Balabolka Portable logo

Balabolka Portable

By Ilya Morozov Free Editors' Rating

Editors' Review

Download.com Staff Aug 10, 2015

Balabolka Portable allows you to convert different text inputs into audio files from a portable drive such as a USB stick. The software is convenient and lightweight, and because it installs directly to a portable drive, it won't create updates within the system registry. This makes for an easy-to-use tool with which you can save, split, and edit audio on your computer.

Pros

Lightweight and easy to use: Designed to be portable, Balabolka Portable runs smoothly without interfering with your other tasks. The interface is clean and doesn't get in the way of the app's functionality, and you can open text files both directly or through the interface itself.

Save audio files from your conversions: Any of your conversions can be saved in a number of audio formats for later editing. You can also combine files, split them, add custom tags, move between files, or change the audio within the file with advanced search functions. These search functions make the app a lot of fun when reviewing a long document.

Cons

Limited voice options: The software only supports a single voice built into Windows. While this reduces the draw on system resources and speeds up load times, it limits how you will experience the app if you prefer a different voice.

Bottom Line

If you need to convert text to speech or would like a tool that will help streamline and speed up the editing process for long documents, Balabolka Portable can help. This nifty, little tool is easy to use and lightweight enough not to be a burden to your PC. Also, it allows you to do quite a bit of things with the audio, which is a nice touch.

Full Specifications

What's new in version 2.8.0.557

General

Release August 28, 2013
Date Added August 28, 2013
Version 2.8.0.557

Operating Systems

Operating Systems Windows 8, Windows Vista, Windows, Windows 7, Windows XP
Additional Requirements None

Popularity

Total Downloads 36,672
Downloads Last Week 2
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Developer's Description

Balabolka Portable is a Text-To-Speech (TTS) program. All computer voices installed on your system are available to Balabolka. The on-screen text can be saved as a WAV, MP3, OGG or WMA file. The program can read the clipboard content, view the text from DOC, RTF, PDF, ODT, FB2 and HTML files, customize font and background color, control reading from the system tray or by the global hotkeys. Balabolka Portable uses various versions of Microsoft Speech API (SAPI). It allows to alter a voice's parameters, including rate and pitch. The user can apply a special substitution list to improve the quality of the voice's articulation. This feature is useful when you want to change the spelling of words. The rules for the pronunciation correction use the syntax of VBScript.

The portable version of Balabolka can be run from a USB memory stick or other portable drive. In order to do this, you need to download the archive from this web-site and unzip it to the USB drive.

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