Read Aloud on Resources

I normally read and listen to the ESV Bible concurrently with the voice of David Cochran Heath. I would give a thumbs up for the audio. Yes

However, in other resources, I would have to resort to the Read Aloud by System Narrator feature provided by Windows 7 Home Premium. Tweaking the narrator settings for pitch and speed does not attain the desired tone, which at times seem to overlap with a slight echo effect.

Any recommendations please, including a paid or free download of an audio program. Thank you.

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JAL

Windows 8 default voice is much better IMO, I still use both.

I have the splendid Heather voice from Cereproc installed on my Windows 8.1 and Android tablets. This voice is especially listenable. There is a known issue with reading through some resources. I've not been notified of a resolution. The Android voice is especially affordable.

Consider casting a vote for adding TTS support to the Faithlife Android apps.

https://logosmobile.uservoice.com/forums/... enable-read-aloud-or-text-to-speech ...

Alan

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/732436#Comment_732436

Windows 8 default voice is much better IMO, I still use both.

JAL, thank you for the input. I will probably wait for Windows 10 and hope the default voice would suffice.

Mark Barnes

I use Ivona voices, which are excellent: http://harposoftware.com/en/14-american-english

Robert M. Warren

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/732795#Comment_732795

I have two ivona voices. Joey (Yank) & Brian (Brit). They"re both very good, although it seems they bave put a little more effort into Brian, as he sounds more natural and expressive, with fewer robotic artifacts.
These were once sold directly by Ivona, and they also had a reader program that I use to make audio books. Maybe the resellers have a similar program.
You can also customize the vocabulary to expand abbreviated Bible book names.
By the way, I always thought Jose Ferrer would have been s great Bible narrator (yes, I know he's dead now).

Robert M. Warren

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/732816#Comment_732816

You can also customize the vocabulary to expand abbreviated Bible book names.

BTW, here is my custom lexicon file for Ivona voices that expands Bible book abbreviations (and some other common notations, such as "vv", "cf.", etc).

https://www.dropbox.com/s/gy93dajqujda36k/british-english-ivona.lex?dl=0

If anyone needs more info on implementing this, reply back and I'll bore you with the details.

Bruce Dunning

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/732795#Comment_732795

I use Ivona voices, which are excellent: http://harposoftware.com/en/14-american-english

I had not heard of this before. Thanks for sharing.

Yasmin Stephen

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/733947#Comment_733947

I use an iOS text-to-speech app (Voice Dream) with 3 available voice types, and the Ivona ones are the best. The other two are NeoSpeech and Acapela.

Justin McCleskey

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/732795#Comment_732795

Can you point to instructions on how to use Ivona voices in Logos? It always uses the default system narrator when I try to use Read Aloud, even when I have changed the system narrator for windows to an Ivona voice. (I use windows 10).

Mark Barnes

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/756675#Comment_756675

Can you point to instructions on how to use Ivona voices in Logos? It always uses the default system narrator when I try to use Read Aloud, even when I have changed the system narrator for windows to an Ivona voice. (I use windows 10).

It 'just worked' for me, when I changed the setting below, and then restarted Logos:

Liam

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/733780#Comment_733780

You can also customize the vocabulary to expand abbreviated Bible book names.

BTW, here is my custom lexicon file for Ivona voices that expands Bible book abbreviations (and some other common notations, such as "vv", "cf.", etc).

https://www.dropbox.com/s/gy93dajqujda36k/british-english-ivona.lex?dl=0

If anyone needs more info on implementing this, reply back and I'll bore you with the details.

Robert, I'd be interested in knowing how to implement this, but I use the Voice Dream app. The app has an area to insert substitutions and also an area for this where you can enter code. I tried just insertin the copied text from your doc but it didn't work. Do you have any ideas?

Rodney Phillips

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/769256#Comment_769256

Thanks Mark for the Ivona voices link.. Soooooooo Much better..

Robert M. Warren

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/769256#Comment_769256

but I use the Voice Dream app. The app has an area to insert substitutions and also an area for this where you can enter code. I tried just insertin the copied text from your doc but it didn't work. Do you have any ideas?

Hi Liam:

I don't have Voice Dream, so I'm not able to test this. I went to this link at their support site: http://www.voicedream.com/support/reader-faq/ , which discusses adding to the custom pronunciation dictionary. Like Ivona, Voice Dream's custom dictionary apparently can be opened like a text file have entries inserted into it from another text source.

I have included two files in the zip: 1. the Excel file with the formulas and stages of constructing, in case you need it. 2. a text file containing the end result, which is my original cross-reference, but in the structure of the Voice Dream pronunciation dictionary.

Two notes: 1. I have excluded three common words, because they might drive you crazy: "Act", "Is", and "Sir" (yes, apocrypha included). You can manually insert them if you want to, but I doubt your will. 2. The serial books are set up to pronounce in what I perceive to be the American tradition of "Second Kings", rather than "Two Kings". If you want to, you can find and replace in the text file to quickly make that more British, Canadian, whatever.

VoiceDreamBibleAbbrev.zip

2781.Voice Dream Bible Book Abbreviations.zip

I think from your post you know how this might be done; (i.e., what file to edit, where it is found) if not, maybe a fellow Voice Dream user here can tell your that.

EDIT 10/5/15 3:35 AM EDT US: Yikes, I forgot to replace the ' with " in the text file; fixed.

John Brumett

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/732795#Comment_732795

Mark: How do I buy from the U.S. The price is Euro's. Can I use my credit card to purchase and download? Are there voices available to read Logos Books and Bibles on the Ipad?

JT (alabama24)

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/769493#Comment_769493

Are there voices available to read Logos Books and Bibles on the Ipad?

I will let Mark answer the other questions... I have no idea.

About the mobile app: FL does not have a "read aloud" feature on mobile outside of the audiobooks (i.e. ESV, LEB,etc.). The computer generated "read aloud" isn't available as a FL service. There are other methods to try and create this utilizing accessibility features of iOS. I don't use those features and am not the best to advise. You would be best served to search the iOS forum where other users have discussed the issue, or to post your own inquiry there.

Mark Barnes

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/769493#Comment_769493

Mark: How do I buy from the U.S. The price is Euro's. Can I use my credit card to purchase and download? Are there voices available to read Logos Books and Bibles on the Ipad?

You can switch to dollars at the top right of the screen. You'll get a link to download the voices after purchase. As far as I know the voices will only work on Windows.

I don't believe Apple allows developers to add voices to the iPhone/iPad. You can buy apps that will speak text, but they won't speak text from within other apps.

JAL

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/769521#Comment_769521

I don't believe Apple allows developers to add voices to the iPhone/iPad.

Sadly this seems to be the case.

OT: I found an article about the voices of Siri that might be of interest to some. I am grateful for the voice artists who contribute their talent to improve TTS quality.

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/aug/12/siri-real-voices-apple-ios-assistant-jon-briggs-susan-bennett-karen-jacobsen

Liam

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/769389#Comment_769389

Robert wow! This is excellent! Thanks a ton for taking the time to do this! It works great!

Alan

I normally read and listen to the ESV Bible concurrently with the voice of David Cochran Heath. I would give a thumbs up for the audio.

However, in other resources, I would have to resort to the Read Aloud by System Narrator feature provided by Windows 7 Home Premium. Tweaking the narrator settings for pitch and speed does not attain the desired tone, which at times seem to overlap with a slight echo effect.

Any recommendations please, including a paid or free download of an audio program. Thank you.

In my OP, thank God that patience won at the end of the day. Just upgraded to Windows 10 and the System Narrator voices of "Mark" and "Zira" work perfectly well for me now. Saving some dollars here simply by clicking away on the speech settings. [:)] [Y]

Timothy Merritt

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/769256#Comment_769256

I own the Ivona Brian .

I got it to read for me ,however I use Text aloud version.

Please tell me how and where to integrate it..

Timothy Merritt

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/733780#Comment_733780

I own the Ivona Brian .

I got it to read for me ,however I use Text aloud version.

Please tell me how and where to integrate it..

Quick Reply

Timothy Merritt

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/769256#Comment_769256

Robert , thanks you for your work.

I would like to us your download.

please tell me how to integrate it to my ivona on textaloud.

Thanks

Tim

Timothy Merritt

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/769256#Comment_769256

Robert , thanks you for your work.

I would like to us your download.

please tell me how to integrate it to my ivona on textaloud.

Thanks

Tim

Liam

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/799445#Comment_799445

Timothy the file Robert provided is for the ios app voice dream. I don't know how you would use it for other applications.

Robert M. Warren

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/799445#Comment_799445

Hi Timothy:

i took a quick look at the NextUp website and it looks like the 'PLS' files that the TextAloud reader uses is in xml format. I don't know much about xml and one of their staffers replied in one of their forum posts that they didn't have a way to convert Ivona to TextAloud.

All of that is about the TextAloud reader. While I used the Ivona reader to create and edit the lexicon file, I think the voice operates independently from the reader when configured for use with Windows. So, you might try just saving the British file I posted to the place where Windows and/or the voice expect to find it. It might use the lexicon for Logos Read Aloud.

Try this. My lexicon file is found in: C:\Users\YourName\AppData\Roaming\IVONA 2 Voice\ . See if this folder exists on your computer, replacing YourName with your user name. (I assume here you're using Windows; if Mac, someone will have to chime in on where the folder should be.) If it doesn't exist, create it. Get the file "british-english-ivona.lex" from my post near the top of this thread, an put it in the folder. Maybe you should restart Logos and maybe even Windows

If it works, and you don't need it for any of the reader functions, then you're fixed. Let us know what happens.

Simon’s Brother

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/769521#Comment_769521

John you can also purchase from https://www.ivona.com/

Simon’s Brother

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/733780#Comment_733780

You can also customize the vocabulary to expand abbreviated Bible book names.

BTW, here is my custom lexicon file for Ivona voices that expands Bible book abbreviations (and some other common notations, such as "vv", "cf.", etc).

https://www.dropbox.com/s/gy93dajqujda36k/british-english-ivona.lex?dl=0

If anyone needs more info on implementing this, reply back and I'll bore you with the details.

Thanks Robert. This is gold! [*]

Robert M. Warren

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/733780#Comment_733780

BTW, here is my custom lexicon file for Ivona voices that expands Bible book abbreviations (and some other common notations, such as "vv", "cf.", etc).

Sorry to bring back an old thread, but I noticed my Dropbox link has been fat-fingered out of existence. Here's a new one:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/tj050dku3p9r4ut/british-english-ivona.lex?dl=0