PyRadio Text-to-Speech Support

Overview ^Top

PyRadio now features comprehensive Text-to-Speech (TTS) support, providing auditory feedback for an enhanced radio streaming experience. This intelligent system delivers contextual information about station navigation, playback status, and system events.

Table of Contents ^Top

• Features
• Activation
  • Permanent Activation
  • Temporary Activation
• Platform Implementation
  • Linux
  • Windows
  • macOS
• Language Support
  • Voice Characteristics
  • Platform-Specific Strategy
• Technical Features
  • Smart Queue Management
  • Intelligent Behavior
• Usage Guidelines
  • For English-Dominant Users
  • For Multi-Language Content
• Configuration Philosophy
• Configuration Options
  • Volume
• Current Status & Roadmap

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Features ^Top

The TTS system provides spoken feedback for:

• Station Information: Station names and numbers during navigation
• Playback Status: Start of playback and connection establishment
  
• Media Context: Song titles when available in stream metadata
• System Events: Connection errors and important status changes
• Audio Control: Volume adjustment feedback

Activation ^Top

Permanent Activation

Enable TTS permanently through the configuration menu: Config → TTS → Enable TTS

Temporary Activation

Toggle TTS during runtime by pressing \T (backslash + T). This setting is session-only and resets when restarting PyRadio.

Platform Implementation ^Top

Linux

Utilizes speech-dispatcher configured for English language by default. Provides robust, interruptible speech synthesis with priority-based queue management.

Windows

Leverages Windows SAPI (Speech API) with automatic selection of English voices when available. Features immediate speech interruption and consistent volume control.

macOS

Employs the native say command using the system’s default voice. Most macOS voices support multiple languages natively, handling mixed-language content seamlessly.

Language Support ^Top

Voice Characteristics

TTS voices generally fall into two categories:

Monolingual Voices (typical on Linux/Windows):

• Specialized in one language
• System messages sound clear in English
• Non-English characters may be mispronounced or skipped entirely

Multilingual Voices (common on macOS):

• Automatic language detection and switching
• Handle mixed-language content naturally
• Provide authentic pronunciation for both system messages and station names

Platform-Specific Strategy

• Linux: English-configured for consistent system messaging
• Windows: Auto-selects English voices while respecting system preferences
  
• macOS: Uses default system voice - typically multilingual by design

Technical Features ^Top

Smart Queue Management

• Priority-based processing (HIGH for alerts, NORMAL for navigation)
• Pending title queuing after high-priority interruptions
• Volume adjustment debouncing
• Platform-optimized anti-stutter protection

Intelligent Behavior

• Critical alerts receive immediate priority
• Song titles are queued and spoken after high-priority interruptions
• Rapid navigation triggers queue optimization
• Volume changes are consolidated to prevent speech spam

Usage Guidelines ^Top

For English-Dominant Users

• Default configuration works optimally
• System messages and international station names sound natural

For Multi-Language Content

• macOS: Handles mixed content seamlessly with multilingual voices
• Windows/Linux: Non-English characters in station names may not be pronounced correctly
• Consider using English names for frequently-accessed stations

Configuration Philosophy ^Top

The system is optimized for English while respecting platform conventions:

• English-optimized voice selection on Linux and Windows
• Multilingual voice support on macOS
• Maintains your preferred speech rate and volume
• Platform-native experience throughout

Configuration Options ^Top

Volume

The TTS volume can be adjusted independently of audio playback volume:

• Linux: Uses spd-say with volume range from -100 to +100 (relative to base volume)
• Windows: Uses SAPI with volume range from 0 to 100 (absolute)
• macOS: Volume control is not supported - uses system speech volume

This option can be found in the configuration menu under Config → TTS → Volume.

Current Status & Roadmap ^Top

This TTS implementation is actively developed. Planned enhancements include:

• Comprehensive help system narration
• Detailed interface element descriptions
• Enhanced context-aware speech patterns
• Extended configuration options