Text to speech - How to fix the first word being cut off

Hello.  I am dealing with this very issue right now on a presentation I am making.  Was there ever a fix identified?

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!

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. 

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

Hi Becca

Thank you so much for getting back to me. 

I have now uploaded my document to the secure link.

Thanks again! 

Jade 

Hello Jade & Chanda,

I'm sorry you are both experiencing this issue! Chanda, I spotted a support case you were working in with my teammate Ronaziel, but it's pretty outdated, so I'd like to start fresh. 

I've gone ahead and created a new support case for you both, so if possible, could I have you share your project with the private upload link I emailed sent to your inboxes? Even a sample or partial file would be helpful!

Hi Amos, I am having this problem and it's 4 years on from your original post. 

Has there been any further update to this? 

Thanks! 

Hi Stacy. I normally use the wireless Plantronic headphones (which seems to cause the lag) but I have tried with some wired Sennheiser headphones and it works fine. Hope this helps?

I too have found that the first few syllables (sometimes multiple words) cannot be heard and based on Paul's response about headsets. I tested it and indeed, when i didn't use my headset it was fine. I think there may be something with the lag that a headset is used. I am not a tech guru, but is there a difference between the plantronics headset receiver I use and if someone were to use wired/wireless headphones or earbuds?

Not being able to use a headset could prove problematic during this new era of literally exclusive telecommuting and having to rely on the use of a headset receiver while working. 

Hi Ren and Paul,

In our case, the issue was not related to earphones. It occured to all users regardless of what audio devices they used (the computer's speakers or headsets).