Voice Control Available for Windows Media Center
Loquendo and Mediavoice, developer and designer of the 'Speaky' interface, today released Speaky Media Center 2009, a solution that enables users to interact easily and naturally with Windows-based Media Center by voice.
The solution incorporates Loquendo TTS and Loquendo ASR. Because Loquendo ASR is speaker independent, the voices of all members of the family, young and old alike, are recognized rapidly and accurately.
Speaky is a smart-software interface integrated with a specialised remote control unit, adding a microphone and a 'Speaky key' to the standard Windows Media Center remote control layout. The unit uses a push-to-talk approach, just like a walkie-talkie: the user simply presses the 'Speaky key' on the remote control to activate voice control, and is then free to navigate through the media center menu, selecting whichever media and files they wish to access.
With simple and natural speech commands, such as Play film, Change to Channel 1, or Please record Desperate Housewives, users can give commands to access all multimedia contents on their PC, either via Windows Media Center applications (music, video, DVD, radio, TV, TV recorder, photos) or via optional additional services provided by Mediavoice and its partners, such as weather, horoscopes, the creation of presentations, games, robotics, email and audio books.
Speaky can be installed on any Windows Vista Premium or Ultimate edition PC. It updates automatically when new releases are made available. It is currently available in Italian, and it will soon be localized in several European languages; it can be purchased online from www.mediavoice.it.
"With this innovative solution, Speaky consolidates Loquendo's presence in the exciting mass consumer market," says Alessandro Martino, Loquendo's vice president of sales for Italy. "By using your voice, Speaky lets you access all your music, films, photos, etc., and gives you full voice-control over your TV viewing. Customers have been impressed by how easy it is to find content in just a few seconds, which would be virtually impossible with a traditional remote control."
"We are entering a new era for the digital interface: the speech-enabled personal assistant," says Fabrizio Giacomelli, Mediavoice's CEO. "With this new solution, speech technologies, following their widespread diffusion in the telephony sector, are becoming real mass market technologies for the multimedia (PC) sector as well. These new speech-intelligent solutions will help us to overcome the digital divide, making the digital world accessible for all. We are proud to have been working with Loquendo to develop this innovative new solution."