Dennis McCarthy wrote:
On a related thread, does anyone know a user friendly way to make mp3s (or other format) with digitized voices out of P.G. e-books?
Specifically looking for using typical software on Windows or Mac format machines.
I have been able to get newer versions of Abode Acroread to "Read Out Loud" (an option under "View"). This has a couple problems, though: 1) Most people do not have access to Acrobat to make PDF files. Acroread is free and lets you read PDF files, but you need Acrobat (somewhat expensive) to make PDFs. 2) This is fine for listening at your computer, but I could not find a way to export to MP3 for listening to later using other equipment. Looked for an option in RealPlayer, but no dice.
This is specifically for someone who drives alot, and wants books-on-disk.
Thanks.
Not sure of the availability for whatever platforms you are using, but 'festival' will generate '.wav' files using the included 'text2wav' program. They should be easy to convert to mp3s. It's a monotone reading, but usable. More recent versions (i.e. FC3) seem to sound smoother (less computerized) than earlier ones (i.e. RH9). Don't know if this is because of the Linux or the festival versions. Comes standard with most recent RedHat and Fedora Core Linux installs, and probably others. Price is right (free). http://www.cstr.ed.ac.uk/projects/festival/manual/