Best Voice-Recognition Software??

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Bushido54

Guest
Sorry if this maybe has been covered before ... I'm a one-fingered typist who is thinking about getting and using voice-recognition software. Would appreciate any recommendations, especiially any preferences between the Dragon Software product and IBM's ViaVoice.

Many thanks!!
 
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Nick Lascelles

Guest
I've used both ViaVoice and Dragon Naturally Speaking. There is no contest as far as I am concerned, Dragon is way ahead. Training with ViaVoice was lengthy and still produced poor accuracy. With Dragon, I wrote a lengthy report after half an hour of training it with my voice. It isnt quite as fast as my touch typing but not far off. It does make mistakes, but the correction facility sorts it out quickly.

To use it successfully, you need a computer with plenty of RAM, good mike, and some patience to begin with. I swop between voice recognition and typing dependant on the status of the repetitive strain injury in my hands!

As a one fingered typist, you might find typing software a cheaper solution to your situation though.
 
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zelchamaa

Registered
I agree with Nick...Dragon Naturally Speaking is far better and Nuance has made significant improvements to the software over the years. It's now much more accurate. A good mic is essential such as Plantronics wireless headsets and Andrea Electronics.

Also recommended are PowerMic from Dictaphone and SpeechMike from Philips.

Watch the Dragon Naturally Speaking demo to see the new level of accuracy.
 
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kewms

Registered
Has anyone used the MacSpeech Dictate software? It apparently uses the Dragon/Nuance engine under license for the Mac platform. I've used Dragon under Windows, but would just as soon use a Mac application if performance is good.

Thanks,

Katherine
 
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snowm

Registered
Macspeech is atrocious

I have used Dragon 9 with success, via Boot Camp and Parallels on a Mac, after miserable failure with Macspeech's previous product.

When the new Macspeech Dictate came out, I bought it immediately.

For me, it was absolutely TERRIBLE. I am tempted to write a few thousand words about all the things wrong with it. Suffice it to say that I found it completely useless and a total waste of money.

Their tech support, on the two occasions I called for help, was friendly and absolutely useless. Rather than go down the road of frustration, I merely thanked them, hung up, and uninstalled the software.

I would keep using Dragon.
 
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kewms

Registered
Thanks! That's exactly what I needed to know.

Dragon has given me mixed results under Parallels, but it sounds like tweaking the virtual machine settings is a better bet than switching programs.

Katherine
 
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carrson

Registered
Wave To Text - powerful English speech recognition software

A useful English speech recognition software 'Wave To Text v5.2'. Help you convert your voice to text in real-time, while the program's wizard enables you to convert your Windows Audio WAV files (speech recorded) offline.

http://www.111download.com/product/wave-to-text-v.html
 
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Vinny

Registered
What about me,for record audio I use Macvide Audio Recorder.It’s prog can records many different formats of sound.Try.
 
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bishblaize

Registered
Audio recog is fine, but ultimately you should improve your typing too. The keyboard is and will be the primary input method for a good many years yet I should think. Voice work may be ok when you're inputting a single text only document, but when it comes to editing, clipping, searching the internet, moving from input box to input box, spreadsheets, presentations and so on, you'll probably save hours of your life by spending a few more hours now.
 
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RuthMcT

Registered
The thread inspired me to purchase a copy of Dragon Naturally Speaking, and I've been trying it out tonight. I do a lot of dictation for our audiotypists at work, so am used to talking into a microphone.

I am amazed at how accurate the software is with minimal training. Even without doing much work on the medical technical vocabulary I need it is as good as our (not very competent) typists! I am going to start using it for turning my handwritten scrawled minutes of meetings into something coherent without having to rewrite it for a copy typist.

The only problem I've got, if anyone can advise, is that although I can get it to do italics, bold and underline correctly, everytime I try to do the commands for centering text, it just types out the words, and refuses to move the text!

PS I'm using Word 2002 SP3 and Windows XP

Ruth
 
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08Productive

Registered
I've been thinking of purchasing Dragon Naturally Speaking too so I'm really interested in your experience, Ruth. Your first impression sounds really good but how's your review after a few more weeks? I'm especially interested in how fast/efficient the software is. In other words, how much work can one get done for a standard text and formatting in an hour? Are there a lot of hang-ups?

As for your problem with centering, have you tried consulting Nuance's online support? Here's the link:
http://www.nuance.com/product-support/default.asp?lang=us&prod=dn
 
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RuthMcT

Registered
I've cracked the centering. I needed to tell the software I specifically wanted to use it with Word documents.

I'm finding it very useful and the accuracy is very good. The manual isn't very easy to find things in, so I haven't got the hang of some of the formatting I need yet. I haven't done a long session of uninterrupted dictation yet as I'm using it for a university assignment and researching the information as I go, so I can't give you any useful timings at the moment (I could do something for you next week.). I've also found out how to open and save documents by voice alone, which is a nice extra.

My husband who is multiply disabled has now bought himself a copy. He's completely deaf, but his speech isn't too bad, so I'll be interested to see how easy he finds it. He's also a complete non-techie, so if he can make it work then anyone can!

Ruth
 
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