Category: Geeks r Us
I'd like to know, in your opinion, what is the best hardware synthesizer out there for use with a screenreader? It can be external, using a parallel or serial port, or internal, using a pcmcia card. I've heard of several for the blind but very rarely get to listen to samples of these. However, I did find some general synthesizers at
http://www.cs.indiana.edu/rhythmsp/ASA/Contents.html
From that huge list, here are my picks. The star means it's good enough for use by a screenreader. However, most of these, to my knowledge, were never used in such a way. I find all of this totally amazing when I look at the years in which they were made. I thought it was only recently that truly human-sounding synthesizers were available. Even the ones which are clearly synthetic still sound decent and more so as time passed. Note that the speech will start as soon as you hit the link. The first I've only included cause of it's year, 1939, not cause it's good. Also, I've included the Echo cause it's what I'm currently using. Now you see why I desperately want something else. But I've heard some in the other links on the above page that make the echo sound downright charming. My main question, for those not into samples, is if there's a high quality speech synth other than the Keynote and Decktalk that I can use. doubletalk didn't impress me and neither did the accent SA, though I only heard it speak two words. Apollo, like Orpheus, sounds very synthetic but can handle Greek. My Braille Lite 2000 and my Brail Blazer are tollerable but the first isn't working and the second's too big to carry with me, since it's also an embosser. Plus, the Braille Lite's got a weird serial port. I know of one called the Sounding Board but have never heard it speak. If I can get Enhanced DR-DOS to play nicely with JAWS for DOS and if that Interface program really works this is the engine that I can use with it.
http://vtatila.kapsi.fi/downloads/mbrola_uk.mp3
Until then, I need a hardware one.
The VODER of Homer Dudley, 1939. Demonstrated at the Worlds Fair.
http://www.cs.indiana.edu/rhythmsp/ASA/AUfiles/01.AU
Copying the same sentence using the second generation of Gunnar Fant's cascade formant synthesizer, 1962.
http://www.cs.indiana.edu/rhythmsp/ASA/AUfiles/06.AU
*Comparison of synthesis and a natural sentence, John Holmes using his parallel formant synthesizer, 1973.
http://www.cs.indiana.edu/rhythmsp/ASA/AUfiles/08.AU
*Comparison of synthesis and a natural sentence, female voice, Dennis Klatt, 1986b. *excellent*
http://www.cs.indiana.edu/rhythmsp/ASA/AUfiles/10.AU
* The Echo low-cost diphone concatenation system, about 1982. *This is the exact same voice as used in the Echo PC and the EcHO LT, both of which I have.*
http://www.cs.indiana.edu/rhythmsp/ASA/AUfiles/29.AU
*The MIT MITalk system, by Jonathan Allen, Sheri Hunnicutt, and Dennis Klatt, 1979.
http://www.cs.indiana.edu/rhythmsp/ASA/AUfiles/30.AU
*The Speech Plus Inc. `` Prose-2000'' commercial system, 1982. *Excellent*
http://www.cs.indiana.edu/rhythmsp/ASA/AUfiles/32.AU
*The ATT Bell Laboratories text-to-speech system, 1985.
http://www.cs.indiana.edu/rhythmsp/ASA/AUfiles/34.AU
*Several of the Decktalk Voices A. Perfect Paul' *used with screenreaders. Other samples available.*
http://www.cs.indiana.edu/rhythmsp/ASA/AUfiles/35a.AU
If you're as into speech synthesis as I am, check out the following link. these are all software synthesizers, except one, with reviews. so if you're looking for one for your modern system, this might come in handy.
http://vtatila.kapsi.fi/reviews_of_speech_synths.html
I'm still on the hunt for a good hardware synthesizer. I'm about to send an e-mail to Humanware to see if they can help me locate a Keynote Gold SA but am still wondering if anyone can give me a review or a sample of another one so I can compare them. Even better, do any of you have a hardware synth that you'd be willing to sell? What about a Keynote Companion?
today I looked through my old Blazie Engineering disks, and along with some interesting programs for my Braille Lite 2000, I found descriptions of the DECtalk Express, Lite Talk, Speak-Out and SmarTalk synthesizers. Has anyone ever tried these? If so, how good are they? How are they when it comes to traveling i.e. durability, battery life, size and weight, and most of all, voice? The only one I've heard of these is the Decktalk. I take back what I said about it. It's not that bad after all. But the others I don't know and I'd like a little more info before I e-mail Freedom Scientific to see if anyone could help me locate one. Also, since we're at it, has anyone tried the FormMate screenreader (just for forms), ETgraphX (for creating braille graphics) and/or the Panasonic KX-P1150 Printer? What are they like? Just out of curiosity, has anyone here ever worked with the the Basic Interpretor for the Blazie products? If so, does it work with QuickBasic or just regular Basic? I probably won't be creating programs on the Braille Lite, since I have a regular computer for that, but find the idea interesting nonetheless.