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Voice instructions for front ends
maraxle:
Here's a link to Microsoft's SDK for text-to-speech functionality. It works in Windows 98/98SE/ME/2000/XP and possibly NT. You can use it in VB and Visual C++, plus the .NET tools. Probably others too, but I haven't tried it. I used it in VB to have it read names and sentences that were generated by a little program I wrote (name generator for D&D). It's really easy to use and some of the voices sound halfway decent. Making a command line utility that takes a text file as input and reads it with the default voice would require about 5 lines of code in VB.
It could easily read from the LCD files if you tell it to ignore the control codes that are in them.
Minwah:
Interesting idea :)
Thanks for the link maraxle, I might have a play around with that if I get bored...
Howard_Casto:
Actually minwah.... I might have the code lying around somewhere.. If you want it let me know.
Might save a few minutes :)
nipsmg:
I know in VB6 it's extremely easy. If you have the SDK's installed, you just add an activeX object. I think it's the speech object. (looks like lips when you draw it on the form).
Then it's <SpeechControl>.speak() I think. Something really dumb like that.
I agree with Howard though, the voices SUCK. Something utilizing AT&T Natural Voices would be GREAT, but the SDK and licensing is prohibitively expensive.
--NipsMG
Howard_Casto:
--- Quote from: nipsmg on April 30, 2004, 05:43:35 pm ---
I agree with Howard though, the voices SUCK. Something utilizing AT&T Natural Voices would be GREAT, but the SDK and licensing is prohibitively expensive.
--- End quote ---
EXACTLY!
I looked into that originally.... the sdk was free, but end users (as well as the developers) have to pay 50 bucks for each voice set. And that's with the special liscense for free software ect... (insert hoop to jump through here)
Not worth 50 bucks imo.