[Podboy]

Hello All,

I have a friend looking into a PBG4 15". Two requirements: internet and voice recognition software. It looks like the best option out there is IBM ViaVoice, which I have never used, nor heard much about. I need to know about any good/bad experiences with the product, so I can score another few users for the Mac pool (family computer).

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers,
Podboy

 

[HJS]

Another option for voice recognition is iListen ; seems to be more development lately than with ViaVoice, which is now handled by ScanSoft-they also offer Simply Dictation , a sort of ViaVoice lite. I've been waiting for iListen or ViaVoice to finally come out with a current French version-have people asking me quite often.

Earlier ViaVoice had a French version, but it's OS9 only...

 

[Mississauga]

Up until ViaVoice was taken over by ScanSoft, IBM did a pretty decent job of supporting the application. Common current reports indicate support is almost non-existent. Latest info on iListen sounds a little more promising.

 

[(( p g ))]

ViaVoice is fine...just poorly supported. The user interface leaves a lot to be desired, but it does deliver as far as performance is concerned.

 

[HJS]

iListen works with the built-in mic in my PB; also the transcription feature is great-you can record into a mini-recorder, plug it in and have iListen transcribe the audio files... I can type but have played with both apps. Both take a bit of training/setup; iListen seems to respond a bit faster, has more commands for controlling computer functions, etc. However, ScanSoft also develops Dragon Naturally Speaking (PC only) which is probably the best voice recognition app out there...Mac version was vapour-ware for the longest time, but perhaps they will be improving ViaVoice...

 

[CubaMark]

Perhaps the most comprehensive online discussion of iListen, ViaVoice, and whatever other options exist out there was / is / continues to be done by Charles Moore over at Applelinks in his "Mac OS X Odyssey" column. (Just don't get Charles involved in a political discussion - he's the east coast MacNutt)


M

 

[Newbie PHM]

Dreaming in Technicolor?

This maybe a technicolor dream, but ...

Does anyone out there have any experience with voice recognition software (on OSX or Windows) that would "listen" to a digital audio voice file (e.g., DSS) and transcribe it into text?

I have a burgeoning file of interviews to transcribe and lo! people talk faster than I can type, so computer assistance would be helpful.



I don't expect perfection: I can correct faster than typing out a one-hour interview that takes three hours to transcribe with the repetitions necessary. For various reasons, hiring a transcribing typist is not an option.

 

[keebler27]

This maybe a technicolor dream, but ...

Does anyone out there have any experience with voice recognition software (on OSX or Windows) that would "listen" to a digital audio voice file (e.g., DSS) and transcribe it into text?

I have a burgeoning file of interviews to transcribe and lo! people talk faster than I can type, so computer assistance would be helpful.



I don't expect perfection: I can correct faster than typing out a one-hour interview that takes three hours to transcribe with the repetitions necessary. For various reasons, hiring a transcribing typist is not an option.

it's too bad dragon naturally wasn't more mac supported b/c it's a great app.

that said, i know someone who used to transcribe - she said she would slow the playback of the audio so it was slower to play and easier to type/anticipate words. not sure if that will help, but thought i would toss it out there for you.

Cheers,
Keebler

 

[hayesk]

it's too bad dragon naturally wasn't more mac supported b/c it's a great app.

MacSpeech is using Dragon's engine in their new product. Check out MacSpeech.com

 

[Newbie PHM]

ii know someone who used to transcribe - she said she would slow the playback of the audio so it was slower to play and easier to type/anticipate words. not sure if that will help, but thought i would toss it out there for you.

Thanks, Keebler ... but even slowing the playback, I find I'm doing a lot of back-pedalling to get it right. Maybe my mind doesn't predict the words other people use or something.

Some kind of computer-assistance sure would be appreciated.

Does anyone have any experience with MacSpeech? Allegedly it's "powered by Dragon" ... but would it transcribe?

 

[Newbie PHM]

Sounds like Technicolor ...

If Dragon is the ne plus ultra of speech recognition software, this seems to answer my question (in the negative):

Dragon will understand a single trained speaker very well and give very good accuracy ... It will NOT however "transcribe" a meeting, interview or an untrained voice. Its not transcription software. Its "dictation" software. You just cant load any recording into it and expect it to transcribe the recording. Its not designed for that and that type of processing capability is years, if not decades away.

Sigh.

XX)

 

[hayesk]

Yeah, I don't think there is any software that works well enough to handle transcription from multiple speakers.

 

[cap10subtext]

I just wanted to clarify something here:

iListen, MacSpeech, Nuance's Dragon Naturally Speaking are now all the same product. iListen has turned into MacSpeech which is being built on Nuances Dragon NaturallySpeaking's Engine.

IBM ViaVoice is a Unix platform which is marketed by Nuance but hasn't been upgraded beyond 10.2 compatibility and so it sounds like it's officially going the way of the dodo now that MacSpeech Dictate is officially run off of the NS9 SDK.

MacSpeech is currently vaporware, preorders only at the moment.

I was doing some research on this this weekend.

 

[zlinger]

I have iListen 1.8 and it seems to work not too bad (above 90% accuracy). I wonder if this new version MacSpeech will be an improvement? I want to see it at 99% accuracy.

 

[chas_m]

Does anyone have any experience with MacSpeech? Allegedly it's "powered by Dragon" ... but would it transcribe?

MacSpeech has, over the years, done a "pretty good" job with voice recognition software for the Mac.

VERY recently, they licensed the Dragon engine and brought to the Mac, resulting in an entirely new product ... MacSpeech Dictate.

This new product allegedly requires no training, and can be used for dictation purposes, or so the company says.

Go to macspeech.com, read up on Dictate, and see if it might be right for you. For the best accuracy the product comes with a headphone mic, so trying it out before you buy might be difficult, but you'll find out what you need to know at the website.

 

[PierreB]

Hopefully as good as the Windows version

MacSpeech has, over the years, done a "pretty good" job with voice recognition software for the Mac.

VERY recently, they licensed the Dragon engine and brought to the Mac, resulting in an entirely new product ... MacSpeech Dictate.

This new product allegedly requires no training, and can be used for dictation purposes, or so the company says.

Go to macspeech.com, read up on Dictate, and see if it might be right for you. For the best accuracy the product comes with a headphone mic, so trying it out before you buy might be difficult, but you'll find out what you need to know at the website.

I have been using the Windoze version for the past year. If the software works as well on a Mac platform, should expect 97%-98% accuracy.

 

[Newbie PHM]

DSS recognition

MacSpeech is supposed to transcribe from DSS files ... does anyone have experience using them with the application?

If so, did you have to record a training file before using it?

Thanks for any input ...

 

[BocaCiega]

I have both

I have both IListen for Mac's and Dragon Mobile for Windows XP.

I've been using them for years. I started with iListen in O.S. 9 or maybe 8.6? In any case, it's works fine and requires little editing.

I use Dragon Mobile, (comes with a handy recorder) for the medical vocabulary additional software packs. I also use their Legal pack.

Today, if I were to purchase a New Application it would be from Dragon. iListen will be phased out and Dragon seems to have the edge.

If you don't need cutting edge software you can purchase iListen at a discount, it works well enough and has served me well for many years.

One needs to use high quality headsets to reduce mistakes and editing, if your not serious about this application and willing to spend the cash, don't waste your time with it. It takes many hours of adjustment to your voice and vocabulary. You also need a quite room, no background music, no other voices, no loud computer fans or squeaky chairs. ;-)

 

[chas_m]

You also need a quite room, no background music, no other voices, no loud computer fans or squeaky chairs. ;-)

So how do PC users make it work at all?

 

[heebie]

Based on your vast experience, chas_m, do you think that they'll bring out other language packs? I might use this for my exam practice .