Formatting - was Would you be interested in having natural sounding TTS voices by Readspeaker on Linux? demo link included

Linux for blind general discussion blinux-list at redhat.com
Mon Apr 19 05:30:55 UTC 2021


My goal is simply to bring more variety of TTS voices which could be installed to use with the already existing Linux screenreaders. For example, in Windows I can use the NVDA screenreader to adjust the rate and pitch etc of a TTS voice. But when all is said and done, I prefer the sound quality, the tamber, of certain TTS voices more than others, no matter how much I can adjust perameters in the screenreader. On Windows, I can use the Microsoft Zira voice for example, or the Ivona Kendra voice. No matter how many adjustments I make from the screenreader, granted that I am an average user with no programming experience, but no matter what standard adjustments I make, for me, it still comes down to quality of voice, and I'll still choose Kendra over Zira if I have the chance. So, I just want to see more choices of TTS voices  become available to Linux users.
The adjustments are done through the screenreader yes, but I once tried out a third party TTS on Windows. It was some years back, but I think I used it with the NVDA screenreader, and unlike all the other TTS voices I have ever used with NVDA on Windows, the one produced by that specific company, always had a very long pause between sentences no matter what adjustments I made from within the NVDA screenreader. It was a trial demo, so I chose not to buy the TTS product, because no matter what adjustments I made in the screenreader, I couldn't get rid of the lagging pauses between sentences which made reading documents with that particular TTS intolerable. I have not experienced that with any of the other TTS voices from various different companies I have used. Only  voices from that specific company, and I suspect it may have had something to do with whatever module they developed to connect their voices to the screenreader.
I have also experienced TTS voices that make like a slight popping sound as it tries to keep up with the key strokes when writing fast or navigating fast, as if the output can't quite keep up with the input.
 I am not a tech specialist, but based on those kind of  experiences, it leads me to believe that responsiveness may not just be the screenreader itself, but also may depend on the seamless connectivity between the screenreader, and the TTS module that its connected to. I could be wrong. I don't know all the hows and whys, but those have just been some of my experiences.
not everyone will be interested in Readspeaker and thats totally fine. Some people are satisfied with whats already available and I respect their preferences.
My hope for this potential project, is simply to make available more  natural-like voices compatible with Linux screenreaders for those who want them.
Not everyone will want natural-like voices and thats ok.
But if this project moves forward, then I do want to be certain that there will not be any lagging in response with the connection between the TTS module, and the screenreader. So if Readspeaker develops a module for their voices to link to Orca and SpeechedUp, then I do think that the fluid responsiveness between Orca and Espeak-ng, or Orca and RHVoice, is a good example of seamless responsiveness, for Readspeaker to refer to as a model when testing their own module to be sure that their Readspeaker TTS module flows smoothly in connection with the screenreader as the user navigates.
Thanks,
SL



More information about the Blinux-list mailing list