Abstract: A method for producing speech output can include the step of selecting a TTS output device from a plurality of available output devices. The selected output device can be associated with outputting content of an application responsive to a print command. According to the method, the print command can be detected, which results in the content of the application being conveyed to the selected TTS output device. The TTS output device can be associated with at least one text-to-speech engine. Upon content conveyance to the TTS output device, at least a portion of the content can be automatically converted using the text-to-speech engine. The speech converted content can be outputted.

Abstract: A method, apparatus and a computer program product to generate an audible speech word that corresponds to text. The method includes providing a text word and, in response to the text word, processing pre-recorded speech segments that are derived from a plurality of speakers to selectively concatenate together speech segments based on at least one cost function to form audio data for generating an audible speech word that corresponds to the text word. A data structure is also provided for use in a concatenative text-to-speech system that includes a plurality of speech segments derived from a plurality of speakers, where each speech segment includes an associated attribute vector each of which is comprised of at least one attribute vector element that identifies the speaker from which the speech segment was derived.

Abstract: A system and method of compressing original video data expressed in a plurality of digitally coded frames which enable decompression and playback of resulting compressed video data at one of a plurality of frame rates while maintaining temporal fidelity of the frames displayed. Compression includes selecting a plurality of rate streams for the compressed video data, including a highest rate stream including all of the frames of the original video data and a lowest rate stream including a subset of regularly spaced frames of the original video data. Then the initial frame in the original video data is spatially compressed and the resulting compressed data placed in the compressed video data. The initial frame is also saved as a base frame for all rate streams for subsequent temporal compression of the original video data.

Abstract: Decompression of video segments from a sequence of differential frames is done by selected scaling of frame resolution and color depth. A frame header indicates the computational complexity of decompression of a frame, allowing selection of scales for output resolution and color depth. Decompression proceeds by retrieving a frame from the compressed video stream in elementary units. An elementary unit is characterized by types, including an unchanged type, a homogeneous type, a pattern type and a predetermined pattern type. For a retrieved elementary unit of the unchanged type, an output pointer to a display buffer is moved by an elementary unit scaled by the output resolution scale. For a retrieved elementary unit of the homogeneous type, a color retrieved from the compressed video stream is applied to an area in the display buffer corresponding to an elementary unit scaled by the output resolution scale.

Abstract: A method for specifying and executing independent, multi-media tasks along a synchronizing time-line, preferably in the form of a spreadsheet matrix with the event elements making up the rows and the time periods the columns. The media include various pieces of hardware such as touch screens, voice synthesizers, video disk players, and the like. In designing a presentation, the author types into the matrix indications of which piece of hardware will be operating and for what specified period of time during the presentation. This information is also accessible to all other events in the presentation thereby allowing complex multi-media presentations to be designed by a user who is relatively unsophisticated in using computers.