1) Acapela Group creates text-to-speech solutions and voices in 35 languages to allow content to be vocalized. 2) The Association Valentin Haüy (AVH) library loans are now mostly audio books accessed by the visually impaired using text-to-speech, allowing access to newly published books at the same time as other readers. 3) A survey found that visually impaired users are satisfied with the quality of text-to-speech audio books and appreciate being able to access new publications like sighted readers.

1. Audible Publishing
DAISY Consortium AGM
Paris,June 10th, 2015
Acapela Group - Nicolas Mazars – Sales Manager

2.  invents text-to-speech solutions to vocalize
content since 1984
 We create voices to give the say to your content
in 35 languages

3. Voices by Acapela:
•Text To Speech turns written input into speech
•Vocalization of your content
•Authentic and original voices
•+100 synthetic voices in 35 languages
•Natural & pleasant audio result
•With meaning and intent
•All Ages, All Accents
•World’s first Genuine Children voices
•Characters & Personalities
•Creation of custom voices. Just for you.

5. Premium voices
Perfect for long content Reading
Meet:
Sharon
Manon
Claudia

6. Listen to AVH Story, featuring :

7. Listen to how visually impaired
users have been enabled to
access freshly printed books, at the
same time than any other reader,
for the 1st
time ever!

9. The AVH’s multi-media library offers to the visually
impaired
> Books and music in braille
> Audio described films
> Large print publications
> DAISY audio books that use text to-speech

10. Audio book is by far
the media most used
by visually impaired users
to access books.

11. Situation in 2012
•Visually Impaired readers did not have access to
books at the same time as everybody else
•Only 1,6% of the 60 000 new novels entering each
year in the bookstores enter the AVH collection
•93% of the AVH library loans were audio books, read
by a human speaker

12. Milestones
-2013-
AVH starts full production of audio books “read by
Alice” in DAISY format
For the 1st
time, the new book season is accessible
to visually impaired at the same time than printed
books using Alice’s voice
-2014-
AVH adds Premium voice ‘Manon’ to its portfolio

13. TTS audio book experience - Figures
72 % of surveyed people will borrow books read by speech synthesis
again.
65% read audio book regularly
versus 2% that don’t use audio books.
59% regularly read audio books by TTS
68% said quality was satisfactory (57) and very satisfactory (11)
‘I am 75 years old and I never thought I would be able to read the
latest best sellers at the same time as people who can see. What a
revolution!’
‘I was pleasantly surprised by the speed with which we can access
the latest new books and I am aware that only a synthetic voice can
offer us this service – so well done.’

14. DAISY production & tools
Dolphin Easy Producer
Dolphin Easy Converter
DAISY Pipeline
Custom tool

16. Other cases (audio publishing only) :

17. visually impaired users need
+
text-to-speech solutions
+
Publishing industry
=
a new world of possibilities