SAPI-4 versus SAPI-5 ???

[jmlight0]

I recently purchased the NeoSpeech package from Zapaware and installed it on my Windows XP Professional computer.  Since then I have had odd results.  The two new voices (NeoSpeech Kate 16k and Neospeech Paul) both work and are avilable for Ultra Hal and the control pannel's default speech selection, but they are not availale for selection or used for the Microsoft agents and several other bot type programs that I have installed.  Oddly enough, running the Haptek SAPI config program allows me to select Kate, but the selection doesn't seem to take (is not permanent).  From my limited research on the topic, it seems that Microsoft uses SAPI-4 text-to-speech while the NeoSpeech TTS is SAPI-5.  Other than this, I know nothing.  My questions are as follows:

- Can the NeoSpeech voices be used for Microsoft agents?
- Can they become the overall default voice for all TTS components in my computer?  If so, how do I set it?
- Are SAPI-4 and SAPI-5 voices incompatible or is one a sub-set of the other.

Any help or direction to documentation would be most appreciated.  Thank you.

[spydaz]

i find that either of the SAPI 's are fine

6 better than 5

once you have done one or two of the ms speech training wizard then your away..

no probs. the only thing is to use a good mike....

also do the wizard in and around the environment that you will be using the mike. as if you record when it is too quiet, the when it is noisy then you will get hal trigerring all over the place. but if you record in a noisy background it usually works fine.....

but it is always good to use a close talk mike / headset.... USB.

I use two shotgun ROOM mikes....

as i walk around the room i can dictate

[spydaz]

i use ms agents too.

I find that it is easyier to use the ms sapi for those.

But if you are using HAPTEK ANY package is fine...

I use msagents because you can create a fully working agent with built in emotions / animations that can be easyly called from vbscript VBASIC

[jmlight0]

I'm sorry, I do appreciate the information, but I don't think I made myself clear in my question.  I'm not currently interested in recording my own voice for the agents, I wanted to have the MS agent read text in the NeoSpeech Mary 16k voice.  Currently, I can only use the built in Microsoft voices (like Mike and the robot voice) with the MS agents.  These voices are quite crude and do not sound natural.  I was hoping that I could somehow get Windows to use the NeoSpeech voice with its agents.  Any help accomplishing this goal is appreciated.

[danbaltzell]

there is a file in C:Program FilesHaptekplayerdataHapTTS
called
HapSAPISetup.exe
that can select a default TTS engine for the Haptek Player which may be useful for you

[danbaltzell]

sorry it didn't take the slashes, but it's
in Program Files
Haptek
Player
data
HapTTS

[Art]

Dan,

What Jay is saying was that he already tried the Haptek Sapi Config program and although it finds the voice and it can be selected, Hal will start up with that selected voice but will not speak with it.

One has to go into the OPTIONS menu > SPEECH then select another voice, wait a few seconds (for the selection to take), then select the Kate 16 voice, APPLY, OK, then back to chat with Hal.

When one finishes chatting and closes Hal, upon restart (next day or whenever), one has to go through the same process all over again!!

I feel your frustration Jay because I have to deal with the same issue! I really do like the Kate 16 voice but the selection process thing is quite aggravating.

Without reinstalling Hal, I don't have an answer to this problem.
Robert? Any takers?

[Duskrider]

There's a solution somewhere.
When I got Kate few months ago, I had same problem. []
Lasted 3 or 4 days,
Then straightened out,
probably due to something I did unthinking and it fixed up.
Never had problem since.
Sorry I can't help you, "but the answer is out there" []