Setting up Azure

Integrating high-quality voiceovers into your eLearning content is essential as it provides additional engagement, particularly for auditory learners, and ensures your outputs conform to accessibility guidelines.

At Captovate, we use Microsoft Azure because it offers a powerful, secure, and efficient platform for accessing and utilising voiceovers. By leveraging Azure's advanced AI capabilities, you can create natural and expressive voiceovers that enhance your content's appeal.

Why Choose Microsoft Azure for Voiceovers?

Enhanced Security

Microsoft Azure prioritises the security of your data. With robust encryption protocols, multi-factor authentication, and compliance with international security standards, Azure ensures that your voiceover projects and sensitive information are protected against unauthorised access and cyber threats.

If you work for a government agency, this helps ensure you conform to your internal cybersecurity requirements (although it is important to check with them).

Save Output

Saving voiceover outputs using Microsoft Azure is straightforward and secure. After generating the voiceover using Azure's Text-to-Speech service, you can download the file directly to your computer in formats like MP3 or WAV. This makes it easier for you to edit content if something changes.

Customise Pronunciations

Customising pronunciations using phonetic codes in Microsoft Azure involves using the Speech Synthesis Markup Language (SSML) to define how specific words or phrases should be pronounced. By embedding phonetic codes within your text input, you can control the pronunciation precisely. For example, using the `<phoneme>` tag with the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) or custom phonetic alphabets within SSML, you can specify the desired pronunciation for each word, ensuring accuracy and clarity in the generated voiceover. This flexibility allows for tailored speech outputs that match regional accents, technical jargon, or specific name pronunciations.

Insider knowledge: For some reason, voiceover software has issues with pronouncing words ending in "ies," such as "policies." This customisation allows us to control the output. We have created a lexicon for challenging words.

Cutting-Edge AI Technology

Azure's AI-powered text-to-speech capabilities deliver natural and expressive voiceovers, enabling you to create more immersive and engaging content. With a wide range of voices and languages, you can tailor your voiceovers to match your project's specific requirements.

Cost-Effective

Azure's pay-as-you-go pricing model ensures that you only pay for what you use, making it a cost-effective solution for businesses of all sizes.



How to set it up

Step 1

Go to https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/free/

Step 2

Click the "Start Free" button.

Step 3

If you haven't already got a microsoft account, create a new one.

Step 4

After you have filled in the relevant information, watch the two videos below.

• First first - Watch Video
  
• Second step - Watch Video

Step 5

In the browser type in speech.microsoft.com

After that you should be ready to go.