Stupid question about text to speech, but...

[starkiller]

I have an older model Tom-Tom that doesn't have this feature. Am looking at ones that have the lifetime maps and traffic and it seems they all have it. My question is, will the text to speech have the same voice when announcing names of streets as it does with just general directions? Seems like it can't with the bazillions of different names of streets out there.

Thanks!

 

[canderson]

I have an older model Tom-Tom that doesn't have this feature. Am looking at ones that have the lifetime maps and traffic and it seems they all have it. My question is, will the text to speech have the same voice when announcing names of streets as it does with just general directions? Seems like it can't with the bazillions of different names of streets out there.

Thanks!

Yes.. a computer voice sounds the same regardless of what it is pronouncing - directions or names. How well it does with pronouncing some names is always a question, though. Around here, the street called Alameda always comes up as "UH LAM' UH DUH".

 

[starkiller]

Ahh, so the voice i currently have on my old Tom-Tom with the british accent is a computer one? Geez, sounds awfully good to me

Alameda eh? Know that street well as I lived in Denver for 35 years

 

[canderson]

Ahh, so the voice i currently have on my old Tom-Tom with the british accent is a computer one? Geez, sounds awfully good to me

Not necessarily, no. Depends upon the model. If your device pronounces street names, names on exit signs, etc., then yes, it is a computer voice. But there are bare bones directional voices (50 yards, turn right, etc) with British accents as well. The John Cleese voice comes to mind

Alameda eh? Know that street well as I lived in Denver for 35 years

Yes - that and many others around here. If you recall a town up to the NW of town called Lyons, you'd be astounded to hear that it gets pronounced "EL' YAWN". No idea why. Once in a while, it just goofs big time.

 

[starkiller]

El Yawn eh? I wonder how they would do with our state of washington northwest american indian words like Skyhomish or Sammanmish or even Skookumchuck

So, do all of the current tom-toms come with text to speech? sounds like I would prefer one without it but want the lifetime maps and or lifetime traffic stuff...

 

[canderson]

El Yawn eh? I wonder how they would do with our state of washington northwest american indian words like Skyhomish or Sammanmish or even Skookumchuck

So, do all of the current tom-toms come with text to speech? sounds like I would prefer one without it but want the lifetime maps and or lifetime traffic stuff...

The vast majority of the models sold in the U.S. come with TTS for street names, yes. Then again, you don't have to use them - a unit that will use a computer voice will also be happy to use a recorded voice, and there's a whole host of them out there.

About the only thing remotely current (and a couple are pretty remote - 2 yrs old) that don't do TTS would be the ONE 125 and 130 "non-S" versions, the 140 "non-S" version, and the 325 and 330 "non-S" versions.

 

[starkiller]

"The vast majority of the models sold in the U.S. come with TTS for street names, yes. Then again, you don't have to use them - a unit that will use a computer voice will also be happy to use a recorded voice, and there's a whole host of them out there."

Hmm, that I don't understand. How can a recorded voice do street names, there has to be a bazillion different street names in the U.S.

I must be missing something..

 

[canderson]

Hmm, that I don't understand. How can a recorded voice do street names, there has to be a bazillion different street names in the U.S.

They can't. That's the point. TomTom units come in two flavors:

1. Those that support computer voices. Those voices are capable of providing not only directional information, but pronouncing street and place names as well when a computer voice has been selected. These same TomTom units will also use the recorded voices if you choose to load one and select that instead of a computer voice, but all you'll get is the directional information.

2. Those that support only recorded voices. Directional information only. No spoken street or place names.

So if you bought a current TomTom that supports TTS, you could, if you chose to do so, just use one of the old recorded voices and just get the old directional information to which you have become accustomed.

 

[starkiller]

Ahh, ok...so ones with TTS I have a choice of recorded or computer voices but with recorded I dont get street names....

Cool, I like my british accented voice

Thanks!

 

[canderson]

You could always use Simon, the British accented male computer voice, too. Or Kate, his sweetheart.

 

[starkiller]

I guess I could but I probably couldn;t figure out what they were saying with a bunch of those Northwest Indian names

I have been holding out buying one of those Lifetime traffic and map ones because of the speech issue and more importantly the loss of my favorites and stuff. I quite frankly am not smart enough to do all those things I have read about on the forum to download from the old one and blah blah blah...

So trying to decide if its really worth it or not.

 

[canderson]

Saving your favorites isn't difficult. Mostly a matter of copying a file from one unit to the other, and making a single change to one of the entries from Home.

What's your non-computer Brit voice's name, anyway? It's probably something you can download easily as well.

 

[starkiller]

Will let you know the next time I am in the car