CHICAGO (AP) — Film critic Roger Ebert says computer programmers have captured his voice from movie commentary tracks so he can type what he wants to say and listeners hear a voice that sounds like him.
Ebert lost his ability to speak after surgery for cancer. He writes in Sunday's Chicago Sun-Times that a Scottish company has helped him regain a voice his grandchildren can recognize.
Ebert recorded commentaries for DVD movies before he lost his voice. A Scottish company called CereProc blended digital recordings of Ebert speaking to make his text-to-audio voice.
Ebert writes that the voice will be heard predicting Oscar winners on a segment of The Oprah Winfrey Show airing Tuesday.
He says he may be able to use the voice for radio and webcasts.
