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viavoice10-please help a mediagold outcast
Submitted by munkyjim on Thu, 11/24/2005 - 12:40.
Hello,
This seems like the only place I'm going to get an informed answer to my problems, the peole on this forum really seem to know what's going on with viavoice!
I recently purchased viavoice 10 pro uk edition and everything was fine till i expereinced a voice model failure, i had just read through the 4th story in the analyse my voice wizard and as it was analysing i got the error message Processing failed (rc= 11 in step 3). Since then if I try to access that voice model through the analyse my voice wizard it says that the processing failed and gives me the option to restart (the processing), delete or cancel. deleting does nothing. restarting leads me back to the error message Processing failed (rc= 11 in step 3).
I then, of course, had questions... Does this mean that this voice model is now usless to me, or is there a way to fix this problem? will this voice model continue to learn through my use of the speachpad or is it just stuck now? So I attempted to contact my technical support and that's where the fun began.
mediagold say "unfortunately we have neither access to a IBM knowledge Base nor to IBM Level 3 Support
any more since this product has been launched about 2,5 years ago.
The contract ended about 1,5 years ago.
Afterwards, Scansoft took over the licence of IBMs Via Voice."
Scansoft/nuance say "Yur serial number indicates that you are using a ViaVoice version manufactured by MediaGold. Unfortunately, Scansoft does not offer email or phone support for the MediaGold version of ViaVoice."
and ibm say "For post-sales information on ViaVoice Software please contact the Reseller
below who now handle all enquiries for ViaVoice on behalf of IBM."
How did this come about? did scansoft take over viavoice leaving all prevous customers with no technical support? or people like myself who seem to have purchased out-of-date versions of the software.
Does anyone here know how to rectify the technical problems i have experienced?
Many thanks for taking the time to read this!
James
munkyjim wrote:, How did
,
How did this come about? did scansoft take over viavoice leaving all prevous customers with no technical support? or people like myself who seem to have purchased out-of-date versions of the software.
Does anyone here know how to rectify the technical problems i have experienced?
This came about because of economic factors. IBM had developed a fairly good product. However it is very support intensive and they did not have the resources to support. In addition, they soar most money being made in speech recognition having to do with small vocabulary Interactive Voice Response systems. These are the telephony applications where you call and an artificial voice asks you to speak s short answer into the telephone.
One or two people on this forum have said IBM still developing this product. Their proof is a minor fix to version 10 deemed version 10.5 was released about a year ago. You can turn to this web site for support as good as IBM ever gave. Quentin Crivon is the advocate and Guru. Just address questions to him.
--
Martin Markoe, eMicrophones, Inc.
The best microphones for Speech Recognition
See us at: http://www.eMicrophones.com/index.asp
Read, "Key Steps to High Speech Recognition Accuracy" at:
http://www.emicrophones.com/docDetails.asp?Documen...
Martin - I am blushing I
Martin - I am blushing
I would hardly call myself a guru, but I am a VV advocate.
Martin gave you the marketing answer as regards IBM. You will see quite a lot about this on this site.
I have never heard of MediaGold.
All editions of ViaVoice which I have seen on the shelves are marketed and developed by ScanSoft. It may well be that you purchased a spurious version.
I have never come across the problem that you are encountering.
However you could check your user folders to see whether your training files are intact. You do not say whether you have version 10 or 10.5 (10.5 looks the same, but the disc would show the latest copyright date as 2004 for version 10.5 and 2002 for Version 10).
To locate your user file, using Windows Explorer or My Computer, in VV 10, the user folder will be in C: \ Program Files \ ViaVoice\ Users. In VV 10.5, it will be in C: \ Documents and Settings \ [named] User \ Application Data \ IBM \ ViaVoice \ Users.).
In that folder you will find the folder with the name that you gave your user. Left click on the folder and go to Properties and find out the size of the folder. If it is more than 1 megabyte (Mb), then it has accepted some of your training processing. You should then copy that folder, and place it somewhere safely in your computer.
I would then suggested you do a complete reinstall.
Go to Control Panel and remove ViaVoice. Reboot.
On the ViaVoice disk you should find a folder called "Support" and within that you will see ViaClean. Run ViaClean both the UK and US versions. In both cases, you can remove your voice files.
If you then have a Registry cleaner, run that, and remove all unwanted Registry entries.
You must make sure that all the various anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewalls and security programmes, and anything else which might cause a blockage, are removed from start up before installing VV. ViaVoice installation likes a nice clean environment.
Reinstall ViaVoice in your computer. Do not start up after installation. Reboot the computer.
Copy the original user folder which you stored and paste it in the ViaVoice \ Users folder.
Then go to Start \ Settings \ Control Panel \ IBM ViaVoice Options. Click on the arrow at the right hand side of the top pane, and locate your named user and click Apply at the bottom of the window.
Click on the tabs to complete all the rest of the settings.
Open ViaVoice. You may find it will come up with popup windows telling you that speech recogniser cannot recognise the speech files, and other messages. Just simply click OK on each them until they all disappear. Then open ViaVoice again and it should come up with your user name.
Go to audio set up and set up your microphone in the usual way.
And then simply try it out in Speakpad or Word and see how it works. If you want to continue processing, simply go to Tools \ Analyse My Voice and proceed with the processing.
If you still have the same problem, then it has to be caused by a fault in your installation disc. The only remedy then is to buy a new authorised one.
Quentin
Quentin, (Scansoft develops
Quentin,
(Scansoft develops VV now?)
IBM entered into an agreement with MediaGold
"IBM announced an agreement with London-based MediaGold UK Ltd. to broaden the availability of IBM's ViaVoice dictation software in selected European countries. MediaGold will publish and provide sales, marketing and technical support for ViaVoice products in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. MediaGold will also provide channel support in the United Kingdom."
http://www.hltcentral.org/news/index.php?id=4089
so I doubt this version is spurious.
Judy
MediaGold Judy, I looked
MediaGold
Judy, I looked at http://www.hltcentral.org/news/index.php?id=4089 , and searched for ViaVoice, but it only came up with references to Wizzard and their applications.
The last time I bought ViaVoice in the UK (10 months ago) it was branded by ScanSoft. On previous purchases in the UK, they were branded either IBM or ScanSoft.
When I did the exchange of VV 10 for 10.5, (see earlier postings on this site and via-...@yahoo.com) I dealt with ScanSoft in the UK.
When you go to the IBM site and search for ViaVoice, you are transferred to Nuance (formerly ScanSoft) . There is no mention of MediaGold
Quentin
look here
look here www.mediagold.co.uk/viavoice
MediaGold I looked up the
MediaGold
I looked up the reference do www.mediagold.co.uk/viavoice, and found MediaGold.
I looked up the ViaVoice section, and tried to buy on line. What I got was the following:-
Server Error in '/' Application.
The resource cannot be found.
Description: HTTP 404. The resource you are looking for (or one of its dependencies) could have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable. Please review the following URL and make sure that it is spelled correctly.
Requested Url: /media_gold/cart.aspx
There was then reference to a telephone number for support (which they say is in Ireland) – 084534502082. I telephoned them and asked for support for ViaVoice, and they referred me to 01752894827, the number for Avanquest. I telephoned Avanquest and again asked for support for ViaVoice, and was told that they don't deal with ViaVoice, but they believe it is dealt with by ScanSoft.
According to the press release that Judy mentioned, http://www.hltcentral.org/news/index.php?id=4089 , MediaGold were supposed to have taken over the distribution of ViaVoice from IBM in the UK and named parts of Europe. It strikes me as though this might be historical and more than out of date.
I have just had a look in the Irish telephone directory and there is no mention of MediaGold, but it may well be in Northern Ireland.
Quite a mystery.
Quentin
yeah it's totally out of
yeah it's totally out of date, someone in avanquest told me that their contract for supporting viavoice ended about a year and a half ago. so anyone who ended up with software with the mediagold stamp on it is just left out in the cold. j
What's happened to you is
What's happened to you is really bad. It sounds to me as though IBM should help -- their reply to you isn't helpful.
I suggest you try to create a new user before trying other steps
Judy
Quentin, I simply meant
Quentin,
I simply meant that this copy of ViaVoice was legit.; clearly MediaGold no longer sell it
Judy
MediaGold I Googled
MediaGold
I Googled MediaGold, and came up with MediaGold.com which did not respond.
There was one other MediaGold site, but it dealt with a CD replacement writer or something similar. I did not bother going into it.
It looks as though you may have bought a dud.
Quentin
Firstly thanks for the
Firstly thanks for the practical advice which i will try shortly.
Secondly, I believe i have bought a dud, but i believe it is a legit product, it's just that it's caught in some kind of outsoursing netherworld. It seems like people that bought viavoice between 2.5 years ago when mediagold started supporting viavoice in some european countries (www.mediagold.co.uk/viavoice) and 1.5 years ago when they stopped doing so now own versions of viavoice which nobody will take responsibility for tech supporting and i presume upgrading etc. I appear to have gotten a left-over from that time. I am in the process of seeing about a refund but that doesn't help me much in terms of the work i'm trying to get done right now.
it's a fecking bummer so it is!
James
James, I wish you the best
James, I wish you the best of luck dealing with MediaGold, but if you do not want to wait, I would suggest you go out and buy VV 10.5 Pro USB. It is not that expensive (€149 in PC World in Ireland – do your own conversion to sterling). In order to know whether you're getting 10 or 10.5, have a look at the box and make sure that it refers as being compatible with Office 2003. It is on the main blurb on the box. That way you will know you are getting 10.5.
When you get it, leave your existing installation intact, run the installation from the CD and ask it to upgrade.
If there are still problems, follow my first posting on this thread re. uninstall and reinstall, and hopefully it will work.
Incidentally you do not say what your computer details are (processer, speed, Ram, OS system and which version of Office you're using). If you still have problems, these details should be included in any queries you might have.
Quentin
PC World I just had a look
PC World
I just had a look for VV 10 on the UK website, and they only list the standard version of ViaVoice. I checked for Pro USB, and the do not seem to have this.
However I was in PC World in Dublin this morning, and there were 2 Pro USB and three Standard versions on the shelf beside each other.
I know the PC World in Ireland is related to PC World in the UK as their daddies are Dixons!
However there is inconsistencies in their stock lists. I was looking for TextBridge 11 Pro which they advertise on the Irish website, but when I asked for it, it was as though they had never heard of it and it was not in stock. I told them I saw it on the website, but they told me to order it on line. All I was trying to do was save the online €29 delivery charge as the store is not too far from me!
Quentin
Martin Markoe wrote: One or
One or two people on this forum have said IBM still developing this product. Their proof is a minor fix to version 10 deemed version 10.5 was released about a year ago.
The beta version of VV 10.5 was sent out for testing in or about August 2004, and was brought to the market by ScanSoft in March 2005.
Quentin
crivon1 wrote:Martin Markoe
One or two people on this forum have said IBM still developing this product. Their proof is a minor fix to version 10 deemed version 10.5 was released about a year ago.
The beta version of VV 10.5 was sent out for testing in or about August 2004, and was brought to the market by ScanSoft in March 2005.
I was a Beta tester for ViaVoice 10.5. I encountered the same problems (hang ups in Outlook and Word) with the 10.5 update as with all versions after ViaVoice 7 (the Millennium edition).
Marty
Martin Markoe wrote:crivon1
I was a Beta tester for ViaVoice 10.5. I encountered the same problems (hang ups in Outlook and Word) with the 10.5 update as with all versions after ViaVoice 7 (the Millennium edition).
I never had hang up in Word or Outlook Express (I never use Outlook).
I also have to say that in my Celeron, WIN 2000 SP4, desktop computer, VV has never let me down, I've never had to re-install, my Text-to-speech works. In my laptop AMD Semperon XP Home SP2, I had a lot of glitches, VV text-to-speech never worked, have had to frequently reinstall VV when the speech recogniser went haywire, but never had a hang up when dictating.
I am convinced that many of these glitches are caused by the operating system and/or processer.
I believe the secret is in the installation, to make sure that there was nothing hidden running, such as anti-spyware, etc. See my comments at http://www.speechcomputing.com/node/516 .
Quentin
To get back to first things:
To get back to first things: Did you ever have this product functioning? Or (as I think is the case) are you reporting what happened when you tried to get it running?
In any case, I don't think you have a defective product but rather an installation or configuration problem, so it might be useful to scrub the current installation, including a thorough registry scrubbing to remove all instances of references to ViaVoice etc. If you need help with this task, please ask.
Then re-install, being careful to start from a cleaned machine (i.e., no viruses, no spyware nor malware, etc., and as few concurrent processes as are required to make the machine functional).
It would be helpful to provide info regarding basic facts, like:
machine
CPU
RAM
sound input system
OS
etc.
Bruce
hey, Yes i have the software
hey,
Yes i have the software up and running, i regard the voice model failure i had as just one of those things, a software hicup, it happens, either it could be fixed or i'd have to start a new voice model or uninstall reinstall and start a new voice model. My main concern was that I then discovered that i've no technical support and most likely no support with regard to upgrades and all that. I have now had word that the people in the uk (i'm in dublin) that sold me the software will give me a refund if i send the stuff back, so i'll send the stuff back and keep using what i have (i have another headset) until i can afford to buy a copy i'm sure is fully legit.
my computer is amd athlon processor, 256 ram 240 harddisk, office xp pro,not sure what my sound input system is (i'm really not a computer head, i had to have my friend who built my computer write that down!)
james
Well I guess that's good
Well I guess that's good news because it means you're not out anything except your time and frustration, and you can replace version 10 with 10.5 or another up-to-date product.
As I understand matters, its not likely you will get any more official support for 10.5 than for 10, as ScanSoft will scarcely lift a finger to help DNS users without a cash payment.
Frankly, you don't have enough memory to run an SR product and other software simultaneously -- at a minimum you need 512MB. With anything less, you are apt to run very slowly because apps will have to page out to hard disk because they won't have enough physical memory. It will work, but not well. Won't directly affect accuracy, but you will be frustrated by the slowdowns.
Given your hard disk size, you probably have enough CPU power, and your OS is fine, provided you keep it up-to-date with security and other patches. I think XP is up to SP2 now.
As Martin Markoe mentioned, your best, most assiduous counselor will be crivon1, but others of us will help where possible.
Best of luck!
Bruce
James, I see you're in
James,
I see you're in Dublin. So am I.
Make a temporary change to your account to allow personal e-mail contact, confirm that you have done this on site and I will immediately send you an e-mail with my contact details, and you can then change your account back to not allowing e-mails.
To do all this, simply right-click on your name underneath "Online Users", in your account, go to Edit, scroll down to Contact settings, and tick the box.
After I have e-mailed you, you could then reverse the process and untick the box.
As regards your computer, what Bruce states is correct. I am successfully running VV 10.5 Pro USB on a laptop with AMD Semperon 1.8 Mhz, 1024 Mb Ram and 60 Gb disk, and a Desktop Celeron 2.6 Mhz with 512 Mb Ram and 80 Gb disk.
As I mentioned, yesterday, PC World in their new outlet in Carrickmines (just off the M 50) had 2 ViaVoice Pro USB on the shelves for €149. You could check with the two other outlets in Liffey Valley and Blanchardstown to see if they have it. Believe you me the extra money is worth it.
Of course it may well be that there is nothing wrong with your installation disk, and it could be your lack of Ram which is causing the problem. No matter what happens, you will still need to increase your Ram to at least 512 Mb Ram. The simple way to do this is to take out your Ram card, see how many slots you have for Ram cards (if it is a desktop it would have probably have four slots, and a laptop, it will probably have two slots) bring it to Peats of Parnell Street or PC World, and they will then match-up the additional Ram cards with your existing one. I would suggest that you increase your Ram to at least 786 Mb (an additional one 512 Mb or two 256 Mb cards).
Your should note that I will not be on line next Tuesday or Wednesday.
Quentin
crivon1 wrote:James, As I
James,
As I mentioned, yesterday, PC World in their new outlet in Carrickmines (just off the M 50) had 2 ViaVoice Pro USB on the shelves for €149. You could check with the two other outlets in Liffey Valley and Blanchardstown to see if they have it. Believe you me the extra money is worth it.
It might be worth checking out the cheapest 24 hour round-trip ticket to NYC where you could take advantage of the $30 ViaVoice deal posted here by the administrator -- if you could do other holiday shopping it would certainly make it worth your while given the relative bargains in the US vs. UK, Ireland, and Europe just now
Bruce
BruceCyr wrote:It might be
It might be worth checking out the cheapest 24 hour round-trip ticket to NYC where you could take advantage of the $30 ViaVoice deal posted here by the administrator -- if you could do other holiday shopping it would certainly make it worth your while given the relative bargains in the US vs. UK, Ireland, and Europe just now :-)
The advertised version on here is only VV Standard. Probably not what he's looking for at all!
BruceCyr wrote: It might be
It might be worth checking out the cheapest 24 hour round-trip ticket to NYC where you could take advantage of the $30 ViaVoice deal posted here by the administrator -- if you could do other holiday shopping it would certainly make it worth your while given the relative bargains in the US vs. UK, Ireland, and Europe just now
Bruce
That's for the standard version.
Unless you're going to the States for other reasons, it would not be worthwhile. Have you any idea of the fares from Ireland to the USA?
PC World in Dublin has VV 10 Standard version for €39. However this since this could be a long-term love-affair, why not go the whole hog for the Pro USB. It only costs a few nights drinking, or a couple of meals, in Ireland.
Quentin
crivon1 wrote: PC World in
PC World in Dublin has VV 10 Standard version for €39. However this since this could be a long-term love-affair, why not go the whole hog for the Pro USB. It only costs a few nights drinking, or a couple of meals, in Ireland.
Quentin
Jeezus! You and Marty and Itamar all true sons of Ireland! What a party the three of you would make -- I need to know when you're going to get together because I want to be in a different county (or maybe country) the day after that night out
With my luck, the three of you would show up the morning after to stumble through the 10K I'd be timing!
Bruce
BruceCyr wrote: You and
You and Marty and Itamar all true sons of Ireland!
Bruce
Aahh - but I am the only genuine one
Imagine if Richards decided to join us with his wine cellar
Quentin
Hey, i think i've changed my
Hey, i think i've changed my status so u can see the email. thanks a mil. j
An addendum Since doing
An addendum
Since doing re-installation with nothing but the bare bones operating (sans Anti-Virus, security software and etc. ) VV has been operating much quicker, much more accurately and without any problems.
See my posting regarding installing VV.
I suspect that your problems may be linked to having an Anti-Virus or similar running when you were installing.
Quentin
One thing to think about is
One thing to think about is to use your refund to get NaturallySpeaking -- its not known to have problems installing with common anti-virus programs, and there is a MUCH larger pool of users who can give you support and encouragement. OTOH, if you're familiar and comfortable with ViaVoice, that may be reason enough to persist with it despite any installation and start up difficulties.
Bruce