If you want to add none trivial speech output to your application, no matter if it’s a desktop, web, or mobile app, you need to find a way to convert text into speech (TTS) and eventually provide it in a sound format (like MP3) that can be played back on end-users’ devices. While some operating systems come with TTS capabilities built-in, the quality of the voice sound may vary more than you like, and an user experience spanning multiple OSes and platforms, almost always justifies or even requires the deployment of a TTS Web service.
CereProc's 5.0 Mac voices are supported on Lion, Mountain Lion, Mavericks, Yosemite, El Capitan, Sierra, High Sierra, Mojave and Catalina. Download size and disk space usage are around 100MB-150MB. Power PC Macs (built before 2005) are not supported. Please note these voices are for personal use only, e.g. A home user on their own Mac. Before we get too ahead of ourselves and start downloading third party apps, it is very. CereVoice text-to-speech v4.0 is available for Apple Mac OS X, bringing CereProc's high-quality voices to computers running Apple's OS X: 10.7 Lion, 10.8 Mountain Lion, 10.9 Mavericks, 10.10 Yosemite, 10.11 El Capitan and 10.12 Sierra. https://smartsyellow878.weebly.com/mac-flv-converter-free-download.html. CereVoice can replace the default Mac voices with a wide range of other accents and languages. It is optimized for online games, but is also great for prank calling friends via instant messaging and VoIP. This voice changer can even send out car screeches and drum rolls your friends can hear. MorphVOX Junior is fun and absolutely free. It is compatible with Mac OS X 10.6 and above. Download it today and share it with all your friends.
All this is old news of course and companies like Nuance, iSpeech, or NeoSpeech provide Text-To-Speech services, varying greatly in price, quality, and performance. Other TTS-providers like Acapela or LumenVox lease their TTS-Server software, i.e. you get a performance-constrained binary that can be deployed on a RedHat Linux server in your own server room or for instance on Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2). The obvious advantage over the completely out-sourced approach is quality of service (response time) as well as security and privacy. https://gjuxus.weebly.com/samsung-tv-spotify-app-frozen.html.
While each and every Mac comes with Text-To-Speech capabilities built-in, the output comes aiff encoded and is only accessible as an command line tool. Mac2Speech – a Speech Synthesis Server for OS X, on the other hand allows you to use your Mac as a Text-To-Speech server, converting text strings into MP3 voice sound files on the fly.
[from Michelle Branch’s – Spark .]
Getting started with something new, sometimes requires only little more than a spark, which I hope to provide by showing how to use your Mac as a Text-To-Speech server, converting text strings to MP3 voice sound files on the fly. When we are done, you can request an mp3 sound file by either sending an HTTP GET request like:
http://localhost:8080/tts/?text=Hello World
which would stream an MP3 back in return or send an HTTP POST request and receive a path to the mp3 file back, ready to be downloaded once or multiple times.
. as easy as one, two, three1. MP3 Encoding
Not only are mp3 files almost universally playable, they are also considerably smaller than wav or aiff files for instance and still provide a decent sound quality. While each and every Mac comes with Text-To-Speech capabilities built-in, the output comes aiff encoded and is only accessible as an command line tool.
Mac2Speech – a Speech Synthesis Server for OS X, on the other hand allows you to use your Mac as a Text-To-Speech server, converting text strings into MP3 voice sound files on the fly. 2. TTS Server
There are no pre-requisites. Mac2Speech is a HTTP server that by default is available on port 8080. HTTP server, MP3 encoder, and everything else is all encapsulated in a single compact binary. A web user-interface allows for rapid testing and experimentation with different languages and voices, accessible in your web browser via http://localhost:8080
Once launched, the server puts an icon into the dock, which when control-clicked, exposes a menu, to further configure the application. Here for instance the HTTP port can be changed:
3. Download and Go
Enough with theory, now it’s time to go and download the dmg file, put it into you Applications folder, and try it out.
The Web user-interface allows access to all installed languages and voices. Click the row, marked with a small arrow, to open a list of all currently installed Languages and Voices. Changing the language will also influence the available voices. More importantly, when changing the language, remember to enter the text to be synthesized in that language.
Unfortunately, neither of the pre-installed voices are great, but Apple provides free access to much higher quality voices, if you care enough to install them. ‘Allison’ for instance is great and less robotic, but there is still room for improvement.
To install some of the better voices from Apple, open ‘System Preferences’ then ‘Dictation & Speech’. Now click on the ‘Text to Speech’ and then on the selected ‘System Voice’ (e.g. Alex) and in the appearing drop-down, select Customize…
Here you can discover (play) and install some amazingly good voices. Please do yourself a favor and install Allison and Tom, two very good American-English voices.
But there is more, Acapela for instance offers natural-sounding text to speech that easily plug-in to the Mac2Speech TTSServer. The Infovox iVox product, developed by the Acapela Group, allows to download and install additional voices into the OS X Voices repository. You can install those HQ voices and try them for a few weeks and then buy them for $20 to $30 each.
HTTP GET Request
Sending an HTTP GET with voice and text parameters, will result in a MediaType.APPLICATION_OCTET_STREAM. I.e. the audio content is streamed directly in the HTTP response.
If the optional save=true parameter-value pair is sent with the request, an additional HTTP header gets include, to encourage downloading instead of directly playing the MP3.
Microsoft word for mac free. Here is an example:
HTTP POST Request
Sending an HTTP POST with voice and text parameters, will create and temporarily store an MP3 file on the server.
The URL to that MP3 file is returned and can be requested, until the server gets restarted, at which time all temporarily created files are deleted.
Whether you prefer articles read to you while you do something else or trying to grasp a new foreign language or even for specially abled students, TTS (short for text-to-speech) has proved to be very useful.
In our previous articles we saw some of the best text to speech apps for Windows and Android. And today, we take a look at some of the best TTS options available for Macs.
Text To Speech For Mac1. macOS TTS
Before we get too ahead of ourselves and start downloading third party apps, it is very trivial to know that macOS itself comes with a built-in TTS and you can use it anywhere on your computer from the Notes app to any browser.
To get started, highlight or select the text which you want to be read and then right click, go to Speech and then to Start Speaking; and your Mac should start reading the text to you. It also supports a lot of other languages other than English and there are a lot of voices to choose from in all the languages. To change the language option simply go to Accessibility > Speech. Although some voices are very robotic, there are a few which aren’t and sound more like a human.
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But the TTS is far from perfect; it is very basic and barebones and lacks options like pause/play, picking up from a selected word instantly and a lot more.
Quick Tip: It blew my mind and might even blow yours to know that the native TTS on Mac also supports converting your text into audio files. Just select the required text, right click and go to Services > Add to iTunes as a spoken track. The text will be converted to an audio track and added to your iTunes library.
Pros:
– Built-in system wide – Lots of voice options – Converting text to iTunes track
Cons:
– No Pause/Play – Have to select manually all the words to be read – No instant pickup
Verdict:
Overall, the TTS that comes with macOS is very barebones without all the bells and whistles and should be perfect for somebody looking for a basic TTS experience without even buying or installing any third party software. 2. Invicta TTS
Invicta TTS is a very simple free Text To Speech app available on the Mac App Store.
Once you open up the app, it presents you with a text box where you can enter or paste any text which will be then converted to speech. The app is very lightweight and minimal in nature with everything being to the point.
Although the app is very basic, unlike the built in TTS of Mac OS, it does add the option of playing or pausing the audio which becomes crucial when listening to long texts or articles. The voice settings cannot be changed but the in built voice does the job pretty good enough.
Cons:
– Cannot read documents automatically – Supports only English
Verdict:
If you need a simple and light TTS app and might be listening to long articles, Invicta TTS does the job pretty well but do remember that it can only read English.
Link: Get Invicta TTS on the App Store
Price: Free
3. Natural Reader
The next app on our list is Natural Reader which is an extremely powerful TTS software available not only on Mac OS but also on Windows, iOS, Android and even has an online reader.
The app comes in many flavours, each with its fair share of features for the price. The free version comes with basic TTS features along with the ability to read directly from file formats such as Docx, PDF, ePub and Txt. It also has a floating bar which can be used to read text while you are in other applications. The next option or the Personal version, at a steep $100, allows you to read web pages directly, converting text to audio files and syncing everything between your phone apps. There are also Professional and Ultimate versions which add OCR support and a bunch of natural voices.
Android studio 2.2 download mac. Pros:
– Support for file formats – Convert to audio files – Cross Platform – OCR Support
Cons:
– Pricey – No instant pickup Download Mac Os X Iso
Verdict:
All the features of Natural Reader definitely come at a price and you should be able to decide whether it is a suit for you with respect to your investment in TTS, but even for a casual user the free version works really well. Overall, Natural reader is not just best text to speech software with natural voices, but since it also support PDF, it’s also a good option for those who are looking for PDF Voice Reader for macOS.
Pricing Options: Pricing for Natural Reader
Link: Download Natural Reader from here
4. Read Aloud
Read Aloud is not exactly a stand alone Mac app but instead a Chrome extension which might appeal to some people. Considering how many posts and articles are read on the internet everyday, we had to include Read Aloud.
It is completely free and once you install it, its icon will appear in the extension bar which you can now use to read any webpage or any online article, just by a single click. When it is in work, you get a play/pause button along with a forward or rewind button which can be used to advance or backtrack paragraphs. Considering it is free, the voice options are really good and feel very natural and premium.
https://cleverdating961.weebly.com/blog/star-wars-battlefront-mac-download-demo. Pros:
– Great natural voice – Forward or rewind by paragraphs – Listen to webpages
Cons:
– Works only on Chrome
Verdict:
Suggesting Read Aloud is very straight forward; if you are someone who reads a lot on the internet and are looking for a free TTS software for that, nothing beats Read Aloud.
Price: Free
Link: Download Read Aloud from the Chrome Store
5. Capti Voice
Capti Voice is probably the most polished and well rounded TTS software available for the Mac and the award are only there to justify that. Starting off, Capti Voice uses your browser for the app to function instead of a stand alone Mac application. Don’t worry, you can still use it while you are offline as it stores all its data locally and personally I have had no issues.
Capti Voice has a subscription based model and even the free version has a lot to offer from various file format supports to text search while the premium versions add features like creating playlists, OCR Support and intelligent dictionary lookup. The voices offered across all the platforms are very high quality and commendable.
Quick Tip: Don’t forget to use the Chrome extension which allows you to save articles or webpages to be read later by Capti Voice.
Pros:
– Cross platform with mobile apps – Create Playlists – Dictionary lookup – Shortcuts to get around
Cons:
– No standalone app – Syncs only when you add to cloud storage
Verdict:
Overall, Capti Voice is a really compelling app with features packed to the brim and is very similar to natural Reader but with a subscription based model. It is really the best TTS experience you can get on Mac OS.
Pricing Info: Pricing Options for Capti Voice
Link: Download Capti Voice from here
6. Honorable MentionsMac Os X Speech Voices Download Free
CereProc has some of the most natural sounding computer speeches available on the market, which you can use to replace the default voice on your Mac (also available for other platforms). There are a lot of high quality voice packs to choose from and each costs around $35.
Mac Os X Download
Zamzar is a free online service which you can use to convert your text to audio files or mp3s. Unlike the iTunes spoken track which you can use only on Apple devices, you can use it on any platform without any hassle.
Wrapping up: Best Text to Speech for Mac
So these were some of the TTS software available on the Mac and we hope we made your decision a little bit easier. If you are someone who reads mainly on the internet, Read Aloud is by far the best free option. https://cleverdating961.weebly.com/blog/tomcatapacheorg-download-for-mac. Although a little limited, the built-in TTS feature seems to work just fine, but it can be a pain for long stretches of texts or long articles for which there is Invicta which is also free.
Natural Reader and Capti Voice both are spectacular TTS apps with a lot of plans to choose from, but I guess what it comes down to is the paying model. Natural reader is a one time purchase and should be better if you feel you will be invested in TTS for a long time whereas Capti Voice follows a subscription based model also with a one week free trial. Thanks for reading and do comment below which one is your favorite TTS app on Mac OS.
Read: Make your Devices Read Out Text, With Text to Speech
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