PyRadio features comprehensive Text-to-Speech (TTS) support, providing intelligent auditory feedback for an enhanced radio streaming experience. This advanced system delivers contextual information with priority-based management, supporting multiple platforms and extensive configuration options.
- Features
- Activation
- Platform Implementation
- Speech Control
- Language Support
- Technical Features
- Usage Guidelines
- Configuration Options
- Current Status & Roadmap
The TTS system provides spoken feedback for:
- Station Navigation: Station names and numbers during browsing
- Playback Status: Connection establishment, playback start/stop
- Media Metadata: Song titles and artist information from stream metadata
- System Events: Connection errors, volume changes, status alerts
- Volume Adjustment Feedback: Optional debounced announcements during volume changes
- Dialog Interaction: Menu items, help text, configuration options
Enable TTS permanently through the configuration menu: Config → TTS → Enable TTS
This setting is saved in your configuration file and persists across sessions.
Toggle TTS during runtime by pressing \T (backslash + T). This setting is session-only and resets when restarting PyRadio.
Utilizes speech-dispatcher configured for English language by default. Provides robust, interruptible speech synthesis with priority-based queue management.
Leverages Windows SAPI (Speech API) with automatic selection of English voices when available. Features immediate speech interruption and consistent volume control.
Employs the native say command using the system's default voice. Most macOS voices support multiple languages natively, handling mixed-language content seamlessly.
Control how much speech feedback you receive:
- limited: Essential information only (system messages, errors, station data)
- window: Extended feedback (includes window text and interface elements)
- all: Comprehensive feedback (speaks all available text and information)
The system intelligently manages speech priorities:
- Critical information (errors, alerts) receives immediate attention
- Navigation feedback can be interrupted for rapid browsing
- Song titles are preserved and spoken after important announcements
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
- 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
- Priority-based processing
- Pending title queuing after high-priority interruptions
- Volume adjustment debouncing
- Platform-optimized anti-stutter protection
- Critical alerts receive immediate priority
- Song titles are queued and spoken after high-priority interruptions
- Rapid navigation triggers queue optimization
When enabled, PyRadio provides spoken feedback for volume adjustments using a debounce mechanism.
A "volume change session" begins with the first volume modification and ends after no further changes occur within the configured delay period. At the end of the session, the system announces:
"Volume set to XX%"
The debounce delay (300–3000 ms) prevents repetitive announcements while rapidly adjusting the volume.
Optionally, an additional start notification:
"Volume change initiated"
can be enabled to indicate the beginning of a volume adjustment session.
Typical values: 300–500 ms for responsive feedback.
- Default configuration works optimally
- System messages and international station names sound natural
- 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
| Setting | Values | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| enable_tts | True/False | False | Master switch for TTS functionality |
| tts_context | limited/window/all | all | Controls how much information is spoken |
| tts_volume | 0-100 | 50 | Speech volume (Linux/Windows only) |
| tts_rate | -100 to 100 | 0 | Speech speed (negative=slower, positive=faster) |
| tts_pitch | -100 to 100 | 0 | Voice pitch adjustment |
| tts_verbosity | default/punctuation | default | Controls how punctuation is spoken |
| tts_speak_volume_change | 0, 300 to 3000 | 0 | Enables announcements during volume changes |
| tts_speak_volume_shange_start | True / False | False | Enables "Volume change initiated" announcement |
- Volume: Adjustable on Linux and Windows (macOS uses system volume)
- Rate: Controls speech speed across all platforms
- Pitch: Alters voice pitch (platform-dependent implementation)
- Verbosity:
default: Punctuation is interpreted naturallypunctuation: Punctuation is spoken literally (e.g., "read-only" becomes "read dash only")
The TTS support in PyRadio is continuously evolving. Currently, TTS is available for:
- Main station selection window
- Playback status and notifications
- Station navigation and browsing
- Volume adjustment feedback
- Basic configuration menus
To assist users in configuring the program, special rules apply when using the Configuration windows, provided the TTS system is already enabled:
-
Full TTS Access: When navigating through the Configuration menus and windows (including all sub-windows), the TTS system operates at its fullest capacity, temporarily overriding the
tts_contextsetting to provide complete auditory feedback about all interface elements. -
Voice Sample: While in the TTS configuration group, pressing "T" (uppercase) will speak a voice sample using the current TTS settings, allowing you to preview how your configuration sounds.
-
Detailed Help: In all configuration windows (currently implemented in the "Keyboard Shortcuts" window), pressing "t" (lowercase) provides additional spoken information about the current setting being configured.
This special behavior ensures that all users can effectively configure the program to their preferences, regardless of their current TTS context settings.
- Extended TTS support for all program windows and dialogs
- Enhanced context-aware speech patterns
- More granular control over speech feedback
- Implementation of the detailed help feature (lowercase t) across all configuration windows
Note: The TTS system is designed to be unobtrusive yet informative. If you encounter issues with speech feedback or have suggestions for improvement, please report them via the PyRadio issue tracker.