Jan 27, 2018 - We have expert reviews and feature comparisons of the top speech recognition. Voice-to-text software is largely about speed and accuracy. Find the top 100 most popular items in Amazon Software Best Sellers. Text to Speech Software Audio Reader XL (2019) - Text to Voice Reader for.
Read on for our detailed analysis of each app Many people think voice recognition and dictating to your PC, rather than typing on a keyboard, is a technology still stuck in the proverbial dark ages – an exercise in frustration which results in a document littered with mistakes that take forever to correct. But these days, the. Even out of the box, a good speech recognition package is impressively accurate – and even more so when you’ve trained it a little. It also helps to remember to speak at a steady and even pace, because if you rush out garbled sentences, you might see the software struggle a little.
Overall, dictation software has come on massive leaps and bounds, and doesn’t just let you dictate emails or documents, but also control your PC to some extent with voice commands. Speech recognition isn’t just about the PC, either. There are full-scale tools for tablets and phones these days, which can sync up with your computer to allow you to work when out and about, and subsequently pick up where you left off when you get back to the office. Again, the leading vendors in this field are offering clever tricks aplenty.
So which are the tip-top tools you should be considering if you want to make the best out of voice recognition? Read on and find out.
We’ve picked out the. Want your company or services to be added to this buyer’s guide? Please email your request to with the URL of the buying guide in the subject line. Not cheap has long been regarded as ruling the roost when it comes to speech recognition on the PC, with a long line of quality products which work at a high standard. This is not least because of the ‘deep learning’ technology which helps the dictation software achieve greater levels of accuracy the more you use it, learning common words and phrases that you employ, and also adapting to background noise or your accent. The latest Dragon speech recognition software has a higher baseline accuracy right out of the box, as well.
Overall, we found it noticeably more accurate and responsive than older versions. This software provides full dictation capabilities, as well as voice commands to control your PC (to open programs, navigate web pages and so forth – and note that you can dictate wherever you want, for example, in Gmail in your browser). It’s also built to work with touchscreen devices as required. All of this is included in the Dragon Home edition, which retails at $150. Additional features are available with the Dragon Professional Individual upgrade, including the ability to create boilerplate forms or email signatures which can be inserted into a document with a single command. There’s also a transcription facility which can analyze an audio clip, podcast or similar, turning it into text.
Furthermore, there are advanced custom command options available, plus the ability to synchronize your work with Android or iOS devices. Dragon Professional Individual retails at $300, but there is also an enterprise package available for business groups which includes all these capabilities and makes them available for multiple users, along with additional integration features. Requires internet connection to run This is Dragon’s mobile product for Android and iOS devices, however this is no ‘lite’ app, but rather offers fully-formed dictation capabilities powered via the cloud. So essentially you get the same excellent speech recognition as seen on the desktop software – the only meaningful difference we noticed was a very slight delay in our spoken words appearing on the screen (doubtless due to processing in the cloud). However, note that the app was still responsive enough overall. It also boasts support for boilerplate chunks of text which can be set up and inserted into a document with a simple command, and these, along with custom vocabularies, are synced across the mobile app and desktop Dragon software. Furthermore, you can share documents across devices via Evernote or cloud services (such as Dropbox).
This isn’t as flexible as the desktop application, however, as dictation is limited to within Dragon Anywhere – you can’t dictate directly in another app (although you can copy over text from the Dragon Anywhere dictation pad to a third-party app). The other caveats are the need for an internet connection for the app to work (due to its cloud-powered nature), and the fact that it’s a subscription offering with no one-off purchase option, which might not be to everyone’s tastes. Even bearing in mind these limitations, though, it’s a definite boon to have fully-fledged, powerful voice recognition of the same sterling quality as the desktop software, nestling on your phone or tablet for when you’re away from the office. Nuance Communications offers a to give the app a whirl before you commit to a subscription. Dictation and document formatting only Google has a free speech recognition facility built right into Google Docs (the word processor in ).
The strength with Google’s voice solution is that it’s actually surprisingly accurate, particularly considering this is a freebie offering. If you’re happy using G Suite and want something for casual dictation which will cost you absolutely nothing, this is a great option to have.
However there is a caveat here, namely that you have to be using Google’s Chrome browser for voice to be supported on your desktop PC (Voice Typing can also be used with some Android and iOS devices). Also note that this is purely for speech dictation within Google Docs, and the system doesn’t offer the likes of voice commands for the desktop. It’s all about dictating text, and issuing commands regarding formatting your document, but nothing outside that. You can fire up the voice capability within Google Docs (remember, you have to be using the Chrome browser) by clicking on the Tools menu and then selecting Voice Typing.
Subscription only (no one-off purchase) Braina is speech recognition software which is built not just for dictation, but also as an all-round digital assistant to help you achieve various tasks on your PC. It supports dictation to third-party software in not just English but almost 90 different languages, with impressive voice recognition chops. Beyond that, it’s a virtual assistant that can be instructed to set alarms, search your PC for a file, or search the internet, play an MP3 file, read an ebook aloud, plus you can implement various custom commands.
The Windows program also has a companion which can remotely control your PC, and use the local Wi-Fi network to deliver commands to your computer, so you can spark up a music playlist, for example, wherever you happen to be in the house. There’s a free version of Braina which comes with limited functionality, but includes all the basic PC commands, along with a 7-day trial of the speech recognition which allows you to test out its powers for yourself before you commit to a subscription. Yes, this is another subscription-only product with no option to purchase for a one-off fee. Also note that you need to be online and have Google’s Chrome browser installed for speech recognition functionality to work. Still doesn’t offer the best accuracy (however training helps) If you don’t want to pay for speech recognition software, and you’re running Microsoft’s latest desktop OS, then you might be pleased to hear that actually has some very solid voice recognition abilities built right into the operating system. Windows Speech Recognition, as it’s imaginatively named – and note that this is something different to Cortana, which offers basic commands and assistant capabilities – lets you not only execute commands via voice control, but also offers the ability to dictate into documents. The sort of accuracy you get isn’t comparable with that offered by the likes of Dragon, but then again, you’re paying nothing to use it.
It’s also possible to improve the accuracy by training the system by reading text, and giving it access to your documents to better learn your vocabulary. It’s definitely worth indulging in some training, particularly if you intend to use the voice recognition feature a fair bit. This speech recognition capability is actually in previous versions of Windows as well, although Microsoft has honed it more with the latest OS. The company has been in terms of voice recognition powered by deep neural networks, and Microsoft is certainly priming us to expect impressive things in the future. The likely end-goal aim is for Cortana to do everything eventually, from voice commands to taking dictation. Turn on Windows Speech Recognition by heading to the Control Panel (search for it, or right click the Start button and select it), then click on Ease of Access, and you will see the option to ‘start speech recognition’ (you’ll also spot the option to set up a microphone here, if you haven’t already done that). Maybe you’ll use voice recognition with one of our.
Updated February 28, 2019 We are committed to researching, testing, and recommending the best products. We may receive commissions from purchases made after visiting links within our content. Learn more about our. Typing is perhaps one of the most commonly-performed tasks on computers (and to some extent, even smartphones). From bloggers to novelists, everyone routinely spends a lot of time typing away on keyboards. And as necessary as it is, typing for long stretches of time can (and does) get quite tedious. But it doesn't have to be like that.
There are quite a few dictation software available out there, and they ease up things a lot. These programs use speech recognition technology to convert spoken words to text. And they're not only convenient but also speed up the rate at which text is entered. So whether you're writing up a long business report or tired of futzing with your keyboard when it comes to sending e-mails and text messages, we've rounded up the best dictation software (and apps) for both PCs and smartphones to give your fingers a rest. Read all about them to know which one suits your needs the most. When it comes to speech recognition software products, Dragon is a name that needs no introduction.
As it stands, the NaturallySpeaking Premium 13 is arguably the best dictation software out there. Dragon NaturallySpeaking Premium 13 lets you dictate documents naturally with up to 99 percent accuracy. You can use it to dictate, edit and format letters, articles, papers, reports, etc., all by your voice. Just speak naturally, and the software translates your words to text.
It continuously learns how you speak, adapting to your preferences as it does so. It's also possible to format documents with NaturallySpeaking Premium 13. You can simply select the text and speak what kind of formatting (e.g.
Bold, italic) you'd want to apply to it. The program's 'Smart Format' rules automatically adapt to how you want things like numbers and abbreviations to appear. You can easily switch between voice input and typing to make fine-tuned adjustments.
It's even possible to have voice notes recorded on a digital voice recorder transcribed by the software. Just because you don't use a Windows-based PC doesn't mean you can't take advantage of Dragon's speech recognition programs. If you want a solid dictation software for Mac OS, look no further than Dragon Professional Individual for Mac 6.0.
The software is powered by an all-new, next-generation speech engine. It utilizes 'Deep Learning' technology for a more accurate dictation and transcription. Dragon Professional Individual for Mac 6.0 adapts to your voice and environmental variations.
You can use your voice to dictate and edit reports, send e-mails and notes, and even fill out forms. The program optimizes accuracy for speakers with accents and supports latest programs like Microsoft Word 2016 and Apple Pages. Dragon Professional Individual for Mac 6.0 lets you transcribe voice recordings available in a variety of formats, such as.mp3 and.m4v. The batch mode lets you transcribe multiple files at a time. The program's customization features allow you to personalize it to your business's needs. You can use specific industry terms, quickly insert frequently-used text fragments and create custom voice commands to act as shortcuts for repetitive tasks.
Courtesy of Braina A computer that can convert your speech to text is great, but what if it could do a lot more, such as playing your favorite music and doing mathematical calculations? That'd be pretty cool, right? Well, that's exactly what Braina is. Braina lets you transcribe spoken words to text, but that's just one of its many capabilities. It's a multi-functional AI-based (artificial intelligence) software that provides you with a single-window environment to control your computer.
With Braina, you can use your voice to look up information on the Internet, open/search files on your computer, set alarms and reminders, create notes, automate various tasks and even read eBooks. It's basically similar to virtual assistants like Siri, but with a lot more features. Speaking of dictation features, Braina lets you convert your voice to text in any website and software (e.g. Microsoft Word, Notepad). It supports over 100 languages (English, Spanish, French, Italian, etc.) and accents. It can accurately convert most of the accents and be used by multiple users without the need of separate profiles. The program can be further customized to recognize custom words and create canned responses.
Interestingly, Braina can recognize unusual vocabulary and understand most medical, legal and scientific terms. NCH's Express Dictate is proof that a program can be both powerful and intuitive at the same time.
An expansive feature set and a simple UI make it the easiest to use dictation software out there. Express Dictate is essentially a voice recording software that works like a dictaphone. It records video with enhanced signal processing quality and can record to multiple formats, including.wav,.mp3 and.dct. The software supports automatic non-destructive editing, with multiple recording modes like record-insert, record-overwrite and record-at-end. Voice-activated recordings mean long silences are not included, and you can assign priority to individual dictations.
You can directly send recordings via e-mail or FTP, and also save them for later use. HIPAA-compliance ensures all recordings are encrypted, which makes Express Dictate perfect for recording secure client and patient data. You can also dock analog or digital handheld dictation recorders with the program, and transmit recordings made when you're away from the computer. It's possible to attach additional notes and files to the recordings for better transcription, and built-in compression technology reduces the size of recording files for easier transmission online. Express Dictate lets you use hand controllers and foot pedals, and can even be controlled via system-wide hotkeys.
The software is available for both Windows (XP and above) and Mac (OS X 10.5 and later). Courtesy of Google Docs Online productivity suites like Google Docs are getting more and more popular by the day.
That's not exactly surprising, given that they offer features like cloud synchronization and real-time collaboration. What's more, they can even convert speech to text. Yep, you read that right! If you do most of your typing work online, Google Docs is the best dictation software you can use.
Among other features, Google's cloud-based word processor program also offers speech typing functionality. The best thing is that you don't need to install any extra software or make any system-wide changes to take advantage of it. All that's required to get started is a Web browser (preferably Google Chrome) and a Google account. To use voice typing, log in to your account and open up a Google Doc. Now, select 'Voice typing.'
Option from the 'Tools' menu. When you use voice typing for the first time, the browser will ask for your permission to use your computer's microphone.
Once that's done, you'll see a Red-colored microphone icon on the left. Simply start speaking naturally, and see your spoken words appear on the screen. For a free program, Google Docs voice typing works quite well. Just make sure you have a good-quality Internet connection.
Courtesy of Apple Millions of people around the globe use Apple's iPhones and iPads for their productivity needs. If that includes you, you don't need to look for any third-party dictation app, as iOS already has one. The voice typing features of iOS have significantly improved over the last few generations (specifically, version 8.0 and above) of the OS. Now, it's better than ever. What's best is that iOS's voice typing feature is integrated directly into the on-screen keyboard, so it's always available. All iOS apps that support text input through the on-screen keyboard, support voice typing as well.
This means that you can use your voice to write e-mails, create notes, reply to text messages and more. Simply tap on the microphone key on the keyboard, and start speaking. You can also speak keywords like 'Period' and 'New Paragraph' for a better dictation experience. Courtesy of Google Android is all about choices, so if you use an Android smartphone and/or tablet for all your typing needs, there are a lot of dictation apps that you can choose from. Of these, Google's Gboard is certainly the best. Gboard is an on-screen keyboard app developed by Google.
It has many features such as text prediction, GIF support, and of course, voice typing. To get started, you just need to have Gboard selected as the default keyboard app (this can be changed under 'Language & Input' in Android's settings) and have the voice typing option enabled.
Once that's done, things get pretty straightforward. Launch the app (e.g. Microsoft Word, Google Docs) in which you would like to enter text, tap the microphone key on Gboard and start speaking.