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- Quick specs
- Price: Free
- Operating system: Windows 2003, Windows Vista, Windows 95, Windows Me, Windows NT, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows 98
- Date added: February 18, 2009
- Total Downloads: 274,191
- Downloads last week: 1,174
- See full specifications
- CNET editors' rating: stars
- Average user rating: stars out of 43 votes
See all user reviews
CNET editors' review
Reviewed by: CNET staff on June 17, 2009
For many people, having their typed words read aloud is a necessity. If you fall into this category, Ultra Hal Text-to-Speech Reader offers a simple program to help users select text and have it read aloud.
This free program has a very plain interface that may not impress users with its looks, but will gain fans with its simplicity. A large, open white screen with pull-down menus along the top for File, Option, Format, Saving, and Printing options dominates the view. Along the right side are three sliders to control speed, pitch and volume, a time counter, and a link to download more realistic voices. Operating Ultra Hal is very simple. Users type in the word, phrase, or paragraph they want read aloud (there is no space limit). The box mimics a word processor and should be intuitively manipulated. From there, users click on the Read All button and hear their words come to life. There is also an option to highlight certain text and just read a selection. Running the sliders will help dial in the perfect speed and pitch to make the voice sound more human and realistic if they so choose.
No matter what you are reading, Ultra Hal is a simple, effective way to make written text come to life. We highly recommend this download for anyone in need of such a product.
Publisher's description
From Zabaware :The Ultra Hal Text-to-Speech Reader application will read your documents out loud in one of its many high-quality voices. This can be a great tool for proofreading because hearing your text out loud helps you spot all mistakes. This program also can be used for reading e-books, reading Clipboard content, and speaking instant messages. Also, it is able to save its output as a WAV file, which can be converted into a MP3 file.
Version 1.0.5 includes better support of AT&T Natural Voices.
What's new in this version:
Version 1.0.5 includes better support of AT&T Natural Voices.
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User reviews
- Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 43 votes
- My rating: 0 stars Write review
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Showing 5 of 7 user reviewsSee all 7 user reviews
This software version | All versions -
Version: Ultra Hal Text-to-Speech Reader 1.0.5
"Good T to S reader with many pluses but not loud enough"
Pros: Ultra Hal Text to Speech Reader is a good program overall. It opens on start up, minimizes to the system tray and is easy to use.
Cons: This program is not loud enough and can't be adjusted to be any louder. It does not save your audio settings from the last time used and you can't set your favorite voices as a default so that it will remember which voice to use.
Summary: Ultra Hal Text to Speech Reader is a good program and does many things right, however, it fails at one of the most critical functions and that is to use the voice settings you prefer at start up and to speak loud enough for you to hear it well. It'... read more >>
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Version: Ultra Hal Text-to-Speech Reader 1.0.5
"Clean, no-frills design but buggy"
Pros: The interface is simple and clean. It's easy to operate.
Cons: Can't convert text to .ogg, .m4a, or .mp3 format directly.
Run-time error '5'
Invalid procedure call or argument
When saving to .WAV file, the above error came up on Win XP Pro, SP3, 32-bit. The conversion crashed. I'm uninstalling this software.Summary: Please work out the bugs.
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Version: Ultra Hal Text-to-Speech Reader 1.0.5
"Has bugs, partially incompatibloe with 64-bit Vista"
Pros: Reads well using its own basic voices.
Cons: Basic voices are of a very low quality. Does not recognize preinstalled 16-bit SAPI5 voices in 64-bit Vista.
Summary: This and other developers must test their programs in all of today's operating systems and warn potential users of compatibility problems, to avoid unnecessary waste of time and frustration.
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1 out of 1 people found this review helpful
Version: Ultra Hal Text-to-Speech Reader 1.0.5
Pros: there is nothing good about it
Cons: There is no sound at all.
Summary: I've a Vista SP2 and there was no functionality to this software. I uninstalled it
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Version: Ultra Hal Text-to-Speech Reader 1.0.5
Pros: As for free programs, this can do lot more than other free programs can do. It can read all dialogs, windows, etc.
Cons: The program is too buggy. I am not sure why CNET gave it such a good score. The volume is too low. There's no way to make it louder even though the program give you volume control. Also the program seems too buggy.
Summary: Another reviewer says you can not un-install it. I find that you can un-install it if you don't like it. At least that's what I found on Vista.
I will not recommend this program until the publisher fix the volume problem and make the pro... read more >> - See all 7 user reviews Write review
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