VoxCommando
Microphones and Speech Recognition in General => "Open air" and "whole home" microphones => Topic started by: 01ste02 on December 29, 2015, 09:14:31 AM
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Hi!
Wow, first post here! ;)
I need some help with a microphone, I am from Sweden (where electronics is extremely expensive) and I only have 66,05 CAD in budget (400 SEK), so do you think that this microphone http://www.kjell.com/se/sortiment/ljud-bild/pa-ljud-underhallning/mikrofoner-tillbehor/konferensmikrofon/konferensmikrofon-p24074 (http://www.kjell.com/se/sortiment/ljud-bild/pa-ljud-underhallning/mikrofoner-tillbehor/konferensmikrofon/konferensmikrofon-p24074) (run it thru translate ;) ) will pick up my voice and commands from 0-3 m (about 10 ft) away with enough confidence?
I have a pretty quiet house, so...
Thanks and excuse me for my eventually bad English!
Oskar
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Hi 01ste02 and welcome to VC-Forum.
Hard to say if it will work as you expect, but why not - it has a mono plug which you can connect to your soundcard. You can try it and if it will not work for you, send it back.
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Ok, thanks!
But I suspect that they won't accept a return if the packaging is broken :( ...
Will try anyways, so thanks for the help Kalle! (Danke :biglaugh )
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Hi Oskar,
Welcome to the forum. It's nice to see "the next generation" getting involved in the VoxCommando community.
I don't have experience with that particular microphone or with shopping in Sweden but I will try to offer some advice anyway based on my personal experience and some guesses.
If you have not already done so, I recommend you have a look at this wiki page to get an idea of what you options are:
http://voxcommando.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Microphones
First, about that particular microphone, it looks like it is probably good for your application. There is not much description on the web page but based on the shape and the fact that it is a "conference microphone" it is probably going to pick up your voice from 10 feet away. It will also pick up a lot of other sounds even if you house is "quiet". it is always easier to work with a microphone that is closer to your mouth. If you have an Android device you should try out VoxWav free.
The one possible problem with that microphone is that it has an analog connection so the quality of the audio is going to depend on your computer and the quality of your sound card. If you could find a similar microphone with a USB connector you could probably be a bit more confident that you would get a clean signal. If you have used another analog microphone with your computer and the quality was good then this may be less of a concern.
I don't know about shopping in Sweden but I would look first to see what is available at your local stores. If they have a more relaxed policy for returning products it will make it a bit easier to make the decision to buy something just to try it. Even if you are allowed to return something to an online retailer, you will probably have to pay for return shipping and if you paid for shipping to get the item you will lose that too.
If you are looking online, consider ebay and Amazon.de.
Good luck. If you see anything else that looks interesting feel free post it here for more feedback.
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This is a bit higher than your current budget but maybe it is worth considering:
http://www.amazon.de/gp/offer-listing/B001TGTDFM/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&condition=used
Some users have discussed it on our forum. Here is one thread, but there may be others as well:
http://voxcommando.com/forum/index.php?topic=379.0
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Thanks James!
I will maybe buy that, but I was wondering if I can use VoxWav free with my sony Smart watch 3 (Sorry, i have seen threads about this before, but I don't understand how to setup tasker and that other program...). Could you please explain the dummy way, and preferably free?
And thanks for making such a great software!
Oskar
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You cannot use VoxWav with any AndroidWear product. It has to run on a device that is running a full version of Android (such as an Android tablet or smartphone).
For a VoxWav-only solution, you have to use the microphone that is on a full Android device -- or plug an analog headset with a microphone into your full Android device.
On the forum, you may have seen people talking about one of three things:
1. The Omate watch, which runs a full version of Android without needing to be tethered to a phone. But it is an expensive and poor-quality product, developed by an unreliable company.
2. The other option that has been discussed by users who have AndroidWear smart watches involves using the Android app Tasker & the Autovoice plugin for Tasker. Autovoice uses Google's speech recognition, not VoxCommando's speech recognition. Then the Android mobile device sends a text interpretation of what the user said to VoxCommando, rather than audio. The VoxWav app, on the other hand, sends an audio file to VoxCommando, and then VoxCommando interprets the audio. So, the VoxWav app really works like a microphone. Tasker + Autovoice work differently.
Tasker & Autovoice are not free.
3. Bluetooth. If your wearable device supports Bluetooth you may be able to connect it directly to your computer and use it as a microphone for your PC. If you already own the device, you could try this, but I wouldn't buy a device for this purpose, because the quality of Bluetooth audio is not great, and this solution will only work with VoxCommando SP version. (http://voxcommando.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Version_2#Choice_of_speech_engines)
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Ok, Thank you all so much!
I hope that I wasn't too annoying :bonk
Best regards
Oskar
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Wow, also first post ;)
I want the same as you, Oskar.
Open air mic, not expensive and about 3m away Form htpc running kodi ontop of Windows 10.
The setup is in sleeping room (quiet), and i want to replace my harmony.
I am thinking about The following solutions:
- USB mic with an 5m cable and place it near bed
- buy cheap Android phone and voxwav pro and Mount it near bed
Here are the USB mics i have found:
Mic USB: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B002OO18NS
Mic USB: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B001TGTDFM
Mic USB: http://www.thomann.de/at/samson_ub1.htm
There is also The mic posted above.
Which mic do you usw now?
Regarding the Android voxwav solution:
I have watched some Videos and there is a Always on feature.
Does it works good? Also Ehen screen is off?
THX
popy
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Hi Popy,
I don't recommend buying an Android device to use as an always on microphone. If you already have one to test with that is a different story. I don't think always on mode is really reliable enough so you should try it first before you start spending money.
Many devices will force the wifi signal off or even disable the processing of an app after the screen has been turned off for a certain period so no, you cannot assume that VoxWav will continue working forever when the screen is turned off. It might, depending on your device and how it is set up, but you won't know until you try it. If VoxWav gets stuck because of a network or other problem you will need to turn "always-on mode" back on. Too much trouble I think.
VoxWav was really designed to be used with the phone in your hand so for an always-on solution I would stick with a normal microphone of some kind.
I will leave it to others to comment on which microphones to choose but there are already many discussions and reviews of microphones on this forum so if you have not already done so, I suggest you look at some of those.
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I'm using a Tablet mounted on my end table, and I tried using VoxWav Pro's always on function and ran into the same issue that jitterjames mentioned,
so I decided to go with Tasker and Autovoice, I set Autovoice to always listen and use a Prefix so it doesn't randomly trigger a command,
but with that I ran into a similar issue so I set up a task in Tasker that would turn the mic on for ten minutes then turn it off for twenty seconds and then turn the mic on for ten minutes and continues to loop all day,
talking at a normal tone from the seat closest to the tablet works fairly well, but if watching a TV show or movie at normal volume levels I have to raise my voice slightly. if I sit on the other end of the couch from the tablet then I have to almost yell,
this works well for me since I had already converted an old tablet into a Remote using Tasker, but if I was going to buy the stuff to set up an open mic I would go with a usb mic over a phone or tablet
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@jitterjames & @PegLegTV
Thanks for your suggestions!
Than i dont go with the voxwav + android solution, because of the possible other issues (standby).
I already searched a lot regarding mics (also in this forum) and ill think i will go with the already discussed "MXL AC404 USB Conference Microphone": http://www.amazon.de/dp/B001TGTDFM
Is it possible to set acoustic echo cancellation (AEC) with an USB mic while playing the sound over HDMI (with integrated intel graphics)?
AEC would be very nice in combination with an good converence mic.
Or does this mic AEC by itself?
thx
pOpY
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Another question regarding an USB MIC:
i want to put the mic near the bed (top, where our head are).
The distance is about 9m (when the cable is mounted onto the wall).
Does an active USB repeater cable like this http://www.amazon.de/dp/B00DI2QTUW works for this?
Anyone has experience with this?
thx
pOpY
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Hi pOpY -- I just like saying pOpY;)
I know you can use a 15 foot (3 meter) regular USB cable with a microphone. I don't know about longer solutions but I think it is probably possible with the right equipment.
The cable that you link to on Amazon has 222 reviews (mostly good), so why don't you search through some of those to see what people are saying about using it with a microphone? I think it will probably work fine because a microphone does not use a huge amount of power or require high bandwidth.
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hi jitterjames, also like your name 8) 8) ;D
Already (before posting) searched the cable reviews for microphone, but didnt find something.
That was also my thoughts, that a mic doesn't need much current so the voltage drop on the long cable is not high.
--> i have ordered the "MXL AC404 USB Conference Microphone": http://www.amazon.de/dp/B001TGTDFM and the cable: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B00DI2QTUW.
Will try it and report back :)
pOpY
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Have tested the mic and usb repeater and here are my results:
The repeater doesnt work for the mic.
Sometimes it shows a yellow triangle on "Generic USB Hub" and sometimes it works for a few seconds.
So ill assume the issue is the voltage drop or at least the cable itself.
With the mic ill doesnt get accurate recognition (~20-50) also when i am sitting in front (~1m away) and the room is relativ quiet. Also there are false positives quite often. When TV is running it just doesnt work at all.
So not a good solution for my sleeping room.
Which mic could ill try next?
- Blue Snowball: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B002OO333Q
- Kinect 360
- Amulet Remote -> not the best soltion because i have to take a remote in my hand to give commands. So i could also use my harmony
Any hints?
thx
pOpY
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Before you buy anything else, turn the volume down, down way down lower than you expect. Start at 5% or 10% and see how it goes.
It could also help to create and train a new profile when you get a new microphone.
My experience with Kinect is that it's OK, but not the best. VoxCommando does not support the Kinect 360 if you want to use the special features, only the Kinect V1. But perhaps you can use a Kinect 360 just as a normal windows microphone, I don't know.
The blue Snowball is probably decent.
You can't buy the Amulet Remote any more as far as we know.
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Hi.
Already tried lowering the volume, but with no positive effect.
Also trained Windows speech three times -> things got better but not good enough.
Regarding the volume meter bar in the gui. Is it normal that it doesnt get to the end when ill speak normal?
Also when ill setup the volume to "100" and speak loud the bar doesnt go over 1/3.
Thanks regarding the hint about kinect v1 & 360!
Thinking about to get one from ebay and try again.
Also a sleep detection would be nice with kinect :D
I have asked amulet devices per email and got an offer to get one or two.
Is there an way to get the amulet remote in an always on mode and does it work if it is not to close by mouth?
thx
pOpY
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Hi popy,
no the amulet can't be used as always on, because it has a tilt switch inside (when you lift the amulet, the mic switch to on).
The amulet is designed to hold it close to the mouth when you speak.
You can try also a wireless solution: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_9?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=akg+wms40+mini+system&sprefix=AKG+WMS40%2Caps%2C239
So you have the option to use different microphones on it. Here is my review: http://voxcommando.com/forum/index.php?topic=800.msg6423#msg6423
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Hey Kalle.
Thx for the info.
I am seraching for an open air mic and no headset mic.
Any hints for an open air mic which is compatible with the wireless solution?
@jitterjames: in ebay i dont find any v1 kinect? just 360 and xbox one (v2.0) version
is there an older version or do you mean the xbox one version?
thx
pOpY
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Here is an example - but not tested: http://www.thomann.de/gb/superlux_e303b.htm (http://www.thomann.de/gb/superlux_e303b.htm)
This mic will be connected to the transmitter.
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@jitterjames: in ebay i dont find any v1 kinect? just 360 and xbox one (v2.0) version
is there an older version or do you mean the xbox one version?
Sorry, I made a mistake. It has been a while since I looked at them and I confused the 360 with the xbox one.
Here is all the info you need: http://voxcommando.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Kinect_audio
360 is the same as version 1.
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[/b]Also when ill setup the volume to "100" and speak loud the bar doesnt go over 1/3.
Also a sleep detection would be nice with kinect :D
Yes that is normal (http://voxcommando.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=How_to_use_VoxCommando#.28G.29_Volume_Meter), anything over 30% on that meter means the volume is too high anyway. Even when this volume bar hardly moves you can get excellent recognition and the lower the volume the better chance you have to cut out background noise. That is why I told you do try lowering the volume to 10%.
But it is possible your microphone does not let you adjust the volume at all if it uses auto volume control. I can see how this might be the case for this type of microphone. The problem with auto volume adjustment is that when no one is talking the volume is increased more and more, and it starts picking up a lot of background sounds, so in general automatic volume (or gain) control is a really bad thing to have when doing speech recognition.