Getting a Windows 7 speech recognition engine to function?

[Redbetter]

I decided to try this software with the intent of testing speech recognition software to do the bulk of my transcription of dictation taken in the field at night...I have been just scribbling notes, but figured why not go audio and transcribe later.   I was surprised to learn that there was no actual speech to text transcription.  Instead after searching I found that I had to get that up and running separately.  Literally a car without an engine.

Okay, fair enough, then I tried to follow the instructions for installing the engine...of course when I get to the profile part there is none.  Selecting the "advanced speech options" tab results in the message box:  "The required task could not be completed because the desired engine could not be created.  Please select a different engine and/or a different audio device."   This is for MS Speech Recognizer for Windows 8.0 (English-US). 

So what do I need to do to get this rolling?  I have not seen any basic instruction of how this system works, so I am just guessing.  It must be obvious to those that already know how to do it otherwise there would be clear instructions.  For someone who has never used speech recognition software there is no roadmap.   

Am I correct in guessing that if I configure a microphone it will allow me to "train a profile?"   And that profile will then be used to create transcription of the files through some process I have not yet gotten to.  Or does that "desired engine could not be created"  bit above need I need to install something else first to get this process started?

Please help a lost newbie.

Thanks.

[Lisa-Marie]

I have the same question.  I don't have anything in the profile box to chose from, so it says profile is not valid.  I have MS Speech Recognizer as well.

Thanks for any advice!

[elk]

Hello,

Please be informed that Speech to text requires a SAPI speech-to-text engine to be installed on your computer. Most Windows machines already have it installed. You can also install software such as Dragon Naturally Speaking or any other engine which claims SAPI compliance.

Yes, you need to configure your microphone to be able to train your profile. Please be aware that the training function is managed by your speech recognition software, not Express Scribe. You may want to watch this video tutorial that explains how it works and how to configure Speech to Text: 

You can also check out this link: http://help.nchsoftware.com/help/en/scribe/win/optionsspeech.html

Regards.