Additional TTS Engines
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There were some negative comments in the past about the default TTS voice. I wrote some of them.
I did a search for alternative TTS engines. There aren't that many TTS engine which can be used in MRA Next. But i found one which i like.
It is Acapela TTS Engine for Android. The app self is free but you must pay for each voice separate. A few Euro's
Because i'm Dutch, i bought the voice "Daan". This is a good voice.This voice is a lot louder than the default TTS engine. The volume is more or less the same as Spotify. Besides this. The voice is also less mechanical/robotic.
@M-Schrijver said in Additional TTS Engines:
It is Acapela TTS Engine for Android. The app self is free but you must pay for each voice separate.
I installed Acapela, but the demo voices don't work.
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@Skellum On your iPhone: Settings > Accessibility > Spoken content > Voices. MRA uses your phone voice so you should hear the same on CarPlay.
wrote on 6 Mar 2024, 15:59 last edited by@Nick-Carthew Thank you for that Nick, I can see that I can change the voice my iPhone uses (Siri etc) but that doesn't seem to change the choice I have on the MRA Next app - there are choices within the app but they do not seem to relate to the iPhone voice I have chosen?
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@Nick-Carthew Thank you for that Nick, I can see that I can change the voice my iPhone uses (Siri etc) but that doesn't seem to change the choice I have on the MRA Next app - there are choices within the app but they do not seem to relate to the iPhone voice I have chosen?
@Skellum I chose Serena (premium) from my iPhone voices. Once you have chosen your voice, go to Navigation settings > Audio > Voice and then scroll down the list and select your chosen iPhone voice.
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There were some negative comments in the past about the default TTS voice. I wrote some of them.
I did a search for alternative TTS engines. There aren't that many TTS engine which can be used in MRA Next. But i found one which i like.
It is Acapela TTS Engine for Android. The app self is free but you must pay for each voice separate. A few Euro's
Because i'm Dutch, i bought the voice "Daan". This is a good voice.This voice is a lot louder than the default TTS engine. The volume is more or less the same as Spotify. Besides this. The voice is also less mechanical/robotic.
@M-Schrijver Good call on this TTS engine. Downloaded the app and a couple of voices. So much better on my Google Pixel 6 Pro. Thank you for the suggestion.
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@M-Schrijver said in Additional TTS Engines:
It is Acapela TTS Engine for Android. The app self is free but you must pay for each voice separate.
I installed Acapela, but the demo voices don't work.
@Con-Hennekens
You can only use the demo voices in the Acapela app. So can listen and play a bit with some settings. If you buy a voice, you can use it in other app.
It is a bit of a gamble. -
Greatly appreciate you sharing this!
@M-Schrijver -
@Con-Hennekens
You can only use the demo voices in the Acapela app. So can listen and play a bit with some settings. If you buy a voice, you can use it in other app.
It is a bit of a gamble.@M-Schrijver, The app shows me this:
I pressed the play button and it starts circling but not any of the voices are audible. On their website some voices are demoed:
https://www.acapela-group.com/demos/Also I see that most voices are € 4,99 except Thijs en Merel, they go for € 11,99 but both are not in the demo. I guess they are the sexy ones...
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@M-Schrijver, The app shows me this:
I pressed the play button and it starts circling but not any of the voices are audible. On their website some voices are demoed:
https://www.acapela-group.com/demos/Also I see that most voices are € 4,99 except Thijs en Merel, they go for € 11,99 but both are not in the demo. I guess they are the sexy ones...
@Con-Hennekens Like you, I pressed the button in the app (Google Pixel 6 Pro) and the voices played as demo as the circle turned with no problems. That was all languages and all samples.
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@Con-Hennekens Like you, I pressed the button in the app (Google Pixel 6 Pro) and the voices played as demo as the circle turned with no problems. That was all languages and all samples.
@Dave-J-0, good to know. Strange though
(yes I have the volume up
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@Skellum I chose Serena (premium) from my iPhone voices. Once you have chosen your voice, go to Navigation settings > Audio > Voice and then scroll down the list and select your chosen iPhone voice.
wrote on 7 Mar 2024, 20:12 last edited by@Nick-Carthew Thank you Nick, all sorted now with Kate (enhanced) cheers Tony
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@Nick-Carthew Thank you Nick, all sorted now with Kate (enhanced) cheers Tony
@Skellum Your welcome, happy to help.
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@Skellum Your welcome, happy to help.
wrote on 10 Mar 2024, 18:53 last edited byHi, I bought Rachel (English voice) and took her out for a ride today. Loud and clear - a huge improvement!
The original MRA voice is too timid and not loud enough.
Thanks for the suggestion. -
On my other phone (the rugged one I actually use on the bike) I was able to play the demo voices indeed. They do seem to be a bit louder indeed, but the Dutch voices are really ugly (3 of them are childs voices). The default Google TTS is much clearer and smoother in my opinion. I never understood why some people call it "robotic". That's definitely not the case on any phone I used (quite a few).
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Valued contributorwrote on 11 Mar 2024, 18:22 last edited by M. Schrijver 3 Nov 2024, 18:25
Did a nice ride last saturday.
Filtsmeister does use the default Android voice. Sometimes Flitsmeister did give some info (it runs in the background). It was a good comparisson with the Acapela voice "Daan" which is set in MRA.
What a difference in favour of "Daan" Louder and less robotic/metalicWhat is a robotic voice? This a typical example of a robotic voice (female):
https://youtu.be/yHdemBdvRIo?si=duWDWleqc7P8b-Qs&t=84
At least for me. The default google TTS voice sounds very similiar (to me)
The voice synthesizer of Stephen Hawkins is probably the best known "robotic" voice. -
Did a nice ride last saturday.
Filtsmeister does use the default Android voice. Sometimes Flitsmeister did give some info (it runs in the background). It was a good comparisson with the Acapela voice "Daan" which is set in MRA.
What a difference in favour of "Daan" Louder and less robotic/metalicWhat is a robotic voice? This a typical example of a robotic voice (female):
https://youtu.be/yHdemBdvRIo?si=duWDWleqc7P8b-Qs&t=84
At least for me. The default google TTS voice sounds very similiar (to me)
The voice synthesizer of Stephen Hawkins is probably the best known "robotic" voice.Alpha testerwrote on 11 Mar 2024, 18:35 last edited by Con Hennekens 3 Nov 2024, 18:42@M-Schrijver, That does not sound very good indeed.
But my Android sounds like this:https://photos.app.goo.gl/CV5qdP4cRgdpfD968
The voice is clear and natural in my opinion.
Just a tad low on the volume.
The demo from the Acapela TTS is much worse:
