Mac Magazin/MacEasy 24/Mac Magazin and MacEasy Magazine CD - Issue 24.iso/Multimedia/Focus DictationMachine™ v2.7/Focus DictationMachine™ v2.7/Focus DictationMachine™ v2.7.rsrc/TEXT_142_ Sound Menu.txt

Text File | 1996-06-28 | 5KB | 28 lines

•• Sound Menu ••

Use the items in this menu to adjust various characteristics of the sound recording and playback.  The following describes various user adjustable parameters allowing the users to customize the DictationMachine to their individual needs.


• Master Volume •
Use this menu item to adjust the computer's main output volume.  This option modifies the settings used by all applications currently running (including DictationMachine).  This overall control can be used to reduce the system beep sound or sounds being created by any other program employing audio output feature.  Additionally, the application allows the user to alter the settings used by DictationMachine only which is described in the next section.

• Volume •
Use this menu item to adjust the DictationMachine's output volume.  The changes made through this menu item effect only the audio output behavior of the DictationMachine.  This parameter can also be adjusted to the desired value using the volume up and down keys in the main display.  To learn how to change the master volume see the previous section.

• Sensitivity •
Use this menu item to adjust the DictationMachine's sensitivity level (threshold) for voice activated recording.  The sensitivity parameter determines the loudness level which would trigger the DictationMachine's recording feature once in record mode.  The advantage of this feature is the ability to avoid pauses and silence between spoken words which take unnecessary extra disk space.  The values are from 0 to 100.  The zero value would cause any sound that is detected to be recorded.  The 100 value would cause the recording to be activated on extremely loud noise which meet or exceed the maximum possible.  An intermediate value, for example 40, would cause all sound with loudness below 40 percent of maximum to be ignored.  This threshold feature allows the users to customize the DictationMachine to the environment in with it is being operated.  The background noise (i.e. computer's fan, office equipment, personal stereo, keyboard clicks etc.) can be eliminated by adjusting the threshold.  The sensitivity level controls the recording behavior in recording mode only.   If the user is playing, stopping, pausing, rewinding or fast forwarding, this parameter would have no effect.  The pop-up menu allows quick setting from 0 to 100 in steps of ten.  The sensitivity  up and down buttons in the main window allow fine tuning in steps of one percent.

• Delay •
Use this menu item to adjust the DictationMachine's delay time for voice activated (VOX) recording.  The delay parameter describes the time that DictationMachine waits before recording is stopped after the loudness has fallen below threshold.  To illustrate the need for this feature let us look at a word such as "Stop" where the "ST" have more emphasis than the "OP" portion.  When the word "stop" is used in normal conversation, the "op" portion is slightly pronounced at a lower level than the "ST".  If the delay is set at a relatively low value and threshold is set above the level at which "op" is spoken, it would be cut off.  For example a sentence such as "....Please stop at..." could be recorded as "...please sto at...".  By having control of the delay and sensitivity parameters, users can customize DictationMachine to their way of speaking.  The pop-up menu allows adjustment of the delay value from 0 to 1 second in steps of 0.10 second (100 milliseconds).  The delay value can also be adjusted using the delay up and down buttons in the main window.  The delay up and down buttons in the main window allow fine tuning in steps of 0.01 second (10 milliseconds).


• Playback Rate •
Use this menu item to adjust the DictationMachine's playback rate (pitch) for playback.   If the spoken words were to quick or too fast for user's typing speed, the pitch of the sound could be lowered to a desirable value.  Alternatively, if the speed of the spoken word were too slow, speed of playback could be increased to save typing time.  The pop-up menu provides adjustment of the rate from 50 to 175 percent (in steps of 25 percent) of the speed at which the sound was recorded.  Additionally, the playback rate could be adjusted using the rate up and down buttons in the main window in steps of one percent.

• Button Clicks •
The clicks are provided for user feedback.  Use "Button Clicks" menu item to able/disable the click sound associated with clicking buttons and controls.  When the DictationMachine is controlled from inside another application, these clicks would provide the user with an audio feedback which would indicate the course of action requested has been taken.  However, during business meetings or a quite work environment, it may be desirable to mute these clicks.  Once the clicking sound is disabled, it would remain disabled until the application has restarted or the menu item is selected again.