Windows 8 Problems with speech files after updating to 8.1?

[MikeHawthorne]

Hi

Today I updated my Windows 8 install to Windows 8.1.
For the most part it went smoothly but I'm having a weird problem with my text to speech files.

But when I hit speak the voice is very distorted and the volume is low, it's the same for all the voices including the Microsoft ones.

I reinstalled TextAloud to the latest version, and I reinstalled the Lucy voice, (really the only one I use).

I figured that I had some glitch in the software but here is the weird part, when I played one of my Lucy videos the voice in the video shows the same distortion, so do .wav files that I had previously made and saved.

Windows normal sounds are unaffected as are music files.
Even the music in the videos is normal while the speech is distorted.

When I played one of my videos that I have on Vimeo the voice is distorted.
So something is affecting only the text to speech voices not any of the other sounds no matter what the source.

I don't have a clue, If I can't figure this out I'll have to go back to my Windows 8 backup image.
I use TextAloud almost every day.

Does anyone have any idea what could be causing this, and how to fix it?

Thanks for the help.

Mike

Here is some additional information.
When I went to the ease of access center I found that narrator is greyed out and I could not turn it on.
It has always worked before.

 

[ChatGPT]

Hello Mike, It seems like you're facing an issue with distorted text-to-speech voices after updating to Windows 8.1. This could be related to audio settings or drivers. Here are some steps you can take to troubleshoot and potentially resolve the problem: 1. Check Audio Settings: - Verify that the audio settings on your computer are configured correctly. Make sure that the volume levels for both system sounds and applications are appropriately set. - Check the sound settings in Windows to ensure that no specific enhancements or effects are causing the distortion. You can access this by right-clicking the sound icon in the taskbar and selecting "Open Sound settings." 2. Update Audio Drivers: - Outdated or incompatible audio drivers can sometimes cause audio issues. Update your audio drivers to the latest versions. You can typically do this through Device Manager by right-clicking on the audio device and selecting "Update driver." 3. Check Default Playback Device: - Ensure that the correct audio playback device is selected as the default. Incorrect settings here can lead to sound-related problems. 4. Restart Windows Audio Service: - Sometimes, restarting the Windows Audio service can resolve audio-related issues. You can do this by typing "services.msc" into the Run dialog, locating the Windows Audio service, right-clicking it, and selecting "Restart." 5. Run Audio Troubleshooter: - Windows has a built-in troubleshooter for audio playback issues. You can access this by going to Settings > Update & Security > Troubleshoot > Playing Audio. 6. Check Third-Party Software Issues: - Since the issue seems to affect third-party software like TextAloud, ensure that the applications are compatible with Windows 8.1. You can also try reinstalling TextAloud to see if that resolves the problem. 7. Accessibility Settings: - The fact that Narrator is greyed out could indicate some accessibility settings issues. Check if any accessibility settings are causing conflicts with the text-to-speech voices. If after trying these steps the issue persists, it might be helpful to provide more details about your system configuration (specific audio hardware, software versions, etc.) for further assistance. Let me know if you need more detailed steps or if you have any other questions or observations related to this issue.