Installation guide
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22 Using Amanda Portal’s Text to Speech Feature
The text to speech module can be purchased through our sales department. It can be used
in conjunction with IVR applications (usually custom), or to read email back to a caller
(using the email reader) via telephone. Additionally, the TTS module will be used in
conjunction with the speech processing module when callers forget to record their name
and extension greeting but have their first and last name in the name field of the general
settings in their mailbox.
Before using text to speech you must do the following:
1) Install SAPI5.1 (required)
Using the Amanda Portal Product CD, install Microsoft SAPI5.1 from the root of the CD,
and when prompted choose all the default options for installation folder, program group,
etc.
2) Install BrightSpeech TTS Software (optional)
In addition to installing SAPI5.1, you can purchase Bright Speech text to speech (TTS)
software from our sales department. Bright Speech’s TTS voices are far superior to the
voices that come with Microsoft SAPI5.1. This software requires an activation dongle
which connects to a USB port on the PC. Once installed, the Bright Speech voices are
added to the list under the Speech dialog in the windows control panel.
3) Setting the default_speaker (required)
After installing SAPI5.1 you will have a new icon in the windows control panel called
“Speech”. Within the speech dialogue, there is a “Text to Speech” tab where you can
listen to the different voices that can be used by Amanda (as long as you have a working
sound card and speakers connected to the Amanda server). Find a voice you like and set
that voice as the value of the default_speaker in Amanda Portal’s configuration utility
under the Global settings.
When using the Microsoft TTS voices your choices are
Microsoft Mary
Microsoft Mike
Microsoft Sam
The suggested voice when using Microsoft TTS is Microsoft Mary.
If you’ll be using the Bright Speech TTS software you’ll have some additional choices
depending on which options were purchased with the system. For example you might see:
Babel BrightSpeech French (Heather8k)