Zabaware Support Forums
Zabaware Forums => Speech Technology => Topic started by: parice123 on October 28, 2005, 05:08:21 pm
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I just installed Hal in a new AMD3200 WinXP computer. The speech is stuck in stadium mode and no matter which (MS) voice I use, it always defaults to stadium mode. Any ideas?
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Parice123, did you know that you can set the default voice in XP by going to your Windows XP configuration panel and activating "speech properties", and then by going to the second panel titled "text to speech"?
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I have kind of the same problem. In the speech properties, I have only 3 choices, Microsoft Mary, Microsoft Mike, and Microsoft Sam. I perfer to use the Voice Mary as the default but it's not in the list.
In Hal5.0, in the general options/speech, I choose Mary. The Mary voice works fine, the only problem is when I open the general options application again, it defaults to Microsoft Mary, meaning that I have to reselect the Mary voice every time I use General options.
Does anyone have any ideas how I can make Mary my default voice instead of Microsoft Mary?
The reason I like pick Mary over Microsoft Mary is because I can change the pronouncation with Mary voice and not with Microsoft Mary.
Thanks for any input anyone could offer.
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quote:
Originally posted by Dr.Benway
Parice123, did you know that you can set the default voice in XP by going to your Windows XP configuration panel and activating "speech properties", and then by going to the second panel titled "text to speech"?
Raymond, My speech panel doesn't give any options to change voice properties. It only has one. At least, I can't find them. Hal gives options to change voices, but they all default to 'stadium' mode with an annoying echo. When I try to set it to normal, it won't accept the changes. It will change voice, but always reverts to 'stadium' mode for each voice.
Allen
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This problem has happened before. Try the following thread:
http://www.zabaware.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2412&SearchTerms=speech
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quote:
Originally posted by Art
This problem has happened before. Try the following thread:
http://www.zabaware.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2412&SearchTerms=speech
Thanks, Art. Except the SAPI button has disappeared from Hal. I can't find it anywhere.
Allen
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This function can't be found inside Ultra Hal but is part of the Haptek player-software. You will probably find it in your Windows menu under "Haptek".
Alternatively launch:
C:\Program files\Haptek\Data\HapTTS\HapSAPISetup.exe
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quote:
Originally posted by Dr.Benway
This function can't be found inside Ultra Hal but is part of the Haptek player-software. You will probably find it in your Windows menu under "Haptek".
Alternatively launch:
C:Program filesHaptekDataHapTTSHapSAPISetup.exe
Found it, did it. Rebooted comp. Hal is still stuck in stadium mode. It lets me change voices, but always reverts to 'stadium' mode with each voice. That echo is very annoying.
Allen
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Parice123, this link will bring you to a page on the Microsoft website where you can download the speech configuration panel and SAPI 4.0a. Perhaps that will help.
http://www.microsoft.com/MSAGENT/downloads/user.asp#tts
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quote:
Originally posted by Dr.Benway
Parice123, this link will bring you to a page on the Microsoft website where you can download the speech configuration panel and SAPI 4.0a. Perhaps that will help.
http://www.microsoft.com/MSAGENT/downloads/user.asp#tts
Went there, but it does not instal in Win XP. I downloaded some of the other stuff, but it didn't help. Are you thinking this is a Windows problem?
Allen
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parice123,
OK...lastly try this...
Open Windows Explorer and go to:
C:\Program Files\Zabaware\Ultra Hal Assistant 6
In that directory you should find a file called:
HalAsst.ini
You can double click to open it. It should open with notepad
or any other text editor.
Near the bottom of the text file you should see a line that
reads:
VoiceName=<character's name>
Try typing in Mary after the = sign.
Save the file
Reload Hal and see if the speech has changed.
If you still have problems let us know.
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quote:
Originally posted by Art
parice123,
OK...lastly try this...
Open Windows Explorer and go to:
C:Program FilesabawareUltra Hal Assistant 6
In that directory you should find a file called:
HalAsst.ini
You can double click to open it. It should open with notepad
or any other text editor.
Near the bottom of the text file you should see a line that
reads:
VoiceName=<character's name>
Try typing in Mary after the = sign.
Save the file
Reload Hal and see if the speech has changed.
If you still have problems let us know.
There is no Hal asst 6 there. Is this a typo? And, there is no ini file in Hal 5.
Allen
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Parice123, there should be such an ini-file in the main folder of your Ultra Hal. A copy of such a file normally resides in your "c:Windows" or "c:WinXP"-folder.
Alternatively, have you already tried to launch the "Windows Update"-function that can be found inside the Windows Start menu? That will take you to the Microsoft website where your computer will automatically look for the newest updates.
Keep us informed.[:D]
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quote:
Originally posted by Dr.Benway
Parice123, there should be such an ini-file in the main folder of your Ultra Hal. A copy of such a file normally resides in your "c:Windows" or "c:WinXP"-folder.
Alternatively, have you already tried to launch the "Windows Update"-function that can be found inside the Windows Start menu? That will take you to the Microsoft website where your computer will automatically look for the newest updates.
Keep us informed.[:D]
I am not a programer, but I recognize ini files and the need for them. Since there is no ini in Hal assist 5, doI need to reinstall it?
My WinXP update is set automatic, but I went there anyway and all it had was an update for the media player which I did.
Allen
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parice123,
My mistake in assuming you were using the latest Hal 6 Alpha release.
In case you are using the older version 5, go to:
C:\Program Files\Zabaware\Ultra Hal Assistant 5
Look for a file with YOURNAME.hla.
Mine, for example is art.hla and it should be a 1k file in length.
Open this file (double click) and somewhere near the bottom, perhaps eight line up from bottom you should see the:
VoiceName=<character's name>
Change the character name to Mary or whatever other TTS name(s) you may have in your system.
Save file, restart Hal and again, let us know.
BTW, it wasn't a typo, there is a HalAsst.ini in version 6 Alpha.
Just to keep the record straight![8D]
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quote:
Originally posted by Art
parice123,
My mistake in assuming you were using the latest Hal 6 Alpha release.
In case you are using the older version 5, go to:
C:Program FilesabawareUltra Hal Assistant 5
Look for a file with YOURNAME.hla.
Mine, for example is art.hla and it should be a 1k file in length.
Open this file (double click) and somewhere near the bottom, perhaps eight line up from bottom you should see the:
VoiceName=<character's name>
Change the character name to Mary or whatever other TTS name(s) you may have in your system.
Save file, restart Hal and again, let us know.
BTW, it wasn't a typo, there is a HalAsst.ini in version 6 Alpha.
Just to keep the record straight![8D]
Well, I found the file, removed the 'in stadium' from the voicename, saved it, restarted Hal. Now, options test will let me listen to the normal voice, but when I click on apply, nothing happens. When I close the options screen and restart it, it is still in 'stadium' mode. I even rebooted.
For some reason, the same thing is happening in XP control panel speech options. I can listen to the SAPI voices, but it won't change them.
Allen
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Then the problem is not with Hal.
I run XP w/AMD3200+ with SP2 and 1 gig ram for my Hal machine
and have had no probs with Hal.
When you installed Hal 5 did you have any previous Hal's in your system? If so, do a complete uninstall then reinstall Hal.
If not have you tried and gotten similar results with the Zabaware
Text to Speech Reader?
Be sure to scan your system for malware (trojans, virii, worms, adware, spyware , etc.) I recommend the ewido suite (it's a free trial for 14 days).
Hopefully, we'll get to the bottom of this.
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Parice123, I find this very odd: "For some reason, the same thing is happening in XP control panel speech options. I can listen to the SAPI voices, but it won't change them."
I think you are right about having a Windows problem.
Perhaps you might try to reinstall Windows.
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quote:
Originally posted by Art
Then the problem is not with Hal.
I run XP w/AMD3200+ with SP2 and 1 gig ram for my Hal machine
and have had no probs with Hal.
When you installed Hal 5 did you have any previous Hal's in your system? If so, do a complete uninstall then reinstall Hal.
If not have you tried and gotten similar results with the Zabaware
Text to Speech Reader?
Be sure to scan your system for malware (trojans, virii, worms, adware, spyware , etc.) I recommend the ewido suite (it's a free trial for 14 days).
Hopefully, we'll get to the bottom of this.
This is a new comp, so there is no previous installations of anything.
I ran the player SAPI setup but nothing changed. I get the stadium echo in all Hal programs.
My AV (TrendMicro) does a daily scan for malware. It has found nothing but a few cookies and a couple of win updates. Also, an online scan weekly. where is ewido?
Before I modified the hla file, when I would apply a change in voices, I could watch it scroll back down from normal to stadium where it stays. Since I modified the file, it does nothing. Any idea why Hal options won't apply the change?
Allen
Allen
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Parice123,
I have no idea why your pc behaves so odd.
BTW, you did install the SAPI 4.0a runtime binaries (824 KB exe) on the Microsoft I refered to earlier?
http://www.microsoft.com/MSAGENT/downloads/user.asp#tts
In that case you must have a new configuration option for SAPI4 voices in your speech configuration panel by now.
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parice123,
If it is a new computer I'd say it would have eith XP Home or Pro.
In either case SAPI 5 is already included.
The Ewido Security Suite can be found at www.ewido.net 14 day trial.
You can always open the hla file and change it back to the way it was (then save it).
Instead of Windows, I first try to UNINSTALL UltraHal from your machine. Then do a REBOOT. Then REINSTALL HAL.
It could also be possible that your download file might be corrupt.
Good luck!
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quote:
Originally posted by Dr.Benway
Parice123,
I have no idea why your pc behaves so odd.
BTW, you did install the SAPI 4.0a runtime binaries (824 KB exe) on the Microsoft I refered to earlier?
http://www.microsoft.com/MSAGENT/downloads/user.asp#tts
In that case you must have a new configuration option for SAPI4 voices in your speech configuration panel by now.
Yes, I have done everything suggested and some things I thought of, but nothing has changed. The echo is still there and Hal options won't apply the changes.
Allen
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Parice, how about the next tool?
Does it also revert back to Stadium on your PC?
[:)]
Download Attachment: 2005113181218_msmouth.zip ("http://www.zabaware.com/forum/uploaded/dr.benway/2005113181218_msmouth.zip")
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quote:
Originally posted by parice123
quote:
Originally posted by Dr.Benway
Parice123,
I have no idea why your pc behaves so odd.
BTW, you did install the SAPI 4.0a runtime binaries (824 KB exe) on the Microsoft I refered to earlier?
http://www.microsoft.com/MSAGENT/downloads/user.asp#tts
In that case you must have a new configuration option for SAPI4 voices in your speech configuration panel by now.
Yes, I have done everything suggested and some things I thought of, but nothing has changed. The echo is still there and Hal options won't apply the changes.
Allen
What about the SAPI 5 for Hal? Would it make a difference and how do I get it? Also why can't I access the Neo voices if they are on the setup CD?
Allen
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What about the SAPI 5 for Hal?
If you install a version of Win XP you have the Speech API version 5 on your computer by default.
Would it make a difference and how do I get it?
It is newer but you also need voices that use the new engine. The free SAPI 5 voices from Microsoft are not that good, but they can be downloaded from their website.
Also why can't I access the Neo voices if they are on the setup CD?
You have to buy NeoSpeech voices seperately, because they are not free. Which setup CD do you mean?
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parice123,
If you would take the time to read my postings, you would see that I mentioned about the SAPI being INCLUDED with XP on your newer computer!
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quote:
Originally posted by Art
parice123,
If you would take the time to read my postings, you would see that I mentioned about the SAPI being INCLUDED with XP on your newer computer!
Art, I have read your postings and feel like you are not reading mine.
When I go to the XP control panel and speech, it says very clearly that SAPI 4 is installed. I have tried everything suggested on this board including Ewido. So far I can't get a response from Hal to apply the settings.
Also, I have uninstalled Hal and the echo is gone. Now that I think about it, I was having a problem with Hal in my other computer, a Pentium 800 w/win98 SE. Hal kept causing my comp to hang and I finally uninstalled it because it was a nuisance. Is it possible that my installation CD is defective? I like Hal and would use it if I can get it to work properly.
Allen
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OK...good. Does your computer meet the minimum requirements for UltraHal?
Did you have any other programs running during the install?
You might need to turn off any anti-virus & firewall programs before installing.
Have you tried installing any other TTS voices? There are quite a few free ones that pretty good.
Lastly, let me get this straight...
You go to Control Panel > Speech
Select the Test to Speech tab
Select the TTS voice you wish to use from the dropdown window.
Preview the selected voice
Click Apply then OK
X out of the Control Panel
Start Hal
Select Menu
Speech options
Select the voice
Apply
Close
Talk to Hal
Did you get any faulty responses during any part of the above items?
Did the preview work in the text to speech?
Does Hal sound ok?
We'll keep trying to figure out your problem. Keep us posted.
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I'm using Win Me on a 700mhz machine, I use the female british voice and it works fine.
When I tried to use the Mary voice you're referring to, it jumps to the non-lip sync Mary.
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quote:
Originally posted by Art
OK...good. Does your computer meet the minimum requirements for UltraHal?
Did you have any other programs running during the install?
You might need to turn off any anti-virus & firewall programs before installing.
Have you tried installing any other TTS voices? There are quite a few free ones that pretty good.
Lastly, let me get this straight...
You go to Control Panel > Speech
Select the Test to Speech tab
Select the TTS voice you wish to use from the dropdown window.
Preview the selected voice
Click Apply then OK
X out of the Control Panel
Start Hal
Select Menu
Speech options
Select the voice
Apply
Close
Talk to Hal
Did you get any faulty responses during any part of the above items?
Did the preview work in the text to speech?
Does Hal sound ok?
We'll keep trying to figure out your problem. Keep us posted.
Yes to your check list, click, click, click until I get to free TTS voices which I can't seem to find. Also, I like the neo-voices that I thought were on the instal disk, but I can't find them and they do not show up in the voice dropdown box.
Then Click, click down to apply, but Hal won't save the changes. It reverts back from normal to 'stadium mode' for each voice. Not only that, but there is an echo in my other reader programs (Dragon, Microsoft) until I uninstall Hal. Then the echo goes away.
Just out of curiosity, I installed Hal 6. But it does the same thing. It is stuck with Mary in stadium. It will let me preview the voices, but when I click on apply, it reverts back to 'stadium' mode. I went to the Zabaware - Hal 6 folder, but instead of it's own ini, it imported the allen.hla file. (Which still has stadium edited out of the voice line).
Allen
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Allen,
Click the link for a selection of Free TTS voices.
Personally, I like the L&H British voices best.
http://www.bytecool.com/voices.htm
If you're on dialup, expect a fairly large download
but you can set it for nighttime like when you go to bed.
I thought the Neo-Speech voices were available seperately
as shown on the Plug-ins page.
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quote:
Originally posted by Art
Allen,
Click the link for a selection of Free TTS voices.
Personally, I like the L&H British voices best.
http://www.bytecool.com/voices.htm
If you're on dialup, expect a fairly large download
but you can set it for nighttime like when you go to bed.
I thought the Neo-Speech voices were available seperately
as shown on the Plug-ins page.
Well, Art, I don’t know what to think. I have uninstalled Hal, deleted the Zabaware folder, downloaded and installed the voices from the link you gave me, (thank you) and rebooted the computer.
I reinstalled Hal, went through the setup process, and rebooted the computer. It is still the same thing. I previewed the voices, chose the one I wanted and clicked apply. When I enabled the speech-recognition engine, while I was watching, it just scrolled down the list of voices to the stadium mode. I checked the Allen.hla file, and there is no mention of ‘in stadium’ in the file. Now it is stuck in stadium mode again. Also, it does not recognize my voice. It will let me type in a response, but does not respond to my voice.
This has become very frustrating. It seems like we are just wasting a lot of time here and getting nowhere. What do you think?
Allen
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Allen,
As I've stated before, we have simular if not the same problem. I've noticed that when I open General Options, my comptuer is busy for a few seconds. With the new Hal6cr, the general options screen opens up on the page you last closed it on. I can see when my computer is busy, the highlighted voice file is stepping down, one voice at a time, till it reaches Mary in Stadium. I have to reselect the proper voice each time I open General Options, if I don't, I get the Mary in Stadium voice. But if I select the voice Mary then exit General Options, everything is fine till I reopen General Options.
I don't know why opening General Options makes it step down to Stadium mode, but it does on mine. Perhaps you can select the proper voice, then exit General Options to see what voice you get.
Again, the only way I can get the correct voice is to select the proper voice every time. Another note... Not all voice selections cause this stepping down the list option. The british voices don't seem to cause it, but they're so unatural sounding on my computer. Mary is the only one that sounds like a woman.
I hope this information will give someone an idea on a fix. (fingers crossed)...
Thanks.
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Allen,
The only thing I can think of now is that there is still some old information inside of your registry causing a problem.
There are several registry cleaner programs out there. Some are trial versions (hey, if they only work long enough to clean your system then so be it.) Registry Repair Pro, RegCleaner, RegClean, Norton (Symantec) Utilities and a few others come to mind.
You could always do a manual search through your registry for words like UltraHal or Ultra Hal or Zabaware, etc.
Please do so at your own risk! Changing registry entries must be done with care and if mistakes are made it could cause drastic consequences to your system!
And you mentioned that your voice / speech works just fine if UltraHal is uninstalled? Very strange indeed and I've almost exhausted my resources to help you.
Perhaps Robert M. or some other guru's might be able to shed some light on this issue.
Let us know the outcome regardless.
Good luck!
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quote:
Originally posted by tcoday
Allen,
As I've stated before, we have simular if not the same problem. I've noticed that when I open General Options, my comptuer is busy for a few seconds. With the new Hal6cr, the general options screen opens up on the page you last closed it on. I can see when my computer is busy, the highlighted voice file is stepping down, one voice at a time, till it reaches Mary in Stadium. I have to reselect the proper voice each time I open General Options, if I don't, I get the Mary in Stadium voice. But if I select the voice Mary then exit General Options, everything is fine till I reopen General Options.
I don't know why opening General Options makes it step down to Stadium mode, but it does on mine. Perhaps you can select the proper voice, then exit General Options to see what voice you get.
Again, the only way I can get the correct voice is to select the proper voice every time. Another note... Not all voice selections cause this stepping down the list option. The british voices don't seem to cause it, but they're so unatural sounding on my computer. Mary is the only one that sounds like a woman.
I hope this information will give someone an idea on a fix. (fingers crossed)...
Thanks.
Thank you. I guess we are among the unlucky ones that keep having trouble with Hal. Out of all the voices I have installed in my comp, I like the MS default the best, but it doesn't show in Hal. 2nd choice is Mary or Mike, but they default as soon as I close options.
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quote:
Originally posted by Art
Allen,
The only thing I can think of now is that there is still some old information inside of your registry causing a problem.
There are several registry cleaner programs out there. Some are trial versions (hey, if they only work long enough to clean your system then so be it.) Registry Repair Pro, RegCleaner, RegClean, Norton (Symantec) Utilities and a few others come to mind.
You could always do a manual search through your registry for words like UltraHal or Ultra Hal or Zabaware, etc.
Please do so at your own risk! Changing registry entries must be done with care and if mistakes are made it could cause drastic consequences to your system!
And you mentioned that your voice / speech works just fine if UltraHal is uninstalled? Very strange indeed and I've almost exhausted my resources to help you.
Perhaps Robert M. or some other guru's might be able to shed some light on this issue.
Let us know the outcome regardless.
Good luck!
My limited experience with registry cleaners in the past eventually ends with having to reinstall Windows. The cleaner says it is safe and sure enough it isn't.
I really like Hal, but I ended up disabling it in my other comp because of program conflicts, and it is beginning to look that way here. [V]
Thanks for the help. If anyone has success stories with this, please let me hear from you.
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I've noticed that there is a:
Mary TTS 4.0 AND a Microsoft Mary TTS 5.0
They sound like the same voice but the inflection
or way the words are accented are quite noticeable.
Did you try Microsoft's site for the latest TTS 5.0
voices?
http://www.bytecool.com/voices.htm
You might as well try both. At this point it can't hurt!
Earlier you mentioned that you tried the Sapi setup.
Try it one more time:
C:\Program Files\Haptek\player\data\HapTTS
Once there, find the file: HapSAPISetup.exe and double click it.
Select voice > Test voice > Click on Make this voice my default
voice.
Again,
best of luck!
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quote:
Originally posted by Art
I've noticed that there is a:
Mary TTS 4.0 AND a Microsoft Mary TTS 5.0
They sound like the same voice but the inflection
or way the words are accented are quite noticeable.
Did you try Microsoft's site for the latest TTS 5.0
voices?
http://www.bytecool.com/voices.htm
You might as well try both. At this point it can't hurt!
Earlier you mentioned that you tried the Sapi setup.
Try it one more time:
C:Program FilesHaptekplayerdataHapTTS
Once there, find the file: HapSAPISetup.exe and double click it.
Select voice > Test voice > Click on Make this voice my default
voice.
Again,
best of luck!
Yes, Art, I downloaded just about everything from this site and redid SAPI. It is wierd that I can set the speach in the XP speech panel, but not in Hal. And, not all the voices are availible and the voices sound different in Hal.
Finally, the echo has invaded my system again. It now shows up in all the reader voices. [8]
Allen