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Launch HN: Aqua Voice (YC W24) – Voice-driven text editor

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Re: Launch HN: Aqua Voice (YC W24) – Voice-driven text editor

#131

Post by soco »

the_king wrote: post #40
GordonS wrote: post #21

The demo seemed to struggle a bit with my accent (Scottish), getting quite a few words wrong - for example, every time I said "test" it would write "taste". Is this something you can improve going forward?

Sorry about that. We know we need to be better about that and of course add more languages. A few things to try to maximize your accuracy right now are: - Don't use AirPods, especially not AirPods Pro. Most built-in laptop mics or EarPods or a gaming headset are perfect. It doesn't need to be podcast quality. - Correct transcription mistakes as you would a person, then "plow through" and often the error will be corre…

All "normal" voice programs struggle with us non-native speakers and our funny accents (sample size: 2). The first try on your site was satisfactory but I'll have to lurk around more just to feel safer... And yes, I am really looking forward for more languages. And switching between them!

Re: Launch HN: Aqua Voice (YC W24) – Voice-driven text editor

#132

Post by samatman »

agotterer wrote: post #50
oliviabenson wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Price based on value. Pricing is hard, something as simple as per-token is alluring because it doesn’t require any thought but it’s leaving a lot of money on the table. There’s nothing unique about LLMs when it comes to pricing, all common pricing wisdom applies.

That seems challenging to do with a writing/note taking app like this. First, what would the pricing tiers be based on? Word count? That would just be another way of saying token. Number of documents created? That puts you at risk of long unprofitable documents. Google Sheets doesn’t really have this problem because the incremental cost of storage is relatively cheap. Tokens on the other hand are not cheap. How do yo…

> First, what would the pricing tiers be based on? Word count? That would just be another way of saying token.

A customer sees "word count", they understand what's going on perfectly, right away. Tokens? More than half of them will think "what, like, game tokens? do I have to buy them in advance?"

Generously, 10% of potential customers are going to have even an approximate idea of what a token means in this context, maybe 1% could tell you that words and tokens aren't quite the same thing.

Re: Launch HN: Aqua Voice (YC W24) – Voice-driven text editor

#133

Post by mavsman »

Since voice-to-text has gotten so good I've used it a lot more and also noticed how distracting and confusing it can be. Using Apple's dictation has a similar feel to this where you're constantly seeing something that's changing on the screen. It's kind of irritating and I don't really know what the solution is.

One suggestion I have here is to have at least two different sections of the UI. One part would be the actual document and the other would be the scratchpad. It seems like much of what you say would not actually make it into the document (edits, corrections, etc) so those would only be shown in the scratchpad. Once the editor has processed the text from the scratchpad then it can go into the document how it's supposed to. Having text immediately show up in the document as it's dictated is weird.

Your big challenge right now is just that STT is still relatively slow for this usecase. Time will be on your side in that regard as I'm sure you know.

Good luck! Voice is the future of a lot of the interactions we have with computers.

Re: Launch HN: Aqua Voice (YC W24) – Voice-driven text editor

#135

Post by LeoPanthera »

mathisd wrote: post #55
rhyme-boss wrote: post #46

I use Apple dictation heavily for transcribing interviews. I've tried all the voice-to-text services out there and none have been reliable enough *at transcribing an audio file. I've settled on playing audio in my headphones and pausing while I carefully dictate text into a document. If I could upload the audio file, get a first-pass transcription, and then go through and edit / make corrections with voice, that woul…

Have you tried using Whisper from OpenAI ? Aiko [0] have Whisper-v2-large built-in and allow for transcription of audio file [0] https://apps.apple.com/fr/app/aiko/id1672085276

Is there anything like this for watching foreign television (or radio)? I don't want to create a document, I just want real-time translated subtitles, but I can't do it in advance for live shows.

Re: Launch HN: Aqua Voice (YC W24) – Voice-driven text editor

#136

Post by raylad »

I tried using it for a screenplay and it more or less knew the format, but didn't remember what to do with the blocks of text or how to separate them properly.

It would be handy to be able to select various formats and have it know to keep to that format.

Also I really liked it but found it quite slow. Assuming that will improve over time.

Re: Launch HN: Aqua Voice (YC W24) – Voice-driven text editor

#137

Post by voiceblue »

lmiller1990 wrote: post #114
gardenhedge wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do doctors use it?

Not OP but a big part of a doctor's job is clinical notes. Typing is slow, talking is fast. Less time spent taking notes == more time with patient.

From exploring this segment for a while, I believe that dictation software is the "brick" in the hair-on-fire analogy (hence, it provides some relief, but is far from an actual solution). There is a form of water (scribes on retainer) but it is too expensive for all but the most profitable of specialties. The problem to be solved is not "dictation but better," but "take this cognitive load away from doctors, and keep notes accurate." (which is what scribes with experience do.) In a broader sense, the problem to be solved is the American healthcare/insurance system (the reason these notes have to be taken in this way in the first place)...

> Less time spent taking notes == more time with patient.

This can be true in some cases, but from what I understand, industry wide it would end up more like:

Less time spent taking notes == more patients scheduled.

Which is still of value, but fails to solve the original point of a physician's frustration, and possibly makes it worse (assuming the physician is still the one generating, handling and verifying the notes, but with better efficiency).

Re: Launch HN: Aqua Voice (YC W24) – Voice-driven text editor

#138

Post by pbronez »

the_king wrote: post #40
GordonS wrote: post #21

The demo seemed to struggle a bit with my accent (Scottish), getting quite a few words wrong - for example, every time I said "test" it would write "taste". Is this something you can improve going forward?

Sorry about that. We know we need to be better about that and of course add more languages. A few things to try to maximize your accuracy right now are: - Don't use AirPods, especially not AirPods Pro. Most built-in laptop mics or EarPods or a gaming headset are perfect. It doesn't need to be podcast quality. - Correct transcription mistakes as you would a person, then "plow through" and often the error will be corre…

What’s the problem with the AirPods? Too much pre-processing?

Re: Launch HN: Aqua Voice (YC W24) – Voice-driven text editor

#139

Post by tkgally »

After watching the video demo and logging in, I was able to compose and edit text easily. Nice job.

My own use case is a bit different from many others who have commented here. I'm a reasonably fast typist and don't currently have any physical or neurological issues that might make typing difficult. I have tried voice input methods a number of times over the years, as I thought speaking would be faster than typing, but I always went back to typing due to accuracy problems and difficulty editing.

Aqua Voice does seem to be a significant advance. I'm going to try it out from time to time to see if I can get comfortable with voice input. If I can, I will subscribe.

I drafted this comment using Aqua Voice, but I ended up editing it quite a bit with a keyboard before posting.

Re: Launch HN: Aqua Voice (YC W24) – Voice-driven text editor

#140

Post by quadragenarian »

gardenhedge wrote: post #112
hubraumhugo wrote: post #66

Dictation software is huge in the healthcare industry. Every doctor uses it, and a solution like yours could likely make their work much more efficient. Have you explored this market segment?

Why do doctors use it?

My wife is a Radiologist and uses voice transcription literally ALL DAY LONG as she reads imaging and transcribes her findings. Powerscribe from Nuance in case your curious
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