Best Speech To Text Web Services - © TechNorms Have you ever found yourself in a place when you just can’t focus on your computer screen anymore? Maybe your eyes are strained by long hours of time in front of computer or your are just feeling lazy. Wouldn’t it be nice if someone read stuff to us, instead of  reading it ourself? You can just sit back, relax, close your eyes and listen to the stuff you needed to read.

Text to speech technology has made a lot of progress in the last few years. Previously we had software applications which needed to be installed on the computers for them to convert text to speech and weren’t much effective. But now we have some excellent text to speech services and most of them are free and of good quality.

The Best Online Text To Speech (TTS) Websites:

With the advent of Web 2.0 and higher bandwidth and better online application development, we have quite a few services that can convert Text into Speech on the fly. Here we look at a few cool online web services that let us convert text to speech quickly and easily. They are not arranged in any particular order.

1) SpokenText.Net

Spoken Text Logo With SpokenText the possibilities are endless. You can record text content and then easily listen to it using the playback system of your choice. For example you could record your notes and then listen to them while on the way to an exam. Or you could record a classic novel and listen to it on your iPod while you take a walk or ride a bike at the gym. You could also download the recording and burn it to a CD for listening to on your home stereo system as you sit comfortably on the couch.

SpokenText.net Features:

  • Supports English, French, Spanish or German languages.
  • You can record PDF, Word, plain text, PowerPoint files, RSS news feeds, emails and web pages and convert them to speech automatically.
  • You can share your recordings via: Podcasts or  your blog using SpokenText badges. You can even share the recording on your website using individual recording players
  • A simple, intuitive interface.
  • Trial account is free and has permanent one-week validity.

Visit SpokenText.Net

2) iSpeech.Org

image Simply cut and paste the text you wish to convert to speech into the text box and click convert text. Or, upload any supported document, website, blog, etc. and click convert file or the listen button.

All you have to do is sit back and listen. iSpeech does all of the work for you. If you upload a file and once your file is converted, it will auto-play. You can download it, podcast it or even embed it as an object on any webpage that supports html including: MySpace, Blogger, EBay, etc.

iSpeech Features:

For Personal Use:

  • Supported file types and websites include: Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Adobe Acrobat, Rich Text File, Blogs, RSS news feeds, hypertext markup language (DOC, DOCX, PPT, PPTX, XLS, XLSX, PDF, RTF, HTML).
  • Options for the converted file: download it, podcast it or even embed it as an object on any webpage that supports html including: MySpace, Blogger, eBay, etc.

For Bloggers:

  • Convert to Podcasts
  • Free Service for Bloggers
  • Instant TTS Blog Podcast
  • Quick and Simple Integration
  • Best Quality, Natural Sounding Voices
  • Increase your Distribution

Visit iSpeech.org

3) ImTranslator:

image ImTranslator might not be the best looking TTS Service you would come across, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t good. In fact it is one of the most versatile TTS websites in this list. It beats others sites in one feature.

It can translate text for you in any language and then read it out to you in the desired language. Other services support limited languages but Imtranslator covers more than 10 languages for Text To Speech Service.

ImTranslator Features:

  • Has an online translator that translates text in real time and then converts it into speech for reading out to you.
  • TTS Service presented by animated speaking characters will read the text in the most realistic, human-sounding way in a variety of languages: English U.S., Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian and European Spanish.
  • Has a Spell Checker which delivers full-featured high-quality spell-checking tool for accurate input of information in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Ukrainian languages.
  • Has a Virtual Keyboard which supports multilingual text input in Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Farsi, Finish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Ukrainian, and Urdu languages.
  • Free Registration required for using the service.

Visit ImTranslator

4) ReadTheWords.com

image ReadTheWords.com is a free, web based service that assists people with written material. They do this by using the Text To Speech Technology. Users of their service can generate a clear sounding audio file from almost any written material.

ReadTheWords Features:

  • Convert Text, word, PDF, HTML, web pages and RSS to speech.
  • 15 readers in various languages. Adjust the speed of the readers.
  • Use available Avatars or create one for your profile.
  • Individual library of Saved MP3s.
  • Created files can be downloaded, podcasted, embedded, or e-mailed.
  • Browser toolbar available.
  • Need to create an account for usage.

Visit ReadTheWord.com

5) Vozme:

image Vozme keeps things simple. On the homepage you would see a text box where you can paste the text to be converted to speech. You can either select Male or Female voice option and create the MP3 file.

The best part about Vozme is it doesn’t require any registration and you can start using it right away. The conversion is fast, but the voice is a more robotic than other services, and doesn’t sound very natural.

Vozme Features:

  • Extremely simple interface.
  • One male and one female voice option available.
  • Can read text in these Languages: English, Hindi, Español, Italiano, Português, Català.
  • Lets you easily add speech to your WordPress, Joomla or Blogger website.
  • Provides a Facebook Widget as well as a iGoogle Gadget.
  • Provides a speech synthesis bookmarklet to your browser – using which you can convert any webpage to speech.

Visit Vozme.

6) Odiogo:

image Odiogo’s approach towards Text To Speech is different than many other sites we have seen. Its  media-shifting technology expands your reach – It transforms news sites and blog posts into high fidelity, near human quality audio files ready to download and play anywhere, anytime, on any device.

It also lets Blog Publishers Monetize their Content by the way of embedded ads in Podcasts.

Odiogo Features:

  • It can create automatic podcast from your favorite blogs and websites.
  • “Near-human” quality text-to-speech
  • Detailed download statistics
  • Blog Publishers can monetize their content via Embedded Ads.

Visit Odiogo

7) Text2Speech.Org:

image Text2Speech.org is a complete free service. It converts a large amount of text quickly, but cannot listen to it online and need to download the MP3 file on your computer to listen to it. This service is free and you are allowed to use the speech files for any purpose, including commercial uses.

Text2Speech.org Features:

  • Completely Free of cost and No Registration required for use.
  • No Limit on Number of Characters to be converted.
  • Provides 4 choices in Male and Female Voices.
  • You can set the volume scale from 1 to 10. 1 being silent, 10 being loudest.

Visit Text2Speech.org

8] HearWho.com (Update: Not Recommended)

image HearWho.com is an online web application that will work with any Internet Browser.  There is no software to download. you simply type or paste your text into the text area, then click “Make MP3 File” and that’s it. Download Your MP3 file for listening.

HearWho Features:

  • Free scheme offers 500 characters per conversion.
  • Three Paid schemes are available offering limits of 6k, 20k and 60k characters.
  • Features of selecting quality, rate and male/female voice are available.
  • TTS Conversation is fast even if a lot of text is to be converted.

Visit HearWho[dot]com > The page has been flagged for malicious content and is deemed unsafe.

9) YakiToMe.com

image YAKiToMe! gives you free access to AT&T Natural Voices(R) TTS technology licensed from Wizzard Software Corp and Windows voices from the Microsoft Corp.

Its your Free text reader. You can listen to work documents, homework, PowerPoint presentations, emails, RSS feeds, blogs, books … while you relax, commute or exercise. Great for elearning, learning a new language, proofreading documents, multi-tasking and entertainment.

YakiToMe Features:

  • Speaks English, Spanish, French, German with male and female voices
  • Needs Registration for use.
  • Doesn’t work on Flash – Requires QuickTime to function.
  • Maintains a podcast library – so that you can listen to what others are converting. Only public podcasts are added to the library.

Visit YakiToMe.com

10) Paralink TTS Convertor:

This website might not look like much but it certainly has one of the most Natural Sounding Voice Conversions among all these services. The other great thing about this service is its simple user interface. Just paste the text and it quickly converts it into Speech and starts playing.

Paralink TTS Features:

  • English, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish languages offered.
  • Translator services available at hand.
  • Speed of speech can be varied.
  • 1000 character Limit

Visit Paralink TTS Converter.

Conclusion:

Text To Speech services can make life easier for us by converting large amounts of text into readable format. It is especially great for guys who like to listen to the news or information on their favorite topic instead of reading it.

Many of these services offer online TTS conversion and some let you download it on your computer or preferred Media Device. You can choose which service to go for according to your needs. I hope some of you find these services useful.