Additional Voices for Windows XP Text-to-Speech

If you’re already weary of Microsoft Sam, don’t worry there are some other options. We can add additional voices by installing some really old Microsoft applications. These applications are a little bit out of date, and you probably won’t have any use for their original functionality, but by installing them, you can add a few more voices to your Text-to-Speech engine.



Microsoft Mary and Microsoft Mike

It is highly likely that you may have wanted your application to have a female voice, or at least a male voice that is more realistic than Microsoft Sam. To add Microsoft Mary and Microsoft Mike to your TTS Engine, you need to download and install the Microsoft Speech API 5.1 application. This is a relatively large 69 MB file, so be prepared if you are using a Dial-Up internet connection.


After you install the SAPI5.1 package, you can select Mary or Mike from the Speech Control panel, and then use Microsoft Word, Agent, or Narrator to create Text-to-Speech applications.



Microsoft Reader

This is an odd little program that allows you to purchase published literary titles from Microsoft, and then have your XP Text-to-Speech engine read it out loud, presumably while you work the Stairmaster or do the dishes. Don’t worry; the point of this tutorial is not so that you can have Microsoft Sam recite the complete works of Nicholas Sparks, but rather to gain two cool new voices.

Download and install Microsoft Reader. When installation is completed, uncheck the box labeled “Activate my computer now”. That is, unless you really want to try Microsoft Reader.

After you have installed Microsoft Reader, install the Microsoft Reader Text-to-Speech Package 1.0. You will find two new additions to your TTS Engine: LH Michelle and LH Michael. Both of these voices speak with a vaguely European accent, but still seem to be the best (free) voices available for Windows XP.



Additional Resources

http://www.bytecool.com/voices.htm

http://www.microsoft.com/reader

http://download.microsoft.com/download/speechSDK/SDK/5.1/WXP/EN-US/speechsdk51.exe

Getting started with Text-to-Speech

Microsoft Sam

You may not have known this, but if you have Windows XP or Vista, then you have Text-to-Speech built in to your computer.

Open up the Windows XP Control Panel…


Locate and double-click on the Speech icon:


Click on the “Text to Speech” tab:



In Windows XP, the default voice is Microsoft Sam, who sounds like a candidate for Prozac. In Vista, the default voice is Microsoft Anna. Since I have never experienced Vista, I don’t know what Anna sounds like.



Microsoft Programs with Text to Speech

If you have Microsoft Word, you can configure it to speak the text that you type with only a small amount of configuration, and with no programming at all.

Launch MS Word, and then select “Speech” from the “Tools” menu. If you have not used this feature before, you will need your MS Office installation CD to install the feature. You can cancel out of the Speech Recognition configuration (or if you are curious, you can take a brief detour to configure the wizard, and play with this for a while).

After you install the “Speech” feature, it will appear in the Tools menu of all of the MS Office applications, including Excel and PowerPoint.

If you don’t have Microsoft Office or Microsoft Word, don't worry – you can still use Text-to-Speech. Click here for information on using Microsoft Narrator, a standard XP feature for users with disabilities that nonetheless allows for simple Text-to-Speech functionality. There are other options as well, and they are all free! However you will have to download and install them:

http://www.microsoft.com/reader
http://www.microsoft.com/msagent



Robotics Projects with Microsoft Speech

Now we are ready to create automated speech systems. If you aren’t interested in programming, this could be as simple as attaching a small speaker such as for an MP3 player to your computer, and then inserting it inside a teddy bear or a model robot constructed out of plastic or metal containers.

If you are interested in programming, my next post will cover the Microsoft Speech 5.1 API, so stay tuned!

Congratulations, you found me!

You probably found this blog because you were searching for Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Speech Applications, or how to make your computer talk. Well if you are a Visual Basic.NET developer, you’ve come to the right place. Even if you aren’t an experienced programmer, the fact that you’ve found this article means that you know how to use a computer, and are probably talented enough to follow some of my tutorials.

I will be posting these tutorials for VB.NET 2005. I have not tested the VB.NET 2008 version. Be sure that you are downloading VB.NET 2005 Express edition. It’s still available, but harder to find.

In the future I hope to post the Java versions of all of my projects – or maybe somebody else can figure it out for me.

Download the VB.NET 2005 Express edition: go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=51405&clcid=0x409