Windows speech recognition software is shit.

[lightningandsnow]

I'm a slow typist and I tire easily, so I'm trying to get it to dictate what I say.

It SUCKs. It's not working at all. Ugh.

On edit: I said "I hate this fucking software. Microsoft can go fuck itself for making such an unequivocally shitty piece of software."

I got: "I am often hold the ball Microsoft and Intel fell from the hole for making her on in the food and few decent recognition software"

:rofl:

[crispini]

1. Yeah. Here are some tips

Have you made sure to train it according to the instructions? Untrained speech reco really is for shit. Also, you might want to check your microphone. Are you using a good quality headset? Make a recording of your voice if you can, and see if you hear any problems with your input levels, etc.

Finally, the way that a lot of people use it is just freeform dictate, and don't worry about the spelling errors and problems, and then just go back and edit it by hand. There's no really good way to edit using speech reco.

[lightningandsnow]

2. I think the problem might be that I'm using my laptop's built in mic.

I basically have to yell at it, and it still comes out wrong half the time.

Perhaps I should invest in a good headset mic?

[Xipe Totec]

5. No wonder!

Get one of these:



http://www.andreaelectronics.com/buy/productdesc/superbeam_mic_bundle.htm

Check your built-in audio driver. If it's Analog Devices/SoundMax, you don't even need the USB adapter, just the microphone will do; The software drivers are already on your computer.

:hi:

[crispini]

12. Ding ding ding.

Laptop mics are stinky poo. Get a headset. :D

[Xipe Totec]

3. That's a pretty broad statement

what specific software, and what's your platform?

Especially important, what microphone are you using?

I've done a little speech recognition research; maybe I can help.

[lightningandsnow]

7. The default that comes with Windows Vista.

I think the issue might be that I'm using my laptop's built in microphone?

[Xipe Totec]

8. Check your master volume controler

Double click on the little speaker icon on the bottom right hand corner.

When it opens up, look on the bottom right of the controler and tell me what it says.

Either Realtek AC97 Audio, or Analog Devices/Soundmax, or Some other vendor.

[lightningandsnow]

9. Conexant High Definition Smart Audio 221.

I have an HP Pavilion laptop, if that helps. :shrug:

I think I definitely need an external mic.

[Xipe Totec]

10. You may be in luck; Conexant bought Soundmax from ADI

The best microphones for speech recognition are Andrea Audio.

The cheapest is the Andrea Superbeam.

http://www.andreaelectronics.com/buy/productdesc/superbeam_mic_bundle.htm

They have a special arrangement with Analog Devices (ADI), but ADI just sold their Audio line to Conexant.

I would go to the Andrea website and see if their Superbeam microphone supports Conexant High Definition Smart Audio 221. Chances are they do.

Even if they don't, you can still use the USB adapter to connect the Superbeam microphone.

This dual microphone provides directional beam focus and noise cancellation, which means it can pick up the voice of the person directly in front of the mike and ignore all other ambient noise, even in a noisy work environment.

I used it for my research project and got up to 95% accuracy using Dragon Naturally Speaking (90% using my own speech recognition software).

[lightningandsnow]

11. Thank you!

I'll definitely look into that. It should definitely come in handy at university next year when I'm writing massive papers and such.

So, Dragon Naturally Speaking is good? :D

On edit: Also, how would I set up a mic like that on a smallish laptop?

[Xipe Totec]

14. The Soundbeam mike hooks up like a USB device

No muss, no fuss.

Dragon is the best for commercial speech recognition at the moment. You can get it for about $100.

There may be student discounts too.

I was impressed and deflated at the same time, that such a cheap Software product could beat our research project so easily.

[crispini]

13. Are you a speech scientist? We're hiring.

:D

[Xipe Totec]

16. Not quite

Speech recognition is my passion, but that field is not available to me through state schools locally.

So, I'm doing my research on biologically inspired distributed software.

I do have some friends who work in the field; some are Dragon Alumni, if you're really looking...

:hi:

[crispini]

17. Check your PM.

Speech Scientists are hard to come by. I only know three. :)

[rcrush]

4. I thought all voice recognition software sucked.

At least I havent found anything that works.

[Xipe Totec]

6. Sure, blame the software

Cheap crappy hardware (pickup microphones, mostly) is the problem most of the time.

[Jamastiene]

15. That sounds about like Microsoft shit voice recognition software.

I wanted to use it to try to change the pitches of the voices that read stuff back to me. It sucked. It sucked then. It sucks now. It sucks for every single use I can think of.