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Show HN: Dia, an open-weights TTS model for generating realistic dialogue

(github.com)
652 points toebee | 3 comments | 21 Apr 25 17:07 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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Versipelle ◴[21 Apr 25 18:27 UTC] No.43754941[source]▶
This is really impressive; we're getting close to a dream of mine: the ability to generate proper audiobooks from EPUBs. Not just a robotic single voice for everything, but different, consistent voices for each protagonist, with the LLM analyzing the text to guess which voice to use and add an appropriate tone, much like a voice actor would do.

I've tried "EPUB to audiobook" tools, but they are really miles behind what a real narrator accomplishes and make the audiobook impossible to engage with

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azinman2 ◴[21 Apr 25 20:16 UTC] No.43755991[source]▶
Wouldn’t it be more desirable to hear an actual human on an audiobook? Ideally the author?
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1. senordevnyc ◴[21 Apr 25 21:09 UTC] No.43756515[source]▶
Honestly, I’d say that’s true only for the author. Anyone else is just going to be interpreting the words to understand how to best convey the character / emotion / situation / etc., just like an AI will have to do. If an AI can do that more effectively than a human, why not?

The author could be better, because they at least have other info beyond the text to rely on, they can go off-script or add little details, etc.

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2. DrSiemer ◴[21 Apr 25 21:36 UTC] No.43756762[source]▶
As somebody who has listened to hundreds of audiobooks, I can tell you authors are generally not the best choice to voice their own work. They may know every intent, but they are writers, not actors.

The most skilled readers will make you want to read books _just because they narrated them_. They add a unique quality to the story, that you do not get from reading yourself or from watching a video adaptation.

Currently I'm in The Age of Madness, read by Steven Pacey. He's fantastic. The late Roy Dotrice is worth a mention as well, for voicing Game of Thrones and claiming the Guinness world record for most distinct voices (224) in one series.

It will be awesome if we can create readings automatically, but it will be a while before TTS can compete with the best readers out there.

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3. azinman2 ◴[21 Apr 25 23:27 UTC] No.43757590[source]▶
I’d suggest even if the TTS sounded good, I’d still rather a human because:

1. It’s a job that seems worthwhile to support, especially as it’s “practice” that only adds to a lifetime of work and improves their central skill set

2. A voice actor will bring their own flare, just like any actor does to their job

3. They (should) prepare for the book, understanding what it’s about in its entirety, and bring that context to the reading