Reading programs. Reading text by voice - an extension for the Google Chrome browser

One of the important advantages various devices operating under the Android OS is the ability to use them when reading e-books. For this purpose, quite a lot of programs have been developed, the main ones of which we will try to consider.

Most popular programs

Cool Reader

The undisputed leader in Play market is a program from Russian developers - Cool Reader. It is ahead of similar products in:

• The number of downloads;
• The number of supported formats - 12 in latest version programs;
• User rating;

The design does not differ in special "bells and whistles", however, all the necessary parameters can be customized. In addition to the type of letters, their size and backlight, the touchscreen setting is very convenient. The screen is divided into nine areas, each of which can be assigned a specific action for short and long touch with your finger.

FBReader

Having installed, we go to the main menu, select the last item in it “Read aloud (+)”.

Further, as in the previous case, the voice reader control panel appears, and the text will begin to be read from the beginning of the current paragraph. In addition to the standard buttons "Play / Pause", "Stop" and "Skip paragraph", you can change the voice timbre and reading speed, and also, without leaving the main menu of the Android OS settings, change the TTS engine of the system.

• Ability to change voice settings;
• Reading with a locked screen;
• Adding pauses of a given length between paragraphs;
• Start voice reading when headset is connected;
• Leave the screen on while you work.

Conclusion

Summing up, I would like to note that when testing electronic readers with the speech synthesizer installed, the result was quite satisfactory. For convenience, functionality and settings, we recommend using the free FBReader program that understands the main book formats with the TTS + plug-in from Hyperionics Technology LLC.

Everyone knows the benefits of reading. It develops horizons, improves oral literacy and writing, develops thinking and imagination, etc. A reading person is a literate and interesting person in communication. But it is not always possible to read a book "live". Especially when you consider the order of prices in bookstores. But there are e-books that can be downloaded and easily flipped on the screen of a PC or mobile device.

And many applications allow you not only to read letters from the screen, but also to enjoy listening to your favorite book while doing other things. Text-to-speech software has made the lives of many busy book lovers easier and more convenient. But there are audiobooks, you might say. But it is not always possible to pick up a work in a pleasant reading. And besides, not all books are voiced by professional readers. There is also specialized literature, which you rarely hear in such processing. It can also be about studying foreign languages, advanced training, reading mail, etc. Not everyone has the opportunity to print the text every time, but sitting in front of a PC and reading live is time.

The voice acting of the text is also good for people with low vision. So they can satisfy their information hunger without harming their health. The program can read the text on the screen to female or male voice, according to your preference.

What do you need to voice the text?

The first thing that comes to mind is specialized software. But in addition, you must have the appropriate voice engine installed on your PC. What it is? A speech synthesis engine, also known as a text-to-speech engine in English transcription, is a special software that is designed to convert electronic text into speech.

• Sapi 4 (Legacy)
• Sapi 5 (installed by default on Windows XP and above)

Most speech engines support only one of the versions. And the versions themselves are not compatible. That is, voices for SAPI 4 will not be supported by SAPI 5. And vice versa.

The Microsoft Speech Platform is a suite of tools that enables application developers to implement text-to-text conversion in their products. live speech. For the synthesizer to work, you need to install Microsoft Speech Platform - Runtime and Runtime Language, where there is also support for the Russian language.

Programs for reading aloud

On the net today you can find the most different programs to convert text to human speech. Some services will help when you need voice-over text online.

• Text-to-speech.imtranslator.net - the service allows you not only to voice texts in one of the specified languages, but also, if necessary, translate from one to another, and then listen to the sound of the translation. The Russian-language text is read by a female voice.

• Translate.google.com - translator Google can not only translate the text, but also read it aloud. The service is completely free.

• ivona.com - Russian language is available for selection. But there is a 250 character limit.

Ivona

If you are ready to download the program on your PC and want to listen to more than two sentences, one of the following will suit you.

Mobile readers

In our age of the ubiquitous appearance of gadgets, readers for mobile devices they just couldn't show up. Now there is no need to carry paper volumes with you. It is enough to download the application to your tablet or smartphone, upload a selection of your favorite works there and enjoy them anytime and anywhere. Almost all of them offer voiceovers. Examples of such programs:

1. Nomad Reader is a handy reader with big amount settings. Free. Supports epub formats and fb2. Does not require special permissions and access to the Internet.
2. Aldiko Book Reader - popular app, which was included in the list of pre-installed programs for about 20 models of smartphones and tablets. Multilingual, with Russian support. Books can be read from the device itself or bought in the store. Lots of customization. Supports epub and pdf.
3. EBookDroid is an open source application and huge amount settings. Supports many formats (PDF, DjVu, XPS, cbz, cbr, fb2, fb2.zip). The desired file can be obtained through the virtual "shelf" or from the device's memory.
4. FBReader is an application that works well even on slow devices. Supports a sufficient number of formats: fb2 (.zip), ePub, mobi, rtf, plain text. Books can be read from a memory card or from directories (LitRes, for example). The library in the application can be conveniently sorted by book titles, authors, series or categories. There are lists of recent open books and the chosen one.
5. Cool Reader- omnivorous free program for mobile gadgets. Opens fb2, epub (no DRM), txt, doc, rtf, html, chm, tcr, pdb, prc, mobi (no DRM), pml without problems. The application is stylized as a bookcase, on which volumes of works are comfortably located. You can organize books in the library by title, author, file name. Numerous display settings - background color, font options, night mode, display of covers, image scaling, etc.

ReadAloud - reading texts online

“It is better to hear once than read a hundred times” - this is the motto of the ReadAloud project. This resource is able to voice any text in English or Russian, regardless of its complexity and purpose.

Users can download news or listen to messages or convert text documents in audiobooks.

The interface of the resource is simple, just copy the text into the desired window, select the voice and voice speed and click "Speak". You can listen to the information or save it in mp3 format on your hard drive or in your profile (for the latter you need to be a registered user).

If the visitor noticed that during the dubbing, the accents were incorrectly placed in compound words or the sentence was read incorrectly intonation, then changes can be made to the manner of reading, which will also be saved for your profile. Thus, each user has the opportunity to adjust the "reader" for themselves.

If users do not have permanent access Internet or there is no possibility to be constantly online, then the application can be downloaded and installed on your home computer. In addition, there is also a version of the application to work on devices from Apple.

And that woman had two sons, titans. they lived in unfertile, deserted places. Yes, take a bite? bunch! let the brothers go in search of food. And they saw before them a thorny hill. and started digging it. whether they dig for a long time, or slowly, until one of them had eggs boiled. And the brothers saw two objects in front of them. The elder brother came first. and gold shone. Yes, he took the gold. and he called himself Alexei, and a voice spoke to him. be the main player! approached younger brother, and shone, then, in that land. and he found a head of garlic. and he called himself a novel, and the voice said, since the face did not stand out, you wake up as a servant, unknown. The brothers went along the yellow road, Until they came to the forest. And the brothers saw in that forest, fire. coming closer, the brothers were embarrassed. seeing there, hovering in the air, a huge grandmother, at which from the ass, there was light. and from the mouth it stank of zhorom. The brothers were seriously frightened, Alyoshka even managed to swear. and hurried to hide in the bushes. to see what will happen next, and the brothers saw how the grandmother's poop was in earnest different colors. grandma fell to the ground. and grandfather I Menenko came out of the bushes. and he was red from birth, and smelly to glory, and sulfur continuously flowed from his ears. He was from the other world, he worked as an assistant in a chess school. And Imenenko opened his mouth, and flew from there: beetles, flies and locusts. Yes, they ate that grandmother. And he took her to hell. The brothers could not recover from what they saw for a long time. Until he came out from behind a tree, a gigantic rooster is a European. Frightened, Alexei gave the rooster Savickas all the gold and trousers as a betrayal. Rooster Savickus left with a happy face. Realizing what he had done. The brothers chased the giant, but did not catch up with him, the rooster was an athlete. And he disappeared into the forests and swamps. The brothers were saddened. The brothers rejoiced. They stepped into the bath, and began to bathe. And they did not notice that the bath was not empty. The bath troll lived in that bath, perverts, and began to test perversions on them. the brothers had hatred in their eyes. Yes, they threw the troll in the oven. Eat meat. Otobedov to their glory. The bogotyr brothers lay down, well-fed and dressed to sleep. The morning of the evening is slower, fart, fart, fart. Yes, the dawn came with screams in the bellies. the brothers woke up, They were taken aback, Yes, they began to eat up the troll. The bellies stopped yelling, and the brothers went on. They walked long or short. until their loins withered, they began to drink. They walked until they reached a fork in the road. where the inscription stood. Go to the left, you will find the sword in the stone. Go to the right and you will find a well. The brothers went to the well .. And there they found grandfather Vyaches lava in a cumulative state. Yes, they drank plenty and went to bed. When they woke up, they discovered. that they are experiencing great torment. Looking at each other, they realized that they had turned into goats and lizards. But, fortunately, their grandfather woke up, and he sawed them off. back to homosapins. Seeing this, the brothers were delighted and hugged their grandfather. And they promised my grandfather never to leave the house. For no good reason. Grandfather teleported them home. Once at home, the brothers first of all spoke well. And having stuffed their stomachs with meat delicacies, they decided never to leave the house again, under various pretexts. And that grandfather remained, near the broken well, in a coma-hot state. . The brothers remembered their adventures for a long time. Since then, they began to eat meat a lot, and life became sweet as honey. It's all over.

which are downloaded and uploaded to Personal Computer, with free online libraries. But sometimes reading volumes of textual information from the monitor screen becomes tiring, and for people with poor eyesight it is impossible. Therefore, products have been developed and are in demand, allowing you to listen to downloaded text files using a voice synthesizer.

Voice programs

The program for voicing text also reproduces the text that is typed on the keyboard of a personal device. Modern software products voice any text. Voice text voicing is performed by utilities that work with Windows operating systems, since there are products for Linux. Among them are free, shareware and paid. These are the following programs:

• IVONA Rider
• ICE Book Reader
• Balabolka
• Talker

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They download and install without difficulty, and the interface is self-explanatory. But sometimes it happens that the reader is not able to read the text. The point is that there is a large number of formats in which text files are created, and some readers do not have the ability to open and play some of them. Here are the popular formats:

1. TXT, XT
2. RTF, TCR
3. ODT, SXW
4. .DOCX
5. ABW, HTML

But there are media files that can only be read with . The data is presented in one of the following formats:

• Microsoft LIT

There are especially many complaints about PDF, since many documents on the Internet are in this format. To read PDF file you will need to install products from Adobe, such as PDF Reader. IN individual cases to convert a rare format into one supported by the book reader, you can use the free Fine Rider utility.

Popular readers

Unlike other products that users of personal devices work with, not many utilities perform the function of voicing text by voice. There are several domestic and foreign developments designed for this purpose. One of the most popular programs is ISE Book Rider.

This is a free, but multifunctional and easy-to-use utility. It allows you to read e-books on the screen or listen to printed text. After installation, a window opens where additional settings are set.

Can be customized to your preferences, book mode and speech synthesizer mode. The reader program allows you to select the language, male or female voice, as well as the timbre and speed of reading.

IVONA Software is considered a leader in the promotion of speech programs. A program that reads text aloud is called IVONA Rider. It has the ability to reproduce textual information by voice:

• Books
• Documentation
• WEB pages
• Email

This product is difficult to install and is shareware as it is provided on certain time and to work with it, you need to enter the "Medicine" - "Crack for Voices", so most users prefer domestic developments.

Balabolka is a program that reads text. She supports most popular formats, has Russian-language interface and easy to install. After installation, the main window opens, where the reading parameters are set.

After clicking "Settings", a menu will open in which additional functions are selected. For the utility to work, a voice engine (voice synthesizer) must be installed on the computer, on which the playback quality depends.

A similar product is "Talker". This utility is intended for those who prefer not to read text from the monitor screen, but to listen to it. The program is installed on any device with operating system Windows. She needs a minimum random access memory and only 30 MB of hard disk space. The voice is adjusted according to the timbre and reading speed. In addition, the program has additional settings that determine the output of text information on the screen and the operation of the voice synthesizer.

The utility records the voice to a WAV or MP3 audio file. With it, the text typed on the keyboard is voiced, as well as information from the clipboard. This product renders real help in the study of foreign languages, since the spoken text is displayed in parallel on the screen.

Some users may need to voice the text in a male voice online. It can be any advertising text, fiction, other text genres and styles that need to be transformed according to the “text to voice” principle, without resorting to downloading various programs to the PC. In this article, I will tell you what online talkers with a male voice in Russian exist, give a description of the relevant network resources, and also explain how to work with them.

If you are interested in an online talker, then I will immediately notice that in most cases the possibility of free text reproduction is limited to a size of several hundred characters, but you will have to pay extra for full functionality. This is due to the advertising nature of such resources, designed rather to demonstrate the capabilities of the voice engine, rather than fully voicing huge amounts of user text in a male voice.

So, let's move on to a direct enumeration and description of the capabilities of the network speaker resources we need.

Linguatec resource for reading text by voice

The first online talker with a male and female voice that I want to talk about is the German resource Linguatec. The maximum amount of text that can be voiced is limited to 250 characters, which, however, is quite enough to demonstrate the capabilities of the specified voice engine. For full-fledged functionality without restrictions, you will have to pay real money.

To take advantage of the resource, go to it, in the “Voice Reader” tab, select Russian (Russisch), and a little lower, from the voices presented, select a male voice (Yuri). Below, enter the text you need (up to 250 characters) and click the arrow button (Play).

Oddcast - online speech synthesizer

The Oddcast resource can also act as an online talker, while the size of the spoken text is limited to 170 characters.

1. To work with this resource, go to it, in the language selection window (Language) select Russian, and in the male or female selection window female voice select male (Dmitri).
2. In the "Enter text" window, enter your text, and then click on the "Say It" button (say it).
3. The “Effect” option included in the functionality of the engine will give you the opportunity to experiment with various sound effects (whisper, robotic voice, accelerated voice, and so on).

iSpeech - text-to-speech service

Another resource called iSpeech, which has a Russian voice engine, is quite good quality. At the same time, the volume of the reproduced text is also limited to a figure of about 200 characters, allowing you to voice the Russian text in a male voice online.

To work with the resource, go to it, find “Russian Male” in the list of languages ​​on the left, enter your text in the window on the right and click on the “Play” button (you will have to wait a few seconds for the system to process the text).

Nevertheless, the possibility of demonstrating the capabilities of the existing voice engine remained. To do this, go to this Yvon resource, find "Russia" in the list of available languages, click on the button on the right, and, selecting a male voice (Maxim), click on the button with an arrow (Play).

A little more about voice engine standards

As for the main voice engine standards available today, two of them are now the most common - SAPI 4 and SAPI 5 ("SAPI" is an abbreviation for "Microsoft Speech API" - translated as "Microsoft Speech Programming Interface"). SAPI 4 is an outdated standard, created back in 1998, is now little used, SAPI 5 is more modern, has better pronunciation, the latest modification is SAPI 5.4 (at the same time, SAPI 5 has less free votes than the outdated SAPI 4).

As for speech synthesis programs, one of the most popular of them, Govorilka, allows you to voice voluminous texts quite well, and various options voices (both male and female). The installation version of the product usually contains a set of several built-in voices, but if the reader does not have enough of them, then on the program website you can download additional voices for it (including high-quality paid options).

Conclusion

If you are interested in a talker with a male voice in Russian, then I recommend paying attention to the list of network online resources listed by me above. At the same time, their disadvantages include the limited nature of their free functionality, forcing the user to pay close attention to specialized programs(for example, "Talker"). The most high-quality pronunciation among the listed resources is provided by the voice engine of the IVONA service, and it is the phrases voiced by it that we quite often meet in the Russian-speaking segment of the network.

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