General FAQ
Q. Is SpeechPlayer Free Edition really free?
Yes, it’s free and there is no usage time limit. However, we encourage you to look at our shareware edition of SpeechPlayer — which has more features.
Q. What are the voices supported by SpeechPlayer?
In general, SpeechPlayer works with any SAPI 5.1-compliant voices. These include stock voices in Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP, voices which come with the SAPI 5.1/5.3 SDK, and third-party voices from NeoSpeech, Cepstral, etc. Due to the stricter security requirements in Windows 7 and Windows Vista, some older voices will not work.
Q. Can SpeechPlayer read out aloud non-English texts, e.g. Chinese, German, French, Spanish, etc.?
Yes, so long as a corresponding SAPI 5.1-compliant voice for that language is installed.
Q. How do I get Microsoft Lili for Windows 7 or Windows Vista?
If you have the Chinese edition of Windows 7 or Windows Vista, you already have Microsoft Lili.
If you have Windows 7/Vista Ultimate or Enterprise, you can get Microsoft Lili via Windows Update; just select and install the Chinese (Simplified) Language Pack.
Q. Why can’t I use Microsoft Sam on Windows Vista?
This is due to the stricter security requirements in Windows Vista.
Q. Where do I purchase additional natural-sounding voices?
We do not sell natural-sounding voices on our site per se. However, you may download or purchase additional voices directly from third-party voice resellers or distributors through the links we give you on our site.
Note that some resellers only sell voices which only work with their own text-to-speech software. If in doubt, please contact the relevant reseller directly.
Q. I discovered a bug. How do I let you know about it?
You may submit a bug report from the link on our Support page.
Q. I have a feature suggestion. How do I let you know about it?
You may submit your features suggestion from the link on our Support page.
Q. Why do I have to separately download and install the MP3 encoder component? [Standard Edition only]
We cannot ship SpeechPlayer with a built-in encoder to export MP3 files due to patent considerations. Nevertheless, SpeechPlayer is able to use the third-party LAME encoder.
Troubleshooting FAQ
Q. Why is the displayed caption not in sync with the spoken audio?
For most cases, this should not happen. However, a few voices do present this issue. Try slowing down the speaking rate for that voice to see if it helps.
Q. When using Microsoft Lili to read English texts, the caption length seems shorter than normal. What’s wrong?
Microsoft Lili is a Chinese-speaking voice and therefore the caption length is optimized for displaying Chinese text.
Changing to an English-speaking voice (e.g. Microsoft Anna or Microsoft Sam) should restore the caption length to one which is optimal for displaying English text.
Q. Why is that after copying a very long piece of text, SpeechPlayer seems to “freeze” for a short while before starting to speak?
This indicates that SpeechPlayer is busy preparing the large piece of text for speaking. SpeechPlayer should function normally after the slight pause at the start.
Q. My PC slowed down after heavy usage of SpeechPlayer. What can I do?
Exit SpeechPlayer and launch SpeechPlayer again. If such slowdowns happen very often, consider upgrading the RAM (Random Access Memory) in your PC.
Q. SpeechPlayer aborted unexpectedly while reading aloud a piece of text. What has happened and what can I do?
Some poor quality voices may cause SpeechPlayer to shut down while reading a certain piece of text. In case this happens, restart SpeechPlayer and try out other voices or select another text block to be read aloud.
