¶ 1 Overview
This guide describes how to obtain and install binary packages for the Nuance Speech Synthesis (SS) plugin to the UniMRCP server on Debian-based Linux distributions. The document is intended for system administrators and developers.
¶ 1.1 Applicable Versions
Instructions provided in this guide are applicable to the following versions.
UniMRCP 1.7.0 and above
UniMRCP Nuance SS Plugin 1.0.0 and above
¶ 1.2 Supported Distributions
UniMRCP deb packages are currently available for x86_64 (64-bit) architecture only.
| Operating System | Released | End of Support |
|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (bionic) | May 2023 | June 2023 |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (focal) | May 2023 | TBA |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (jammy) | May 2023 | TBA |
Packages for other distributions can be developed and made available in the scope of an annual maintenance agreement.
Contact Form Submit an inquiry¶ 1.3 Authentication
UniMRCP binary packages are available to authenticated users only. In order to register a free account with UniMRCP, please visit the following page.
Profile Registration Open an account at unispeech.ioA newly registered account needs to be verified by the user and then activated by the administrator prior further proceeding.
Account verification and activation.
The account credentials can be used to log in to the following websites.
¶ 2 Installing Deb Packages Using Apt-Get
Using the APT package handling utility (apt-get) is recommended for installation of UniMRCP binary packages.
¶ 2.1 Repository Configuration
Supply login information by creating a file /etc/apt/auth.conf.d/unimrcp.conf containing the following entry.
machine unimrcp.org
login username
password password
The username and password fields must be replaced with the corresponding account credentials.
Account credentials.
Configure a repository by creating a file /etc/apt/sources.list.d/unimrcp.list containing the following entry.
deb [arch=amd64] https://unimrcp.org/repo/apt/ distr main
The distr field must be replaced with the corresponding distribution code name such as xenial, bionic, focal, etc. To determine the distribution code, use lsb_release -cs.
Distribution code name.
¶ 2.2 GnuPG Key
For verification of binary packages, UniMRCP provides a public GnuPG key, which can be retrieved and installed as follows.
wget -O - https://unimrcp.org/keys/unimrcp-gpg-key.public | sudo apt-key add -
¶ 2.3 Repository Update
In order to check for updates and apply the changes in the APT configuration, use the following command.
sudo apt-get update
¶ 2.4 Nuance SS Plugin Installation
In order to install the Nuance SS plugin, including all the dependencies, use the following command.
sudo apt-get install unimrcp-nuance-ss
As a result, apt-get will check and prompt to download all the required packages by installing them in the directory /opt/unimrcp.
In order to install the additional data files for the sample client application umc, the following command can be used.
sudo apt-get install umc-addons
This package is optional and provides additional data to be used for validation of basic setup.
¶ 3 Installing Deb Packages Manually
UniMRCP deb packages can be installed manually using the dpkg utility. Note, however, that the system administrator should take care of package dependencies and install all the packages in appropriate order.
The deb packages have the following naming convention:
$packagename_$universion-$distr_$arch.deb
where
- packagename is the name of a package
- universion is the UniMRCP version
- distr is the distribution code name (bionic, focal, …)
- arch is the architecture (amd64, i386, all, …)
¶ 3.1 Package List
The following is a list of UniMRCP deb packages required for the installation of the Nuance SS plugin.
| Package Name | Description |
|---|---|
| unimrcp-nuance-ss | Nuance SS plugin to the server. |
| uninuanceapis | Nuance APIs library built based on the proto files. |
| unigrpc | UniMRCP edition of the gRPC library. |
| unilibevent | UniMRCP edition of the libevent library. |
| umc-addons | Sample en-US data files used with umc. [Optional] |
| unilicnodegen | Node information retrieval tool, required for license deployment. |
| unimrcp-server | Shared library and application of the server. |
| unimrcp-client | Shared libraries and sample applications of the client. [Optional] |
| unimrcp-demo-plugins | Set of demo plugins to the server. [Optional] |
| unimrcp-common | Data common for the client and the server. |
| uniapr | UniMRCP edition of the Apache Portable Runtime (APR) library. |
| uniapr-util | UniMRCP edition of the Apache Portable Runtime Utility (APR-Util) library. |
| unisofia-sip | UniMRCP edition of the Sofia SIP library. |
¶ 3.2 Package Installation Order
Packages for APR, APR-Util and Sofia-SIP libraries must be installed first.
sudo dpkg --install uniapr_$aprversion-$distr_$arch.deb
sudo dpkg --install uniapr-util_$apuversion-$distr_$arch.deb
sudo dpkg --install unisofia-sip_$sofiaversion-$distr_$arch.deb
Then, a package containing common data for the client and the server, and a package for the server should follow.
sudo dpkg --install unimrcp-common_$universion-$distr_$arch.deb
sudo dpkg --install unimrcp-server_$universion-$distr_$arch.deb
Next, a package containing the utility tool unilicnodegen, required for license deployment.
sudo dpkg --install unilicnodegen_$toolversion-$distr_$arch.deb
Next, packages containing the gRPC-deps and gRPC libraries.
sudo dpkg --install unigrpc-deps_$grpcversion-$distr_$arch.deb
sudo dpkg --install unigrpc_$grpcversion-$distr_$arch.deb
Next, a package containing the Nuance APIs library.
sudo dpkg --install uninuanceapis_$apisversion-$distr_$arch.deb
Next, a package containing the libevent library.
sudo dpkg --install unilibevent_$libeventversion-$distr_$arch.deb
Finally, a package containing the Nuance SS plugin should follow.
sudo dpkg --install unimrcp-nuance-ss_$universion-$distr_$arch.deb
¶ 4 Obtaining License
The Nuance SS plugin to the UniMRCP server is a licensed software.
Licensing Model Check out the licensing termsIn order to obtain a trial license, node information must be retrieved and submitted for license generation.
¶ 4.1 Node Information Retrieval
Use the installed tool unilicnodegen to retrieve the node information.
sudo /opt/unimrcp/bin/unilicnodegen
As a result, a text file uninode.info will be saved in the current directory.
¶ 4.2 Order Placement
Consider the following procedure to place an order.
- Navigate to https://unispeech.io/nuancess.
- Under the section Obtain License, select
- License Variation: Trial
- License Term: 30-day
- License Type: Node-bound
- License Quantity: 2
- Click Add to cart and then View cart.
- Click Proceed to checkout and then Place order.
- Attach the retrieved uninode.info file to the placed order.
Ther orders are normally processed within one business day. A license file will be provided as a result.
¶ 4.3 License Installation
The license file needs to be placed into the directory /opt/unimrcp/data.
sudo cp umsnuancess_*.lic /opt/unimrcp/data
¶ 5 Obtaining Service Credentials
In order to utilize the Nuance TTSaaS API, corresponding credentials need to be obtained from the Nuance Mix portal and deployed to the UniMRCP server.
¶ 5.1 Service Subscription
Log in to the Nuance Mix portal and obtain the following parameters associated to your application:
- Client ID
- Client Secret
- Auth Endpoint (optional, defaults to https://auth.crt.nuance.com/oauth2/token)
- TTS Endpoint (optional, defaults to tts.api.nuance.com:443)
¶ 5.2 Installation of Credentials
Create a text file nuance.subscription.key in the directory /opt/unimrcp/data.
sudo nano /opt/unimrcp/data/nuance.subscription.key
Place the obtained parameters in the following JSON format.
{
"client-id": "**************************************************************************************",
"client-secret": "****************************************",
"auth-endpoint": "https://auth.crt.nuance.com/oauth2/token",
"tts-endpoint": "tts.api.nuance.com:443"
}
¶ 6 Configuring Server and Plugin
¶ 6.1 Plugin Factory Configuration
In order to load the Nuance SS plugin into the UniMRCP server, open the file unimrcpserver.xml, located in the directory /opt/unimrcp/conf, and add the following entry under the XML element <plugin-factory>. Disable other synthesizer plugins, if available. The demo plugins for other resources can also be disabled.
<!-- Factory of plugins (MRCP engines) -->
<plugin-factory>
<engine id="Demo-Synth-1" name="demosynth" enable="false"/>
<engine id="Nuance-SS-1" name="umsnuancess" enable="true"/>
</plugin-factory>
¶ 6.2 Logger Configuration
In order to enable log output from the plugin and set filtering rules, open the configuration file logger.xml, located in the directory /opt/unimrcp/conf, and add the following entry under the element <sources>.
<source name="NUANCESS-PLUGIN" priority="INFO" masking="NONE"/>
¶ 7 Validating Setup
Validate your setup by using the sample UniMRCP client and server applications on the same host. The default configuration and data files should be sufficient for a basic test.
¶ 7.1 Launching Server
Launch the UniMRCP server application.
cd /opt/unimrcp/bin
sudo ./unimrcpserver
In the server log output, check whether the plugin is normally loaded.
[INFO] Load Plugin [Nuance-SS-1] [/opt/unimrcp/plugin/umsnuancess.so]
Next, check for the license information.
[NOTICE] UniMRCP Nuance SS License
-product name: umsnuancess
-product version: 1.0.0
-license owner: Name
-license type: trial
-issue date: 2023-05-01
-exp date: 2023-06-01
-channel count: 2
-feature set: 0
¶ 7.2 Launching Client
Note: the optional package umc-addons must be installed for this test to work.
Launch the sample UniMRCP client application umc.
cd /opt/unimrcp/bin
./umc
Run a typical speech synthesis scenario by issuing the command run bss1 from the console of the umc client application.
run bss1
This command sends a SPEAK request to the server and then records synthesized stream into a PCM file stored in the directory /opt/unimrcp/var.
Visually inspect the log output for any possible warnings or errors.