Best option for Voice Announcments?

I have read of all the different ways to get voice announcements working, but I am wondering, given specific constraints that I will out line, what is the most reliable.

I have the following devices capable in one form or another of making the announcement:

Celeron computer running Windows 7 SP1 (primarily used to run iSpy Connect for my IP Cameras)
i3 computer running Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (primarily used for Plex server and Minecraft server)
a couple of Tracfones running Android 4.4.2 (primarily used as paperweights and can’t run lannouncer because of android version)

The servers are in a centralized location and can be heard from master bedroom, living and dining rooms and kitchen. The phones can of course be placed anywhere. I need it to play announcements that can be heard in the above areas and I need reliability above all else.

@Atomicpapa
Glen I have just discovered:

And am now using this with ‘Big Talker’ smartapp extensively - The wife is getting bored with me now :slight_smile:

I bought a couple of these:

and connected them to a couple of these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00PIGBPLO/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Via a cable rather than Bluetooth - You could use any kind of amplified (PC?) speakers

(I realise you may not be in the UK but I’m sure you have an Amazon near you :slight_smile: )

I have one setup on my upper floor and one setup on the lower floor of my house… You may find that one is sufficient at a central point in the home.

This has worked flawlessly since I installed & configured everything last week and we now benefit from announcements like:

“The dryer has finished so get off your butt and empty it”
“Your darling husband is home!”
“The dragon have arrived”

Coming soon…

“The conservatory plants need watering”
“There is someone at the front door”

I have looked into purchasing something like that but I am trying to make something work with what I already have. WAF is higher when I don’t have to buy something to get it working. This is primarily for a mail has arrived alert and a “one of the kids left the freezer door open AGAIN” alert, both based on door open close sensors.

Is “the Dragon” your mother in law too?

Glen
I know that there is a DLNA player for the Raspberry Pi so I assume there is a similar player for Ubuntu
Attaching speakers to your Linux box would probably replace the hardware that I bought (still using the Media Renderer SmartApp)
Possibly with VLC

If you check out the thread I linked to you could always ask the author

Arn’t all MIL dragons? :slight_smile:

Good point. I’ll look into that more. Thanks!

Do you know under English law, the severest sentence for bigamy is…2 mother in laws!

Have you had a chance to look at the following thread? The author was trying to create a voice command system for as little cost as possible, and since his set up also speaks, it might fit some of what you’re looking for. Anyway, it’s a completely different approach than what most community members have taken because he didn’t want to buy additional devices. It’s almost all based on stuff he could run on his existing equipment. So it might be worth a look.

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Thanks for always promoting my post JDRoberts. The software is actually moving along quite nicely (the Jarvis software that is) and was most recently upgraded to the third iteration. I guess the big plus to this software than most things you can find, is that it’s integrated with almost all internet connected devices in some way or form, and it’s more customization than any other platform without the need to be a big time coder. Additionally, it has an extremely helpful beta test community who are constantly building new things for the system. Anyways, if you guys have any questions, please feel free to hit me up.

Additionally I just finished setting up a mic/speaker home audio system that covers nearly every single room. Total setup cost me less than $200. The single issue I’m having is that my mics are WAY too sensitive and I’m picking up way too much noise for my speech recognition software to work it properly. I’ll make a video on it sometime soon.

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@JDRoberts @shawneric

I went and checked out Jarvis and it looks pretty cool. I managed to get my immediate need solved with VLCThing and Core. Nevertheless, I plan on taking a more in depth look at Jarvis. The little bit I have seen so far, I liked!

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