TTS podfic opinions?

[kitsuneheart]

Curious about everyone's opinion on text-to-speech podfics. I've been skipping them, honestly. I think the software will get there someday, but I'm not satisfied with the quality, at present (mostly the lack of emotion). And I've got so many hundreds (...thousands) of hours of listening that I don't want to go into TTS.

I am trying to keep in mind that I don't want to be gatekeepy, though. I think, with a few more years, the software will get to a point where I'll be unable to tell the difference between a human narrator and TTS programs. And that could get pretty exciting! Imagine, that one fic you love, that you can't find the time to record, but you want so desperately. And, someday, the software is so good it can figure out emotional tone and use slightly different voice models to appropriately convey the scene!

Imagine being the engineer that has to program the voice model for raunchiness. :D

Anyways. Curiosity. What's everyone else doing when they see TTS podfics? Have you ever made any? Biggest qualms or, if you like them, favorite aspects?

Comments

[lazulus]

I avoid them. I downloaded one not realising and it was so awful I noped out immediately. But ymmv! I agree that in future the technology will improve and we may not be able to tell the difference, But I do think that one of the joys of podfic is listening to readers' interpretation of the text and I wonder how well TTS will ever manage that.

[oldestcharm]

Not a fan, if I'm honest. I really enjoy the human emotion. A good podfic is like an artistic film -- you can almost see the visuals. But with text-to-speech there's no soul. Then again, I'm very picky about every piece of content I consume, so I may not be the best person to give an opinion on the matter.

[samsarapine]

I have to admit, not at all a fan of TTS. Maybe it'll get better, but one thing I love about human performances is simply the fact that someone is creating at that gorgeous, viseral, personal level, their own body/voice as an instrument. Even when we get tech that can splice the sound of emotions into a file, to me it seems like the difference between analog and digital - I still prefer my vinyl records to my digital downloads.

Having said that, I can also see a place for TTS, because not all fics will ever be podded, and not all of us have the time and resources to sit and re-read our fav unpodded fics. A good TTS program may not capture an intimate audio of a story, but I think it can still offer a heck of a lot of enjoyment.

I appreciate people who share TTS files they've created, too. I don't often take them up on it because there's so much podded fic out there to listen to already, but long flights make for a lot of listening time. Better to listen to a stilted TTS pod of a good story than to listen to the baby crying in the seats behind me. ☺

[(Anonymous)]

The tl;dr? Only if I have to.

I've never downloaded a posted TTS, but I've used the TTS feature on my phone to read fic aloud. It's good in a pinch if I really want to finish a fic but I have to multitask, so I'll highlight a few paragraphs on my phone and hit the "Read" button, but like people above have said, there's nothing quite like the joy of a real person reading it aloud. One of my favourite things in podfic is the individual flare: the voices that imitate the characters, the music, the sound effects. TTS can't really replace that. But it does have its place with me personally when I need my eyes elsewhere, but don't have time to search up a real-person pod :)

[randomfatechidna]

Whoops! Forgot to log in -_-

[brewsternorth]

Not my scene, at least not for now: though I could envisage using TTS as a podficcing tool for, say, an epistolary fic where I *want* the computery bits to be read by a computer (IM discussions, email headers, etc.).

[jinkyo]

I downloaded and listen to 1 on purpose - it was a two-minute recording featuring a character I dig tremendously. I can't imagine I'd go out of my way to listen to anything longer?

I do use TTS for editing written fic. I have been tweaking and sweetening my phone's TTS for years though to get it to a place that is pleasing to my ear.

All that said, I *would* listen to a human crafted TTS podfic with a purpose. So, a pf that's *supposed* to be voiced by a non-human entity (computer/text/android/dolphins/alien whatever) and where a human has taken the time to tweak and sweeten the TTS voice, edited for pacing, etc. basically, human intervention on TTS to give the voice a personality.

[justaphage]

huh, that is a neat way to edit fic, sounds like it could be quite helpful! I'd like to try it sometime.

[chasethecat]

Seems like my opinion of TTS may be slightly more positive than most here...I've been creating/listening to TTS podfics for years, although I've never shared them; and also to be honest I mostly don't download the ones that are posted. I love to multi-task, and I love to re-read fics I've enjoyed, so TTS podfics of my favourite fics are good to listen to while I clean, or browse pinterest, or whatever. They definitely don't replace narrated podfics, though, which I agree are preferable; but I think the more you listen to TTS, the less you get thrown off by how robotic it is (or so I've found for myself, at least).

[meteordust]

I didn't actually realise this was a thing! I appreciate TTS as a useful tool, but it never would have occurred to me to call a story recorded with it a podfic. I guess I've always assumed a podfic is about a performance, not a reading.

(I am intrigued about the idea mentioned above of a human crafted TTS podfic voiced by a non-human entity.)

[sylvaine]

IMO that's not a podfic, heh, but I do listen to TTS fic a lot at work. I sometimes find it easier to follow than podfic, and usually the kind of fic I care about isn't recorded anyway. I can't imagine ever downloading one, though - my phone does a perfectly good job, why would I waste the data?