Amc Configure > Tts - Digital Alert Systems DASAMC User Manual

Digital Alert Systems
Setting Text-To-Speech Options
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AMC Configure > TTS
This menu is used to select the TTS voices used for text conversions, in addition to adding, deleting or modifying a particular
voice's lexicon. The AMS features the standard "Callie" voice Text-To-Speech (TTS) engine and any future voices available for
purchase and inclusion into the system.
The TTS engine uses a lexicon file for special instructions on how to "speak" a word or phrase in a particular way (Click the
Options button to view the Lexicon features). For example the word "wind" can be pronounced both as "wīnd" with a long "I"
sound meaning to coil or wrap something, or "w-eh-nd", as in a High Wind Warning. Also the text abbreviation "T-Storms" may
be used as an abbreviation for the word "Thunderstorms". Adjusting the lexicon can greatly improve the way a TTS system
understands and voices these types of words. Along with being able to control individual words, Pitch and Speed parameters
allow global adjustments to how the system speaks all text. There are a number of "test" buttons to sample any additions or
modifications thus allowing a user to very closely refine how the system will speak any text.
Revision 3.0
AMS Installation /Operation & Integration Guide
1. The standard TTS voice is "Callie" a female US
English voice standard on all AMC's. Additional
2. The fields for Voice, Language are preset, as
well as the licensing fields for the standard voice.
These are grayed out and non-editable
3. Clicking the Options button near the bottom will
expand the screen to reveal additional settings
for controlling the text-to-speech playback
1. The screen displays the lexicon table of uniquely
pronounced words or abbreviations. Each item
consists of two fields: Literal and Pronunciation
where Literal is the exact text of the word or
abbreviation being defined, and Pronunciation
is a list of "phonemes" which represent how to
pronounce (voice) the word. The value in the
upper right corner indicates the number of
entries in the table.
The word "T-Storm" is presented as a commonly
used example. When the AMS "sees" the
abbreviation it will speak it as "thunderstorm"
described by the phoneme list to the right.
2. The Voice section allows for both Pitch and
Speech Rate controls for fine-tuning the voice.
The default values are "0" for Pitch and "6" for
Speech Rate. Adjusting these sliders acts
globally affecting the entire speech playback.
3. The Test area lets users create a sample
sentence or words to test the settings of the
speech engine before committing to the
changes. Typing in the text field then clicking the
right-facing triangle at the end of the line will
create a sample audio file that will play on
properly configured browsers. (Note: It can take
several seconds to create the example audio
playback so be patient)
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