Aunt Jen Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 This is off-topic again, another computer issue. If I shouldn't do this, please let me know. But I'd like to find a text to speech app for the iPad that will begin reading at a certain point I designate, and then read on, page after page, until I tell it to stop. NOT cut and paste a page into the app and then listen to it. But to start and continue to end. Does anyone know anything like that? Then I could listen to ebooks while doing something else. Thanks AJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Phil Peeno #50923 Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Haven't used this but a friend of mine who works with the deaf and the blind mentioned this app before. http://appadvice.com/appguides/show/text-to-speech-apps-for-ipad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aunt Jen Posted June 27, 2011 Author Share Posted June 27, 2011 Haven't used this but a friend of mine who works with the deaf and the blind mentioned this app before. http://appadvice.com/appguides/show/text-to-speech-apps-for-ipad Hmmmmmmm. I got that one, and it actually works pretty well if you cut and paste text into it. It'll read it well enough. The American female voice is best, I think, and good enough for me. But it won't read most ebooks at all, as their text can't be copied. Too much money I guess in audio books? And if I choose some ebooks that don't restrict, I can copy text into the reader, but that is not a good way to read a book, as it only lets you copy two pages at a time (the two you're seeing on your screen at one time). So every time you turn the page, you have to recopy the pages and paste them into the Speak It app. I'm kinda hoping to find an app that will play an ebook for me for a hour while I'm doing something else.... AJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aunt Jen Posted June 27, 2011 Author Share Posted June 27, 2011 Evidently Amazon released a text-to-speech for the Kindle that would read ebooks, a couple of years ago, but some publishers fought it because they didn't want to loose money on their audio book businesses, so Amazon/Kindle made it something that publishers can opt into or out of. All those who think they may do an audiobook opt out, and some others as well. There are many who are not DRM protected, who would be fine with an app for ebook reading. But the larger players seem to opt out of it, so that makes app development hindered. And even if I ever do find one, most books that are DRM won't let it use it. ???? Really? As synthetic voices improve, it would seem a person could buy any ebook, then have it be read to them while they do house work, etc. I think it could also be done so that every different character in the ebook gets its own voice. The app could read the text ahead, and discover which character was talking, and assign one of a dozen voices to it.... I think I'm a little ahead of the game, here. But I'm hoping I find an ebook text-to-speech reader some day. That will make it possible for me to listen to a lot more books (while I'm doing something else), as well as giving me the option to read it visually if time allows. AJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iditarod Kid Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 If your IPad has VoiceOver in the applications, it is a excellent "speech reader". My wife is leagally blind, and uses it on her MacPro. Choice of voices, with custom cadence and speed. I don't know if it is on the IPad, but I'm sure it would be available from the AppStore... See you down the trail...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aunt Jen Posted June 27, 2011 Author Share Posted June 27, 2011 If your IPad has VoiceOver in the applications, it is a excellent "speech reader". My wife is leagally blind, and uses it on her MacPro. Choice of voices, with custom cadence and speed. I don't know if it is on the IPad, but I'm sure it would be available from the AppStore... See you down the trail...... Yes. It's there. But to use it, text has to be highlighted. It will then read it. My husband is also legally blind, so I can emphathise. The problem with it, is that you have to highlight (or identify) each page, one at a time, for an ebook. After it reads the page, it'll stop right at that last character. Then you have to turn the page. And then it will read the next page. So you can't just set it to going and do anything else at the time, also, like drive a car, etc. (I could use it to entertain my husband while I'm driving.) It's on the iPad, and I've experimented with it. (I'd like my husband to be able to enjoy the stories, too. We could share them, together, like a mental movie, if you will, if I could get this to work.) I was kinda hoping to find a text-to-speech reader that would start and then continue, without me having to attend to it while it's reading. I do think this is a technology that will or should develop, and I think there's a lot of good that could come out of it if it does. AJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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