&T, Acapela and Microsoft Mary and L&H/Nuance/Scansoft on W2K. Requires a local licensing server which sometimes hangs, but otherwise I liked this voice best.

By: sudisz

sudisz — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 06:56:02 +0000

install ok, but just english voice:sam. therefore after 1 min. uninstall…:(((

By: Audio Books

Audio Books — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 06:39:26 +0000

well textaloud is one of my personal favorite.

By: yyuosuff

yyuosuff — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 06:28:16 +0000

TO ALL – THE BAD NEWS

The problem with the desktop icon. I guess there were no responses to my itch b/c nobody else faced this issue. I should have been more descriptive in the highlighting of this problem – in that it wasn’t an icon that anyone would relish sitting on his desktop – a square with a couple of dots, characterstic of the programs that the windows and all/any of the s/w cannot read.
Now for the baad news – there is no bad news.
I solved the problem myself. After all self help is the best HELP.

By: yyuosuff

yyuosuff — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 06:10:14 +0000

#81,
Thank you Jay G very much, for your support.
Though i didn’t try it as u have suggested – i did indeed uninstall through the normal process as available of the uninstall of the application itself. At a certain point the process asks for the installation CD to be inserted. Now, this AV is a three pc licensed s/w. It is obvious that only one person will have the CD and the other two my not have access to it, as in my case.
So, I press the cancel button instead of the OK button. The uninstallation proceeds from there on for a long time and it does seem that the exit is doing something to the pc – like a kick in the ass – which it does. Finally it comes down to the point where it asks u to reboot instantly, which i do and now the pc cannot start up again.
Fortunately I have the Drive Clone Pro installed that allows me to go back to the previous picture, but that also means that its back to square one with the Norton back on.
Now if only this this removal tool will not ask for for the original CD, it is OK. The site indicates that the pc will start a couple of times and ask for a few on screen instructions to follow for the uninstall. I suspect those instructions will be to insert the CD and I shall have to redo my computer all over again which is quite a bother besides losing out much data.
Oh why do people buy norton at all.
Let me know what u think. And once again thanks a ton for your advice.
regards