I've been using Articulate 360's voice to speech feature in software simulations, instead of the text bubbles. I've noticed that frequently the first word or syllable gets cut off. For example If a sentence starts with "To edit a document..." The "To" gets cut off. I tried inserting some spaces with the keyboard space bar or dots to no avail.
Any tricks to fix this?
Also, are there tricks to improve the intonation? I've noticed that adding commas between words can make a difference sometimes.
I found the same issue, and this is caused by the way all VOX "voice-operated exchanged" radio transmitters such as Bluetooth headphones and other radio devices work. Your text-to-speech application is not the issue.
Why you miss the first word or two of each new sentence: To maximize battery life Bluetooth headsets and earbud devices only transmit signals between their paired devices when there is sound, which is not an issue when you're listening to music as it transmits during the whole song. When you have a text-to-speech app the pauses between sentences, marked by a period are long enough to stop the transmission briefly. The issue occurs when the reader app then starts the new sentence which reveals the inherent delay nature of V.O.X transmit triggers.
The Hack - A simple workaround: Knowing this I have background white noise such as "meditation" tracks from my Itunes account playing on the device I"m using to listen to my reading on. Don't worry, If you don't want to hear it, just turn down the volume in your Itunes/music app to zero or one above that. This prevents an interruption of the Bluetooth signal to your headphones/earbuds solving your problem.
An added benefit of this solution is that it can help further isolate your reading from your surrounding.
This is clearly an issue that can be addressed in future Bluetooth versions, as this doesn't happen during phone calls. Until it is addressed permanently, this is your best solution.
That's very helpful Joshua! Thanks for sharing the explanation and the workaround! We will share this information to the users with support cases linked to this discussion as well.
Has there been a solution for this problem? I don't know what changed but the text to speech audio was fine in December. I started updating and now the first second is cut off . Adding a second of silence works, but I have hours and hours of training in articulate and lots of audio files - ugh!
Sorry for the trouble! Are you using the latest update of Storyline 360? We are now on Storyline 360 (Build 3.63.27628.0). If you're still seeing this in the latest build, it would be helpful to share your .story file with our team. You can attach it to this discussion or upload it privately in a support case.
Thanks for reaching out and I'm sorry to hear that you're experiencing this issue! I'm happy to help troubleshoot and I'd like to start with a few clarifying questions.
Are you using the latest update of Storyline 360? We are now on Storyline 360 (Build 3.75.30269.0)
Have you tried using punctuation, such as commas and semicolons, when you want to insert brief pauses between words?
If you need a pause before the first word, you can convert your text to speech, then open the clip in the built-in audio editor and insert silence where it's needed.
If the issue persists, I'd like to take a look at your file. You can upload it here or share it privately in a support case. We'll delete it from our systems once troubleshooting is complete.
Hello, While they still have not addressed this issues in the latest version of storyline I do have a suggestion that works for me, if you would like to try.
After creating your speak-to-text go into edit audio add 1 second of silence then on the Timeline slide align the audio file.
This started 5 years ago and im using this service and it is still having the same issues, this is highly unacceptable, how can a company not fix something like this in 5 WHOLE YEARS
This is a pretty old thread now, but I'm experiencing it in fall 2023. I believe the issue to be this:
Many bluetooth headsets/speakers will go into a type of power saving mode when there is no sound being transmitted, such as when a Storyline slide ends. Sometimes this happens as quickly as 1/2 a second of silence, depending on the device.
When the next slide begins, the headset won't be triggered to "on" until it senses sound. With a human narrated audio file there is likely to be a tiny bit of "room tone" or other sound that will precede the voice kicking in, even by a fraction of a second. Most editors will always have a slight bit of dead air at the start of a narration file. This will trigger the headset to turn on and by the time the voice starts the first word, we'll hear it. But, with a generated voice the audio is perfectly clean, and thus the voice is the first sound the headset picks up. This leads to the first word being frequently clipped.
I'm testing this out at my company now. Most users are listening to e-trainings on Poly headsets and this problem is happening a lot. I'm experimenting with background sounds, like music, to keep the headset on. I don't really want music playing on everything so the next step is to experiment with some kind of sound that will trigger the headset but humans won't actually hear. Maybe that tone that only teenagers can hear or something?
Hi there! I just wanted to echo that this is still an issue with TTS function. I do appreciate the function, but the workarounds can be a bit time consuming!
I also wanted to let you know that your email signature came through in your reply! If you'd like to delete it, feel free to use the "Edit" button to remove that part of your reply.
44 Replies
Hi Becca
Thank you so much for getting back to me.
I have now uploaded my document to the secure link.
Thanks again!
Jade
Why it happens and how to solve it.
Dear Amos,
I found the same issue, and this is caused by the way all VOX "voice-operated exchanged" radio transmitters such as Bluetooth headphones and other radio devices work. Your text-to-speech application is not the issue.
Why you miss the first word or two of each new sentence:
To maximize battery life Bluetooth headsets and earbud devices only transmit signals between their paired devices when there is sound, which is not an issue when you're listening to music as it transmits during the whole song. When you have a text-to-speech app the pauses between sentences, marked by a period are long enough to stop the transmission briefly. The issue occurs when the reader app then starts the new sentence which reveals the inherent delay nature of V.O.X transmit triggers.
The Hack - A simple workaround:
Knowing this I have background white noise such as "meditation" tracks from my Itunes account playing on the device I"m using to listen to my reading on. Don't worry, If you don't want to hear it, just turn down the volume in your Itunes/music app to zero or one above that. This prevents an interruption of the Bluetooth signal to your headphones/earbuds solving your problem.
An added benefit of this solution is that it can help further isolate your reading from your surrounding.
This is clearly an issue that can be addressed in future Bluetooth versions, as this doesn't happen during phone calls. Until it is addressed permanently, this is your best solution.
Best,
Joshua S
That's very helpful Joshua! Thanks for sharing the explanation and the workaround! We will share this information to the users with support cases linked to this discussion as well.
Has there been a solution for this problem? I don't know what changed but the text to speech audio was fine in December. I started updating and now the first second is cut off . Adding a second of silence works, but I have hours and hours of training in articulate and lots of audio files - ugh!
Hello Margaret!
Sorry for the trouble! Are you using the latest update of Storyline 360? We are now on Storyline 360 (Build 3.63.27628.0). If you're still seeing this in the latest build, it would be helpful to share your .story file with our team. You can attach it to this discussion or upload it privately in a support case.
Hello. I am dealing with this very issue right now on a presentation I am making. Was there ever a fix identified?
The fix for me was to add a half second of silence to audio after it's recorded and adjust the closed captioning. I have the latest version.
Same issue at my end
Hi Jatinder,
Thanks for reaching out and I'm sorry to hear that you're experiencing this issue! I'm happy to help troubleshoot and I'd like to start with a few clarifying questions.
If the issue persists, I'd like to take a look at your file. You can upload it here or share it privately in a support case. We'll delete it from our systems once troubleshooting is complete.
Hello, While they still have not addressed this issues in the latest version of storyline I do have a suggestion that works for me, if you would like to try.
After creating your speak-to-text go into edit audio add 1 second of silence then on the Timeline slide align the audio file.
This started 5 years ago and im using this service and it is still having the same issues, this is highly unacceptable, how can a company not fix something like this in 5 WHOLE YEARS
This is a pretty old thread now, but I'm experiencing it in fall 2023. I believe the issue to be this:
Many bluetooth headsets/speakers will go into a type of power saving mode when there is no sound being transmitted, such as when a Storyline slide ends. Sometimes this happens as quickly as 1/2 a second of silence, depending on the device.
When the next slide begins, the headset won't be triggered to "on" until it senses sound. With a human narrated audio file there is likely to be a tiny bit of "room tone" or other sound that will precede the voice kicking in, even by a fraction of a second. Most editors will always have a slight bit of dead air at the start of a narration file. This will trigger the headset to turn on and by the time the voice starts the first word, we'll hear it. But, with a generated voice the audio is perfectly clean, and thus the voice is the first sound the headset picks up. This leads to the first word being frequently clipped.
I'm testing this out at my company now. Most users are listening to e-trainings on Poly headsets and this problem is happening a lot. I'm experimenting with background sounds, like music, to keep the headset on. I don't really want music playing on everything so the next step is to experiment with some kind of sound that will trigger the headset but humans won't actually hear. Maybe that tone that only teenagers can hear or something?
Hi there! I just wanted to echo that this is still an issue with TTS function. I do appreciate the function, but the workarounds can be a bit time consuming!
How about a very quiet background noise - I've already done that successfully
you could start all slides with 1 sec of such (almost inaudible) audiofile
You can also add a fraction of a second space at the beginning in the audio edit screen.
Great suggestion, Stacy!
I also wanted to let you know that your email signature came through in your reply! If you'd like to delete it, feel free to use the "Edit" button to remove that part of your reply.
Thanks - lol, you learn something new every day.
This fixed it for me...
Right click on the sound icon and go to 'Sound'
Go to the playback tab.
Choose the speakers that you are using and choose properties.
Click Advanced and UNCHECK 'Enable audio enhancements'
Hi Robert!
Thanks for sharing your workaround! I'm sure other members of the community will find the steps very helpful!
Have a great rest of your week!