Remote-control audio question

[RogerS]

My question isn't about Rhythmbox-type applications, which have a 770 client that lets the desktop app store the songs and play them, but you control the app and listen to the songs on the 770.

Instead, what I'm interested in is a text-to-speech application on the desktop. I'd like to be able to have the app read the text on the desktop but listen to it on the 770.

Now the easy answer, it seems to me, is that an arrangement similar to what we're seeing with music could be set up. Someone writes a client app to control the desktop app ... and so on.

But I've been playing with the AaronL's VNCviewer and I can see my desktop there and control it via the 770. I can start the app remotely already. All I'm missing from this general controller is having the audio transferred as well as the visual.

I know that the display has to struggle to keep up with how the desktop display changes, and so I guess audio could have hitches too. But I assume that once things were started, I'd be listening and not changing anything onscreen so the full bandwidth could go to the audio.

Can people who know more about this advise about the practicality/impracticality of what I'm asking about? Thanks.

[eskin]

You could setup a free shoutcast server on your PC, with WinAMP as the source, and the live source plug-in... Search on Google for "Shoutcast Server"

[msaunby]

This should be totally practical, and wouldn't need much bandwidth, since you're only wanting speech.

I'm using slimserver to send music to my 770 and running VNC to the same server and it works fine. VNC can be a bit slow - my "top tip" is to run with a small screen size.

What are you using for TTS ? It may be that you can use helix producer to convert to a real audio stream and then listen using the 770 video player. To be honest a proof of concept would be so easy to lash up it's hardly worth it. What would you want to see (hear) in an ideal solution?

A quick google found this - http://radscan.com/nas.html

BTW. I've already had a quick experiment with TTS on the 770. The Zaurus binary of flite will run, though you have to save the output to a file and then play that as /dev/dsp isn't available on the 770. It shouldn't be too hard to make it work properly. Then you'd have the option of sending the text only, and having the 770 narrate.

[RogerS]

Yes, it's true that (a) I could make mp3's of any books and listen to the on the 770, and (b) that flite will (soon? sometime or other?) enable the 770 to read the text directly.

But the voices aren't being ported, and that makes a difference.

Also, I don't have a Linux machine, so I don't have flite off the 770 and am disinclined to make the mp3's there -- which btw ought to be pretty big for what I'm thinking of.

Plus there are some e-books I'd like to hear that are in formats -- PDF, MS Reader -- that TTS programs can't read aloud but whose specialized readers can.

At any rate, I'll look into the other programs suggested.