TTS design in HStouch

[vasrc]

My understanding is the current handling of TTS by HStouch is for the HS server to convert them to wav/mp3 files, using the HS servers default speech settings, and then send them to the client.

I'm not having any luck getting the Android client to speak anything other than the default voice. Just in case HStouch wasn't using TTS files (it would be a nice (much smaller) option to allow text), I installed Ivona but that didn't work either.

I'm suspecting my HS server still isn't configured correctly, even though the (XP) speech setting are set at Kate 8K (confirmed with Voice Preview).

Using all of the latest plugins and an IWAC7.

Thanks,
Z

[vasrc]

Humm, that didn't work
Let me ask a more direct question then.

Is anyone able to have a non-default (ie Homeseer voices such as Kate/Paul) voice come out of an Android or Ipad client?
If so, I'll keep looking at the HS server for issues.

Thanks,
Z

[Krumpy]

I be,I've that the speaking client needs to be installed on your HS machine for the output to work.

[vasrc]

Thanks for the reply.
The std speech client is installed on the HS server as well as the Android and Apple clients. I'm fairly sure it's a server issue, but it would be good to know that other people are able to get their other voices to come out on the HStouch clients so I can leave the clients alone.

I AM getting speech output, it's just the standard computerized voice (MS Mary).

Thanks,
Z

[Dafunktyfunk]

I have been battling this for a long time, since version .28 of HomeSeer.

[vasrc]

Should have posted the solution, sorry.
The problem turned out to be my running HS as a service. That caused the TTS to be turned off. Running it off of the MS Scheduler fixed my problem and I now get good voices.

Z

[Dafunktyfunk]

Re: TTS design in HStouch

I still have issues and I am not running it as a service. Wonder what it could be.

[vasrc]

Which voices do you use. I can get both the original Homeseer voices as well as Cepstral ones to work now.
I see you're running XP embedded, wonder if the TTS service is different somehow?
As others have mentioned, your default voice needs to be selected on the HS server.
In XP it's Control Panel -> Speech -> Text to Speech

You can get the voices to play normally on your Hometroller box through MS (NOT HS Speaker).

Z

[Dafunktyfunk]

Re: TTS design in HStouch

The TTS works on speaker clients but not on any of the hs touch clients.

[vasrc]

Understood. HS Speaker isn't used to generate the client voices.

Can the XP box produce voice is the key. Does your Control Panel show a Speech option? Since XPembedded is meant to be smaller it may not have the SAPI5 code included. If you have the Speech option it should work. Does the Hometroller have any audio out?

If not, then I'd get with the Help Desk to see if adding SAPI is possible on a Hometroller.

Z

[Dafunktyfunk]

Re: TTS design in HStouch

Yes, the tts engine is installed and working. The correct voice is selected and installed and the speaker client on the hometroller works as it should with audio coming from the hometroller. The control panel is also correctly set to use the voice and the test concludes that voice is working locally on the hometroller.

What else can you think of?

[vasrc]

When you look at the Task manager, which user is shown running Homeseer?

Z

[Dafunktyfunk]

In the TaskManager, I see these:

Homeseer.exe - Administrator
hs_compatibility.exe - Administrator
HS2Sentry.exe - Administrator
HSProtect2HT.exe - Administrator
hsrecord2.exe - Administrator

[vasrc]

Should work then..
BTW, I run both the Android and Apple clients and they work fine.
Which voices are you using?

Have you asked HS if voice output is supported on your Hometroller. Since the XP embedded build is dependent on which components they added, and it's meant largely as a single user, it may not support the voice desktop app that's needed for TTS..

Z

[Dafunktyfunk]

I am using VW Bridgette from NeoSpeech. It worked just fine on .28. It was only after I was forced to go to .29 that it broke and it has been broken ever since.

The XP that is embedded is the one HS ships with the hometroller so, I hope all the components are in there but, since it worked before and now it does not, I would say there is something wrong with the install. The odd thing is that this is not an isolated issue. All of the hometrollers and clients I have deployed, about 11 (hometrollers) and about 18 different clients between all of them, are having the same issue.