Overview of Text to Speech:
“ Getting the computer to read your printed document out loud”
Ja Medlicott
NCATP AT Consultant

This presentation will review options for using the computer to read text

• “Text-to-Speech software is used to convert words from a computer document (e.g. word processor document, web page) into audible speech spoken through the computer speaker”

Reasons for Using a Text Reader
• Visual Issue
(Difficulty seeing text)
• Cognitive Issue
( Low reading level/comprehension)
• Motor Issue
(Difficulty handling a book or paper)

Text Reader vs. Screen Reader
Text Reader:
Screen Reader:
For navigation purposes will read both what is on a computer desktop and will also read text

• E text
Most of the text you see on your computer
Examples: Internet, Email, Word Document, E Books
• Paper text
Any text is printed on paper
Most people ask for help with printed text.
They want a book they have to be placed on the computer
Examples: Newspaper, Book, Magazine

How to get Printed Text into your Computer
Scan
A scanner takes a picture of the document
A scanned document is a picture first!
Example Scan Text.jpg

Can a text reader read a picture?
It can not!
Must have additional software to change or format it into a text file or document
This software is called
OCR
Optical Character Recognition

Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
Converts the scan picture of text into a true text file or document.
Most scanners you buy today come with their own OCR software

Example of My Scanner OCR
Software
Scanned Text
Converted Text File

• SimpleOCR 3 (Free)
Example
• OmniPage 15 ($150)
• ABBYY FineReader ($400)

A flatbed scanner produces a spine shadow or text distortion
Cutting a book …damages it and page order is a issue

…..Maybe
• OpticBook 3600 ($240)
• Zoom Ex ($2400)
Scanning is time consuming and labor intensive!

• E text
Most of the text you see on your computer
Examples: Internet, Email, Word Document, E Books
• Paper text
Any text is printed on paper
Examples: Newspaper, Book, Magazine

Free Versions
• Uses “free” computer sounding voices
• Reads e text that is on your computer
Fee Base Versions
• Have human sounding voices
• Reads e text and some have OCR software

A speech engine is what your computer uses to convert text into speech
Sometimes called a speech synthesizer or text-to-speech (TTS)
It gives you computer a voice

Text-To-speech (TTS)
“Voice” Resources http://www.microsoft.com/msagent/downloads/user.asp
http://www.bytecool.com/voices.htm
http://www.digitalfuturesoft.com/texttospeechproducts.php
http://www.neospeech.com/product/technologies/tts.php
http://nextup.com/TextAloud/SpeechEngine/voices.html#morefreevoices

• NaturalReader (100 Character Limit) review
• ReadPlease
• WordTalk
Review review
• Adobe Reader review
• Microsoft Reader
• Bookshelf
Review review

• Natural Reader Professional/Enterprise
• WYNN
• Premier Assistive Technology
• TextOutloud
• Kurzweil 3000

What are you using it for
• Vision
• Cognition
• Motor

www North Carolina's Digital Media Library www Universal Library Project. www Internet Public Library (7,700 books) www Linklist "Other Online Text Collections" at ipl.org
www Athena authors & text English, France, Italian... www Baen www UVa Electronic Text Center. 20,000 books www The William Morris Homepage www Alex: A Catalogue of Electronic Texts on the Internet www California Digital Library www Bibliomania www BannedBooks www Guttenberg (www) www Romantic Circles: University of Maryland and elsewhere Byron, the Shelley's, Keats, and their contemporaries. www The American Verse Project: 35 volumes of American verse prior to 1920 www Project Bartleby at Columbia University: a collection of 38 authors www University of Chicago Philosophy Project www Greatest books worldwide. Current list of the top 100 books.
www Isaac Newton www http://digital.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/makeauthorpage

• http://www.ebooks.com/
• http://library.netlibrary.com/Home.aspx
• http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/551440/ref=b_tn_bh_eb/002-
1204779-5767200
• http://www.diesel-ebooks.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi
• http://www.ereader.com/
Go to Google a type in E books

This PowerPoint presentation will be on the
NCATP web site next week.