IVONA Voices For Linux Mint

[WeirdButNormalPerson]

I Got TTS Software On My Computer But It Does Not Have Any Voices And I Need To Find VIVONA Voices But It's Only For Windows, And There Is No Apsolute Way I'm Using Windows Again! May You Help Me Find IVONA Voices For My Computer?

 

[f33dm3bits]

Contact IVONA Voices support and ask them for Linux support, the answer will probably be that they only support Windows and that you will have to find an alternative. I'm not sure how you are wanting to use and if it would be a viable option but you could also run Windows in a vm on top of Linux.

 

[MikeWalsh]

I run a coupla TTS apps in Puppy. They're all Windows apps, running under WINE.......TTS Reader, Balabolka, and what was at one time the "industry standard", TextAloud!

You have to install a few Windows items into WINE, then you need to install voices as part of the "back-end" stuff before installing the apps themselves. The good news is that once everything's in place, these do work very well.......even though these are the older-type, less 'natural-sounding' voices than what we have available today.

I found a free source for some of the AT&T "NaturalVoices" from a few years ago. Do be aware that these are NOT small packages, and the average "voice" can run out anywhere between 600-800 MB, each.

Although you can find equivalents for pretty much anything on our side of the fence, text-to-speech is one of the very few areas where Linux is NOT well represented, and Linux TTS software is nearly non-existent. A few open-source 'engines' exist, though they need to be 'trained', and to make a usable package you still need to add a lot of items yourself.

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@f33dm3bits is right, I'm afraid; Windows has this particular facet sewn-up, and all devs who cover this area do so exclusively for Windows. But most Windows TTS software runs well under WINE.....with one exception; don't bother with Dragon NaturallySpeaking, because they've made good and sure that their paid-for software will ONLY work properly under Windows itself. And an annual subscription costs an arm & a leg.

(Unlike some Linux purists, I have no issues with using WINE. I will run whatever mixture of software it takes to achieve the end result I'm after. There's no shame in using Windows software; no denying that for some things, you simply can't beat it. For other stuff, Linux will run rings round it. At the end of the day, it's a simple case of using whatever works for YOU.)


Mike.

 

[WeirdButNormalPerson]

I run a coupla TTS apps in Puppy. They're all Windows apps, running under WINE.......TTS Reader, Balabolka, and what was at one time the "industry standard", TextAloud!

You have to install a few Windows items into WINE, then you need to install voices as part of the "back-end" stuff before installing the apps themselves. The good news is that once everything's in place, these do work very well.......even though these are the older-type, less 'natural-sounding' voices than what we have available today.

I found a free source for some of the AT&T "NaturalVoices" from a few years ago. Do be aware that these are NOT small packages, and the average "voice" can run out anywhere between 600-800 MB, each.

Although you can find equivalents for pretty much anything on our side of the fence, text-to-speech is one of the very few areas where Linux is NOT well represented, and Linux TTS software is nearly non-existent. A few open-source 'engines' exist, though they need to be 'trained', and to make a usable package you still need to add a lot of items yourself.

------------------------------------

@f33dm3bits is right, I'm afraid; Windows has this particular facet sewn-up, and all devs who cover this area do so exclusively for Windows. But most Windows TTS software runs well under WINE.....with one exception; don't bother with Dragon NaturallySpeaking, because they've made good and sure that their paid-for software will ONLY work properly under Windows itself. And an annual subscription costs an arm & a leg.

(Unlike some Linux purists, I have no issues with using WINE. I will run whatever mixture of software it takes to achieve the end result I'm after. There's no shame in using Windows software; no denying that for some things, you simply can't beat it. For other stuff, Linux will run rings round it. At the end of the day, it's a simple case of using whatever works for YOU.)


Mike.

Sounds Like Running It Through Wine Is The Only Thing I Could Do. I Did Not Want To Use Wine Cause It Might Not Work But I Was Wrong!

 

[kibasnowpaw]

I understand that you want to use IVONA voices on your Linux system. Unfortunately, IVONA voices are designed for Windows and are not directly compatible with Linux. However, you can try a couple of workarounds to use TTS software with high-quality voices on your Linux system.

1. Wine: Wine is a compatibility layer that allows you to run Windows applications on Linux. You can try installing Wine on your Linux system and then install IVONA voices along with the required TTS software. However, this method may not guarantee a smooth experience, as not all Windows applications run seamlessly with Wine.

To install Wine, you can use the following commands:

For Ubuntu-based distributions:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install wine

For Fedora-based distributions:

sudo dnf install wine

For Arch-based distributions:

sudo pacman -S wine

1. Alternative TTS software with high-quality voices: Instead of using IVONA voices, you can consider using alternative TTS software that provides high-quality voices and is compatible with Linux. Here are a few options:

• eSpeak: eSpeak is a compact, open-source TTS software that supports multiple languages. While it may not have the same natural-sounding voices as IVONA, it's a good option for basic TTS functionality. To install eSpeak, use the following command:

For Ubuntu-based distributions:

sudo apt install espeak

For Fedora-based distributions:

sudo dnf install espeak

For Arch-based distributions:

sudo pacman -S espeak

• Festival: Festival is another open-source TTS software available for Linux. It supports a range of voices and languages. You can install Festival using the following command:

For Ubuntu-based distributions:

sudo apt install festival

For Fedora-based distributions:

sudo dnf install festival

For Arch-based distributions:

sudo pacman -S festival

• Mozilla TTS: Mozilla TTS is an open-source project that aims to provide high-quality TTS voices using deep learning. While it may require more configuration than the other options, it can offer more natural-sounding voices. You can find more information and installation instructions on their GitHub page: https://github.com/mozilla/TTS

These alternatives should help you get TTS functionality on your Linux system without using Windows.