VoxCommando

Microphones and Speech Recognition in General => What is a good microphone for speech recognition? => Topic started by: cr0wstuf on November 03, 2011, 03:39:28 AM

Title: iPhone/iPod/iPad as a headset: Another solution.
Post by: cr0wstuf on November 03, 2011, 03:39:28 AM
Hey everyone.

First of all I would like to say this is an awesome program. It is very well put together.

I tried it out just a second ago and I have a few mics that dont give very good results. I remembered that I have a little application that I used for google voice on my laptop a while back. I dont know if anyone has heard of it, just thought it might help.

http://www.warelex.com/mobiola-headset

Its called mobiola headset. You can buy the app from the app store for just $2 and the windows software is free. It pretty much allows the computer to use you iphone speaker and mic. I thought it was very useful for voxcommando because the program utilizes the proximity sensor on the phone, so if you set it on its screen on a table or something, it will save power and you can still make commands. Seems very accurate to me.

Anyway, just thought I would help out.

Cheers, and great job on the Vox again!
Title: Re: iPhone/iPod/iPad as a headset: Another solution.
Post by: Kalle on November 03, 2011, 04:10:30 AM
Hey everyone.

First of all I would like to say this is an awesome program. It is very well put together.

I tried it out just a second ago and I have a few mics that dont give very good results. I remembered that I have a little application that I used for google voice on my laptop a while back. I dont know if anyone has heard of it, just thought it might help.

http://www.warelex.com/mobiola-headset

Its called mobiola headset. You can buy the app from the app store for just $2 and the windows software is free. It pretty much allows the computer to use you iphone speaker and mic. I thought it was very useful for voxcommando because the program utilizes the proximity sensor on the phone, so if you set it on its screen on a table or something, it will save power and you can still make commands. Seems very accurate to me.

Anyway, just thought I would help out.

Cheers, and great job on the Vox again!
Hi cr0wstuf, welcome in VC-Forum.
Thanks for the tip, we have tried several programs from this category, but none worked satisfactorily. I will also try out this program and report here.

Kalle
Title: Re: iPhone/iPod/iPad as a headset: Another solution.
Post by: Kalle on November 03, 2011, 05:57:10 AM
Hey everyone.

First of all I would like to say this is an awesome program. It is very well put together.

I tried it out just a second ago and I have a few mics that dont give very good results. I remembered that I have a little application that I used for google voice on my laptop a while back. I dont know if anyone has heard of it, just thought it might help.

http://www.warelex.com/mobiola-headset

Its called mobiola headset. You can buy the app from the app store for just $2 and the windows software is free. It pretty much allows the computer to use you iphone speaker and mic. I thought it was very useful for voxcommando because the program utilizes the proximity sensor on the phone, so if you set it on its screen on a table or something, it will save power and you can still make commands. Seems very accurate to me.

Anyway, just thought I would help out.

Cheers, and great job on the Vox again!
I've download and tested with an iPad2/iPhone 4 and iTouch2G with open mic and headset, here the results:

1. The install process and connection as a wireless headset work pretty well and it is easy to use, the concept is well thought out. A good idea is the automatic input/ouput switch in Windows, when the iPad/iPhone/iTouch is not connected.
2. The soundquality is good enough, to use it with VC.

Homepage Mobilia-Headset: http://www.mobiola.com/mobiola-headset (http://www.mobiola.com/mobiola-headset)

Summary: It is a other good solution for only 2$ to use it with VoxCommando (when you have an iTouch/iPhone or iPad).  ;)
It is not available at the moment for Android  :'(

Kalle

Title: Re: iPhone/iPod/iPad as a headset: Another solution.
Post by: jitterjames on November 03, 2011, 10:03:20 AM
Welcome cr0wstuf and thanks for the tip.

This sounds similar to the Senstic pocket audio app which I have used.  The quality with that one was reasonably good, except that there was a lot of lag and on some systems it would instantly crash as soon as you made any sound, because it was not compatible with WSR for some reason.

Kalle, did you check the settings on this app to see if there was a different quality setting somewhere?  I wonder why you had bad results and cr0wstuf had good results.

edit: can one of you please tell me what the delay is between your iThing and the PC ?
Title: Re: iPhone/iPod/iPad as a headset: Another solution.
Post by: Kalle on November 03, 2011, 10:10:29 AM
Welcome cr0wstuf and thanks for the tip.

This sounds similar to the Senstic pocket audio app which I have used.  The quality with that one was reasonably good, except that there was a lot of lag and on some systems it would instantly crash as soon as you made any sound, because it was not compatible with WSR for some reason.

Kalle, did you check the settings on this app to see if there was a different quality setting somewhere?  I wonder why you had bad results and cr0wstuf had good results.
Yep, I have check all settings, and I have recording my voice. The sound is the same as a bluetooth mic, for me not useable. The sound come loud enough, but to noisy.
Everything works perfect!
Title: Re: iPhone/iPod/iPad as a headset: Another solution.
Post by: cr0wstuf on November 03, 2011, 02:27:50 PM
Im glad you had a chance to try it out. I didnt play around with it too much but when I did it worked about 70% of commands I made. From a distance it didnt work too well. I just thought it would be a cool thing to try with VC and since it worked off wifi, it could be used anywhere within range of your network.

Ive been looking for a solution for my home to be able to use VoxCommando. I dont like the idea of having a headset all the time and my house is 2 floors. I wanted to know if anyone could think of a way to distribute multiple high quality microphones around the home for use with VoxCommando. For example, a mic in the living room, one in the kitchen, office etc.

Im wondering if a wireless microphone system used for live music might work. Like attach one under a cabinet in the kitchen, and under the desk in the office. Maybe hide one in the couch in the living room hahaha. Then have the receiver connected to the mic in on the computer or a digital audio input. Any thoughts?

I really like the software and would like to have a way this will work all around my house before buying. I listen to a lot of music and think it would be awesome to say "Play artist Blues Traveler" from the other side of the house or even outside.
Title: Re: iPhone/iPod/iPad as a headset: Another solution.
Post by: jitterjames on November 03, 2011, 02:43:00 PM
To me the thing that makes the most sense is a single good wireless microphone with sufficient decent range.

This one for example claims 20 meters.  That may be enough for some people.  Obviously not, if you live in a mansion :)
http://www.revolabs.com/pdf/product_manuals/xtag_datasheet.pdf

For me, the amulet range is sufficient for all the areas where I would actually use it, it would be nice though if it were something I could wear, like on a lapel.

A "wireless microphone system used for live music" would probably work, but you still need to figure out how to deal with multiple inputs and if you need a gate etc...

I think you can actually use a 5.8Ghz (or even lower Ghz) phone system, or a wired phone system.  You need to handy to do this though, to get the wiring right, and to fool the phone into thinking it is connected to a live phone system, and it needs to be a phone system that you are not already trying to use as your phone (I think).
Title: Re: iPhone/iPod/iPad as a headset: Another solution.
Post by: Kalle on November 03, 2011, 02:45:26 PM
Im glad you had a chance to try it out. I didnt play around with it too much but when I did it worked about 70% of commands I made. From a distance it didnt work too well. I just thought it would be a cool thing to try with VC and since it worked off wifi, it could be used anywhere within range of your network.

Ive been looking for a solution for my home to be able to use VoxCommando. I dont like the idea of having a headset all the time and my house is 2 floors. I wanted to know if anyone could think of a way to distribute multiple high quality microphones around the home for use with VoxCommando. For example, a mic in the living room, one in the kitchen, office etc.

Im wondering if a wireless microphone system used for live music might work. Like attach one under a cabinet in the kitchen, and under the desk in the office. Maybe hide one in the couch in the living room hahaha. Then have the receiver connected to the mic in on the computer or a digital audio input. Any thoughts?

I really like the software and would like to have a way this will work all around my house before buying. I listen to a lot of music and think it would be awesome to say "Play artist Blues Traveler" from the other side of the house or even outside.
I'm sure a Profi Wireless Mic-Station works, but it is very expensive and you have for each mic a "client-box" with battery.
Title: Re: iPhone/iPod/iPad as a headset: Another solution.
Post by: cr0wstuf on November 03, 2011, 02:51:28 PM
Yes. A phone system would work as long as there is no dialtone on the line. That is a great idea actually... the only thing is keeping the phone on and connected for VC to hear it. The amulet remote sounds really cool too. I'm just trying to make everything perfect. I'm really O.C.D. about my home theater stuff  :bonk

I found this... the only thing I need to do is figure out if its expandable past 2 microphones. I'd like 4.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Nady-DKW-DUO-LT-O-Lav-Wireless-System-H65840-i1567359.gc#

it comes with 2 microphones and they both run off of 9V batteries. It will be easy to wire in a 9V power supply. Mount the mic under a desk or something.

I used to work with audio recording, so all you would need is to take the Mix Out from the receiver, convert it into 1/8" and connect it to your favorite microphone/line in on your computer.
Seems easy enough.
Title: Re: iPhone/iPod/iPad as a headset: Another solution.
Post by: jitterjames on November 03, 2011, 03:38:10 PM
how are you going to power the microphones?  These things run on batteries no?  You don't want to be changing 4 sets of batteries twice a day!  ::hmm
Title: Re: iPhone/iPod/iPad as a headset: Another solution.
Post by: cr0wstuf on November 03, 2011, 04:02:17 PM
Ill just wire a few 9V a/c adapters to them and plug them into the wall! Its a bit of work, but it will be great when its finished.

Maybe even have them controlled by x10 and have them all turn off/on at specific times during the day by eventghost!

I'm a dreamer  ;D
Title: Re: iPhone/iPod/iPad as a headset: Another solution.
Post by: jitterjames on November 03, 2011, 07:32:48 PM
Awesome.  It's important to have dreams :)

If you do it we will expect to see a step by step how-to guide with photos.  ;D
Title: Re: iPhone/iPod/iPad as a headset: Another solution.
Post by: cr0wstuf on November 03, 2011, 08:02:21 PM
Absolutely. Should be done within the month.
Title: Re: iPhone/iPod/iPad as a headset: Another solution.
Post by: jitterjames on November 08, 2011, 10:56:31 PM
I just tried headset from Mobiola on my ipod touch 3G and it works quite well.  I had a little trouble setting it up, but after rebooting it seems ok for now.  I'll post back more after I've played with it a little bit.  One nice thing about it is that it seems to let you set another mic to revert to when it is not connected.  I haven't tested this extensively but it seems to work, so I can set it to fall back to my amulet when the ipod application isn't running.  We still need to switch VC on and off though to get it to connect to the new microphone.
Title: Re: iPhone/iPod/iPad as a headset: Another solution.
Post by: powermarcel10 on January 17, 2012, 08:50:35 PM
Hi guys,

Thanks for this tip!

I'm just installed the app and it's working very well!

I only had to change the setting into the app from "Voice" to "Music"

A bit strange but it works! With the voice setting it was very hard to let vc understand me.. With the music setting it's working even good as with a normal microphone! :)

Title: Re: iPhone/iPod/iPad as a headset: Another solution.
Post by: bodiroga on April 24, 2012, 08:18:44 PM
I just tried headset from Mobiola on my ipod touch 3G and it works quite well.  I had a little trouble setting it up, but after rebooting it seems ok for now.  I'll post back more after I've played with it a little bit.  One nice thing about it is that it seems to let you set another mic to revert to when it is not connected.  I haven't tested this extensively but it seems to work, so I can set it to fall back to my amulet when the ipod application isn't running.  We still need to switch VC on and off though to get it to connect to the new microphone.

Hi James!

Is it possible to do this automatically? Is it possible for VC to detect when the default mic has change and make a quick restart? And with Eventghost? A simple python script that detects it and generate and event?

Too complicated, isn't it?

Thanks for your help  ;)
Title: Re: iPhone/iPod/iPad as a headset: Another solution.
Post by: jitterjames on April 24, 2012, 08:29:42 PM
I don't know of a way to detect when the windows default input device has changed.  It might be possible using polling.  In other words, every once in a while (could be every two seconds or whatever) check the registry to see what is the default microphone.  The more often you check, the more you are wasting your computer resources, and the less often you check, the longer it will take to detect a change, when it occurs.

It is not very elegant but it might work.  VoxCommando currently using polling (3 seconds) to detect which program has focus.  I don't like it, but it seems to work fine.

I believe there is a way in eventGhost to check a registry value, so yes, this could be done with EventGhost and a python script... probably.

The first step would be to find the correct registry key and to verify that it does actually change when the default input device has been changed.

In the case of Mobiola though, I don't think there is any way to detect it because the default windows device is not actually changing.  I think they are internally passing through to the other device, and I have also found that is does not work very well, at least not on my system.
Title: Re: iPhone/iPod/iPad as a headset: Another solution.
Post by: Kalle on April 25, 2012, 06:08:24 AM
Hi James!

Is it possible to do this automatically? Is it possible for VC to detect when the default mic has change and make a quick restart? And with Eventghost? A simple python script that detects it and generate and event?

Too complicated, isn't it?

Thanks for your help  ;)
Hi Aitor, the question is - how do you will use this feature?

1. If you start a process, the mic input change automatically and VC make a quick restart?
I think this is possible with LCB.
Also is it possible to change the default mic with a command in VC. (I use this way, that is a easy command) you need only the "SetSoundInput.exe" from here: http://voxcommando.com/clicks.asp?url=files/VoxCommandoExtras.zip (http://voxcommando.com/clicks.asp?url=files/VoxCommandoExtras.zip) and a XML with the name of your devices. (see example pictures)

If you need help, let me know  ;)

Kalle
Title: Re: iPhone/iPod/iPad as a headset: Another solution.
Post by: jitterjames on April 26, 2012, 10:21:35 AM
Aitor?  Where did you go?