GWKB1121 : Improve software speech performance in Windows Vista and Windows 7

Product: Window-Eyes
Author: Steve Clower
Date Added: 11/11/2010
Last Modified: 11/11/2010

Symptom: Under Windows Vista or Windows 7, software speech synthesizers such as DECtalk Access 32 and Eloquence are slow to respond.

Cause: Windows Vista and Windows 7 include various audio enhancement features which reduce the computer's overall audio responsiveness.

Solution:

  1. Press Control-Escape or the Windows key to open the Start menu.
  2. If a search box appears, type "Control Panel," and press Enter. Otherwise, arrow to "Settings," press Enter, and press C to open the Windows Control Panel.
  3. Navigate to "Sound," and press Enter.
  4. Arrow to the active sound card. This is typically listed as either "Speakers" or "Headphones."
  5. Tab to the "Properties" button, and press Enter.
  6. Press Control-Tab until the "Enhancements" page of the sound card's properties window is reached.
  7. Tab to the "disable all enhancements" checkbox, and press the spacebar to check it.
  8. Tab to the "Apply" button, and press Enter.
  9. Press Alt-F4 to close the properties window.
  10. Press Alt-F4 to close the sound applet.

 

The audio enhancements are now disabled, and text-to-speech responsiveness will be back to an acceptable level.