WhiteboardVCR-a presentation tool using text-to-speech agents

Considerable progress has been attained in media streaming technology. It is now possible to combine digital images with synchronized audio and video content to create live or on-demand slide shows for the Web. In more advanced settings, the images can also be annotated for synchronized playback. However, despite advances in data compression and congestion control, media streaming is still sensitive to fluctuation of network traffic. We propose a new Web presentation tool that uses text-to-speech synthesis as an alternative to audio streaming. On playback the synchronization of slide annotations and transitions with the synthetic narration can be preserved without concerns for the individual differences in the users´ environments in terms of CPU power and bandwidth availability. The implemented prototype includes a standalone production client and a Web playback client