Support
Support for IBM VoiceType Connection for Netscape
Technical Support: Frequently Asked Questions

General

1. Q: My recognition and accuracy seem to be very poor. What can I do to improve it?

2. Q: When I ran the installation, I received the following warning message "This program requires that the VoiceType 3.0.1 runtimes (or higher) are installed". Where do I find the newer runtimes?

3. Q: Occasionally, I seem to lose some characters while typing in Netscape. Why is this happening?

4. Q: When I run VoiceType Connection on my IBM ThinkPad(*) system with Mwave(*) audio support, I get a speech error 11 when starting VoiceType Connection after the modem is connected.  What is happening?

5. Q: I have the automatic proxy configuration selected in Netscape and VoiceType Connection for Netscape is not working properly.

6. Q: When using VoiceType Connection for Netscape and reading web pages from my disk drive, Netscape gives a general protection or page fault.

7. Q: Will VoiceType Connection for Netscape work with Netscape Communicator or Netscape Navigator 2.0?

8. Q: I am outside the U.S. and I am running the beta of VoiceType Connection. Can I purchase the final version?

9. Q: Does this version of VoiceType Connection support Windows NT(**)?


Microphone Setup

1. Q: What is Microphone Setup?

2. Q: When should I run Microphone Setup?

3. Q: Can I use the microphone that shipped with my computer (or the built-in microphone, if there is one)?


VoiceCenter Properties

1. Q: How do I change users if more than one user has enrolled?

2. Q: What is the Recognition Sensitivity used for under the VoiceCenter Properties Voice page?

3. Q: What is the Recognition Performance used for under the VoiceCenter Properties Voice page?


Vocabulary Manager

1. Q: How do I see my added word list, and when would I want to delete a word?


Enrollment

1. Q: What is enrollment and is it required?

2. Q: How many sentences should I read for enrollment?

3. Q: What if I do not speak with native U.S. English accent?

 

General

Q: My recognition and accuracy seem to be very poor. What can I do to improve it?

A: Did you buy the recommended microphone?

If yes, then run the Microphone Setup program to verify proper installation of your microphone. You can also try changing the audio and/or voice settings using the IBM VoiceCenter Properties applet located in Control Panel.

If you did not, then we recommend that you purchase a high-quality microphone with noise cancelling capability such as the Andrea Electronics NC-50 microphone.

Q: When I ran the installation program, I received the following warning message "This program requires that the VoiceType 3.0.1 runtimes (or higher) are installed." Where do I find the newer version of the runtimes?

A: You will see this warning message if you have VoiceType 3.0 installed on your system. You need to download the Corrective Service #1 package for VoiceType 3.0 at this address: http://service.software.ibm.com/dl/voicetype/vt-r/.

Install the Corrective Service #1 package. After this has been done successfully, run the VoiceType Connection for Netscape installation program, "VTCNSE10.EXE", again. You should not see this warning message during this installation.

Q: Occasionally, I seem to lose some characters while typing in Netscape. Why is this happening?

A: This is likely to occur if the current web page contains animated graphics or Java animations. This is caused by a bug in the Netscape API architecture. The problem can be avoided by saying "Stop Loading" (or hitting the "Stop" button) after the web page has been completely loaded (It will say "Done." in the Netscape status area).

Q: When I run VoiceType Connection on my IBM ThinkPad system with Mwave audio support, I get a speech error 11 when starting VoiceType Connection after the modem is connected.   What is happening?

A: The Mwave system cannot be connected at a 28.8 modem speed and handle recording audio at the same time. You must lower the connection speed of the Mwave modem. To do this, use the Mwave modem utility program in the Mwave folder located by clicking on the Start button, and then Programs.

Q: I have the automatic proxy configuration selected in Netscape and VoiceType Connection for Netscape is not working properly.

A: VoiceType Connection for Netscape does not support the automatic proxy configuration.  Check with your network administrator and configure Netscape for manual proxy settings.

Q: When using VoiceType Connection for Netscape and reading web pages from my disk drive, Netscape gives a general protection or page fault.

A: This problem has been reported to Netscape for investigation. Not all web pages cause this problem, and the problem will not occur if the pages are read from the internet rather than from the disk drive.

Q: Will VoiceType Connection for Netscape work with Netscape Communicator or Netscape Navigator 2.0?

A: No, VoiceType Connection for Netscape will only work with Netscape 3.x.

Q: I am outside the U.S. and am running the beta of VoiceType Connection. Can I purchase the final version?

A: VoiceType Connection for Netscape can only be purchased electronically within the U.S. at http://www.software.net.

Q: Does this version of VoiceType Connection support Windows NT?

A: No, Windows NT is not currently supported.

Microphone Setup

Q: What is Microphone Setup?

A: Microphone Setup is a setup wizard, located in the VoiceType program folder, that helps you connect the microphone headset to your computer, and helps you configure your audio settings. Microphone Setup does the following:

  • Shows you how to connect the microphone headset to your computer.
  • Tests your existing audio setup.
  • Adjusts the microphone volume.
  • Performs a speech recognition test.

Q: When should I run Microphone Setup?

A: You should run Microphone Setup:

  • If your recognition accuracy has deteriorated.
  • If you've changed your sound card.
  • If you've changed your microphone.
  • If you've switched users.
  • BEFORE you begin your first dictation session.
Setting up your microphone correctly is the single most important thing you can do to enhance the use of VoiceType Connection. Proper microphone set up, and correct audio settings are required to achieve the highest recognition accuracy.

Q: Can I use the microphone that shipped with my computer (or the built-in microphone, if there is one)?

A: We recommend using the Andrea Electronics NC-50 microphone or the microphone that is supplied with the VoiceType products. These microphones have noise cancelling capabilities and are specifically designed for speech recognition. However, if you have another microphone for your computer, you can use it to make sure that the computer's sound system works. (If this microphone is used with VoiceType Connection, you may receive poor accuracy and recognition.)

For this pretest, make a test recording of your voice in the Windows(**) 95 Sound Recorder. Again, use this microphone only for testing the sound system-- not for VoiceType Connection speech recognition.
When plugging the recommended microphone into your computer, do not use the microphone-in jack on the side of the monitor. Instead, make sure that you plug the microphone directly into your sound card's microphone-in jack. This will help avoid getting any interference from your monitor through the microphone.

VoiceCenter Properties

Q: How do I change users if more than one user has enrolled?

A: You can select a user by right-clicking on the VoiceType Connection SpeechBar and then selecting "Change User" menu item. You can also select a user by starting the IBM VoiceCenter Properties applet found in Control Panel, and then click on the "User" tab to select a new user from the drop down menu. If one user enrolled twice (for example, once in a noisy environment and once in a quieter environment), you can switch enrollments from this menu as well.

Q: What is the Recognition Sensitivity used for in the VoiceCenter Properties Voice page?

A: The Recognition sensitivity slider does not affect the recognition for dictation, but is used to relax or tighten the acceptance of the pronunciation of words read during enrollment. If the pronunciation doesn't match the expected pronunciation of the word read during enrollment, VoiceType will reject the word by highlighting this word in red. VoiceType will be more likely to reject words when this slider is moved closer towards "Exact Match". If during enrollment you get a lot of red words, you can move the slider closer to "Best Guess". This will help reduce the number of red words, by relaxing VoiceType's expected pronunciation of words read during enrollment. This is particularly important for people with heavy accents. This setting is the same as the Match Word to Sound setting under Options in enrollment.

Q: What is the Recognition Performance used for in the VoiceCenter Properties Voice page?

A: The Recognition Performance setting is used to increase performance or accuracy depending upon your system. In general, if your system has a lower speed Pentium processor (90MHz, for example), set the recognition performance to "fast." This will speed up recognition processing at the expense of accuracy. If your system has a higher speed Pentium processor (166MHz, for example), set the recognition performance to "accurate." This will improve recognition accuracy at the expense of speed. The optimal setting is "balanced."

Vocabulary Manager

Q: How do I see my added word list, and when would I want to delete a word?

A: The Vocabulary Manager utility is used to display words that were added to your personal added word list. On occasion, a word will be added to your personal added word list that will take the place of an already existing word. For example, if the word comma was inadvertently added during word correction, the word "comma" might appear instead of the punctuation mark ",". In your added word list you can delete the word "comma" and the punctuation mark should again appear during dictation. You might also want to delete misspelled words and words such as proper names or cities that you know you will never use.

Enrollment

Q: What is enrollment and is it required?

A: Enrollment is the process of teaching VoiceType your voice so your dictated words can be recognized with greater accuracy. Essentially, enrollment allows VoiceType to learn your voice. Enrollment is not required, you can simply start using VoiceType Connection. However, doing either the short or full enrollment will help improve your recognition accuracy. Please refer to the "How many sentences should I read for enrollment?" question for further information.

Q: How many sentences should I read for enrollment?

A: To help improve command and control recognition accuracy, we suggest you do the enrollment for commands. You will also be prompted to select Train after reading 50 command phrases. You'll speak in continuous speech when enrolling for commands, so it doesn't take too long. Doing the full enrollment for commands, 190 phrases, will help if you're having recognition problems for commands and control.

If you already own a VoiceType product which supports dictation, you might want to do the short enrollment for dictation to improve recognition accuracy. The short enrollment for dictation requires that you read 50 sentences. After reading the 50 sentences, you will be prompted to select Train. Unless you have a heavy accent, the short 50 sentence enrollment should suffice. If you decide not to train and continue reading beyond the 50 sentences, you must then complete the full enrollment of 283 sentences before you can process this enrollment. For this reason, we suggest that you choose to train after reading 50 sentences. You still have the option to do the full enrollment by going back and reading the remaining sentences.

Even after you have processed your enrollment, IBM VoiceType Connection continues to update your personal language model helping to improve your recognition performance. Whenever you use the Correct Error function to correct recognition mistakes, IBM VoiceType Connection will learn the usage of the corrected word in reference to its language context and will give this word higher rank next time this word is spoken. Essentially, doing word correction allows this application to learn from its mistakes and recognize the corrected word next time you speak it.

Q: What if I do not speak with a native U.S. English accent?

A: If you do not have a native U.S. English accent, or if you have a strong regional accent, and are frequently getting "red" words while reading the enrollment sentences, decrease the recognition sensitivity as follows:

  • Click "Options" in the Enrollment panel.
  • Move the slider to the left in the "Match word to sound" section by clicking the "Approximate" arrow 3 to 5 times.
  • Click "OK", then click "Yes".



(*) IBM, Mwave, ThinkPad, and VoiceType are trademarks or registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation.

(**) Microsoft, Windows, and NT are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

All other products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

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