Ultra Hal Text-to-Speech Reader 1

• Quick specs
• Price: Free
• Operating system: Windows 95, Windows Me, Windows NT, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows 98
• Date added: November 04, 2004
• Total Downloads: 230,893
• Downloads last week: 1,114
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• Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 43 votes
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User reviews of Ultra Hal Text-to-Speech Reader 1

• Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 43 votes
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• 3 stars

  2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

  Version: Ultra Hal Text-to-Speech Reader 1

  "Simple tool for a simple procedure"

  by running4jesus on August 24, 2006

  Pros: Does what it says: reads text (anything .txt or anything copied to clipboard). No bugs on my computer, and ran quickly.

  Cons: It does need a pause button, as someone said. Also, I'm not sure when this would be very useful, as the blind couldn't manipulate the screen buttons and it isn't pleasant to listen to the robots when one can read the text much more quickly.

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• 3 stars

  11 out of 12 people found this review helpful

  Version: Ultra Hal Text-to-Speech Reader 1

  "Not bad for a freebie, some limitations"

  by hack5of7 on January 10, 2006

  Pros: First, it's free! I like the features better with this program compared to ReadPlease2003, which is the other free program I've used. I tried to convert text to a wav file and did so without problems. The voices available are pretty standard computer-sounding voices like any other freebie program; don't expect near-human quality voices in the free version. This program can run in the background in the system tray and can immediately read anything aloud that is put on the clipboard (whenever you highlight text and click CTRL-C it automatically reads it if enabled). Nice. It also can auto read any pop-up message boxes if enabled ("download complete," "Are you sure you want to exit," etc.). Nice again. It also can auto read instant messages (AOL, AIM, ICQ, and MSN), but unfortunately not Yahoo Messenger. Can read eBooks that are either highlighted only or are pasted into the text box of the program. You can disable the auto read of IM's, clipboard, and popup message boxes. If converting to wav files, it selects "Windows PCM" format, which I think a previous reviewer thought wasn't a wav file, but it ends up being a wav file, as advertised! PCM must be a codec or something. Overall I'm very pleased. Perhaps I'll eventually buy the decent voices instead of listening to the 20 or so optional crummy voices. Again, it's decent, but has limitations.

  Cons: Like previous reviewers from the last 2 years on here, it did crash the 1st day I used it, but I just restarted it and it worked fine from then on. I can live with that. It crashed when I tried to switch voices in mid-paragraph. If I had clicked stop and then changed voices it would have probably been ok.

  The commands are SLOW. If you want to pause or stop, you have to click 2 or 3 times before it happens (on my XP Pentium 4 3ghz machine).

  It costs $24.95 for the good voices. Curiously, the links at their website to hear the good voices do not work at the current time, so I was not able to hear the voices that are supposedly "almost indistinguishable from a real human speaker."

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• 3 stars

  3 out of 4 people found this review helpful

  Version: Ultra Hal Text-to-Speech Reader 1

  "It works."

  by Iceha on July 3, 2006

  Pros: It works. It actually works extremely well and will even pronounce words that might seem impossible for you.

  Cons: The voice quality is pretty bad to say the least. It is understandable; it just sounds too robotic.

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• 5 stars

  1 out of 2 people found this review helpful

  Version: Ultra Hal Text-to-Speech Reader 1

  "Works really great!"

  by formlessness on March 18, 2007

  Pros: dose everything it says.

  Speakonia is good to, but I think I prefer Ultra Hal Text-to-Speech Reader better so I am confused by the difference in ratings?

  Cons: NONE

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• 4 stars

  6 out of 6 people found this review helpful

  Version: Ultra Hal Text-to-Speech Reader 1

  "Installed Ok"

  by vardak on April 24, 2005

  Pros: I don't know what the other reviewer is saying but it (HAL) installed ok on my Pentium 4, XP pc. Readplease/Plus does not working on my machine. Gives an Active Pitch something error and won't work. That's why I tried to find another text to speech software. Now, Hal is reading to me...

  Cons: as i use the text to speech for text ebook reading, i wish it (Hal) has a pause and continue option like that in Readplease

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