Re: Formatting - was Would you be interested in having natural sounding TTS voices by Readspeaker on Linux? demo link included

[Linux for blind general discussion]

My goal is simply to bring more variety of TTS voices which could be installed 
to use with the already existing Linux screenreaders. For example, in Windows I 
can use the NVDA screenreader to adjust the rate and pitch etc of a TTS voice. 
But when all is said and done, I prefer the sound quality, the tamber, of 
certain TTS voices more than others, no matter how much I can adjust perameters 
in the screenreader. On Windows, I can use the Microsoft Zira voice for 
example, or the Ivona Kendra voice. No matter how many adjustments I make from 
the screenreader, granted that I am an average user with no programming 
experience, but no matter what standard adjustments I make, for me, it still 
comes down to quality of voice, and I'll still choose Kendra over Zira if I 
have the chance. So, I just want to see more choices of TTS voices  become 
available to Linux users.
The adjustments are done through the screenreader yes, but I once tried out a 
third party TTS on Windows. It was some years back, but I think I used it with 
the NVDA screenreader, and unlike all the other TTS voices I have ever used 
with NVDA on Windows, the one produced by that specific company, always had a 
very long pause between sentences no matter what adjustments I made from within 
the NVDA screenreader. It was a trial demo, so I chose not to buy the TTS 
product, because no matter what adjustments I made in the screenreader, I 
couldn't get rid of the lagging pauses between sentences which made reading 
documents with that particular TTS intolerable. I have not experienced that 
with any of the other TTS voices from various different companies I have used. 
Only  voices from that specific company, and I suspect it may have had 
something to do with whatever module they developed to connect their voices to 
the screenreader.
I have also experienced TTS voices that make like a slight popping sound as it 
tries to keep up with the key strokes when writing fast or navigating fast, as 
if the output can't quite keep up with the input.
 I am not a tech specialist, but based on those kind of  experiences, it leads 
me to believe that responsiveness may not just be the screenreader itself, but 
also may depend on the seamless connectivity between the screenreader, and the 
TTS module that its connected to. I could be wrong. I don't know all the hows 
and whys, but those have just been some of my experiences.
not everyone will be interested in Readspeaker and thats totally fine. Some 
people are satisfied with whats already available and I respect their 
preferences.
My hope for this potential project, is simply to make available more  
natural-like voices compatible with Linux screenreaders for those who want them.
Not everyone will want natural-like voices and thats ok.
But if this project moves forward, then I do want to be certain that there will 
not be any lagging in response with the connection between the TTS module, and 
the screenreader. So if Readspeaker develops a module for their voices to link 
to Orca and SpeechedUp, then I do think that the fluid responsiveness between 
Orca and Espeak-ng, or Orca and RHVoice, is a good example of seamless 
responsiveness, for Readspeaker to refer to as a model when testing their own 
module to be sure that their Readspeaker TTS module flows smoothly in 
connection with the screenreader as the user navigates.
Thanks,
SL
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