If I want to record voice files for my repeater, what can I use. I see in some places it says you can use WAV, or GSM. It lists one more format, but can't remember which one. WAV files are the easiest for me to create. CAn I use them?
Matt Roberts n9gmr@me.com
You can use a free program called "Audacity" to record the file to a .wav on your windows machine. Upload it using sftp or some transfer program to your controller, use a program called 'sox' to convert it to a .gsm file: (sox inputfile.wav -r 8000 -v .5 outputfile.gsm (-r is resample at 8000 Hz, -v is volume of 1/2... -v 1 would be no change, -v 2 would be double....)
or...purchase a license for a voice from cepstral (text to speech program, chose William 8kHz) load it on the controller, build a simple text file with what you want to say, run it through the cepstral text to speech program, run the produced .wav file to .gsm with sox, and move it into the /var/lib/asterisk/sounds/rpt directory.
Lots of ways of skinning the cat; I use the latter to convert my download weather forecast and alerts to voice to playback with DTMF commands, and the former to convert mp3s that professional announcer friends of mine send me for my tail messages and 10-minute voice ids. (It's good to have friends/former colleagues who have Don LaFontaine style voices...
"In a world where amateurs wonder about which machine they're on...YOU'RE transmitting on xxxxxx..." OK, hokey.
Do a google for Asterisk audio file creation and there's a wealth of information out there....start here:
for a good start, imho. 's where I began. And ended up with a complete studio set-up in my basement shack...
--
73,
Bryan WB0YLE
www.wb0yle.com
Morrisville PA
Sent from my iPad
On Nov 14, 2011, at 10:25 PM, Matt Roberts <n9gmr@me.com> wrote:
If I want to record voice files for my repeater, what can I use. I see in some places it says you can use WAV, or GSM. It lists one more format, but can't remember which one. WAV files are the easiest for me to create. CAn I use them?
Matt Roberts n9gmr@me.com
_______________________________________________
App_rpt-users mailing list
App_rpt-users@ohnosec.org
ohnosec.org
You can also install the MP3 player from the Asterisk web site. I use it to play weather report podcasts directly from the weather bureau here. However, to record your own MP3 files so that they play back reliably, you need some real MP3 software (I use Adobe Soundbooth).
Cepstral’s web site will let you make short announcements as a demo. You can use software (like virtual audio cable) to capture the sound to a file.
Ken
-----Original Message-----
From: Bryan D. Boyle bdboyle@bdboyle.com
To: Matt Roberts n9gmr@me.com
Cc: app_rpt-users app_rpt-users@ohnosec.org
Sent: Tue, Nov 15, 2011 8:27 am
Subject: Re: [App_rpt-users] File Formats
`
You can use a free program called "Audacity" to record the file to a .wav on your windows machine. Upload it using sftp or some transfer program to your controller, use a program called 'sox' to convert it to a .gsm file: (sox inputfile.wav -r 8000 -v .5 outputfile.gsm (-r is resample at 8000 Hz, -v is volume of 1/2... -v 1 would be no change, -v 2 would be double....)
or...purchase a license for a voice from cepstral (text to speech program, chose William 8kHz) load it on the controller, build a simple text file with what you want to say, run it through the cepstral text to speech program, run the produced .wav file to .gsm with sox, and move it into the /var/lib/asterisk/sounds/rpt directory.
Lots of ways of skinning the cat; I use the latter to convert my download weather forecast and alerts to voice to playback with DTMF commands, and the former to convert mp3s that professional announcer friends of mine send me for my tail messages and 10-minute voice ids. (It's good to have friends/former colleagues who have Don LaFontaine style voices...:) "In a world where amateurs wonder about which machine they're on...YOU'RE transmitting on xxxxxx..." OK, hokey. Do a google for Asterisk audio file creation and there's a wealth of information out there....start here:
[http://www.voip-info.org/wiki/view/Asterisk+sound+files](http://www.voip-info.org/wiki/view/Asterisk+sound+files)
for a good start, imho. 's where I began. And ended up with a complete studio set-up in my basement shack...
--
73,
Bryan WB0YLE
[www.wb0yle.com](http://www.wb0yle.com/)
Morrisville PA
Sent from my iPad
On Nov 14, 2011, at 10:25 PM, Matt Roberts <n9gmr@me.com > wrote:
> If I want to record voice files for my repeater, what can I use. I see in some places it says you can use WAV, or GSM. It lists one more format, but can't remember which one. WAV files are the easiest for me to create. CAn I use them?
> > > Matt Roberts n9gmr@me.com
> > _______________________________________________
> App_rpt-users mailing list
> App_rpt-users@ohnosec.org
> [http://ohnosec.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/app_rpt-users](http://ohnosec.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/app_rpt-users)
_______________________________________________
App_rpt-users mailing list
App_rpt-users@ohnosec.org
[http://ohnosec.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/app_rpt-users](http://ohnosec.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/app_rpt-users)
`
Yeah…just points out there are lots of options…
(full disclosure: have a full recording studio in my basement ( http://www.wb0yle.com/photos/studio.jpg ) that can go from everything from reel to reel and cart thru a full audio console to digital and back…as well as live announce/record capabilities (and the audition side is linked through a URI to my hub so I can act as NCS…). I have to remind myself that most don’t have the same capabilities…
the LAME (mp3 encoder) works well for audacity, and is free (which is good…). Free is always good.
Important thing is to play around with it, and determine the best way for you.
–
Bryan
Sent from my iPad
On Nov 15, 2011, at 9:49 AM, Ken ke2n@cs.com wrote:
You can also install the MP3 player from the Asterisk web site. I use it to play weather report podcasts directly from the weather bureau here. However, to record your own MP3 files so that they play back reliably, you need some real MP3 software (I use Adobe Soundbooth).
Cepstral’s web site will let you make short announcements as a demo. You can use software (like virtual audio cable) to capture the sound to a file.
Ken
-----Original Message-----
From: Bryan D. Boyle bdboyle@bdboyle.com
To: Matt Roberts n9gmr@me.com
Cc: app_rpt-users app_rpt-users@ohnosec.org
Sent: Tue, Nov 15, 2011 8:27 am
Subject: Re: [App_rpt-users] File Formats
` You can use a free program called "Audacity" to record the file to a .wav on your windows machine. Upload it using sftp or some transfer program to your controller, use a program called 'sox' to convert it to a .gsm file: (sox inputfile.wav -r 8000 -v .5 outputfile.gsm (-r is resample at 8000 Hz, -v is volume of 1/2... -v 1 would be no change, -v 2 would be double....) or...purchase a license for a voice from cepstral (text to speech program, chose William 8kHz) load it on the controller, build a simple text file with what you want to say, run it through the cepstral text to speech program, run the produced .wav file to .gsm with sox, and move it into the /var/lib/asterisk/sounds/rpt directory. Lots of ways of skinning the cat; I use the latter to convert my download weather forecast and alerts to voice to playback with DTMF commands, and the former to convert mp3s that professional announcer friends of mine send me for my tail messages and 10-minute voice ids. (It's good to have friends/former colleagues who have Don LaFontaine style voices...:) "In a world where amateurs wonder about which machine they're on...YOU'RE transmitting on xxxxxx..." OK, hokey. Do a google for Asterisk audio file creation and there's a wealth of information out there....start here: [http://www.voip-info.org/wiki/view/Asterisk+sound+files](http://www.voip-info.org/wiki/view/Asterisk+sound+files) for a good start, imho. 's where I began. And ended up with a complete studio set-up in my basement shack... -- 73, Bryan WB0YLE [www.wb0yle.com](http://www.wb0yle.com/) Morrisville PA Sent from my iPad On Nov 14, 2011, at 10:25 PM, Matt Roberts <n9gmr@me.com > > wrote: > If I want to record voice files for my repeater, what can I use. I see in some places it says you can use WAV, or GSM. It lists one more format, but can't remember which one. WAV files are the easiest for me to create. CAn I use them? > > > Matt Roberts n9gmr@me.com > > _______________________________________________ > App_rpt-users mailing list > App_rpt-users@ohnosec.org > [http://ohnosec.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/app_rpt-users](http://ohnosec.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/app_rpt-users) _______________________________________________ App_rpt-users mailing list App_rpt-users@ohnosec.org [http://ohnosec.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/app_rpt-users](http://ohnosec.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/app_rpt-users) `
Audacity and Cepstral will output directly to ULAW which asterisk uses.
Doing that eliminates the possibility of transcoding errors when using sox.
Using Audacity to produce some imaginative ID tracks will help your system stand out.
Examples : BELLS&WHISTLES TRANSPORT
By all means buy a copy of Cepstral.
For cold voice ID’s, use it to generate those cuts and you maintain a “consistency of sound” image.
But even better, It’s great for generating a voice track on the fly.
One example is on my repeater I have a script that runs several times a day.
It gathers solar/propagation data, compiles a report, and reads it on the air if the channel is idle.
Robert A. Poff
Loganville, PA.
WB3AWJ
Allstar 27784
“Lieutenant, target the offending power boat and launch photon torpedoes”
Speaking of custom prompts, why in tarnation can’t I make the stock “disconnected” female voice go away? Is this played by the remote system that has just disconnected from my node?
I even went so far as to make a backup copy on my home computer, erasing from the Allstar node, and it still managed to play. Strange magic!
Thanks.
Bote
My preference is to hear a real Human voice over the sometimes curious pronunciation of the text-to-speech systems out there, unless it is necessitated by a real-time translation from such sources as a weather alert or news ticker.
I would think you could make your system sound distinctive by NOT using it, instead recording your own voice with your own “effects”. I have recorded a number of prompts for Lu’s systems and he seems happy with them. You can record as many takes as necessary to get it just right, then commit the prompt to the ages for all visitors to enjoy.
I agree that mu law is the best compromise of the choices of codecs offered by Asterisk. Just remember to end the resulting filename with .ul so that Asterisk knows. I wish we didn’t have to strip off the extension of speech files when feeding them to Asterisk, it complicates my scripts unnecessarily.
Bote
Audacity and Cepstral will output directly to ULAW which asterisk uses.
Doing that eliminates the possibility of transcoding errors when using sox.
Using Audacity to produce some imaginative ID tracks will help your system stand out.
Examples : BELLS&WHISTLES TRANSPORT
By all means buy a copy of Cepstral.
For cold voice ID’s, use it to generate those cuts and you maintain a “consistency of sound” image.
But even better, It’s great for generating a voice track on the fly.
One example is on my repeater I have a script that runs several times a day.
It gathers solar/propagation data, compiles a report, and reads it on the air if the channel is idle.
Robert A. Poff
Loganville, PA.
WB3AWJ
Allstar 27784***
“Lieutenant, target the offending power boat and launch photon torpedoes”***
From: app_rpt-users-bounces@ohnosec.org [mailto:app_rpt-users-bounces@ohnosec.org] On Behalf Of Robert A. Poff WB3AWJ
Sent: Tuesday, 15 November, 2011 11:25
I agree ‘free is good’ but I have had very mixed results with the version of LAME that I downloaded last year for Audacity.
I think it was well known for producing garbage from time to time (not my term: the Asterisk MP3 player calls it garbage, in the error message).
73
Ken
-----Original Message-----
From: Bryan D. Boyle bdboyle@bdboyle.com
To: Ken ke2n@cs.com
Cc: n9gmr n9gmr@me.com; app_rpt-users app_rpt-users@ohnosec.org
Sent: Tue, Nov 15, 2011 10:16 am
Subject: Re: [App_rpt-users] File Formats
the LAME (mp3 encoder) works well for audacity, and is free (which is good…). Free is always good.
Important thing is to play around with it, and determine the best way for you.
``
