Compadre™:Interact Frequently Asked Questions


How do I start?

What's the best position to hold the microphone?

Do I need to speak any differently from the way I usually speak?

What's the best process to use for a conversation?

What do I do if the program is not recognizing what I'm saying?

What do I do if ambient noise is too loud for good speech recognition?

What if the ambient noise environment has changed since I last set up my microphone?

If I retrain my Voice Profile will that erase my previous training?

What does MT vs. TM mean?

How do I create a new Voice Profile?

My microphone or speaker isn't working!



How do I start?

Click on the microphone icon on the left of the screen or say "Start Listening". The speech recognition takes a little while to activate so you may have to say "Start Listening" two or three times. This only happens when Interact is first launched. Subsequent times will be faster. Then, speak into the microphone.

What's the best position to hold the microphone?

If you're using a hand-held microphone the mic should consistently be approximately 1" from the speaker's mouth. Hold the microphone steady while speaking and speak directly "down the pipe" of the microphone.

Do I need to speak any differently from the way I usually speak?

Think about what you want to say before you say it.
It's best if you speak clearly and concisely, but not too slowly.
Speak in grammatically correct sentences.
Avoid using slang and other confusing or extraneous words, such as "umm" or "you know".
Verbally insert punctuation ("question mark", "comma", "period") for more accurate translations.
But that's how you usually speak, isn't it?

What's the best process to use for a conversation?

Use the switch on the microphone to turn it on and also click the microphone button on the screen.
Speak into the microphone (see previous questions). (It may take a few phrases for the speech recognition to work. This only happens when you have just launched Interact. Subsequent times will be faster.)
Speak at most one or two sentences between translations.
Check the text transcription of what you just said and if it's okay then click or say Translate.
If the transcription is not okay, click the garbage can icon or say Clear and speak again.
Use the switch on the microphone to turn it off between translations.
Click the microphone button of the target language and hand the microphone to the foreign speaker.
After switching language directions wait a few seconds before speaking and repeat these steps.

What do I do if the program is not recognizing what I'm saying?

Repeat a phrase or sentence using different words that mean the same thing to clarify a point.

What do I do if ambient noise is too loud for good speech recognition?

Be sure to use a good noise-canceling microphone to improve speech recognition. Usually a headset microphone is noise-canceling but a hand-held is not. If recognition is still not working use the keyboard to enter the source text.

What if the ambient noise environment has changed since I last set up my microphone?

Try running microphone setup again to adjust the audio input levels.

If I retrain my Voice Profile will that erase my previous training?

No, training is cumulative. The more training you do, the more accurate your speech recognition will be.
If you move in and out of noisy environments, you might want to have both a quiet and a noisy Voice Profile.

What does MT vs. TM mean?

MT (Machine Translation) is a program that translates sections of text (words, sentences or paragraphs) from one language to another. Translation is done completely with a computer program so is generally not perfect. TM (Translation Memory) is an auxiliary database that keeps commonly used phrases along with their verified translations. A TM allows the user to choose a translation of a particular phrase and ask Interact to use that translation for every instance of the phrase. Users can keep adding to their TM database or keep separate databases for particular uses. You can also create and edit a TM database with Composer which is installed on your computer along with Interact.

How do I create a new Voice Profile?

Go to the Speech Recognition tab on the Configure Screen. Select any current Voice Profile and click the green "+" icon. This will not affect the selected Voice Profile; you need to select a Profile in order to set an option inside Interact before you create a new Profile. This is a bug and we are working on this.

My microphone or speaker isn't working!

Please read the User Guide section entitled Getting Started: Setting Up Your Microphone: Troubleshooting Devices. Please also check the following:

  1. Click on the Start menu
  2. Select Control Panel
    • If in Classic View select Sounds and Audio Devices
    • If in Category View select Sounds, Speech and Audio Devices and then Sounds and Audio Devices
  3. Select the Audio tab of the tabbed interface
  4. Under Sound Recording, set the default device to your USB choice (e.g. C-Media USB Headphone Set)
  5. Under Sound Playback, set the default device to your computer's internal sound card (e.g. SoundMax HD Audio 0)
  6. Warning: do not select your USB choice as your playback device or you will get no audio playback
  7. Uncheck the box labeled: Use only default devices
  8. Click the Apply button
  9. Click the OK button