Hi I have tried Voxcommando some time ago and gave up then as I could not get it to work properly.

but I thought now it is quite expensive it would work better and if not there would be some support?  Where do I get support?  Forums are in my opinion great for free apps, but when you pay for something they should be a last resort and not the first!

So what is my problem?

well the app runs fine, but most of the time even though it has seemingly heard what I said it just says "too low".  I assume this means too quiet, then when I say it louder again it seems to hear it (displays  correct) but says too loud.  why are the tolerances so small??

there is a video on utube with it absolutely rocking! but mine is just embarassing! I can some times get it to go left but right virtually never!

I have tried usb desk mic, usb web camera (logitech Orbit) and a 3.5 mm mic and headphone.

any one have any advice or do I just give up on it again till MS come out with voice activation for Media centre?

help please!!!

Quote from: tytherman on September 20, 2011, 11:10:40 AM
Hi I have tried Voxcommando some time ago and gave up then as I could not get it to work properly.

but I thought now it is quite expensive it would work better and if not there would be some support?  Where do I get support?  Forums are in my opinion great for free apps, but when you pay for something they should be a last resort and not the first!

So what is my problem?

well the app runs fine, but most of the time even though it has seemingly heard what I said it just says "too low".  I assume this means too quiet, then when I say it louder again it seems to hear it (displays  correct) but says too loud.  why are the tolerances so small??

there is a video on utube with it absolutely rocking! but mine is just embarassing! I can some times get it to go left but right virtually never!

I have tried usb desk mic, usb web camera (logitech Orbit) and a 3.5 mm mic and headphone.

any one have any advice or do I just give up on it again till MS come out with voice activation for Media centre?

help please!!!

Hi tytherman, welcome to VC-Forum. Bad to hear, that you are problems with VoxCommando - we want to try to solve the problem.
You've already set up your microphone in voice recognition?
Go to VoxCommando to: Options -> Open Options -> System -> Recognition
there you can see all settings for your mic and there is a button "configuring microphone" to config your mic for speech recognition.
Try this first, to adjust the microphone input level - let us know if it works.
(sorry for my bad english, I'm a german user    )

Greetings Kalle

hiya, thanks for the prompt reply, no worries about the english, sure to be better than my German (in fact any other language!! )

any way yes I had set it up using the method you said but it seemingly made little difference.  Can you tell me do I need to set up windows speech rec first?

also perhaps I should ask is it 100% achievable to get a "good" voice reconition set up of XBMC including when media is playing(noisy)?  I plan if it does work to install a boundary mic in the ceiling but do not want to spend money if the best I can acheive is a gimick - i.e. needs to be stable for family to use!

I plan to try and set it up again on Thursday as I am out all day tomorow, so any tips you can give is most appreciated....

thanks in adavnce!

Quote from: tytherman on September 20, 2011, 01:55:17 PM
hiya, thanks for the prompt reply, no worries about the english, sure to be better than my German (in fact any other language!! )

any way yes I had set it up using the method you said but it seemingly made little difference.  Can you tell me do I need to set up windows speech rec first?

also perhaps I should ask is it 100% achievable to get a "good" voice reconition set up of XBMC including when media is playing(noisy)?  I plan if it does work to install a boundary mic in the ceiling but do not want to spend money if the best I can acheive is a gimick - i.e. needs to be stable for family to use!

I plan to try and set it up again on Thursday as I am out all day tomorow, so any tips you can give is most appreciated....

thanks in adavnce!

No, you need not to set up windows speech rec. first, but start in each case VC again to effective the settings for VC.
You can proof your mic quality with a simple wave record. importantly, the microphone must operate correctly under Windows. I've had no problems with any microphone (except Bluetooth).
Can VC understand anything? any confidence? (You can see this in the mainmenu,  see attached picture)
When is your confidence in mainwindow  "too low", you must set the "required confidence" in options to a lower value.
You can found a reference here: http://voxcommando.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Options

You find a good mic review for VoxCommando here: http://voxcommando.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Microphones and a user test for boundary mic here http://voxcommando.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Microphones

Let us know if it works

Kalle

PS: We have many user that use XBMC with VoxCommando, my self too and I can say, it works perfect. The best mic solution is the amulet remote (www.amuletdevices.com)

Quote from: tytherman on September 20, 2011, 11:10:40 AM
well the app runs fine, but most of the time even though it has seemingly heard what I said it just says "too low".  I assume this means too quiet, then when I say it louder again it seems to hear it (displays  correct) but says too loud.  why are the tolerances so small??

any one have any advice or do I just give up on it again till MS come out with voice activation for Media centre?

help please!!!

Hi titherman.  I don't see what the problem is with getting help on a forum.  It just means more people are available to help you.

Do not worry about the messages "too soft" "too loud" etc.  These are just there to give you a clue if you are having problems.  For example you might make a small sound and it will say "too soft" but this is not a problem because you were not speaking!  The green input level on your microphone should be set so that when you are talking relatively loud the volume meter goes no more than 1/2 way.  On my laptop it only goes to about 1/4 level and it works fine.  The only thing that matters is whether it understands you correctly at a reasonable % confidence.

If you are having problems getting VoxCommando to understand you there can be a number of possible reasons.  In pretty much all cases you would have the exact same problem with a speech recognition solution offered by Microsoft, because we use the same engine.  If you want voice control specifically for Windows Media Center then the software that comes with the Amulet remote is very good.

Here are some possible reasons for bad recognition results:

1 - Bad microphone.  Bluetooth, noise on the input.
2 - Bad levels (too high or too low, but the acceptable range is quite wide - I generally like to set a low input level to reduce other background noises)
3 - Saying the wrong commands. (use the help menu to see a list of proper commands).
4 - Too much background noise.  (usually not a problem with a headset or amulet remote)
5 - Thick / Heavy accent.  If English is not your native language you might have trouble.  In this case it is recommended to train the Microsoft speech engine at least once.  This is generally a good idea anyway and it should only take a few minutes.  If the microsoft speech recognition is working properly then VoxCommando should work just as well (better actually).  So I recommend you do this.  Remember to turn off MS speech recognition before trying to use VoxCommando since you don't want them both running at the same time.
6 - Running the wrong language configuration.  If you run a standard configuration on an English system this should not be an issue.  But if you set the input language to something other than English in the options, but try to use a setup with all English commands you are obviously going to have problems.
7 - With some setups turning off AEC (accoustic echo cancellation) and Noise reduction can actually improve results significantly.  In others, turning them on can sometimes help.  Usually 'off' is better for both.  The options are usually only available with built-in mics or when using the line-in.  You generally won't see them on a USB mic.

It is also a good idea to make sure you have a short silence before and after a command.  Do not start a command with "um" unless you have set "um" as your prefix, and don't say please when you are done unless you have added that to the command phrasing.

I have tested a variety of microphones and most of them work great.  The built in mic on my laptop does not work very well, especially if the fans are going but I can get by with it for testing.  Bluetooth is hopeless.  Kinect is pretty bad.  Pretty much all other ones I have tried have worked great.

I personallly don't need to do training at all.  I can start from a fresh speech profile and it works at 95% right away.  I have a pretty normal North American accent I guess.  Kalle and Wanilton (and I am sure others) have quite strong accents in English, but I believe with training they get very good results.

You asked about setting up a boundary microphone in the living room for "family use" with background noise  media playing etc.  The answer is no.  This will not yield and enjoyable experience.  The boundary mics pic up EVERYTHING and VoxCommando will end up executing a lot of false positives.  If a movies is playing loud, VC will not only listen to the actors, it will probably not hear you well.  It won't be fun.  In a situation like that you need an Amulet remote or some kind of noise cancelling headset, or any mic that is designed to be held close to your mouth.  Sorry, but for now that is just how it is!

Pretty much everything I have just told you, and much more information is available on the forum and in the wiki, but I understand that it is hard to find it all.   There is a lot of other information and chit chat to wade through.  If you still have questions, don't hesitate to ask.  This post can probably be the basis for that pesky FAQ I've been meaning to write...

one more thought...

if you have more than one microphone installed on your system, make sure that the one you want to use is set as the windows default recording device.  Unless you override it in the advanced speech recognition settings, this is the one that will be used.

could be that you plugged a USB mic into your laptop, but it is still using the crappy built in mic...    stranger things have happened.

My native language is Portuguese, and vox work fine for me, i don´t have problems in control XBMC using voice recognition, I use amulet remote control, it´s very good, but i training in windows Speech Recognition tutorial,  a little first..

Also, it is worth trying to re-install voxcommando from scratch if you are having unresolvable issues.  When I first started messing with the application, I was having a VERY strange issue with my standard aux mic's levels slowly dropping as I tried to use it (as in the bar that represents speech volume would decrease each time repeating the same command at the same volume). I simply removed the old install and tried with a new one and never saw the issue again, no idea what caused it.

And don't be hesitant to use the forum! If you are having a problem, there's a good chance that others are too, and having the question here will help everybody in the long run!

EDIT: It is worth noting that generating the XBMC payload is CRUCIAL for any decent functionality, be sure that isn't a step you overlooked!

WOW!! ok sold on the forum idea....certainly works when people reply so quickly!

ok so update..... have reduced the confidence rate and heh presto works 100% better, not perfect but certainly a big step in the right direction!! 

will play some more then think about mics.... I appreciate the amulet is good but I spent £180 on a harmony 895 which controls TV, Amp, PC, x10 lights etc etc...

anyone suggest an rf clip on mic?

any way thanks again and will play some more now!

We are very fortunate to have a particularly friendly and helpful user base.  

I'm glad to hear you are on the right track.  I recommend you also try this:

Create a blank windows speech profile and train it once using the windows utility.  It can help to do this whenever you install a new mic (if you feel you need better results).  When you are alone with a relatively quiet house you can check the "learn" button on the main VC screen.  Then issue a few commands.  That should help.

Also, for the mic you could use a boundary mic, and it could work very well, but then you need a way to tell the computer to shut-up and listen.  This can be accomplished with your harmony if you have some kind of USB receiver for the PC.

I realize this defeats the purpose of going hands-free, but on the other hand, when working properly the voice commands can do so much more than what is possible with a remote.  Immediately see the movie, or TV show you want, or listen to the exact album you want.  No browsing, searching, scrolling.  And of course there is the wow factor when you want to show off.

So you could assign a button to listen and one to ignore you.  When you click the one to listen you can also have it cut the volume of the pc to 20% (or whatever).

It's an option, as long as you don't have too many other sources of sound near the mic.

Quote from: tytherman on September 21, 2011, 03:14:17 PM
WOW!! ok sold on the forum idea....certainly works when people reply so quickly!

ok so update..... have reduced the confidence rate and heh presto works 100% better, not perfect but certainly a big step in the right direction!! 

will play some more then think about mics.... I appreciate the amulet is good but I spent £180 on a harmony 895 which controls TV, Amp, PC, x10 lights etc etc...

anyone suggest an rf clip on mic?

any way thanks again and will play some more now!

Ok, I think we solved the problem 
Take a look here, for that wireless mic solution must not spend much money, and it works very good.
http://voxcommando.com/forum/index.php?topic=595.msg4263#msg4263

Kalle

making good progress now.... have also got my neighbour trialling it as he also loved the you tube video!!

any way we are both looking for a list of "included xbmc" commands, ie. go to, browse etc etc.... 

also one last little bug I am finding is that periodically the app seems to hang as if the cache is full then a few (quite a few) seconds later may start again, is this common, and what is the easiest way to reduce the commands it acts on, i.e. I have no interest in it changing aspect ratios or some of the tech stuff, just goto move play and basic funtions.

thank again!

I am assuming that you started with the standard xbmc configuration when you first installed VC.

To view the commands that are part of your current configuration:
- From the main VC window, click help -> Generate Help Menu.
  a browser should open with all the commands.  You can print this if you want.

To view and edit commands:
- From the main VC window, click edit.  The tree on the left contains groups (folder icon) and commands (lighting icon).
- Select the command you want to delete, right-click it, select "Delete"
   when you have removed all the commands you don't want, click "Save all and close"

for more info see the wiki.  the command editor is described here:
http://voxcommando.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=How_to_use_VoxCommando#VoxCommando_Tree_Editor

Quote from: tytherman on September 22, 2011, 10:43:29 AM
also one last little bug I am finding is that periodically the app seems to hang as if the cache is full then a few (quite a few) seconds later may start again, is this common...

I don't think this is common at all.  I have never seen it happen on any of the computers I have tested, including a netbook (with 2 gig of RAM).  I am not aware of anyone else having reported a problem like this.

A few possibilities spring to mind.

1 - something funky with your microphone (especially if it is a USB mic).  Try another mic if you can to see if it still happens.
I know I had similar problems when trying to train MS speech with a bluetooth mic.  The quality of the sound was so bad that MS speech was taking forever to process.  I think a large part of this time came from actually trying to learn from the sound as opposed to recognizing it.

2 - look at your cpu and RAM usage while VC is running.  VC should not be using too much of your CPU, but may use a fair amont of RAM if you have a huge media library scanned in via GenXML.  Is something else taxing your machine?

3 - if VC has executed a command, some actions may get hung up waiting for a response from another program.  For example, if it is sending a command using XBMC.send..., it will wait for results from XBMC.  If XBMC is busy VC will wait for it.  It will give up after 3 seconds.  You can change this time setting in options on the XBMC tab.  Usually if XBMC is working properly and your network settings are correct, a response will be almost instant, even when requesting large amounts of data from xbmc.

Things you can try for diagnostic purposes...

other mic
other machine
post your system specs
make a video showing it happening to offer us clues of what might be going on.  If you can have the windows task manager open at the same time it might help.

ok just waiting on my activation code and then plan to install it on pc in playroom as opposed to the test rig in the study, hopefully will be better on that one as it is certainly more powerfull.

all in all starting to take shape, if I can get it a bit more accurate and find away to control the x10 lights (currently use Girder as eventghost doesnt have an interface for the cm12a).

thanks again!