DNS v VV (Oh no - not again)
Submitted by crivon1 on Thu, 04/24/2008 - 17:40.
Having purchased a Core 2 Duo laptop with a T7300 1.99 GHz 800 Mhz FSB, 2 GB Ram and 160 Gb disk, XP Professional, I decided to have a race between DNS 9.5 Preferred and ViaVoice 10.5 Pro USB to see how they rated for speed of operation.
I'm sorry to say that DNS (without Vocola) lost out quite considerably. I found that it was no quicker than with my previous AMD Semperon 1.8, 1 Gb Ram, and it still took a long time for the words to appear on screen.
Au contraire, ViaVoice, in which I had upgraded the recognition sensitivity to exact match, raced across the screen at a speed and accuracy that I had never seen with any of my previous computers. Words appear almost instantaneously, and macros operate equally quickly. However it is very unforgiving for stumbling and hesitating dictation.
I know that DNS and ViaVoice operate on totally different bases, but the difference is quite startling.
Quentin
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I wonder how much L2 cache
I wonder how much L2 cache the processor has onboard?
Reality Check
Not to put too fine a point on it but I'm sure you expected those results. From an overhead and feature point of you, comparing ViaVoice to DNS is equivalent to comparing Microsoft Word to WordPad. When it comes to speed, WordPad is going to be the hands down winner over Microsoft Word because there is a lot less overhead. Of course there are also a lot less features. Your comparison makes about as much sense as us comparing L & H Voice Xpress to ViaVoice. We found Voice Xpress to be notably faster than ViaVoice but that doesn't mean it's worth using.
Lunis
crivon1 wrote: Having
Having purchased a Core 2 Duo laptop with a T7300 1.99 GHz 800 Mhz FSB, 2 GB Ram and 160 Gb disk, XP Professional, I decided to have a race between DNS 9.5 Preferred and ViaVoice 10.5 Pro USB to see how they rated for speed of operation.
I'm sorry to say that DNS (without Vocola) lost out quite considerably. I found that it was no quicker than with my previous AMD Semperon 1.8, 1 Gb Ram, and it still took a long time for the words to appear on screen.
Au contraire, ViaVoice, in which I had upgraded the recognition sensitivity to exact match, raced across the screen at a speed and accuracy that I had never seen with any of my previous computers. Words appear almost instantaneously, and macros operate equally quickly. However it is very unforgiving for stumbling and hesitating dictation.
I know that DNS and ViaVoice operate on totally different bases, but the difference is quite startling.
Quentin
Quentin,
Au contraire to you. Your new Core2™ Duo laptop is at the low end of the Core2™ Duo spectrum. It only has 2 MB of L2 cache, as does any Core2™ Duo under 2 GHz. I'm not surprised that ViaVoice 10.5 runs exceedingly fast and accurate on that system because ViaVoice hasn't been updated and was originally designed to run on much slower systems with a high degree of accuracy.
On the other hand, my new laptop is running the Core2™ Duo T9300 mobile Centrino, 2.5 GHz, 800 MHz FSB (Front Side Bus) with 4 GB of RAM running at the same speed as the FSB (Front Side Bus), and 6 MB of L2 cache. On this system, DNS 9.5 displays text as soon as I complete an utterance with the speed vs. accuracy slider set all the way to the right.
I'm not questioning your results, but I'm not surprised based on the system configuration that you have.
Chuck Runquist
Former Dragon NaturallySpeaking SDK & Senior Technical Solutions PM for DNS
"It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so." -- Mark Twain
KnowBrainer wrote: Not to
Not to put too fine a point on it but I'm sure you expected those results.
No I did not. I certainly expected VV to run faster, and equally I expected DNS 9.5 to do the same, compared to my old computer.
From an overhead and feature point of you,
was this a Freudian slip, a slip of the tongue, dictating with some gum in your mouth or lack of proof reading
comparing ViaVoice to DNS is equivalent to comparing Microsoft Word to WordPad. When it comes to speed, WordPad is going to be the hands down winner over Microsoft Word because there is a lot less overhead. Of course there are also a lot less features.
DNS seems to be happy, as is ViaVoice, to use Word Pad as the basis of its own word-processing program! ViaVoice has almost as many features as DNS Pro, takes less space in Ram and has, in my view, easier facilities for creating macros. There is, in my experience, virtually no difference in accuracy.
Au contraire to you. Your new Core2™ Duo laptop is at the low end of the Core2™ Duo spectrum. It only has 2 MB of L2 cache, as does any Core2™ Duo under 2 GHz. I'm not surprised that ViaVoice 10.5 runs exceedingly fast and accurate on that system because ViaVoice hasn't been updated and was originally designed to run on much slower systems with a high degree of accuracy.
On the other hand, my new laptop is running the Core2™ Duo T9300 mobile Centrino, 2.5 GHz, 800 MHz FSB (Front Side Bus) with 4 GB of RAM running at the same speed as the FSB (Front Side Bus), and 6 MB of L2 cache. On this system, DNS 9.5 displays text as soon as I complete an utterance with the speed vs. accuracy slider set all the way to the right.
I would venture to suggest that most laptop users of DNS would probably be using not more than a 1.6 GHz Core 2 Duo, 566 MHz FSB and probably 1 Gb Ram with WIN XP, and would expect good speed results. The specifications are quite sufficient to fall well within what DNS is stated to require . Therefore I would venture to suggest that the Core2 Duo T7300 mobile Centrino 1.99 GHz 800 Mhz FSB is hardly at the lower end of laptop CPU specifications. And coupled with 2 Gb Ram should be more than sufficient to provide the necessary speed.
What you have is a fairly expensive laptop with the type of specifications you quote. If DNS requires these types of specifications to run at the sort of speeds that you achieve, it should specify this.
Quentin
crivon1 wrote: KnowBrainer
From an overhead and feature point of you,
was this a Freudian slip, a slip of the tongue, dictating with some gum in your mouth or lack of proof reading :)
I would not usually defend the great fabricator. However, this is an indication he is using speech recognition software to respond on forums although he claims in another forum to have a severe case of laryngitis.
--
Martin Markoe, eMicrophones, Inc.
Thanks for the UniVoice Plug
I don't believe that your “fabricator” comment (another
term for liar) is called for on this or any forum since that is character
assassination which is strictly forbidden here.
I already explained to you on another forum
that I have very severe laryngitis and can barely speak above a whisper but
fortunately I also have UniVoice
which was originally designed for use with speech impediments before being revamped
for the general public. I had not intended this to turn into a commercial for
UniVoice but your personal attack just turned into a UniVoice plug. Thanks Marty!
Lunis Orcutt - Developer of KnowBrainer &
Host
of the Http://www.KnowBrainer.com Speech Recognition Forum
crivon1 wrote: What you
What you have is a fairly expensive laptop with the type of specifications you quote. If DNS requires these types of specifications to run at the sort of speeds that you achieve, it should specify this.
Quentin
Actually, would you believe $1099. I don't consider that to be excessively expensive. And, your system is still at the bottom of the heap even if it is in the middle of the bottom of the heap.
I also have a Gateway laptop that runs at 2 GHz with 4 MB of L2 cache and 2 GB of RAM that I still get very good performance out of with DNS 9.5 running under Windows Vista Ultimate.
Chuck Runquist
Former Dragon NaturallySpeaking SDK & Senior Technical Solutions PM for DNS
"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored." -- Aldous Huxley
Quentin,First of all, I'd
Quentin,
First of all, I'd like to add an additional comment to this thread. I may play devils advocate on this issue, but it's only because both sides of the fence need to be expressed (straddled) in perspective.
Second, that being said, you will not find me putting down ViaVoice 10.5 like some others, who shall remain un-anointed (no, that was not a slip of the tongue). I spent over 5 years demonstrating speech recognition for user groups all over the world (some 850+ demonstrations). The most frequent question that I was asked was "Which SR software is the best?" My response was always "All and none." I would then casually follow that up by saying that what I meant was that the speech recognition software that works the best for you is the best SR software you can use.
I bring this up only to point out that it doesn't make any sense to me to try to make an argument out of which speech recognition application is the best. That's a moot argument for which there is no definitive conclusion, truth, or fact that absolutely and unequivocally supports any particular position.
If ViaVoice works for you, that's all that counts. And, even though I will continue to play devils advocate, I support your use of ViaVoice as long as you're posts are made in the proper perspective. I have ViaVoice 10.5 installed on one of my systems for testing purposes. I prefer DNS. That's a personal preference. I'm simply more comfortable with using DNS that I am using ViaVoice. I simply never felt comfortable using ViaVoice, although I do understand it. But again, and in conclusion, that's my personal preference and that's all that counts for me. Which ever SR product anyone wants to use is just fine, all protestations to the contrary. I think everyone needs to keep that in perspective.
Even though I may disagree with you on a point from time to time, you will always have my support as far as using ViaVoice 10.5 is concerned. Just my $.02 worth on this entire topic/thread.
Chuck Runquist
Former Dragon NaturallySpeaking SDK & Senior Technical Solutions PM for DNS
"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored." -- Aldous Huxley
PS, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Chuck Runquist wrote:
Even though I may disagree with you on a point from time to time, you will always have my support as far as using ViaVoice 10.5 is concerned.
Chuck,
I hereby anoint you with my thanks for the vote of support.
I agree that whatever works for one is best.
Actually, would you believe $1099.
It must be wonderful in the US to be able to buy laptops so cheaply (that is very cheap by UK and Irish standards). For the specifications that you have, in the UK or Ireland the price would be double what you paid
The problem for us about buying in the US is the keyboard, which is laid out differently in some annoying aspects to the UK versions. I have one laptop with an US keyboard that I bought some years ago, and I found it impossible to obtain the few keys I needed to make it UK compatible. (You could well say why do I need keys. There are the odd few occasions when I type - like when I am having my lunch; my wife insists on having the TV on full when I am trying to dictate into the computer (I always lose 
); working on a plane where the noise of the engines prevents accurate dictation, typing during a conference where dictation is impossible; etc.)
Quentin
UniVoice to the Rescue
was this a Freudian slip, a slip of
the tongue, dictating with some gum in your mouth or lack of proof reading
I am guilty of not proofreading enough but
I am also suffering from severe laryngitis and taking shortcuts. I can barely
talk above a whisper but fortunately UniVoice
was originally designed for verbal impairments before it was revamped for the
general public and it's coming in very handy right now. If it were not for
UniVoice, I wouldn't even be able to work because my typing skills are a bit
less than optimal.
ViaVoice has almost as many
features as DNS Pro, takes less space in Ram and has, in my view, easier
facilities for creating macros. There is, in my experience, virtually no
difference in accuracy.
ViaVoice is an excellent
product but the professional versions of NaturallySpeaking have far more
capabilities such as, quadgram algorithms, auto transcribe agent, multiple
vocabularies, Citrix support, network support, superior Vocabulary Editor, 2
different vocabulary builders, Office 2007 support, Internet Explorer 7
support, Windows Vista support and a host of other things that I really don't
need to go into here.
I can appreciate that you like ViaVoice and
my only real problem with ViaVoice at this point is that the development and
support has long since perished. You may not have difficulty purchasing a new
computer with Windows XP at the moment but that won't last much longer and
eventually all PCs will have some form of Windows Vista and ViaVoice simply
will not work so we have to recommend against new users purchasing ViaVoice
because they will have to dump it for something else down the road. Nuance is
also considering 86ing ViaVoice when they release DNS 10 so ViaVoice may soon
be extinct.
Lunis Orcutt - Developer of KnowBrainer &
Host
of the Http://www.KnowBrainer.com Speech Recognition Forum
Admin: Please make the word quote all lowercase it doesn't work when even partially in uppercase