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Funny, I've been using even primitive text-to-speech on PDFs for years and while nothing compares to an excellent human reader, I find TTS often better than a m
by malloryerik 2y ago
Funny, I've been using even primitive text-to-speech on PDFs for years and while nothing compares to an excellent human reader, I find TTS often better than a mediocre human reading. This is mainly because I don't get upset at (and then have to forgive) a machine when it says the "Loovree" instead of the Louvre or in an economic history book pronounces "Keens" for John Maynard Keynes (sound like "Kaynes"). Also the dead neutrality of a machine's reading can jar me less than a numbskull and/or phony human rendition. I must say though that excellent voice actors are to me heaven.
- stufffer 2y agoWhat extensions/apps would you recommend? I have tried to set up something similar with text-to-speech browsers extension but I loose my place if I have to close and reopen.
- malloryerik 2y agoOn Mac with a pdf I just select say a chapter and let it read. Footnotes can be a problem. I usually use iOS now and I wrote PDF before but realize I use .epub files mostly. You can set up iOS to read entire pages. I use the local iOS Books app and have it so a two-finger swipe from the top of a page starts reading. It will usually turn pages by itself but can be a bit janky. I choose a good quality voice and have spent ten or twenty minutes rigging it up in Settings. It's all far from perfect.