Add support for Azure TTS

[willwade]

Support Azure TTS

Original Issue

Possible TTS Engines to integrate:

• Acapela
• Speak Unique
• Google TTS
• Modal Talker

Need to investigate Acapela - even if possible for FLOSS apps

[willwade]

We would need:

• to use the iOS SDK for this (http://www.acapela-group.com/acapela-for-ios/my-acapela/documentation/)
• To allow in-app purchases. Each voice is a minimum of 11.99

Note the workflow is usually to pick a voice, purchase it with in-app purchase and store it locally

[willwade]

Some of this gives us some more features - like adding in the ability to change pitch and intonation mid-phrase (check out https://www.acapela-group.com/voices/voice-tuning/)

[willwade]

This maybe useful: https://github.com/CoughDrop/extra-tts (NB: Would need to also add in in-app purchasing of voice)

[willwade]

Cepstral:" A Personal Use license is $31.41 - this allows you to use one voice on one device. " - https://www.cepstral.com/en/personal/linux

Acapela: https://www.acapela-group.com/solutions/acapela-tts-for-linux-embedded/ - Ace would have to negotiate a price. But all possible

[willwade]

Just an update to this..

azure cloud and Google cloud voices support and more languages.

For example we desperately need AAC that supports Persian/Fashto (Which Azure supports) or Urdu (Azure/Google)

I wonder if she would rehash an idea for these online only voices to support offline only use - wouldn't work for spelling but fixed phrases #188

[gavinhenderson]

@willwade Can we narrow this down to something more specific?

If you could pick one TTS system to add integration for what would it be?

[willwade]

Haha.

I'd plump for Azure. Its got more voices / languages , we already run a Azure instance. But yes.. its offline. Other than that I guess I'd plump for Acapella

[gavinhenderson]

@willwade Got you, im not saying never, but just for the sake of the issue I think its good to have an outcome of a single TTS system. Ill switch this issue to specifically be azure