IVONA Reader for Windows

User Reviews

• AVOID CUSTOMER "SERVICE" AT ALL COSTS!

  silent_tofuFebruary 12, 2015

  Pros

  One of the more natural sounding TTS. Also check out ispeech.org.

  Cons

  -The samples from www.ivona.com DON'T NECESSARILY MATCH the voices and cadence from their distributor Harpo Software. -CUSTOMER SERVICE IS HORRIBLE. I've been going back and forth with them for 3 days and they STILL won't give me a refund.

  Summary

  I found Ivona.com and inputted a test phrase into the sampling area and LOVED it. It sounded really natural and non-robotic. After purchasing the software I re-inputted the test phrase and it didn't sound horrible, but it definitely sounded way more robotic. The voice was $45 so if I was going to spend that money, it should be PERFECT...or at least match what was advertised on the Ivona website. So I emailed Harpo and asked for a refund. They sent me to Ivona Customer Support. Ivona Customer Support says you need to talk to Harpo to get a refund, they're the distributor. After THREE DAYS of going back and forth with Harpo, I STILL don't have my money back. I've already moved on to other software that sounds just as good if not better and I don't have to deal with customer service reps that waste my time. I'm not feeling hopeful about getting my money back.

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• This is 10 times better than any other TTS!

  Brain_BusterSeptember 21, 2012

  Pros

  The voices (most of them) sound very natural. I would honestly prefer to have Brian's voice rather than my own. It reminds me of the hypnotist Paul McKenna. Very easy to pay attention to. Also, Amy, the obviously buxom British woman who does the voice is super. You can make her say anything, for example, "I love you, Ralph. You are so sexy. I don't know what it as about you. I wanna ___ you. All my friends think the same. You are wonderful, Ralph."

  Cons

  It somehow always mispronounces "live." "The live grenade doesn't want me to live." It will say, "The liv grenade doesn't want me to lieve." It's backwards. That's the only problem I've noticed.

  Summary

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• The best TTS available in my opinion :)

  Leon7111July 1, 2011

  Pros

  The best TTS voice and pronunciation software available, please correct me if I'm wrong. And it comes with a fully functional 30 day trial.

  Cons

  I like the Expressivo 1.5.1 version software better, the new Ivona reader seems more complicated and a little less friendly... But that might be because I learned how to use the program with Expressivo.

  Summary

  I didn't find this software at cnet, I found it through an exhaustive google search for the best TTS reader. I'm glad to see it here though. I tried out many other readers, most of them incredibly small... less than 5MB, and those programs were simply reconfiguring and using Microsoft's speech software. Ivona/Expressivo is completely original, it's reader is 30+MB and the voices are about 300MB each. The reader software and the voices software come separately. There are more than a dozen voices in several different languages. Use caution when downloading the voices, unless you don't mind a multi-GB download. I have Expressivo 1.5.1 reader running on my computer, I installed the newest Ivona reader when it came out but decided to reinstall the old reader. My biggest problem with the new Ivona reader is that they removed the 'test' button for pronunciation changes. When I purchased this software it cost me about $75, $30 for the reader and $45 for the Kimberly voice. If you choose to buy you can pick one voice, or packs of voices bundled. The description here says it costs $85, that's the price of the reader and maybe four voices? All in all, I love the software. It speaks very well, almost human, not just reading one word at a time like Microsoft. Well worth a try, and well worth the money if you like to read but keep your eyes free. I would wholeheartedly recommend this software.

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• Great solution

  ivonattsJuly 27, 2010

  Pros

  Functionality and quality of TTS voices are the best.

  Cons

  It should have ASR features

  Summary

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