What is the beat TTS options and devices that work with HS.
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Best TTS options are the native ones in HS for Windows and or Linux. Windows uses native SAPI voice fonts. Linux uses Linux TTS (very robotic sounding). This audio comes from the hardware audio card in your Homeseer server (Windows or Linux).
Remote speech.....
Best for me is using the application speaker.exe that will run on any Windows computer with SAPI. This is the same client which runs on your Windows Homeseer mothership. For remote use you run it on any Windows computer and configure it to connect to your main mothership. Using this client you can configure it to use any MS SAPI voice available on same said Windows computer. (Windows XP, XPe, Windows 7, W7e, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, W81e or Windows 10).
Next are the Homeseer touch (in Android, iOS or Windows) play back of the Homeseer generated audio files from the native TTS.
Then you have 3rd party proxy plugins that play same said audio files on Squeezeplayers, Sonos, Google, et al.
Personally here use Windows SAPI running on embedded Windows on my Linux computers that are running Homeseer in Ubuntu. My Windows in house touchscreens all run both Homeseer Touch and Homeseer Speaker. My main HS Pro mothership is running W7e with 5-6 instances of Speaker dot exe each using a different voice font. That is me.
Tinkering with using Alexa devices as Homeseer TTS devices (using native Alexa voice).- Pete
Auto matorHomeseer 3 Pro - 3.0.0.548 (Linux) - Ubuntu 18.04/W7e 64 bit Intel Haswell CPU 16Gb
Homeseer Zee2 (Lite) - 3.0.0.548 (Linux) - Ubuntu 18.04/W7e - CherryTrail x5-Z8350 BeeLink 4Gb BT3 Pro
HS4 Lite - Ubuntu 22.04 / Lenovo Tiny M900 / 32Gb Ram
HS4 Pro - V4.1.18.1 - Ubuntu 22.04 / Lenova Tiny M900 / 32Gb Ram
HSTouch on Intel tabletop tablets (Jogglers) - Asus AIO - Windows 11X10, UPB, Zigbee, ZWave and Wifi MQTT automation-Tasmota-Espurna. OmniPro 2, Russound zoned audio, Alexa, Cheaper RFID, W800 and Home Assistant
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Like Pete said.... You can always have the Windows box using SAPI create the sound file and then play it out whatever device or platform you want... This can be out the Windows sound card or saved to disk and then played back from where ever.HomeSeer 2, HomeSeer 3, Allonis myServer, Amazon Alexa Dots, ELK M1G, ISY 994i, HomeKit, BlueIris, and 6 "4k" Cameras using NVR, and integration between all of these systems. Home Automation since 1980.
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The above Linux TTS is just that and robotic sounding.
This is the way I am running 6 instances of speaker dot exe SAPI speech for HS3 running on an Ubuntu box.
Note that Oracle Virtual box only runs on Intel / AMD CPUs and not any ARM CPUs.
The main audio output of this box goes to the Russound system.
Each of the instances below utilize different voice fonts.
This is the way I am running SAPI on the WIndows XPE touchscreens mostly running HS Touch. It is mostly used optionally and typically only have Neospeech SAPI TTS on these computers.
Now have a few Alexa Show devices around the house today and send TTS to these devices.
BTW Microsoft just purchased Nuance. (IE: Dragon Speech Recognition)
Microsoft Bulks Up With $16 Billion Deal for Nuance Communications- Pete
Auto matorHomeseer 3 Pro - 3.0.0.548 (Linux) - Ubuntu 18.04/W7e 64 bit Intel Haswell CPU 16Gb
Homeseer Zee2 (Lite) - 3.0.0.548 (Linux) - Ubuntu 18.04/W7e - CherryTrail x5-Z8350 BeeLink 4Gb BT3 Pro
HS4 Lite - Ubuntu 22.04 / Lenovo Tiny M900 / 32Gb Ram
HS4 Pro - V4.1.18.1 - Ubuntu 22.04 / Lenova Tiny M900 / 32Gb Ram
HSTouch on Intel tabletop tablets (Jogglers) - Asus AIO - Windows 11X10, UPB, Zigbee, ZWave and Wifi MQTT automation-Tasmota-Espurna. OmniPro 2, Russound zoned audio, Alexa, Cheaper RFID, W800 and Home Assistant
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I use the Google speakers and with the Chromecast plugin I can send speech to an individual or multiple units using an event. There are instructions to use Node Red to send speech to Alexa units but the Alexa/Node Red connection is apparently not very stable so there are workarounds to try to keep it live. I do not use Alexa so I am not able to test other methods. Would be interested in how Pete is doing this, though, and maybe posting that for the folks trying to use Node Red.
As for one being the best? That is dependent on what you currently have, where you want to go with things, and what works for you.
Karl S
HS4Pro on Windows 10
1070 Devices
56 Z-Wave Nodes
104 Events
HSTouch Clients: 3 Android, 1 iOS
Google Home: 3 Mini units, 1 Pair Audios, 2 Displays
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For Alexa TTS I am using Alexa Media Player on Home Assistant. The Alexa Media Plugin is an Alexa Device management application which does way more than TTS.
I can send MQTT using mcsMQTT or run the TTS HA scripts remotely from Homeseer to Home Assistant.
remote way
Code:curl -X POST -H "Authorization: Bearer ABCDE" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"entity_id": "script.myscript"}' http://192.168.1.10:8123/api/services/script/turn_on
- Pete
Auto matorHomeseer 3 Pro - 3.0.0.548 (Linux) - Ubuntu 18.04/W7e 64 bit Intel Haswell CPU 16Gb
Homeseer Zee2 (Lite) - 3.0.0.548 (Linux) - Ubuntu 18.04/W7e - CherryTrail x5-Z8350 BeeLink 4Gb BT3 Pro
HS4 Lite - Ubuntu 22.04 / Lenovo Tiny M900 / 32Gb Ram
HS4 Pro - V4.1.18.1 - Ubuntu 22.04 / Lenova Tiny M900 / 32Gb Ram
HSTouch on Intel tabletop tablets (Jogglers) - Asus AIO - Windows 11X10, UPB, Zigbee, ZWave and Wifi MQTT automation-Tasmota-Espurna. OmniPro 2, Russound zoned audio, Alexa, Cheaper RFID, W800 and Home Assistant
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Hi Pete,
Did you listen to the samples? Listen to this one https://soundcloud.com/user-56597087...-and-tacotron2
Originally posted by Pete View PostThe above Linux TTS is just that and robotic sounding.
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Very nice. Is the TTS font in the clould?
Here today have collected SAPI speech fonts for some 30 years. I have an extensive collection of 32bit 64 bit fonts.
Interest in this stuff started in the 1990's with a project in telephone banking when I worked for LaSalle bank in Chicago in 1993-1995. First gen Windows SAPI.- Pete
Auto matorHomeseer 3 Pro - 3.0.0.548 (Linux) - Ubuntu 18.04/W7e 64 bit Intel Haswell CPU 16Gb
Homeseer Zee2 (Lite) - 3.0.0.548 (Linux) - Ubuntu 18.04/W7e - CherryTrail x5-Z8350 BeeLink 4Gb BT3 Pro
HS4 Lite - Ubuntu 22.04 / Lenovo Tiny M900 / 32Gb Ram
HS4 Pro - V4.1.18.1 - Ubuntu 22.04 / Lenova Tiny M900 / 32Gb Ram
HSTouch on Intel tabletop tablets (Jogglers) - Asus AIO - Windows 11X10, UPB, Zigbee, ZWave and Wifi MQTT automation-Tasmota-Espurna. OmniPro 2, Russound zoned audio, Alexa, Cheaper RFID, W800 and Home Assistant
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It sounds really nice.
Maybe you can utilize bash scripts, python scripts or curl scripts to do the TTS via Homeseer in Linux.
I am using / testing Alexa TTS here using the Home Assistant Alexa Media Player plugin which works but is sort of a manual step by step automation effort using MQTT.
It is way easier to use a Windows with SAPI VB running speaker dot exe. You can create an embedded Windows VM with SAPI and direct your speech to that VM / VB. (IE you can utilize WIndows XP, XPE, Windows 7 or 7e, Windows 8 or 8.1e).
Personally here all Linux except for a couple of WIndows servers running these days and the servers are headless and only utilize via RDP.
For a bit a few years ago one of the SAPI TTS companies did put out a Linux SAPI client. I've been able to get Windows SAPI running on PlayonLinux / Wine.
I enabled SAPI in a Wine installation (on Ubuntu 12 or 14) way before this github ==>
How to install and use Windows sapi5 voices on Linux
PlayonLinux is more for gamers that want to utilize Windows games on Linux. Works for me with Windows Office which I have running on my latest Ubuntu 20.04 office desktop.- Pete
Auto matorHomeseer 3 Pro - 3.0.0.548 (Linux) - Ubuntu 18.04/W7e 64 bit Intel Haswell CPU 16Gb
Homeseer Zee2 (Lite) - 3.0.0.548 (Linux) - Ubuntu 18.04/W7e - CherryTrail x5-Z8350 BeeLink 4Gb BT3 Pro
HS4 Lite - Ubuntu 22.04 / Lenovo Tiny M900 / 32Gb Ram
HS4 Pro - V4.1.18.1 - Ubuntu 22.04 / Lenova Tiny M900 / 32Gb Ram
HSTouch on Intel tabletop tablets (Jogglers) - Asus AIO - Windows 11X10, UPB, Zigbee, ZWave and Wifi MQTT automation-Tasmota-Espurna. OmniPro 2, Russound zoned audio, Alexa, Cheaper RFID, W800 and Home Assistant
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