Where can I get great sounding voices?
Last reviewed: 4/2/2012
HOW Article ID: H041203
The information in this article applies to:
- VoiceMarkupKit 4
Summary
It may be sound cliché, but people do judge a book by its cover, or in this case, a synthesizer by how it sounds. Other factors such as performance, footprint, and pronunciation are only considered if a voice first passes the sound test.
Vendors package and license their voices to accommodate a variety of deployment scenarios and platforms. Some license directly to the end-user like purchasing a font. Most license to ISVs who bundle the voices with their application or hosted solution.
Ideally, your application can function on a system that already has a preferred voice selected as well as on one where you deliver the voice with your application.
More Information
The following Text-to-Speech vendors offer a variety of voices and licensing options:
Acapela TTS SDKs and Runtimes
- Acapela TTS Windows
- Acapela TTS Windows Mobile
- Acapela TTS Windows Server
Acapela Group
33, Boulevard Dolez
7000 Mons, Belgium
+32 (0)65 37 42 75
www.acapela-group.com
susanne.magnusson@acapela-group.com
Cepstral TTS SDKs abd Runtimes
- Cepstral Windows
- Cepstral Telephony
- Cepstral Windows CE
Cepstral LLC
1801 East Carson Street, Second Floor
Pittsburgh, PA 15203
412-432-0400
www.cepstral.com
sales@cepstral.com
Microsoft TTS SDKs and Runtimes
- SAPI 5.1 (XP)
- SAPI 5.3+ (preinstalled on Vista+)
- Microsoft Speech Platform (Server 2003+, Vista+)
Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052-6399
(425) 882-8080
www.microsoft.com
Nuance TTS SDKs and Runtimes
- RealSpeak Solo
- Vocalizer Automotive
- Vocalizer Mobile
- Vocalizer Network
Nuance Communications, Inc.
1 Wayside Road
Burlington, MA 01803
(781) 565-5000
(781) 565-5001 (fax)
www.nuance.com