Top 10 Old Film Overlays to Make Your Videos Look Vintage

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If you like the old film mood in your videos and films, then this guide is for you. In this article, we will go through the best old film overlays to make your videos look vintage.

In this article

01 What is the Old Film Effect Called?

02 10 Amazing Old Film Overlays that Deserve a Try

03 How to Make a Video Look Old?

04 Pro Tips to Create Stunning Retro Video

Part 1: What is the Old Film Effect Called?

The old film effect that has been getting popular over the past years is called film grain and is defined as a random optical texture due to small particles appearing in the film. It is usually described as having a grainy effect and appearing old.

Part 2: 10 Amazing Old Film Overlays that Deserve a Try

In this list, we will present you with some great options that deserve your attention if you are looking to add old film aspects to your videos.

1. The Super 8 Film Grain Overlays Collection

With this collection, you have at your disposal 82 high-resolution clips of a real Super 8 film grain. With features that are easy to use in your videos, like 20-second loopable duration, 1080P Quicktime Pro resolution, each overlay has a small difference in texture and tint, and you also get 37 clips that show you visible areas with sprocket holes.

2. The Old Film Look Collection

This collection brings a large variety of film elements. From flash frames, film clutter, light leaks, countdown leader, film sprockets, 16mm and Super 8mm film. Plus, with this collection, you also get 29 video files and ProRes 1080P.

3. The Damaged 35mm Film Collection

With this collection, you have animated scans of damaged slides of 35mm film. The transparency effects are easy to use because of the white areas. You can add a file that you choose over an existing video and “darken” or “multiply” blending modes. Apart from those features, the Damaged 35mm Film Collection comes with 10 ProRes HD files.

4. The 4K 16 mm Film Overlays Collection

These overlays come from Authentic Old 16mm film, and inside this collection, you can find many effects of film dirt, scratches or dust to bring that old vintage look to your videos. It also comes with 79 ProRes video files, 4K (ULTRA HD) 3840 x 2160, 24fps resolution.

5. The Film Dirt and Scratches Collection

This collection comes with a variety of scratches and dirt textures. From authentic 16mm and Super 8mm film to give you a great old film look effect to your videos. The Film Dirt and Scratches collection comes with 28 video files, 13 minutes of footage, and ProRes 1080P.

6. 4K Super 8 Film Burn Overlays Collection - Kodak 50D

A collection like this is rare to come across. These easy-to-use effects are great for any level of expertise in editing videos. Just place them over the video and click “screen” or “lighten” modes. This collection pack comes with 47 ProRes files, 4 minutes of footage, and 4K High-Quality Scans.

7. 4K 16mm Film Grain Overlays

This collection has three great files of real film grain with dust and grain at your disposal. They use a 16mm camera for a better quality of overlays. This amazing package comes with three video files of 16mm film grain plus three bonus files.

8. 4K Film Burn Effects on 16mm

Shot in an authentic 16mm, this collection has real film burning in a projector. It has close-ups that fit a width of 16/9 screen. It also comes with 33 ProRes Files and 4 minutes of footage.

9. The VHS Effects Collection

This collection has real VHS effects to give your videos an old 80’s tape look to your videos. The collection contains many analog textures, tracking problems, and glitches. It also contains 10 minutes of footage, Quicktime ProRes 1080P file support, and 94 HD files of authentic VHS Retro Effects.

10. The Film Leaders Collection - Super 8mm and 16mm Effects

With authentic vintage countdowns, tail leaders, and old retro heads, this bundle offer you a great range of choices to add an old look to your films and videos.

Part 3: How to Make a Video Look Old?

In Filmora, you can make your videos have that old effect with simple steps.

Wondershare Filmora

Get started easily with Filmora’s powerful performance, intuitive interface, and countless effects!

Try It Free Try It Free Try It Free Learn More >

Step 1: Open Filmora and remove all the pieces of the footage. Then arrange the rest of the footage as you see fit. Click on “Effects” on the upper left corner of your screen and then on “Filters”. Click on the Old Video effect and then drop it. After you add the filter on the segment of your video, you can drag the end of it to cover the whole duration of the movies. Click twice on the filter if you want to adjust the filter settings. Enter the desired values on the “Fade” parameter, “Frequency”, and “Alpha” options. Press “OK”, and this step is concluded.

Step 2: You can apply the black and white filters to any project in Filmora. It is very simple. Add one of the filters above the video you want to add the effect and drag one of the corners to adjust the duration. You can change the intensity through the alpha slider.

Step 3: In Filmora, you can add sepia tone rise or sun-kissed filters to your video. You are able to add desaturated filters while keeping colors like blue and green and with that create the old film style. If you want more brown and red tones, you can use the Sun-Kisser filter that highlights those colors. Adjust the filters with the alpha slider to change intensity.

Step 4: Under the black and white subcategory, you can find Ash and Willow filters. What these do is desaturate the contrast or exposure values as well as preset brightness and bring an older tone to your videos.

Step 5: You can correct any kind of filter. With the Advanced Color Correction Tab, you can navigate through features like Preset and Adjustment and desaturate your video. By clicking on the “Preset tab,” you can open a larger variety of presets, including the Old Film and Black & White presets.

Part 4: Pro Tips to Create Stunning Retro Video

You can make your video look retro with a few simple tips:

• Use several vintage apps like Retro VHS, 8mm Camcorder, and others.
• Keep low highlights and low contrasts.
• Keep low saturation and control the hue, saturation, and luminance of your video.
• Film Overlays. With this, you can bring the mood just right. If you add a soft light overall to start with, it will instantly look slightly more vintage.
• By decreasing contrast, you are darkening your videos and giving them a grainier old look.
• If you bring up the black levels, you will leave more space for other tones to shine and turn the mood around your videos.
• In contrast, if you bring down the whites in your videos, making even the brightest colors turn grey.

Conclusion

There are various ways to turn your videos into old relics. Using Filmora, you have a powerful tool in your hands to change any desired media, and with this step-by-step guide, you will get there in no time.

Try It Free Try It Free

If you like the old film mood in your videos and films, then this guide is for you. In this article, we will go through the best old film overlays to make your videos look vintage.

In this article

01 What is the Old Film Effect Called?

02 10 Amazing Old Film Overlays that Deserve a Try

03 How to Make a Video Look Old?

04 Pro Tips to Create Stunning Retro Video

Part 1: What is the Old Film Effect Called?

The old film effect that has been getting popular over the past years is called film grain and is defined as a random optical texture due to small particles appearing in the film. It is usually described as having a grainy effect and appearing old.

Part 2: 10 Amazing Old Film Overlays that Deserve a Try

In this list, we will present you with some great options that deserve your attention if you are looking to add old film aspects to your videos.

1. The Super 8 Film Grain Overlays Collection

With this collection, you have at your disposal 82 high-resolution clips of a real Super 8 film grain. With features that are easy to use in your videos, like 20-second loopable duration, 1080P Quicktime Pro resolution, each overlay has a small difference in texture and tint, and you also get 37 clips that show you visible areas with sprocket holes.

2. The Old Film Look Collection

This collection brings a large variety of film elements. From flash frames, film clutter, light leaks, countdown leader, film sprockets, 16mm and Super 8mm film. Plus, with this collection, you also get 29 video files and ProRes 1080P.

3. The Damaged 35mm Film Collection

With this collection, you have animated scans of damaged slides of 35mm film. The transparency effects are easy to use because of the white areas. You can add a file that you choose over an existing video and “darken” or “multiply” blending modes. Apart from those features, the Damaged 35mm Film Collection comes with 10 ProRes HD files.

4. The 4K 16 mm Film Overlays Collection

These overlays come from Authentic Old 16mm film, and inside this collection, you can find many effects of film dirt, scratches or dust to bring that old vintage look to your videos. It also comes with 79 ProRes video files, 4K (ULTRA HD) 3840 x 2160, 24fps resolution.

5. The Film Dirt and Scratches Collection

This collection comes with a variety of scratches and dirt textures. From authentic 16mm and Super 8mm film to give you a great old film look effect to your videos. The Film Dirt and Scratches collection comes with 28 video files, 13 minutes of footage, and ProRes 1080P.

6. 4K Super 8 Film Burn Overlays Collection - Kodak 50D

A collection like this is rare to come across. These easy-to-use effects are great for any level of expertise in editing videos. Just place them over the video and click “screen” or “lighten” modes. This collection pack comes with 47 ProRes files, 4 minutes of footage, and 4K High-Quality Scans.

7. 4K 16mm Film Grain Overlays

This collection has three great files of real film grain with dust and grain at your disposal. They use a 16mm camera for a better quality of overlays. This amazing package comes with three video files of 16mm film grain plus three bonus files.

8. 4K Film Burn Effects on 16mm

Shot in an authentic 16mm, this collection has real film burning in a projector. It has close-ups that fit a width of 16/9 screen. It also comes with 33 ProRes Files and 4 minutes of footage.

9. The VHS Effects Collection

This collection has real VHS effects to give your videos an old 80’s tape look to your videos. The collection contains many analog textures, tracking problems, and glitches. It also contains 10 minutes of footage, Quicktime ProRes 1080P file support, and 94 HD files of authentic VHS Retro Effects.

10. The Film Leaders Collection - Super 8mm and 16mm Effects

With authentic vintage countdowns, tail leaders, and old retro heads, this bundle offer you a great range of choices to add an old look to your films and videos.

Part 3: How to Make a Video Look Old?

In Filmora, you can make your videos have that old effect with simple steps.

Wondershare Filmora

Get started easily with Filmora’s powerful performance, intuitive interface, and countless effects!

Try It Free Try It Free Try It Free Learn More >

Step 1: Open Filmora and remove all the pieces of the footage. Then arrange the rest of the footage as you see fit. Click on “Effects” on the upper left corner of your screen and then on “Filters”. Click on the Old Video effect and then drop it. After you add the filter on the segment of your video, you can drag the end of it to cover the whole duration of the movies. Click twice on the filter if you want to adjust the filter settings. Enter the desired values on the “Fade” parameter, “Frequency”, and “Alpha” options. Press “OK”, and this step is concluded.

Step 2: You can apply the black and white filters to any project in Filmora. It is very simple. Add one of the filters above the video you want to add the effect and drag one of the corners to adjust the duration. You can change the intensity through the alpha slider.

Step 3: In Filmora, you can add sepia tone rise or sun-kissed filters to your video. You are able to add desaturated filters while keeping colors like blue and green and with that create the old film style. If you want more brown and red tones, you can use the Sun-Kisser filter that highlights those colors. Adjust the filters with the alpha slider to change intensity.

Step 4: Under the black and white subcategory, you can find Ash and Willow filters. What these do is desaturate the contrast or exposure values as well as preset brightness and bring an older tone to your videos.

Step 5: You can correct any kind of filter. With the Advanced Color Correction Tab, you can navigate through features like Preset and Adjustment and desaturate your video. By clicking on the “Preset tab,” you can open a larger variety of presets, including the Old Film and Black & White presets.

Part 4: Pro Tips to Create Stunning Retro Video

You can make your video look retro with a few simple tips:

• Use several vintage apps like Retro VHS, 8mm Camcorder, and others.
• Keep low highlights and low contrasts.
• Keep low saturation and control the hue, saturation, and luminance of your video.
• Film Overlays. With this, you can bring the mood just right. If you add a soft light overall to start with, it will instantly look slightly more vintage.
• By decreasing contrast, you are darkening your videos and giving them a grainier old look.
• If you bring up the black levels, you will leave more space for other tones to shine and turn the mood around your videos.
• In contrast, if you bring down the whites in your videos, making even the brightest colors turn grey.

Conclusion

There are various ways to turn your videos into old relics. Using Filmora, you have a powerful tool in your hands to change any desired media, and with this step-by-step guide, you will get there in no time.

Try It Free Try It Free

If you like the old film mood in your videos and films, then this guide is for you. In this article, we will go through the best old film overlays to make your videos look vintage.

In this article

01 What is the Old Film Effect Called?

02 10 Amazing Old Film Overlays that Deserve a Try

03 How to Make a Video Look Old?

04 Pro Tips to Create Stunning Retro Video

Part 1: What is the Old Film Effect Called?

The old film effect that has been getting popular over the past years is called film grain and is defined as a random optical texture due to small particles appearing in the film. It is usually described as having a grainy effect and appearing old.

Part 2: 10 Amazing Old Film Overlays that Deserve a Try

In this list, we will present you with some great options that deserve your attention if you are looking to add old film aspects to your videos.

1. The Super 8 Film Grain Overlays Collection

With this collection, you have at your disposal 82 high-resolution clips of a real Super 8 film grain. With features that are easy to use in your videos, like 20-second loopable duration, 1080P Quicktime Pro resolution, each overlay has a small difference in texture and tint, and you also get 37 clips that show you visible areas with sprocket holes.

2. The Old Film Look Collection

This collection brings a large variety of film elements. From flash frames, film clutter, light leaks, countdown leader, film sprockets, 16mm and Super 8mm film. Plus, with this collection, you also get 29 video files and ProRes 1080P.

3. The Damaged 35mm Film Collection

With this collection, you have animated scans of damaged slides of 35mm film. The transparency effects are easy to use because of the white areas. You can add a file that you choose over an existing video and “darken” or “multiply” blending modes. Apart from those features, the Damaged 35mm Film Collection comes with 10 ProRes HD files.

4. The 4K 16 mm Film Overlays Collection

These overlays come from Authentic Old 16mm film, and inside this collection, you can find many effects of film dirt, scratches or dust to bring that old vintage look to your videos. It also comes with 79 ProRes video files, 4K (ULTRA HD) 3840 x 2160, 24fps resolution.

5. The Film Dirt and Scratches Collection

This collection comes with a variety of scratches and dirt textures. From authentic 16mm and Super 8mm film to give you a great old film look effect to your videos. The Film Dirt and Scratches collection comes with 28 video files, 13 minutes of footage, and ProRes 1080P.

6. 4K Super 8 Film Burn Overlays Collection - Kodak 50D

A collection like this is rare to come across. These easy-to-use effects are great for any level of expertise in editing videos. Just place them over the video and click “screen” or “lighten” modes. This collection pack comes with 47 ProRes files, 4 minutes of footage, and 4K High-Quality Scans.

7. 4K 16mm Film Grain Overlays

This collection has three great files of real film grain with dust and grain at your disposal. They use a 16mm camera for a better quality of overlays. This amazing package comes with three video files of 16mm film grain plus three bonus files.

8. 4K Film Burn Effects on 16mm

Shot in an authentic 16mm, this collection has real film burning in a projector. It has close-ups that fit a width of 16/9 screen. It also comes with 33 ProRes Files and 4 minutes of footage.

9. The VHS Effects Collection

This collection has real VHS effects to give your videos an old 80’s tape look to your videos. The collection contains many analog textures, tracking problems, and glitches. It also contains 10 minutes of footage, Quicktime ProRes 1080P file support, and 94 HD files of authentic VHS Retro Effects.

10. The Film Leaders Collection - Super 8mm and 16mm Effects

With authentic vintage countdowns, tail leaders, and old retro heads, this bundle offer you a great range of choices to add an old look to your films and videos.

Part 3: How to Make a Video Look Old?

In Filmora, you can make your videos have that old effect with simple steps.

Wondershare Filmora

Get started easily with Filmora’s powerful performance, intuitive interface, and countless effects!

Try It Free Try It Free Try It Free Learn More >

Step 1: Open Filmora and remove all the pieces of the footage. Then arrange the rest of the footage as you see fit. Click on “Effects” on the upper left corner of your screen and then on “Filters”. Click on the Old Video effect and then drop it. After you add the filter on the segment of your video, you can drag the end of it to cover the whole duration of the movies. Click twice on the filter if you want to adjust the filter settings. Enter the desired values on the “Fade” parameter, “Frequency”, and “Alpha” options. Press “OK”, and this step is concluded.

Step 2: You can apply the black and white filters to any project in Filmora. It is very simple. Add one of the filters above the video you want to add the effect and drag one of the corners to adjust the duration. You can change the intensity through the alpha slider.

Step 3: In Filmora, you can add sepia tone rise or sun-kissed filters to your video. You are able to add desaturated filters while keeping colors like blue and green and with that create the old film style. If you want more brown and red tones, you can use the Sun-Kisser filter that highlights those colors. Adjust the filters with the alpha slider to change intensity.

Step 4: Under the black and white subcategory, you can find Ash and Willow filters. What these do is desaturate the contrast or exposure values as well as preset brightness and bring an older tone to your videos.

Step 5: You can correct any kind of filter. With the Advanced Color Correction Tab, you can navigate through features like Preset and Adjustment and desaturate your video. By clicking on the “Preset tab,” you can open a larger variety of presets, including the Old Film and Black & White presets.

Part 4: Pro Tips to Create Stunning Retro Video

You can make your video look retro with a few simple tips:

• Use several vintage apps like Retro VHS, 8mm Camcorder, and others.
• Keep low highlights and low contrasts.
• Keep low saturation and control the hue, saturation, and luminance of your video.
• Film Overlays. With this, you can bring the mood just right. If you add a soft light overall to start with, it will instantly look slightly more vintage.
• By decreasing contrast, you are darkening your videos and giving them a grainier old look.
• If you bring up the black levels, you will leave more space for other tones to shine and turn the mood around your videos.
• In contrast, if you bring down the whites in your videos, making even the brightest colors turn grey.

Conclusion

There are various ways to turn your videos into old relics. Using Filmora, you have a powerful tool in your hands to change any desired media, and with this step-by-step guide, you will get there in no time.

Try It Free Try It Free

If you like the old film mood in your videos and films, then this guide is for you. In this article, we will go through the best old film overlays to make your videos look vintage.

In this article

01 What is the Old Film Effect Called?

02 10 Amazing Old Film Overlays that Deserve a Try

03 How to Make a Video Look Old?

04 Pro Tips to Create Stunning Retro Video

Part 1: What is the Old Film Effect Called?

The old film effect that has been getting popular over the past years is called film grain and is defined as a random optical texture due to small particles appearing in the film. It is usually described as having a grainy effect and appearing old.

Part 2: 10 Amazing Old Film Overlays that Deserve a Try

In this list, we will present you with some great options that deserve your attention if you are looking to add old film aspects to your videos.

1. The Super 8 Film Grain Overlays Collection

With this collection, you have at your disposal 82 high-resolution clips of a real Super 8 film grain. With features that are easy to use in your videos, like 20-second loopable duration, 1080P Quicktime Pro resolution, each overlay has a small difference in texture and tint, and you also get 37 clips that show you visible areas with sprocket holes.

2. The Old Film Look Collection

This collection brings a large variety of film elements. From flash frames, film clutter, light leaks, countdown leader, film sprockets, 16mm and Super 8mm film. Plus, with this collection, you also get 29 video files and ProRes 1080P.

3. The Damaged 35mm Film Collection

With this collection, you have animated scans of damaged slides of 35mm film. The transparency effects are easy to use because of the white areas. You can add a file that you choose over an existing video and “darken” or “multiply” blending modes. Apart from those features, the Damaged 35mm Film Collection comes with 10 ProRes HD files.

4. The 4K 16 mm Film Overlays Collection

These overlays come from Authentic Old 16mm film, and inside this collection, you can find many effects of film dirt, scratches or dust to bring that old vintage look to your videos. It also comes with 79 ProRes video files, 4K (ULTRA HD) 3840 x 2160, 24fps resolution.

5. The Film Dirt and Scratches Collection

This collection comes with a variety of scratches and dirt textures. From authentic 16mm and Super 8mm film to give you a great old film look effect to your videos. The Film Dirt and Scratches collection comes with 28 video files, 13 minutes of footage, and ProRes 1080P.

6. 4K Super 8 Film Burn Overlays Collection - Kodak 50D

A collection like this is rare to come across. These easy-to-use effects are great for any level of expertise in editing videos. Just place them over the video and click “screen” or “lighten” modes. This collection pack comes with 47 ProRes files, 4 minutes of footage, and 4K High-Quality Scans.

7. 4K 16mm Film Grain Overlays

This collection has three great files of real film grain with dust and grain at your disposal. They use a 16mm camera for a better quality of overlays. This amazing package comes with three video files of 16mm film grain plus three bonus files.

8. 4K Film Burn Effects on 16mm

Shot in an authentic 16mm, this collection has real film burning in a projector. It has close-ups that fit a width of 16/9 screen. It also comes with 33 ProRes Files and 4 minutes of footage.

9. The VHS Effects Collection

This collection has real VHS effects to give your videos an old 80’s tape look to your videos. The collection contains many analog textures, tracking problems, and glitches. It also contains 10 minutes of footage, Quicktime ProRes 1080P file support, and 94 HD files of authentic VHS Retro Effects.

10. The Film Leaders Collection - Super 8mm and 16mm Effects

With authentic vintage countdowns, tail leaders, and old retro heads, this bundle offer you a great range of choices to add an old look to your films and videos.

Part 3: How to Make a Video Look Old?

In Filmora, you can make your videos have that old effect with simple steps.

Wondershare Filmora

Get started easily with Filmora’s powerful performance, intuitive interface, and countless effects!

Try It Free Try It Free Try It Free Learn More >

Step 1: Open Filmora and remove all the pieces of the footage. Then arrange the rest of the footage as you see fit. Click on “Effects” on the upper left corner of your screen and then on “Filters”. Click on the Old Video effect and then drop it. After you add the filter on the segment of your video, you can drag the end of it to cover the whole duration of the movies. Click twice on the filter if you want to adjust the filter settings. Enter the desired values on the “Fade” parameter, “Frequency”, and “Alpha” options. Press “OK”, and this step is concluded.

Step 2: You can apply the black and white filters to any project in Filmora. It is very simple. Add one of the filters above the video you want to add the effect and drag one of the corners to adjust the duration. You can change the intensity through the alpha slider.

Step 3: In Filmora, you can add sepia tone rise or sun-kissed filters to your video. You are able to add desaturated filters while keeping colors like blue and green and with that create the old film style. If you want more brown and red tones, you can use the Sun-Kisser filter that highlights those colors. Adjust the filters with the alpha slider to change intensity.

Step 4: Under the black and white subcategory, you can find Ash and Willow filters. What these do is desaturate the contrast or exposure values as well as preset brightness and bring an older tone to your videos.

Step 5: You can correct any kind of filter. With the Advanced Color Correction Tab, you can navigate through features like Preset and Adjustment and desaturate your video. By clicking on the “Preset tab,” you can open a larger variety of presets, including the Old Film and Black & White presets.

Part 4: Pro Tips to Create Stunning Retro Video

You can make your video look retro with a few simple tips:

• Use several vintage apps like Retro VHS, 8mm Camcorder, and others.
• Keep low highlights and low contrasts.
• Keep low saturation and control the hue, saturation, and luminance of your video.
• Film Overlays. With this, you can bring the mood just right. If you add a soft light overall to start with, it will instantly look slightly more vintage.
• By decreasing contrast, you are darkening your videos and giving them a grainier old look.
• If you bring up the black levels, you will leave more space for other tones to shine and turn the mood around your videos.
• In contrast, if you bring down the whites in your videos, making even the brightest colors turn grey.

Conclusion

There are various ways to turn your videos into old relics. Using Filmora, you have a powerful tool in your hands to change any desired media, and with this step-by-step guide, you will get there in no time.

Step by Step to Cut Videos in Adobe Premiere Pro

Video editing is an essential skill in a world that has a growing focus on creative fields. And if you work with videos, knowing which clips to use and where to cut is essential in conveying your story and increasing its impact. So, if you are a beginner and want to familiarise yourself with steps and terms used in video editing, in this article, we will go through the steps you will need to cut your video file in Adobe Premiere Pro and Wondershare Filmora.

This guide uses Adobe Premiere Pro 2022 and Wondershare Filmora X.

How to cut video in Adobe Premiere Pro?

Once you have Adobe Premiere Pro open on your computer, follow the steps listed below.

Step 1: Create a new project in Premiere Pro.

During project creation, we recommend keeping an eye on the file name set and the storage location; this can help reduce the time spent in locating the Premiere Project.

Step 2: Import a video file into Premiere Pro with a double click in the marked area and choose the file from its stored location.

Step 3: Double click on any imported media to activate it and send it to the Source Window.

You can continue to import more media by double-clicking within the marked area. For better organization, users can also create Bins, which are folders within a Premiere Pro File that are often in use to sort out imported media.

Users can create Bins with a right-click in the red box marked area (refer to image above).

Step 4: Select either the whole clip or a part of it from the Source Window and drag it onto the Timeline.

Step 5: Select the Razor Tool from the Tools Window. Now, pick the point where you want to introduce a cut and confirm with your left mouse button; this will split your video track into two parts.

Make a second cut where desired, following which you can move around the newly generated clip or delete it.

**Tip:**You can also select the Razor Tool by pressing C on the keyboard_._

We also recommend using the Snap in Timeline feature (activated with (S) on your keyboard or by choosing the magnet option), which will match your mouse pointer with the Playhead to ensure your cut will match the exact frame shown on your screen.

-—————————————————————————————————————————————-

Some more tips for Adobe Premiere Pro:

1. Using the I and O keys on your keyboard while playing a video in the Source Window will allow you to set an In Pointand an Out Point. These markers will allow you to move a specific part of your video file into the Timeline, thus, reducing the amount of time spent making the right cut.

We have tagged the Mark In and Mark Out buttons with a Green Box in the image below.

1. Clicking on the Step Frame Buttons [marked in Yellow] will also help increase the accuracy of your cut by allowing you to select the exact moment you desire.
2. You can also mark a Point of Interest in your video file with the help of Markers in Premiere Pro. These afford you the ability to come back to the moment at a later time and see why it interested you in the first place, as editing sessions can often take hours at an end.

An alternative way to cut video with Wondershare Filmora

In Wondershare Filmora Video Editor , the steps to cut a video are simplified and don’t require as many steps as seen earlier. Opening the application throws you straight into a project, and following this, you can import a video file and begin editing. From the process you will learn below, it is easy to assume that Wondershare Filmora is more convenient for beginners and provides software features that match paid professional software.

Free Download

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Free Download

For macOS 10.14 or later

Note: If you don’t have Wondershare Filmora installed, you can get the video editor by visiting its official website . Once the setup program download completes, execute it and begin the installation process.

Once you have the editing software open, follow the steps listed below.

Step 1: Import a video file by clicking on the import window.

The default project setting for Filmora X is 1920x1080 at 25 frames per second. Users can change this to match their video file by going into Project Settings under the File tab or by accepting the automatic prompt that appears when dragging the video file onto the Timeline.

Note: If you have a PC with weak hardware, Wondershare Filmora gives you the option to create Video Proxies that will reduce the load on your computer by creating smaller clips that are lower in size, resulting in a smoother and faster experience. You can also do this in Premiere Pro, but Filmora does it for you automatically once given permission.

Step 2: Drag the video file onto the Timeline to begin previewing it in the Playback Window and commence editing operations.

Step 3: Locate where you want to cut in the video file and click on the orange scissors option to split the video file.

Tip: You can also use the keyboard shortcut (CTRL+B) to cut without using a mouse click, in case you make use of a trackpad while editing.

The Bottom Line

As said earlier, knowing where to cut is essential in improving the feel of your video, and we hope this guide showed you exactly how to perform the actions to create your best project. If you are a beginner, the simplistic approach of Wondershare Filmora will be more welcoming and easier to navigate. In addition, the software is also free to download, with added features that you can activate by paying a monthly, yearly, or one-time fee. Adobe Premiere Pro is an option worth considering if you plan on using third-party plugins and other applications from the Creative Cloud Suite.

During project creation, we recommend keeping an eye on the file name set and the storage location; this can help reduce the time spent in locating the Premiere Project.

Step 2: Import a video file into Premiere Pro with a double click in the marked area and choose the file from its stored location.

Step 3: Double click on any imported media to activate it and send it to the Source Window.

You can continue to import more media by double-clicking within the marked area. For better organization, users can also create Bins, which are folders within a Premiere Pro File that are often in use to sort out imported media.

Users can create Bins with a right-click in the red box marked area (refer to image above).

Step 4: Select either the whole clip or a part of it from the Source Window and drag it onto the Timeline.

Step 5: Select the Razor Tool from the Tools Window. Now, pick the point where you want to introduce a cut and confirm with your left mouse button; this will split your video track into two parts.

Make a second cut where desired, following which you can move around the newly generated clip or delete it.

**Tip:**You can also select the Razor Tool by pressing C on the keyboard_._

We also recommend using the Snap in Timeline feature (activated with (S) on your keyboard or by choosing the magnet option), which will match your mouse pointer with the Playhead to ensure your cut will match the exact frame shown on your screen.

-—————————————————————————————————————————————-

Some more tips for Adobe Premiere Pro:

1. Using the I and O keys on your keyboard while playing a video in the Source Window will allow you to set an In Pointand an Out Point. These markers will allow you to move a specific part of your video file into the Timeline, thus, reducing the amount of time spent making the right cut.

We have tagged the Mark In and Mark Out buttons with a Green Box in the image below.

1. Clicking on the Step Frame Buttons [marked in Yellow] will also help increase the accuracy of your cut by allowing you to select the exact moment you desire.
2. You can also mark a Point of Interest in your video file with the help of Markers in Premiere Pro. These afford you the ability to come back to the moment at a later time and see why it interested you in the first place, as editing sessions can often take hours at an end.

An alternative way to cut video with Wondershare Filmora

In Wondershare Filmora Video Editor , the steps to cut a video are simplified and don’t require as many steps as seen earlier. Opening the application throws you straight into a project, and following this, you can import a video file and begin editing. From the process you will learn below, it is easy to assume that Wondershare Filmora is more convenient for beginners and provides software features that match paid professional software.

Free Download

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Free Download

For macOS 10.14 or later

Note: If you don’t have Wondershare Filmora installed, you can get the video editor by visiting its official website . Once the setup program download completes, execute it and begin the installation process.

Once you have the editing software open, follow the steps listed below.

Step 1: Import a video file by clicking on the import window.

The default project setting for Filmora X is 1920x1080 at 25 frames per second. Users can change this to match their video file by going into Project Settings under the File tab or by accepting the automatic prompt that appears when dragging the video file onto the Timeline.

Note: If you have a PC with weak hardware, Wondershare Filmora gives you the option to create Video Proxies that will reduce the load on your computer by creating smaller clips that are lower in size, resulting in a smoother and faster experience. You can also do this in Premiere Pro, but Filmora does it for you automatically once given permission.

Step 2: Drag the video file onto the Timeline to begin previewing it in the Playback Window and commence editing operations.

Step 3: Locate where you want to cut in the video file and click on the orange scissors option to split the video file.

Tip: You can also use the keyboard shortcut (CTRL+B) to cut without using a mouse click, in case you make use of a trackpad while editing.

The Bottom Line

As said earlier, knowing where to cut is essential in improving the feel of your video, and we hope this guide showed you exactly how to perform the actions to create your best project. If you are a beginner, the simplistic approach of Wondershare Filmora will be more welcoming and easier to navigate. In addition, the software is also free to download, with added features that you can activate by paying a monthly, yearly, or one-time fee. Adobe Premiere Pro is an option worth considering if you plan on using third-party plugins and other applications from the Creative Cloud Suite.

During project creation, we recommend keeping an eye on the file name set and the storage location; this can help reduce the time spent in locating the Premiere Project.

Step 2: Import a video file into Premiere Pro with a double click in the marked area and choose the file from its stored location.

Step 3: Double click on any imported media to activate it and send it to the Source Window.

You can continue to import more media by double-clicking within the marked area. For better organization, users can also create Bins, which are folders within a Premiere Pro File that are often in use to sort out imported media.

Users can create Bins with a right-click in the red box marked area (refer to image above).

Step 4: Select either the whole clip or a part of it from the Source Window and drag it onto the Timeline.

Step 5: Select the Razor Tool from the Tools Window. Now, pick the point where you want to introduce a cut and confirm with your left mouse button; this will split your video track into two parts.

Make a second cut where desired, following which you can move around the newly generated clip or delete it.

**Tip:**You can also select the Razor Tool by pressing C on the keyboard_._

We also recommend using the Snap in Timeline feature (activated with (S) on your keyboard or by choosing the magnet option), which will match your mouse pointer with the Playhead to ensure your cut will match the exact frame shown on your screen.

-—————————————————————————————————————————————-

Some more tips for Adobe Premiere Pro:

1. Using the I and O keys on your keyboard while playing a video in the Source Window will allow you to set an In Pointand an Out Point. These markers will allow you to move a specific part of your video file into the Timeline, thus, reducing the amount of time spent making the right cut.

We have tagged the Mark In and Mark Out buttons with a Green Box in the image below.

1. Clicking on the Step Frame Buttons [marked in Yellow] will also help increase the accuracy of your cut by allowing you to select the exact moment you desire.
2. You can also mark a Point of Interest in your video file with the help of Markers in Premiere Pro. These afford you the ability to come back to the moment at a later time and see why it interested you in the first place, as editing sessions can often take hours at an end.

An alternative way to cut video with Wondershare Filmora

In Wondershare Filmora Video Editor , the steps to cut a video are simplified and don’t require as many steps as seen earlier. Opening the application throws you straight into a project, and following this, you can import a video file and begin editing. From the process you will learn below, it is easy to assume that Wondershare Filmora is more convenient for beginners and provides software features that match paid professional software.

Free Download

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Free Download

For macOS 10.14 or later

Note: If you don’t have Wondershare Filmora installed, you can get the video editor by visiting its official website . Once the setup program download completes, execute it and begin the installation process.

Once you have the editing software open, follow the steps listed below.

Step 1: Import a video file by clicking on the import window.

The default project setting for Filmora X is 1920x1080 at 25 frames per second. Users can change this to match their video file by going into Project Settings under the File tab or by accepting the automatic prompt that appears when dragging the video file onto the Timeline.

Note: If you have a PC with weak hardware, Wondershare Filmora gives you the option to create Video Proxies that will reduce the load on your computer by creating smaller clips that are lower in size, resulting in a smoother and faster experience. You can also do this in Premiere Pro, but Filmora does it for you automatically once given permission.

Step 2: Drag the video file onto the Timeline to begin previewing it in the Playback Window and commence editing operations.

Step 3: Locate where you want to cut in the video file and click on the orange scissors option to split the video file.

Tip: You can also use the keyboard shortcut (CTRL+B) to cut without using a mouse click, in case you make use of a trackpad while editing.

The Bottom Line

As said earlier, knowing where to cut is essential in improving the feel of your video, and we hope this guide showed you exactly how to perform the actions to create your best project. If you are a beginner, the simplistic approach of Wondershare Filmora will be more welcoming and easier to navigate. In addition, the software is also free to download, with added features that you can activate by paying a monthly, yearly, or one-time fee. Adobe Premiere Pro is an option worth considering if you plan on using third-party plugins and other applications from the Creative Cloud Suite.

During project creation, we recommend keeping an eye on the file name set and the storage location; this can help reduce the time spent in locating the Premiere Project.

Step 2: Import a video file into Premiere Pro with a double click in the marked area and choose the file from its stored location.

Step 3: Double click on any imported media to activate it and send it to the Source Window.

You can continue to import more media by double-clicking within the marked area. For better organization, users can also create Bins, which are folders within a Premiere Pro File that are often in use to sort out imported media.

Users can create Bins with a right-click in the red box marked area (refer to image above).

Step 4: Select either the whole clip or a part of it from the Source Window and drag it onto the Timeline.

Step 5: Select the Razor Tool from the Tools Window. Now, pick the point where you want to introduce a cut and confirm with your left mouse button; this will split your video track into two parts.

Make a second cut where desired, following which you can move around the newly generated clip or delete it.

**Tip:**You can also select the Razor Tool by pressing C on the keyboard_._

We also recommend using the Snap in Timeline feature (activated with (S) on your keyboard or by choosing the magnet option), which will match your mouse pointer with the Playhead to ensure your cut will match the exact frame shown on your screen.

-—————————————————————————————————————————————-

Some more tips for Adobe Premiere Pro:

1. Using the I and O keys on your keyboard while playing a video in the Source Window will allow you to set an In Pointand an Out Point. These markers will allow you to move a specific part of your video file into the Timeline, thus, reducing the amount of time spent making the right cut.

We have tagged the Mark In and Mark Out buttons with a Green Box in the image below.

1. Clicking on the Step Frame Buttons [marked in Yellow] will also help increase the accuracy of your cut by allowing you to select the exact moment you desire.
2. You can also mark a Point of Interest in your video file with the help of Markers in Premiere Pro. These afford you the ability to come back to the moment at a later time and see why it interested you in the first place, as editing sessions can often take hours at an end.

An alternative way to cut video with Wondershare Filmora

In Wondershare Filmora Video Editor , the steps to cut a video are simplified and don’t require as many steps as seen earlier. Opening the application throws you straight into a project, and following this, you can import a video file and begin editing. From the process you will learn below, it is easy to assume that Wondershare Filmora is more convenient for beginners and provides software features that match paid professional software.

Free Download

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Free Download

For macOS 10.14 or later

Note: If you don’t have Wondershare Filmora installed, you can get the video editor by visiting its official website . Once the setup program download completes, execute it and begin the installation process.

Once you have the editing software open, follow the steps listed below.

Step 1: Import a video file by clicking on the import window.

The default project setting for Filmora X is 1920x1080 at 25 frames per second. Users can change this to match their video file by going into Project Settings under the File tab or by accepting the automatic prompt that appears when dragging the video file onto the Timeline.

Note: If you have a PC with weak hardware, Wondershare Filmora gives you the option to create Video Proxies that will reduce the load on your computer by creating smaller clips that are lower in size, resulting in a smoother and faster experience. You can also do this in Premiere Pro, but Filmora does it for you automatically once given permission.

Step 2: Drag the video file onto the Timeline to begin previewing it in the Playback Window and commence editing operations.

Step 3: Locate where you want to cut in the video file and click on the orange scissors option to split the video file.

Tip: You can also use the keyboard shortcut (CTRL+B) to cut without using a mouse click, in case you make use of a trackpad while editing.

The Bottom Line

As said earlier, knowing where to cut is essential in improving the feel of your video, and we hope this guide showed you exactly how to perform the actions to create your best project. If you are a beginner, the simplistic approach of Wondershare Filmora will be more welcoming and easier to navigate. In addition, the software is also free to download, with added features that you can activate by paying a monthly, yearly, or one-time fee. Adobe Premiere Pro is an option worth considering if you plan on using third-party plugins and other applications from the Creative Cloud Suite.

Top 10 Free Text to Speech Software [Windows, Mac，Android, iPhone & O

Best Text To Speech Converter and Video Editor

Filmora’s Text to Speech (TTS) function allows you to convert your text files to voiceover and bring more elements to enrich your video.

Free Download Free Download Free Download Learn More >

Technology has always been in the business of amazing man with its extraordinary abilities. The brain of man has a role to play in this awe as these inventions are not without man’s input. As such, daily improvements are ensured to build upon the existing technology - the computer system.

We have always had one reason or the other to hire voiceover artistes. This could be for the purpose of storytelling and narration, advertisement and so on. As beautiful and reliable as that is in executing our tasks, many seem to consider it a waste of resources in terms of funds, energy and time. This is one of the reasons why the innovation of text-to-speech was established. It comes in handy when we do not need voiceover artistes as it serves as a perfect substitute.

Text-to-speech, which is also known as TTS, is a type of supportive technology that assists in reading digital text aloud. It’s sometimes called “read aloud” technology. The benefit of this technology cannot be overemphasised as it has gained a wide reach and global use across many devices such as computers and smartphones of different brands. With the help of softwares for computers (Windows and Mac), applications for smartphones (Android, iPhone, iPad) as well as online platforms, text-to-speech has been made possible and easy as technology keeps evolving.

Today, content creators are grateful for this life-saving innovation as it has dispelled the thoughts of having to do voiceovers themselves (which could be difficult for many). As such, this article comes in handy as it seeks to discuss ten applications or softwares and online platforms for TTS.

BALABOLKA

Balabolka is a Russian word; it can be translated as “chatterer” in English. It’s a Text-To-Speech (TTS) program that reads converts every written piece to audio. This program will install voices on your computer in different languages and deliver the lines in natural sounding voices. It really does a nice job of converting any text to speech. This software also helps with reading books aloud. In the case of reading a book, it can be converted to an audiobook by just copying and pasting it on the software while you select the voice and make necessary adjustments such as changing the range, pitch and volume control.

FEATURES

• Balabolka lets you customise fonts to your taste; this includes change of colour, background and font size and style.
• The program can extract content from documents, and it supports text file formats such as AZW, AZW3, CHM, DjVu, DOC, DOCX, EML, EPUB, FB2, FB3, HTML, LIT, MD, MOBI, ODP, ODS, ODT, PDB, PRC, PDF, PPT, PPTX, RTF, TCR, WPD, XLS, XLSX.
• The software effortlessly converts texts to audio. Also, you can decide to save your audio in several file formats such as MP3, WAV, MPEG4 for free.
• Another good feature is that it echoes letters or words that you add in settings. More so, you can make Balabolka to pause between sentences.
• The spell check built-in operating system is functional in Balabolka. This feature is available in Windows beginning from Windows 8.

SUPPORT SYSTEM: WINDOWS

AVAILABLE LANGUAGES

English, Arabic, Czech, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Korean, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Russian and Chinese.

PROS

• Audio can be changed and designed to your taste. Also, the part of the text you wish to begin from can be selected.
• Balabolka boasts of quality and flexibility, which is amazing for a free text-to-speech software. It has multiple voice options, file formats, and more!
• For starters or inexperienced users, Balabolka is straightforward in terms of installation as it takes seconds to have it on Windows PC. Also, no technical skill is needed to initiate the process.
• Balabolka comes with a timer, which provides you with more flexibility while listening to recordings. Since the program can be controlled with keyboard shortcuts, it helps save a good amount of time that you’d have spent trying to find your way through the interface.
• It has bookmarking tools that let you jump to a specific part of a text. This feature is useful when you are searching for a particular word in the text that is difficult to find especially in a bulky text. This could be for the purpose of editing or proofreading, or for picking up the audio from your place of choice.

CONS

• The voice available in the software is somewhat robotic and reads devoid of expression.
• It does not have an Android version.
• There are limited languages, which strikes the need for update in that respect.
• It lags sometimes as the workload involves colour grading, correction and others.

PANOPRETER

Panopreter is a text-to-speech and text-to-mp3 software program that reads text aloud with natural sounding voices, and converts the text to audio files in WAV, MP3, OGG and flac formats. In a nutshell, you can listen to your own writing without reading it out loud to yourself.

FEATURES

• You can turn the web into an audiobook using Panopreter. If you can copy and paste it, it is certainly possible to listen to it. This includes having a toolbar for Internet Explorer where reading on the web page is made easy. This does not leave Word document and other formats behind.
• The reading speed can be adjusted. Here, you’re given full control in deciding how fast or slow you want the reading to play out.
• Panopreter supports a wide variety of languages and voices to suit your taste as it opens you to multiple choices to choose from to make your user experience worth it.
• Files can be converted in batches. This will save time, rather than having to convert files one after the other. With Panopreter, more can be done in little time.
• Panopreter allows users to customize interface layout, font, text size, text color, highlight color, and background colour.

SUPPORT SYSTEM: WINDOWS

PROS

• It helps to highlight the word or sentence that is being read.
• Dictates in many languages and voices.
• It supports batch file conversion supported.
• It gives you a full command on the pitch, volume and speed
• It has keyboard shortcut keys.
• Music accompanies the end of the text reading.
• The inculcation of Internet Explorer and Microsoft Word is a great feature that every other TTS software needs to have; Panopreter has made this advantageous.

CONS

• It does not have a mobile version.
• It is limited to Windows.

ZABAWARE

Zabaware Text-to-Speech Reader is a software that that makes it possible for your written documents to be read aloud. This program is unique as it makes reading and voiceovers efficient. It will save energy, time and resources especially when you’re considering spending lots of money to hire a voiceover artist for your content creation.

FEATURES

• The Zabaware Text-to-Speech Reader is more like a twin of the Windows program WordPad in that it opens any text file (.txt) or rich text file (.rtf). This program can be used to edit, format, and save text files. You can change font type, size, alignment and color using the controls in the toolbar and menu bar.
• Zabaware is capable of reading aloud any text you have copied to the Text-to-Speech Reader.
• The software can also convert text files to WAV format.
• The clipboard function of the Zabaware Text-to-Speech Reader automatically monitors your

Clipboard for text changes. Every time you copy some text into the clipboard, this program will automatically read it out loud. This can be great for reading internet pages out loud and email messages.

SUPPORT SYSTEM: WINDOWS

PROS

• It helps to place validity on the work you engage.
• Speech error detection is easy by listening to the audio that is being rendered.
• Both male and female voices are available. It also offers the option of listening directly from the window instead of copying and pasting the content on the program.

CONS

• It is available only on Windows.
• It runs for free, but you won’t get the benefits such as better voices, more natural speech and realistic sounds advertised until you purchase the premium version.
• The voiceover gets activated even when it’s not needed. This causes disturbances while working
• The formats it supports are very limited.
• The voice selection is limited.
• It has no merge feature: You can’t merge multiple audio files to make one big audio file. You have to use your own computer.
• It has a poor storage organisation.
• It has only 3000 Characters per voiceover.
• You can’t use multiple voiceovers in a single script.

NOTEVIBES

NoteVibes is an online text to speech application and software that provides both free and paid options for users. It allows you convert your text to natural sounding voices with free MP3 download. In the free version, you have 5000 characters available for testing its functionality. This is good for personal use in working on small projects as it makes it possible for you to hear multiple sentences at once. Notevibes has over 18 languages and 177 unique voices; you won’t have a hard time reading your text due to its natural sounding voices.

FEATURES

• It has 17 languages and 177 voices.
• You can easily add a Background Music.
• It has a DJ voice creation feature.
• You can add pauses, pitch and change the speed of your audio along with emphasis and voice control.

SUPPORT SYSTEM: WINDOWS, ANDROID

PROS

• Its editor is very advanced, and the user has luxury of control over so many things.
• A specific portion of the script can be emphasised; the volume can also be controlled alongside rate and pitch for the specific parts as well. Only few text-to-speech softwares have this feature. This one feature therefore makes it stand out from others. Its voice quality is no different from others.
• Notevibes also lets you make dialogue videos where you can use more than one voice to create a voiceover. Your narration then sounds more creative and captivating when this feature well utilised. There are total 201 voices available in NoteVibes.

CONS

• It has issues with speed, and also produces a highly concentrated robotic sound. Coming along these is its very expensive commercial options. Notevibes can also not read from PDF and docs.
• There is no preview in NoteVibes; you can’t listen to the voice preview of the script; rather, the voiceover has to be generated to listen and to know how a speaker sounds.
• Demos are unavailable. On the homepage, demo can be found and played, but while generating voiceovers, no demo will be found.
• It has no merge feature: You can’t combine multiple audio files to make it one. Almost all major text-to-speech tools have a merge feature, but, Notevibes lags in this respect.
• Voiceover & Editor Page is different. There is one specific page for generating the voiceover and one page for downloading audio files. Switching between both of them will consume time. If you have a big project, switching between both pages will be tiring.
• No Project-Based Structure: This is another feature that you need when you have big project. Keep multiple files in one place can create a mess. You can’t create any project inside Notevibes. This is a very immature structure.

LANGUAGES SUPPORTED

English (us, UK, AU, IN), Spanish, German, Spanish, Dutch, French, Italian, Norwegian, Japanese, Danish, Swedish, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Turkish, Hindi, Vietnamese, Korean, Indonesian, Arabic, Mandarin Chinese.

MAC OS TTS

Mac OS X is a built-in text-to-speech software for Mac. This can be used to read your written content aloud anywhere on your computer from Notes app and other formats. This means it has the ability to dictate to you what you have written in order to bring your writing to life. This could come in form of an audiobook, trailer, ads, videogames, tutorials and many more. It has a ton of voices and languages to select from alongside different accents in English language.

FEATURES

• A lot of languages are included other than English and there are a lot of voices to choose along with languages. Although some voices are very robotic, there is a few which aren’t and sound more like a human.
• Text-to-speech on Mac also supports converting your text into audio files.

PROS

• A lot of voice options are available for you to play around to get familiar with.
• Texts can be easily converted to iTunes track.

CONS

• It does not have Pause/Play option.
• For all the words to be read, they have to be selected manually.
• The software is very basic and does not have the feature of picking up or continuing from where it stopped reading like other TTS softwares have.

TTS MP3.com

It is an online software which is very easy to use. TTS MP3 Which converts your text to the English language. It has a variety of preset voices and languages which are related to different countries. This gives you flexibility as it concerns your language choice. The software is user friendly. You can easily gain access to it by visiting www.TTSMP3.com , and it’s free.

SUPPORT SYSTEM: ONLINE

FEATURES

• With TTSMP3.com, you can easily convert text to audio, change speech and pitch, or even whisper.
• A lot of languages are available for you to explore.

PROS

• It supports both Hindi and English languages.

CONS

• The software does not support formats such as DOC, TXT, FB2, DOCX, PDF, RTF, and HTML.

READ ALOUD

Read Aloud is not exactly a stand-alone Mac software but instead, a Chrome extension which might be appealing to some people. When we put to heart how articles and posts are read on the internet every day, Read Aloud had to be devised to come in handy in making reading easier and less stressful. It is completely free and once it is installed, its icon will be displayed in the extension bar which can now be use to read any webpage or any article found online just by a single click. When it is in use, you get a play/pause button alongside a forward or rewind button which can be useful in advancing or backtracking paragraphs. Considering the fact that it is free to use, the voice options are really good and sound very natural.

FEATURES

• It can extract texts online to convert them into audio files.
• It possesses an exceptional feature of backtracking paragraphs.
• It helps you listen to audio files at your own pace, speed in natural sounding voices and different accents. Text typed in the app and text extracted from any photo uploaded is converted to an audio file.

PROS

• It has a great natural voice.
• It is completely secure as it ensures confidentiality. This is useful for people who would love to keep their data private.
• It helps people with social needs to listen to any text in different languages. This is very useful for those who are limited in language varieties.

CONS

• It can work only on Chrome.

SPEAK4ME

As its name implies, Speak4me literally speaks for you! Like other TTS softwares and apps, Speak4Me works as an instrument of text conversion into audio. One advantage this application has is that it can enhance multitasking. When you have to read and make tea or coffee, or cook at the same time, you don’t have to move around with the text material; all you have to do is to allow Speak4me to do what it was made to do. This is therefore a software to consider in turning your writing to speaking without much stress. With amazing features like changing the rate and pitch of the voice alongside volume control and an array of voices to choose from which comes with a variety of languages, it affords you flexibility regarding your choice of usage. It also allows you to share your audio on the social media, and you can decide to save them locally for later use.

SUPPORT SYSTEM: iPHONE, iPAD

FEATURES

• With Speak4Me, you can easily navigate the control speech generator volume, pitch and rate of speech.
• It filters all the PDFs easily; it highlights the text as you go along too.
• It has a fully customizable reading experience: Adjustment font size, font and background colours, alignment, line spacing to best suit your preference and much more is available on the software.
• Speak4Me can speak PDF in languages such as English and Hindi.

PROS

• It comes with a Night Mode functionality to facilitate a comfortable reading in dark environments.
• The software has smooth navigation, auto scroll and can search for words to jump to a point in your text. This feature comes in handy especially when you have a bulky text to work on.
• With Speak4Me, your eyes are guarded from smartphone light rays.

CONS

• The languages are limited.
• If your device does not have a TTS engine of that language, speaking will not be supported.

NATURAL READER

Natural Reader is a text-to-speech app that covers your text, webpages, eBooks, and webpages aloud to you with quality and natural-sounding voices. NaturalReader is a useful tool for those who have dyslexia and other reading difficulties. 50 voices in over 20 languages are therefore available for you to open up your ears to.

FEATURES

• Adjustment of speaker’s speed: This feature enables you to adjust the speed of a selected speaker. This gives you control on how slow or fast you want the speech to be rendered.
• It is able to read email attachments; it also grants access to Dropbox, Google Drive or One Drive.

PROS

• The pronunciation editor gives you control on how you want certain words to be pronounced. This way, you can fine-tune the pronunciation of new or unusual words, or improve the readability of acronyms.

CONS

• Access can only be gained to additional features when you upgrade to the pro version.
• The application crashes lags a bit when there is too much text pasted for the application to process.
• It sometimes skips lines.
• Its sound becomes unpleasant when volume is too high.

NARRATOR’S VOICE

This application helps convert text to speech with a wide variety of voices in many languages. Narrator’s Voice app lets you create and share amusing messages using a narrator’s voice of your choice with a wide range of languages and reliable, pleasant sound voices. The end result is a customised narration of your original message, which you can share as desired. Videos are one of the hottest projects for Narrator’s Voice, letting the narrator explain or comment on whatever is happening on the screen. In fact, many people have been using the Narrator’s Voice app to add audio to their YouTube and TikTok videos, giving them a distinct voice that enhances the overall video’s vibe.

FEATURES SUPPORT SYSTEM: iPHONE, iPAD AND WINDOWS

• It executes your tasks with voices alongside effects in many languages.
• New voices have been added, which makes it +380 voices in total.
• It has waveform graphics for your to monitor the height and depth of the sound of your audio.

PROS

• Theme can be changed to Dark or Light.
• It has the ability to turn images to text.

CONS

• Too many ads roll out in the free version.
• The sound and vocal is not loud enough.

Technology has always been in the business of amazing man with its extraordinary abilities. The brain of man has a role to play in this awe as these inventions are not without man’s input. As such, daily improvements are ensured to build upon the existing technology - the computer system.

We have always had one reason or the other to hire voiceover artistes. This could be for the purpose of storytelling and narration, advertisement and so on. As beautiful and reliable as that is in executing our tasks, many seem to consider it a waste of resources in terms of funds, energy and time. This is one of the reasons why the innovation of text-to-speech was established. It comes in handy when we do not need voiceover artistes as it serves as a perfect substitute.

Text-to-speech, which is also known as TTS, is a type of supportive technology that assists in reading digital text aloud. It’s sometimes called “read aloud” technology. The benefit of this technology cannot be overemphasised as it has gained a wide reach and global use across many devices such as computers and smartphones of different brands. With the help of softwares for computers (Windows and Mac), applications for smartphones (Android, iPhone, iPad) as well as online platforms, text-to-speech has been made possible and easy as technology keeps evolving.

Today, content creators are grateful for this life-saving innovation as it has dispelled the thoughts of having to do voiceovers themselves (which could be difficult for many). As such, this article comes in handy as it seeks to discuss ten applications or softwares and online platforms for TTS.

BALABOLKA

Balabolka is a Russian word; it can be translated as “chatterer” in English. It’s a Text-To-Speech (TTS) program that reads converts every written piece to audio. This program will install voices on your computer in different languages and deliver the lines in natural sounding voices. It really does a nice job of converting any text to speech. This software also helps with reading books aloud. In the case of reading a book, it can be converted to an audiobook by just copying and pasting it on the software while you select the voice and make necessary adjustments such as changing the range, pitch and volume control.

FEATURES

• Balabolka lets you customise fonts to your taste; this includes change of colour, background and font size and style.
• The program can extract content from documents, and it supports text file formats such as AZW, AZW3, CHM, DjVu, DOC, DOCX, EML, EPUB, FB2, FB3, HTML, LIT, MD, MOBI, ODP, ODS, ODT, PDB, PRC, PDF, PPT, PPTX, RTF, TCR, WPD, XLS, XLSX.
• The software effortlessly converts texts to audio. Also, you can decide to save your audio in several file formats such as MP3, WAV, MPEG4 for free.
• Another good feature is that it echoes letters or words that you add in settings. More so, you can make Balabolka to pause between sentences.
• The spell check built-in operating system is functional in Balabolka. This feature is available in Windows beginning from Windows 8.

SUPPORT SYSTEM: WINDOWS

AVAILABLE LANGUAGES

English, Arabic, Czech, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Korean, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Russian and Chinese.

PROS

• Audio can be changed and designed to your taste. Also, the part of the text you wish to begin from can be selected.
• Balabolka boasts of quality and flexibility, which is amazing for a free text-to-speech software. It has multiple voice options, file formats, and more!
• For starters or inexperienced users, Balabolka is straightforward in terms of installation as it takes seconds to have it on Windows PC. Also, no technical skill is needed to initiate the process.
• Balabolka comes with a timer, which provides you with more flexibility while listening to recordings. Since the program can be controlled with keyboard shortcuts, it helps save a good amount of time that you’d have spent trying to find your way through the interface.
• It has bookmarking tools that let you jump to a specific part of a text. This feature is useful when you are searching for a particular word in the text that is difficult to find especially in a bulky text. This could be for the purpose of editing or proofreading, or for picking up the audio from your place of choice.

CONS

• The voice available in the software is somewhat robotic and reads devoid of expression.
• It does not have an Android version.
• There are limited languages, which strikes the need for update in that respect.
• It lags sometimes as the workload involves colour grading, correction and others.

PANOPRETER

Panopreter is a text-to-speech and text-to-mp3 software program that reads text aloud with natural sounding voices, and converts the text to audio files in WAV, MP3, OGG and flac formats. In a nutshell, you can listen to your own writing without reading it out loud to yourself.

FEATURES

• You can turn the web into an audiobook using Panopreter. If you can copy and paste it, it is certainly possible to listen to it. This includes having a toolbar for Internet Explorer where reading on the web page is made easy. This does not leave Word document and other formats behind.
• The reading speed can be adjusted. Here, you’re given full control in deciding how fast or slow you want the reading to play out.
• Panopreter supports a wide variety of languages and voices to suit your taste as it opens you to multiple choices to choose from to make your user experience worth it.
• Files can be converted in batches. This will save time, rather than having to convert files one after the other. With Panopreter, more can be done in little time.
• Panopreter allows users to customize interface layout, font, text size, text color, highlight color, and background colour.

SUPPORT SYSTEM: WINDOWS

PROS

• It helps to highlight the word or sentence that is being read.
• Dictates in many languages and voices.
• It supports batch file conversion supported.
• It gives you a full command on the pitch, volume and speed
• It has keyboard shortcut keys.
• Music accompanies the end of the text reading.
• The inculcation of Internet Explorer and Microsoft Word is a great feature that every other TTS software needs to have; Panopreter has made this advantageous.

CONS

• It does not have a mobile version.
• It is limited to Windows.

ZABAWARE

Zabaware Text-to-Speech Reader is a software that that makes it possible for your written documents to be read aloud. This program is unique as it makes reading and voiceovers efficient. It will save energy, time and resources especially when you’re considering spending lots of money to hire a voiceover artist for your content creation.

FEATURES

• The Zabaware Text-to-Speech Reader is more like a twin of the Windows program WordPad in that it opens any text file (.txt) or rich text file (.rtf). This program can be used to edit, format, and save text files. You can change font type, size, alignment and color using the controls in the toolbar and menu bar.
• Zabaware is capable of reading aloud any text you have copied to the Text-to-Speech Reader.
• The software can also convert text files to WAV format.
• The clipboard function of the Zabaware Text-to-Speech Reader automatically monitors your

Clipboard for text changes. Every time you copy some text into the clipboard, this program will automatically read it out loud. This can be great for reading internet pages out loud and email messages.

SUPPORT SYSTEM: WINDOWS

PROS

• It helps to place validity on the work you engage.
• Speech error detection is easy by listening to the audio that is being rendered.
• Both male and female voices are available. It also offers the option of listening directly from the window instead of copying and pasting the content on the program.

CONS

• It is available only on Windows.
• It runs for free, but you won’t get the benefits such as better voices, more natural speech and realistic sounds advertised until you purchase the premium version.
• The voiceover gets activated even when it’s not needed. This causes disturbances while working
• The formats it supports are very limited.
• The voice selection is limited.
• It has no merge feature: You can’t merge multiple audio files to make one big audio file. You have to use your own computer.
• It has a poor storage organisation.
• It has only 3000 Characters per voiceover.
• You can’t use multiple voiceovers in a single script.

NOTEVIBES

NoteVibes is an online text to speech application and software that provides both free and paid options for users. It allows you convert your text to natural sounding voices with free MP3 download. In the free version, you have 5000 characters available for testing its functionality. This is good for personal use in working on small projects as it makes it possible for you to hear multiple sentences at once. Notevibes has over 18 languages and 177 unique voices; you won’t have a hard time reading your text due to its natural sounding voices.

FEATURES

• It has 17 languages and 177 voices.
• You can easily add a Background Music.
• It has a DJ voice creation feature.
• You can add pauses, pitch and change the speed of your audio along with emphasis and voice control.

SUPPORT SYSTEM: WINDOWS, ANDROID

PROS

• Its editor is very advanced, and the user has luxury of control over so many things.
• A specific portion of the script can be emphasised; the volume can also be controlled alongside rate and pitch for the specific parts as well. Only few text-to-speech softwares have this feature. This one feature therefore makes it stand out from others. Its voice quality is no different from others.
• Notevibes also lets you make dialogue videos where you can use more than one voice to create a voiceover. Your narration then sounds more creative and captivating when this feature well utilised. There are total 201 voices available in NoteVibes.

CONS

• It has issues with speed, and also produces a highly concentrated robotic sound. Coming along these is its very expensive commercial options. Notevibes can also not read from PDF and docs.
• There is no preview in NoteVibes; you can’t listen to the voice preview of the script; rather, the voiceover has to be generated to listen and to know how a speaker sounds.
• Demos are unavailable. On the homepage, demo can be found and played, but while generating voiceovers, no demo will be found.
• It has no merge feature: You can’t combine multiple audio files to make it one. Almost all major text-to-speech tools have a merge feature, but, Notevibes lags in this respect.
• Voiceover & Editor Page is different. There is one specific page for generating the voiceover and one page for downloading audio files. Switching between both of them will consume time. If you have a big project, switching between both pages will be tiring.
• No Project-Based Structure: This is another feature that you need when you have big project. Keep multiple files in one place can create a mess. You can’t create any project inside Notevibes. This is a very immature structure.

LANGUAGES SUPPORTED

English (us, UK, AU, IN), Spanish, German, Spanish, Dutch, French, Italian, Norwegian, Japanese, Danish, Swedish, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Turkish, Hindi, Vietnamese, Korean, Indonesian, Arabic, Mandarin Chinese.

MAC OS TTS

Mac OS X is a built-in text-to-speech software for Mac. This can be used to read your written content aloud anywhere on your computer from Notes app and other formats. This means it has the ability to dictate to you what you have written in order to bring your writing to life. This could come in form of an audiobook, trailer, ads, videogames, tutorials and many more. It has a ton of voices and languages to select from alongside different accents in English language.

FEATURES

• A lot of languages are included other than English and there are a lot of voices to choose along with languages. Although some voices are very robotic, there is a few which aren’t and sound more like a human.
• Text-to-speech on Mac also supports converting your text into audio files.

PROS

• A lot of voice options are available for you to play around to get familiar with.
• Texts can be easily converted to iTunes track.

CONS

• It does not have Pause/Play option.
• For all the words to be read, they have to be selected manually.
• The software is very basic and does not have the feature of picking up or continuing from where it stopped reading like other TTS softwares have.

TTS MP3.com

It is an online software which is very easy to use. TTS MP3 Which converts your text to the English language. It has a variety of preset voices and languages which are related to different countries. This gives you flexibility as it concerns your language choice. The software is user friendly. You can easily gain access to it by visiting www.TTSMP3.com , and it’s free.

SUPPORT SYSTEM: ONLINE

FEATURES

• With TTSMP3.com, you can easily convert text to audio, change speech and pitch, or even whisper.
• A lot of languages are available for you to explore.

PROS

• It supports both Hindi and English languages.

CONS

• The software does not support formats such as DOC, TXT, FB2, DOCX, PDF, RTF, and HTML.

READ ALOUD

Read Aloud is not exactly a stand-alone Mac software but instead, a Chrome extension which might be appealing to some people. When we put to heart how articles and posts are read on the internet every day, Read Aloud had to be devised to come in handy in making reading easier and less stressful. It is completely free and once it is installed, its icon will be displayed in the extension bar which can now be use to read any webpage or any article found online just by a single click. When it is in use, you get a play/pause button alongside a forward or rewind button which can be useful in advancing or backtracking paragraphs. Considering the fact that it is free to use, the voice options are really good and sound very natural.

FEATURES

• It can extract texts online to convert them into audio files.
• It possesses an exceptional feature of backtracking paragraphs.
• It helps you listen to audio files at your own pace, speed in natural sounding voices and different accents. Text typed in the app and text extracted from any photo uploaded is converted to an audio file.

PROS

• It has a great natural voice.
• It is completely secure as it ensures confidentiality. This is useful for people who would love to keep their data private.
• It helps people with social needs to listen to any text in different languages. This is very useful for those who are limited in language varieties.

CONS

• It can work only on Chrome.

SPEAK4ME

As its name implies, Speak4me literally speaks for you! Like other TTS softwares and apps, Speak4Me works as an instrument of text conversion into audio. One advantage this application has is that it can enhance multitasking. When you have to read and make tea or coffee, or cook at the same time, you don’t have to move around with the text material; all you have to do is to allow Speak4me to do what it was made to do. This is therefore a software to consider in turning your writing to speaking without much stress. With amazing features like changing the rate and pitch of the voice alongside volume control and an array of voices to choose from which comes with a variety of languages, it affords you flexibility regarding your choice of usage. It also allows you to share your audio on the social media, and you can decide to save them locally for later use.

SUPPORT SYSTEM: iPHONE, iPAD

FEATURES

• With Speak4Me, you can easily navigate the control speech generator volume, pitch and rate of speech.
• It filters all the PDFs easily; it highlights the text as you go along too.
• It has a fully customizable reading experience: Adjustment font size, font and background colours, alignment, line spacing to best suit your preference and much more is available on the software.
• Speak4Me can speak PDF in languages such as English and Hindi.

PROS

• It comes with a Night Mode functionality to facilitate a comfortable reading in dark environments.
• The software has smooth navigation, auto scroll and can search for words to jump to a point in your text. This feature comes in handy especially when you have a bulky text to work on.
• With Speak4Me, your eyes are guarded from smartphone light rays.

CONS

• The languages are limited.
• If your device does not have a TTS engine of that language, speaking will not be supported.

NATURAL READER

Natural Reader is a text-to-speech app that covers your text, webpages, eBooks, and webpages aloud to you with quality and natural-sounding voices. NaturalReader is a useful tool for those who have dyslexia and other reading difficulties. 50 voices in over 20 languages are therefore available for you to open up your ears to.

FEATURES

• Adjustment of speaker’s speed: This feature enables you to adjust the speed of a selected speaker. This gives you control on how slow or fast you want the speech to be rendered.
• It is able to read email attachments; it also grants access to Dropbox, Google Drive or One Drive.

PROS

• The pronunciation editor gives you control on how you want certain words to be pronounced. This way, you can fine-tune the pronunciation of new or unusual words, or improve the readability of acronyms.

CONS

• Access can only be gained to additional features when you upgrade to the pro version.
• The application crashes lags a bit when there is too much text pasted for the application to process.
• It sometimes skips lines.
• Its sound becomes unpleasant when volume is too high.

NARRATOR’S VOICE

This application helps convert text to speech with a wide variety of voices in many languages. Narrator’s Voice app lets you create and share amusing messages using a narrator’s voice of your choice with a wide range of languages and reliable, pleasant sound voices. The end result is a customised narration of your original message, which you can share as desired. Videos are one of the hottest projects for Narrator’s Voice, letting the narrator explain or comment on whatever is happening on the screen. In fact, many people have been using the Narrator’s Voice app to add audio to their YouTube and TikTok videos, giving them a distinct voice that enhances the overall video’s vibe.

FEATURES SUPPORT SYSTEM: iPHONE, iPAD AND WINDOWS

• It executes your tasks with voices alongside effects in many languages.
• New voices have been added, which makes it +380 voices in total.
• It has waveform graphics for your to monitor the height and depth of the sound of your audio.

PROS

• Theme can be changed to Dark or Light.
• It has the ability to turn images to text.

CONS

• Too many ads roll out in the free version.
• The sound and vocal is not loud enough.

Technology has always been in the business of amazing man with its extraordinary abilities. The brain of man has a role to play in this awe as these inventions are not without man’s input. As such, daily improvements are ensured to build upon the existing technology - the computer system.

We have always had one reason or the other to hire voiceover artistes. This could be for the purpose of storytelling and narration, advertisement and so on. As beautiful and reliable as that is in executing our tasks, many seem to consider it a waste of resources in terms of funds, energy and time. This is one of the reasons why the innovation of text-to-speech was established. It comes in handy when we do not need voiceover artistes as it serves as a perfect substitute.

Text-to-speech, which is also known as TTS, is a type of supportive technology that assists in reading digital text aloud. It’s sometimes called “read aloud” technology. The benefit of this technology cannot be overemphasised as it has gained a wide reach and global use across many devices such as computers and smartphones of different brands. With the help of softwares for computers (Windows and Mac), applications for smartphones (Android, iPhone, iPad) as well as online platforms, text-to-speech has been made possible and easy as technology keeps evolving.

Today, content creators are grateful for this life-saving innovation as it has dispelled the thoughts of having to do voiceovers themselves (which could be difficult for many). As such, this article comes in handy as it seeks to discuss ten applications or softwares and online platforms for TTS.

BALABOLKA

Balabolka is a Russian word; it can be translated as “chatterer” in English. It’s a Text-To-Speech (TTS) program that reads converts every written piece to audio. This program will install voices on your computer in different languages and deliver the lines in natural sounding voices. It really does a nice job of converting any text to speech. This software also helps with reading books aloud. In the case of reading a book, it can be converted to an audiobook by just copying and pasting it on the software while you select the voice and make necessary adjustments such as changing the range, pitch and volume control.

FEATURES

• Balabolka lets you customise fonts to your taste; this includes change of colour, background and font size and style.
• The program can extract content from documents, and it supports text file formats such as AZW, AZW3, CHM, DjVu, DOC, DOCX, EML, EPUB, FB2, FB3, HTML, LIT, MD, MOBI, ODP, ODS, ODT, PDB, PRC, PDF, PPT, PPTX, RTF, TCR, WPD, XLS, XLSX.
• The software effortlessly converts texts to audio. Also, you can decide to save your audio in several file formats such as MP3, WAV, MPEG4 for free.
• Another good feature is that it echoes letters or words that you add in settings. More so, you can make Balabolka to pause between sentences.
• The spell check built-in operating system is functional in Balabolka. This feature is available in Windows beginning from Windows 8.

SUPPORT SYSTEM: WINDOWS

AVAILABLE LANGUAGES

English, Arabic, Czech, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Korean, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Russian and Chinese.

PROS

• Audio can be changed and designed to your taste. Also, the part of the text you wish to begin from can be selected.
• Balabolka boasts of quality and flexibility, which is amazing for a free text-to-speech software. It has multiple voice options, file formats, and more!
• For starters or inexperienced users, Balabolka is straightforward in terms of installation as it takes seconds to have it on Windows PC. Also, no technical skill is needed to initiate the process.
• Balabolka comes with a timer, which provides you with more flexibility while listening to recordings. Since the program can be controlled with keyboard shortcuts, it helps save a good amount of time that you’d have spent trying to find your way through the interface.
• It has bookmarking tools that let you jump to a specific part of a text. This feature is useful when you are searching for a particular word in the text that is difficult to find especially in a bulky text. This could be for the purpose of editing or proofreading, or for picking up the audio from your place of choice.

CONS

• The voice available in the software is somewhat robotic and reads devoid of expression.
• It does not have an Android version.
• There are limited languages, which strikes the need for update in that respect.
• It lags sometimes as the workload involves colour grading, correction and others.

PANOPRETER

Panopreter is a text-to-speech and text-to-mp3 software program that reads text aloud with natural sounding voices, and converts the text to audio files in WAV, MP3, OGG and flac formats. In a nutshell, you can listen to your own writing without reading it out loud to yourself.

FEATURES

• You can turn the web into an audiobook using Panopreter. If you can copy and paste it, it is certainly possible to listen to it. This includes having a toolbar for Internet Explorer where reading on the web page is made easy. This does not leave Word document and other formats behind.
• The reading speed can be adjusted. Here, you’re given full control in deciding how fast or slow you want the reading to play out.
• Panopreter supports a wide variety of languages and voices to suit your taste as it opens you to multiple choices to choose from to make your user experience worth it.
• Files can be converted in batches. This will save time, rather than having to convert files one after the other. With Panopreter, more can be done in little time.
• Panopreter allows users to customize interface layout, font, text size, text color, highlight color, and background colour.

SUPPORT SYSTEM: WINDOWS

PROS

• It helps to highlight the word or sentence that is being read.
• Dictates in many languages and voices.
• It supports batch file conversion supported.
• It gives you a full command on the pitch, volume and speed
• It has keyboard shortcut keys.
• Music accompanies the end of the text reading.
• The inculcation of Internet Explorer and Microsoft Word is a great feature that every other TTS software needs to have; Panopreter has made this advantageous.

CONS

• It does not have a mobile version.
• It is limited to Windows.

ZABAWARE

Zabaware Text-to-Speech Reader is a software that that makes it possible for your written documents to be read aloud. This program is unique as it makes reading and voiceovers efficient. It will save energy, time and resources especially when you’re considering spending lots of money to hire a voiceover artist for your content creation.

FEATURES

• The Zabaware Text-to-Speech Reader is more like a twin of the Windows program WordPad in that it opens any text file (.txt) or rich text file (.rtf). This program can be used to edit, format, and save text files. You can change font type, size, alignment and color using the controls in the toolbar and menu bar.
• Zabaware is capable of reading aloud any text you have copied to the Text-to-Speech Reader.
• The software can also convert text files to WAV format.
• The clipboard function of the Zabaware Text-to-Speech Reader automatically monitors your

Clipboard for text changes. Every time you copy some text into the clipboard, this program will automatically read it out loud. This can be great for reading internet pages out loud and email messages.

SUPPORT SYSTEM: WINDOWS

PROS

• It helps to place validity on the work you engage.
• Speech error detection is easy by listening to the audio that is being rendered.
• Both male and female voices are available. It also offers the option of listening directly from the window instead of copying and pasting the content on the program.

CONS

• It is available only on Windows.
• It runs for free, but you won’t get the benefits such as better voices, more natural speech and realistic sounds advertised until you purchase the premium version.
• The voiceover gets activated even when it’s not needed. This causes disturbances while working
• The formats it supports are very limited.
• The voice selection is limited.
• It has no merge feature: You can’t merge multiple audio files to make one big audio file. You have to use your own computer.
• It has a poor storage organisation.
• It has only 3000 Characters per voiceover.
• You can’t use multiple voiceovers in a single script.

NOTEVIBES

NoteVibes is an online text to speech application and software that provides both free and paid options for users. It allows you convert your text to natural sounding voices with free MP3 download. In the free version, you have 5000 characters available for testing its functionality. This is good for personal use in working on small projects as it makes it possible for you to hear multiple sentences at once. Notevibes has over 18 languages and 177 unique voices; you won’t have a hard time reading your text due to its natural sounding voices.

FEATURES

• It has 17 languages and 177 voices.
• You can easily add a Background Music.
• It has a DJ voice creation feature.
• You can add pauses, pitch and change the speed of your audio along with emphasis and voice control.

SUPPORT SYSTEM: WINDOWS, ANDROID

PROS

• Its editor is very advanced, and the user has luxury of control over so many things.
• A specific portion of the script can be emphasised; the volume can also be controlled alongside rate and pitch for the specific parts as well. Only few text-to-speech softwares have this feature. This one feature therefore makes it stand out from others. Its voice quality is no different from others.
• Notevibes also lets you make dialogue videos where you can use more than one voice to create a voiceover. Your narration then sounds more creative and captivating when this feature well utilised. There are total 201 voices available in NoteVibes.

CONS

• It has issues with speed, and also produces a highly concentrated robotic sound. Coming along these is its very expensive commercial options. Notevibes can also not read from PDF and docs.
• There is no preview in NoteVibes; you can’t listen to the voice preview of the script; rather, the voiceover has to be generated to listen and to know how a speaker sounds.
• Demos are unavailable. On the homepage, demo can be found and played, but while generating voiceovers, no demo will be found.
• It has no merge feature: You can’t combine multiple audio files to make it one. Almost all major text-to-speech tools have a merge feature, but, Notevibes lags in this respect.
• Voiceover & Editor Page is different. There is one specific page for generating the voiceover and one page for downloading audio files. Switching between both of them will consume time. If you have a big project, switching between both pages will be tiring.
• No Project-Based Structure: This is another feature that you need when you have big project. Keep multiple files in one place can create a mess. You can’t create any project inside Notevibes. This is a very immature structure.

LANGUAGES SUPPORTED

English (us, UK, AU, IN), Spanish, German, Spanish, Dutch, French, Italian, Norwegian, Japanese, Danish, Swedish, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Turkish, Hindi, Vietnamese, Korean, Indonesian, Arabic, Mandarin Chinese.

MAC OS TTS

Mac OS X is a built-in text-to-speech software for Mac. This can be used to read your written content aloud anywhere on your computer from Notes app and other formats. This means it has the ability to dictate to you what you have written in order to bring your writing to life. This could come in form of an audiobook, trailer, ads, videogames, tutorials and many more. It has a ton of voices and languages to select from alongside different accents in English language.

FEATURES

• A lot of languages are included other than English and there are a lot of voices to choose along with languages. Although some voices are very robotic, there is a few which aren’t and sound more like a human.
• Text-to-speech on Mac also supports converting your text into audio files.

PROS

• A lot of voice options are available for you to play around to get familiar with.
• Texts can be easily converted to iTunes track.

CONS

• It does not have Pause/Play option.
• For all the words to be read, they have to be selected manually.
• The software is very basic and does not have the feature of picking up or continuing from where it stopped reading like other TTS softwares have.

TTS MP3.com

It is an online software which is very easy to use. TTS MP3 Which converts your text to the English language. It has a variety of preset voices and languages which are related to different countries. This gives you flexibility as it concerns your language choice. The software is user friendly. You can easily gain access to it by visiting www.TTSMP3.com , and it’s free.

SUPPORT SYSTEM: ONLINE

FEATURES

• With TTSMP3.com, you can easily convert text to audio, change speech and pitch, or even whisper.
• A lot of languages are available for you to explore.

PROS

• It supports both Hindi and English languages.

CONS

• The software does not support formats such as DOC, TXT, FB2, DOCX, PDF, RTF, and HTML.

READ ALOUD

Read Aloud is not exactly a stand-alone Mac software but instead, a Chrome extension which might be appealing to some people. When we put to heart how articles and posts are read on the internet every day, Read Aloud had to be devised to come in handy in making reading easier and less stressful. It is completely free and once it is installed, its icon will be displayed in the extension bar which can now be use to read any webpage or any article found online just by a single click. When it is in use, you get a play/pause button alongside a forward or rewind button which can be useful in advancing or backtracking paragraphs. Considering the fact that it is free to use, the voice options are really good and sound very natural.

FEATURES

• It can extract texts online to convert them into audio files.
• It possesses an exceptional feature of backtracking paragraphs.
• It helps you listen to audio files at your own pace, speed in natural sounding voices and different accents. Text typed in the app and text extracted from any photo uploaded is converted to an audio file.

PROS

• It has a great natural voice.
• It is completely secure as it ensures confidentiality. This is useful for people who would love to keep their data private.
• It helps people with social needs to listen to any text in different languages. This is very useful for those who are limited in language varieties.

CONS

• It can work only on Chrome.

SPEAK4ME

As its name implies, Speak4me literally speaks for you! Like other TTS softwares and apps, Speak4Me works as an instrument of text conversion into audio. One advantage this application has is that it can enhance multitasking. When you have to read and make tea or coffee, or cook at the same time, you don’t have to move around with the text material; all you have to do is to allow Speak4me to do what it was made to do. This is therefore a software to consider in turning your writing to speaking without much stress. With amazing features like changing the rate and pitch of the voice alongside volume control and an array of voices to choose from which comes with a variety of languages, it affords you flexibility regarding your choice of usage. It also allows you to share your audio on the social media, and you can decide to save them locally for later use.

SUPPORT SYSTEM: iPHONE, iPAD

FEATURES

• With Speak4Me, you can easily navigate the control speech generator volume, pitch and rate of speech.
• It filters all the PDFs easily; it highlights the text as you go along too.
• It has a fully customizable reading experience: Adjustment font size, font and background colours, alignment, line spacing to best suit your preference and much more is available on the software.
• Speak4Me can speak PDF in languages such as English and Hindi.

PROS

• It comes with a Night Mode functionality to facilitate a comfortable reading in dark environments.
• The software has smooth navigation, auto scroll and can search for words to jump to a point in your text. This feature comes in handy especially when you have a bulky text to work on.
• With Speak4Me, your eyes are guarded from smartphone light rays.

CONS

• The languages are limited.
• If your device does not have a TTS engine of that language, speaking will not be supported.

NATURAL READER

Natural Reader is a text-to-speech app that covers your text, webpages, eBooks, and webpages aloud to you with quality and natural-sounding voices. NaturalReader is a useful tool for those who have dyslexia and other reading difficulties. 50 voices in over 20 languages are therefore available for you to open up your ears to.

FEATURES

• Adjustment of speaker’s speed: This feature enables you to adjust the speed of a selected speaker. This gives you control on how slow or fast you want the speech to be rendered.
• It is able to read email attachments; it also grants access to Dropbox, Google Drive or One Drive.

PROS

• The pronunciation editor gives you control on how you want certain words to be pronounced. This way, you can fine-tune the pronunciation of new or unusual words, or improve the readability of acronyms.

CONS

• Access can only be gained to additional features when you upgrade to the pro version.
• The application crashes lags a bit when there is too much text pasted for the application to process.
• It sometimes skips lines.
• Its sound becomes unpleasant when volume is too high.

NARRATOR’S VOICE

This application helps convert text to speech with a wide variety of voices in many languages. Narrator’s Voice app lets you create and share amusing messages using a narrator’s voice of your choice with a wide range of languages and reliable, pleasant sound voices. The end result is a customised narration of your original message, which you can share as desired. Videos are one of the hottest projects for Narrator’s Voice, letting the narrator explain or comment on whatever is happening on the screen. In fact, many people have been using the Narrator’s Voice app to add audio to their YouTube and TikTok videos, giving them a distinct voice that enhances the overall video’s vibe.

FEATURES SUPPORT SYSTEM: iPHONE, iPAD AND WINDOWS

• It executes your tasks with voices alongside effects in many languages.
• New voices have been added, which makes it +380 voices in total.
• It has waveform graphics for your to monitor the height and depth of the sound of your audio.

PROS

• Theme can be changed to Dark or Light.
• It has the ability to turn images to text.

CONS

• Too many ads roll out in the free version.
• The sound and vocal is not loud enough.

Technology has always been in the business of amazing man with its extraordinary abilities. The brain of man has a role to play in this awe as these inventions are not without man’s input. As such, daily improvements are ensured to build upon the existing technology - the computer system.

We have always had one reason or the other to hire voiceover artistes. This could be for the purpose of storytelling and narration, advertisement and so on. As beautiful and reliable as that is in executing our tasks, many seem to consider it a waste of resources in terms of funds, energy and time. This is one of the reasons why the innovation of text-to-speech was established. It comes in handy when we do not need voiceover artistes as it serves as a perfect substitute.

Text-to-speech, which is also known as TTS, is a type of supportive technology that assists in reading digital text aloud. It’s sometimes called “read aloud” technology. The benefit of this technology cannot be overemphasised as it has gained a wide reach and global use across many devices such as computers and smartphones of different brands. With the help of softwares for computers (Windows and Mac), applications for smartphones (Android, iPhone, iPad) as well as online platforms, text-to-speech has been made possible and easy as technology keeps evolving.

Today, content creators are grateful for this life-saving innovation as it has dispelled the thoughts of having to do voiceovers themselves (which could be difficult for many). As such, this article comes in handy as it seeks to discuss ten applications or softwares and online platforms for TTS.

BALABOLKA

Balabolka is a Russian word; it can be translated as “chatterer” in English. It’s a Text-To-Speech (TTS) program that reads converts every written piece to audio. This program will install voices on your computer in different languages and deliver the lines in natural sounding voices. It really does a nice job of converting any text to speech. This software also helps with reading books aloud. In the case of reading a book, it can be converted to an audiobook by just copying and pasting it on the software while you select the voice and make necessary adjustments such as changing the range, pitch and volume control.

FEATURES

• Balabolka lets you customise fonts to your taste; this includes change of colour, background and font size and style.
• The program can extract content from documents, and it supports text file formats such as AZW, AZW3, CHM, DjVu, DOC, DOCX, EML, EPUB, FB2, FB3, HTML, LIT, MD, MOBI, ODP, ODS, ODT, PDB, PRC, PDF, PPT, PPTX, RTF, TCR, WPD, XLS, XLSX.
• The software effortlessly converts texts to audio. Also, you can decide to save your audio in several file formats such as MP3, WAV, MPEG4 for free.
• Another good feature is that it echoes letters or words that you add in settings. More so, you can make Balabolka to pause between sentences.
• The spell check built-in operating system is functional in Balabolka. This feature is available in Windows beginning from Windows 8.

SUPPORT SYSTEM: WINDOWS

AVAILABLE LANGUAGES

English, Arabic, Czech, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Korean, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Russian and Chinese.

PROS

• Audio can be changed and designed to your taste. Also, the part of the text you wish to begin from can be selected.
• Balabolka boasts of quality and flexibility, which is amazing for a free text-to-speech software. It has multiple voice options, file formats, and more!
• For starters or inexperienced users, Balabolka is straightforward in terms of installation as it takes seconds to have it on Windows PC. Also, no technical skill is needed to initiate the process.
• Balabolka comes with a timer, which provides you with more flexibility while listening to recordings. Since the program can be controlled with keyboard shortcuts, it helps save a good amount of time that you’d have spent trying to find your way through the interface.
• It has bookmarking tools that let you jump to a specific part of a text. This feature is useful when you are searching for a particular word in the text that is difficult to find especially in a bulky text. This could be for the purpose of editing or proofreading, or for picking up the audio from your place of choice.

CONS

• The voice available in the software is somewhat robotic and reads devoid of expression.
• It does not have an Android version.
• There are limited languages, which strikes the need for update in that respect.
• It lags sometimes as the workload involves colour grading, correction and others.

PANOPRETER

Panopreter is a text-to-speech and text-to-mp3 software program that reads text aloud with natural sounding voices, and converts the text to audio files in WAV, MP3, OGG and flac formats. In a nutshell, you can listen to your own writing without reading it out loud to yourself.

FEATURES

• You can turn the web into an audiobook using Panopreter. If you can copy and paste it, it is certainly possible to listen to it. This includes having a toolbar for Internet Explorer where reading on the web page is made easy. This does not leave Word document and other formats behind.
• The reading speed can be adjusted. Here, you’re given full control in deciding how fast or slow you want the reading to play out.
• Panopreter supports a wide variety of languages and voices to suit your taste as it opens you to multiple choices to choose from to make your user experience worth it.
• Files can be converted in batches. This will save time, rather than having to convert files one after the other. With Panopreter, more can be done in little time.
• Panopreter allows users to customize interface layout, font, text size, text color, highlight color, and background colour.

SUPPORT SYSTEM: WINDOWS

PROS

• It helps to highlight the word or sentence that is being read.
• Dictates in many languages and voices.
• It supports batch file conversion supported.
• It gives you a full command on the pitch, volume and speed
• It has keyboard shortcut keys.
• Music accompanies the end of the text reading.
• The inculcation of Internet Explorer and Microsoft Word is a great feature that every other TTS software needs to have; Panopreter has made this advantageous.

CONS

• It does not have a mobile version.
• It is limited to Windows.

ZABAWARE

Zabaware Text-to-Speech Reader is a software that that makes it possible for your written documents to be read aloud. This program is unique as it makes reading and voiceovers efficient. It will save energy, time and resources especially when you’re considering spending lots of money to hire a voiceover artist for your content creation.

FEATURES

• The Zabaware Text-to-Speech Reader is more like a twin of the Windows program WordPad in that it opens any text file (.txt) or rich text file (.rtf). This program can be used to edit, format, and save text files. You can change font type, size, alignment and color using the controls in the toolbar and menu bar.
• Zabaware is capable of reading aloud any text you have copied to the Text-to-Speech Reader.
• The software can also convert text files to WAV format.
• The clipboard function of the Zabaware Text-to-Speech Reader automatically monitors your

Clipboard for text changes. Every time you copy some text into the clipboard, this program will automatically read it out loud. This can be great for reading internet pages out loud and email messages.

SUPPORT SYSTEM: WINDOWS

PROS

• It helps to place validity on the work you engage.
• Speech error detection is easy by listening to the audio that is being rendered.
• Both male and female voices are available. It also offers the option of listening directly from the window instead of copying and pasting the content on the program.

CONS

• It is available only on Windows.
• It runs for free, but you won’t get the benefits such as better voices, more natural speech and realistic sounds advertised until you purchase the premium version.
• The voiceover gets activated even when it’s not needed. This causes disturbances while working
• The formats it supports are very limited.
• The voice selection is limited.
• It has no merge feature: You can’t merge multiple audio files to make one big audio file. You have to use your own computer.
• It has a poor storage organisation.
• It has only 3000 Characters per voiceover.
• You can’t use multiple voiceovers in a single script.

NOTEVIBES

NoteVibes is an online text to speech application and software that provides both free and paid options for users. It allows you convert your text to natural sounding voices with free MP3 download. In the free version, you have 5000 characters available for testing its functionality. This is good for personal use in working on small projects as it makes it possible for you to hear multiple sentences at once. Notevibes has over 18 languages and 177 unique voices; you won’t have a hard time reading your text due to its natural sounding voices.

FEATURES

• It has 17 languages and 177 voices.
• You can easily add a Background Music.
• It has a DJ voice creation feature.
• You can add pauses, pitch and change the speed of your audio along with emphasis and voice control.

SUPPORT SYSTEM: WINDOWS, ANDROID

PROS

• Its editor is very advanced, and the user has luxury of control over so many things.
• A specific portion of the script can be emphasised; the volume can also be controlled alongside rate and pitch for the specific parts as well. Only few text-to-speech softwares have this feature. This one feature therefore makes it stand out from others. Its voice quality is no different from others.
• Notevibes also lets you make dialogue videos where you can use more than one voice to create a voiceover. Your narration then sounds more creative and captivating when this feature well utilised. There are total 201 voices available in NoteVibes.

CONS

• It has issues with speed, and also produces a highly concentrated robotic sound. Coming along these is its very expensive commercial options. Notevibes can also not read from PDF and docs.
• There is no preview in NoteVibes; you can’t listen to the voice preview of the script; rather, the voiceover has to be generated to listen and to know how a speaker sounds.
• Demos are unavailable. On the homepage, demo can be found and played, but while generating voiceovers, no demo will be found.
• It has no merge feature: You can’t combine multiple audio files to make it one. Almost all major text-to-speech tools have a merge feature, but, Notevibes lags in this respect.
• Voiceover & Editor Page is different. There is one specific page for generating the voiceover and one page for downloading audio files. Switching between both of them will consume time. If you have a big project, switching between both pages will be tiring.
• No Project-Based Structure: This is another feature that you need when you have big project. Keep multiple files in one place can create a mess. You can’t create any project inside Notevibes. This is a very immature structure.

LANGUAGES SUPPORTED

English (us, UK, AU, IN), Spanish, German, Spanish, Dutch, French, Italian, Norwegian, Japanese, Danish, Swedish, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Turkish, Hindi, Vietnamese, Korean, Indonesian, Arabic, Mandarin Chinese.

MAC OS TTS

Mac OS X is a built-in text-to-speech software for Mac. This can be used to read your written content aloud anywhere on your computer from Notes app and other formats. This means it has the ability to dictate to you what you have written in order to bring your writing to life. This could come in form of an audiobook, trailer, ads, videogames, tutorials and many more. It has a ton of voices and languages to select from alongside different accents in English language.

FEATURES

• A lot of languages are included other than English and there are a lot of voices to choose along with languages. Although some voices are very robotic, there is a few which aren’t and sound more like a human.
• Text-to-speech on Mac also supports converting your text into audio files.

PROS

• A lot of voice options are available for you to play around to get familiar with.
• Texts can be easily converted to iTunes track.

CONS

• It does not have Pause/Play option.
• For all the words to be read, they have to be selected manually.
• The software is very basic and does not have the feature of picking up or continuing from where it stopped reading like other TTS softwares have.

TTS MP3.com

It is an online software which is very easy to use. TTS MP3 Which converts your text to the English language. It has a variety of preset voices and languages which are related to different countries. This gives you flexibility as it concerns your language choice. The software is user friendly. You can easily gain access to it by visiting www.TTSMP3.com , and it’s free.

SUPPORT SYSTEM: ONLINE

FEATURES

• With TTSMP3.com, you can easily convert text to audio, change speech and pitch, or even whisper.
• A lot of languages are available for you to explore.

PROS

• It supports both Hindi and English languages.

CONS

• The software does not support formats such as DOC, TXT, FB2, DOCX, PDF, RTF, and HTML.

READ ALOUD

Read Aloud is not exactly a stand-alone Mac software but instead, a Chrome extension which might be appealing to some people. When we put to heart how articles and posts are read on the internet every day, Read Aloud had to be devised to come in handy in making reading easier and less stressful. It is completely free and once it is installed, its icon will be displayed in the extension bar which can now be use to read any webpage or any article found online just by a single click. When it is in use, you get a play/pause button alongside a forward or rewind button which can be useful in advancing or backtracking paragraphs. Considering the fact that it is free to use, the voice options are really good and sound very natural.

FEATURES

• It can extract texts online to convert them into audio files.
• It possesses an exceptional feature of backtracking paragraphs.
• It helps you listen to audio files at your own pace, speed in natural sounding voices and different accents. Text typed in the app and text extracted from any photo uploaded is converted to an audio file.

PROS

• It has a great natural voice.
• It is completely secure as it ensures confidentiality. This is useful for people who would love to keep their data private.
• It helps people with social needs to listen to any text in different languages. This is very useful for those who are limited in language varieties.

CONS

• It can work only on Chrome.

SPEAK4ME

As its name implies, Speak4me literally speaks for you! Like other TTS softwares and apps, Speak4Me works as an instrument of text conversion into audio. One advantage this application has is that it can enhance multitasking. When you have to read and make tea or coffee, or cook at the same time, you don’t have to move around with the text material; all you have to do is to allow Speak4me to do what it was made to do. This is therefore a software to consider in turning your writing to speaking without much stress. With amazing features like changing the rate and pitch of the voice alongside volume control and an array of voices to choose from which comes with a variety of languages, it affords you flexibility regarding your choice of usage. It also allows you to share your audio on the social media, and you can decide to save them locally for later use.

SUPPORT SYSTEM: iPHONE, iPAD

FEATURES

• With Speak4Me, you can easily navigate the control speech generator volume, pitch and rate of speech.
• It filters all the PDFs easily; it highlights the text as you go along too.
• It has a fully customizable reading experience: Adjustment font size, font and background colours, alignment, line spacing to best suit your preference and much more is available on the software.
• Speak4Me can speak PDF in languages such as English and Hindi.

PROS

• It comes with a Night Mode functionality to facilitate a comfortable reading in dark environments.
• The software has smooth navigation, auto scroll and can search for words to jump to a point in your text. This feature comes in handy especially when you have a bulky text to work on.
• With Speak4Me, your eyes are guarded from smartphone light rays.

CONS

• The languages are limited.
• If your device does not have a TTS engine of that language, speaking will not be supported.

NATURAL READER

Natural Reader is a text-to-speech app that covers your text, webpages, eBooks, and webpages aloud to you with quality and natural-sounding voices. NaturalReader is a useful tool for those who have dyslexia and other reading difficulties. 50 voices in over 20 languages are therefore available for you to open up your ears to.

FEATURES

• Adjustment of speaker’s speed: This feature enables you to adjust the speed of a selected speaker. This gives you control on how slow or fast you want the speech to be rendered.
• It is able to read email attachments; it also grants access to Dropbox, Google Drive or One Drive.

PROS

• The pronunciation editor gives you control on how you want certain words to be pronounced. This way, you can fine-tune the pronunciation of new or unusual words, or improve the readability of acronyms.

CONS

• Access can only be gained to additional features when you upgrade to the pro version.
• The application crashes lags a bit when there is too much text pasted for the application to process.
• It sometimes skips lines.
• Its sound becomes unpleasant when volume is too high.

NARRATOR’S VOICE

This application helps convert text to speech with a wide variety of voices in many languages. Narrator’s Voice app lets you create and share amusing messages using a narrator’s voice of your choice with a wide range of languages and reliable, pleasant sound voices. The end result is a customised narration of your original message, which you can share as desired. Videos are one of the hottest projects for Narrator’s Voice, letting the narrator explain or comment on whatever is happening on the screen. In fact, many people have been using the Narrator’s Voice app to add audio to their YouTube and TikTok videos, giving them a distinct voice that enhances the overall video’s vibe.

FEATURES SUPPORT SYSTEM: iPHONE, iPAD AND WINDOWS

• It executes your tasks with voices alongside effects in many languages.
• New voices have been added, which makes it +380 voices in total.
• It has waveform graphics for your to monitor the height and depth of the sound of your audio.

PROS

• Theme can be changed to Dark or Light.
• It has the ability to turn images to text.

CONS

• Too many ads roll out in the free version.
• The sound and vocal is not loud enough.

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