Timing of text-to-speech is off when slide doesn't have seekbar

Aug 07, 2019

Hi,

I am using text-to-speech with my videos in Articulate Storyline. After capturing the videos using Articulate Replay, I run the video in Replay and then add the text-to-speech elements to my slide based on the timing in Replay. However, when I preview the video with text-to-speech, the timing of the text-to-speech elements is off by a second or two. The slide doesn't have a seekbar but I noticed that when I add a seekbar, the timing is aligned with what I can see in Replay. The slides are lightbox slides so I would like to avoid using seekbars. Has anyone experienced a similar behavior and/or can anyone explain to me why it happens and how it can be solved (if it is possible to solve it without a seekbar)?

It is driving me crazy that I can't count on the timing in Replay so any input would be highly appreciated :-)

Best regards,

Helle

9 Replies
Helle Lindsted

Hi again,

I realize now that it is probably not related to the seekbar as such but maybe something was changed with the new version of Storyline? In our Learning Management System, there is currently a module with a slide that contains a video and text-to-speech elements. This module is from October 2018. The timing of speech and video is perfect.

Now in Storyline, when I open the story file that the module in LMS is based on and preview the same slide, the timing is completely off and the video goes black before the speech is finished. I have not made any changes to the slide whatsoever. 

The module is about a tool that we use in our company. The user interface of the tool changed recently so that is why I am updating the videos. I thought it would be a quick task as I would have the old video running on one screen while recording on a second screen so that the videos would have the same timing and I could just replace the old one with the new one. However, with the timing of the speech being completely off, it takes forever :-(

I really hope that someone can shed some light on this.

Thanks,

Helle

Lauren Connelly

Hi Helle!

Sorry you're running into this snag, but you came to the right place for help!

Do you know what version of Storyline you're using? You can check by going to the "Help" Tab -> "About Articulate Storyline".

It sounds like it's worked for you in the past, so we just need to find out what is different about the two. 

If you are comfortable, it would be helpful to see your file. You can do that by using the "Add Attachment" in this discussion. If you prefer to share the file privately, you can do so by using this link and our Support Engineers will take a look! Either way, we'll delete the file after testing. 

Helle Lindsted

Hi Lauren,

Thanks for trying to help me out with this. We recently upgraded to v3.27.18822.0.

Attached is a file containing only one slide. In this case, the video and text-to-speech are not in sync. The player settings and everything are exactly as they were when this slide was originally created in October 2018 and back then everything was in sync.

I then opened a new project in Storyline 360 and imported the same slide. I didn't adjust any of the player settings. In this case, the video and text-to-speech are in sync. 

I really hope that you can help me solve this mystery :-)

Ashley Terwilliger-Pollard

Hi Helle,

Thanks for sharing the file here with us! I took a look at the file that was out of sync and didn't run into the same issue you mentioned. I recorded a quick Peek 360 so that you can see/hear my experience while previewing and I also published the course here to Review 360.

Can you take a look at both of those and let me know how it sounds/looks to you? 

The only difference between my setup and yours, is I'm on the latest update of Storyline 360, build 3.30.19518.0. If my versions behave as you'd like, I'd look at updating Storyline 360! 

Helle Lindsted

Hi Ashley,

Thanks for looking into this. However, I am afraid that you looked at the video that IS in sync. I can see that from the name of the file in the video and in the review. Could you please have a look at the video that is called Widget_video_test_not_in_sync.story?

In the meantime, I have asked our IT department to upgrade Storyline 360 to the latest build. 

Thanks,

Helle

Helle Lindsted

Hi,

Just a follow up in case anyone runs into the same problem in the future: I haven't found a solution yet and still find that the timing in Preview mode is off. We have external consultants help us with Articulate once in a while and I have asked one of them to look into it.

However, as a workaround I have Storyline 360 and Replay 360 open at the same time. I then match the timing of the text-to-speech components with what I see in the video in Replay 360. When I publish the course and view it in  Review 360, the timing is correct. It takes a little longer to publish the course as compared to just using Preview but it works for now :-)

Best regards,

Helle

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