Thursday, November 17, 2011

William Daniels Has Spoken

I do not have a Trans Am yet to use as a donor car, but that did not stop me from purchasing my first conversion part so to speak (pun intended): a DVD containing the audio of every line spoken by KITT! Rafael Ramirez has painstakingly gone through every episode of Knight Rider, extracted all of William Daniels lines as KITT and packaged them all on a DVD. The DVD also includes Voice Commander a voice recognition program. This will allow anyone to use these voice files to make their KITT conversion talk and interact with them! I am so excited about this project! I have an IBM ThinkPad X31 that I plan to use for KITT's CPU. Its small form factor and the fact that it is completely portable makes it perfect. More on that as I get everything setup.

Here is what Rafael has to say about his DVD (as posted on KnightRegistries.com)








KITT WAV FILES, ALL 4,841 OF THEM!


THE COMPLETE COLLECTION & MANY XTRAS!

Yup, about 6 months ago, I began cataloging all of Kitt's phrases, sound effects (Karr too). Using DVD's, I went through each episode (84+ a few extras). I recorded a RAW DATA WAV file via the computer and sound editing software. DC offset was corrected (when the WAV doesn't cross in the middle of WAV form). I went through each RAW DATA WAV file, placed markers denoting when Kitt talked or sound FX occurred. I went through that RAW DATA WAV file, cut out the spots that didn't contain dialog. For the phrases, I loaded each one, performed an audio fade in AND out for each of the 4,841 phrases. This makes it sound very good. Essentially, the volume starts at 0, ramps up for the sample, the sample plays & when the sample is done, it ramps down to 0 again. This gives a very professional sound. Not just "chopped out" of the sound track. Even the samples with noise in the background sound good because your ears pick up on the voice mostly, not the noise. I normalized each sample. This amplifies the sample to the most it can be without being distorted. So when you hear Kitt on the comlink, it's relatively low in the mix and very hard to hear. Not with these samples. It was amplified and normalized. Any noises, such as steps or doors closing within pauses were also removed. I did this 4,841 times, for each WAV file! After that, I had to start the word processor and listen to each of the 4,841 files to type up what they said! Then, I had to rename each of the 4,841 files so that each of the file's name, is the actual phrase!


Quality ? Sure, I used DVD's to sample directly from. Wav samples are 44,100k, 16 bit, Mono WAV files. Almost identical to CD quality, but CD's are Stereo, not Mono. That just means that the samples, though they will play through both left and right speakers, there is 1 audio signal, not 2 different ones for Left / Right Stereo Channels. So, yes, high quality, but half the file size of a Stereo sample.


The WAV files appear in a folder for each season. Inside that, a folder for each episode of each season. Inside that, is each WAV file, numbered and titled as they appear in the episode! I also left the trimmed up RAW DATA WAV file incase you need it! 




I also went the extra mile and added a folder of all the 4,841 files in MP3 format! That's 9,682 WAV & MP3 Files! Well, to be honest, the MP3 section is short 86 files. I could not add the RAW DATA WAV files in MP3 because it wouldn't all fit on one DVD. But no worries, you still have the master RAW DATA WAV files in the WAV section, should you need them.
There is a Complete Text list you can access in your word processor, of all the phrases for all 4 seasons + xtras. 187 pages! Inside each Season folder, there is a text list of phrases for just that season. These text files can be used to find words or phrases quicker than doing so through the files.

I have also included a host of freeware / shareware programs to compliment!


ADDITIONAL PROGRAMS INCLUDED!

THESE ARE ALL FREEWARE / SHAREWARE!

1. Audacity Wav Editor + Lame3.97 MP3 Encoder.


You can edit WAV & MP3 files, combine or remove parts, add space, remove noise etc!!! With this program you can make Kitt say something he never did, by grabbing all the pieces and pasting them together! Also create MP3's from the WAV files or convert back!


Here is an audio sample of Kitt's first introduction. The first shot is "AS IS", from the WAV file contained on the DVD. The second part, is the same WAV, but I used Audacity to remove the noise. Pretty Amazing! Note: I did not remove noise from the samples on the DVD for 2 reasons. It would of taken another 6 months and it would of changed the original sound, but with this package, you will have the ability to remove noise from the samples you want to use!


Kitt's first intro - 1st as is, 2nd with noise removed.


http://media.putfile.com/Kitt-Intro-w--wout-noise


A visual of what it looks like"¦ The top one has thick lines between the words spoken (noise).


The one on the bottom is really cleaned up!






2. Randomaster.

This program will play random WAV files from a folder you designate. You can adjust how often and the chances of it playing a random file! It is great for car shows or just showing off!


3. QWave.


This is a Quick and fast WAV / MP3 player. Unlike having a huge program that loads to play WAV / MP3 files (aka. Windows Media Player / Win Amp), this 6kb program just plays your files. It throws itself into the "mouse right click menu", so while you are browsing through the WAV files via My Computer, etc... , You can right click on a file, choose QPlay to immediately hear the file quickly. No slow load times, long programs, etc... Just quick play. This is a must for the VR commander explained below.


4. VR Commander.


Here is where the fun begins! This voice recognition program will let you speak commands to your computer via microphone and it will respond as Kitt! You have to create the commands and responses and use the QWAVe program to play the WAV or MP3's! You have the demo that works for 15 days, but it only costs $9.95! After you see how easy it is to setup and work, you'll buy it!


Keep in mind, the following VR Commander Demo, I'm speaking rather loud because my lap top computer is in a lower shelf of the desk, kinda boxed in, fans running & I have no idea where the built in mic is, but it did very well as you can see! Computer is a 1.7 Ghz with 512k XP OS.


Google Video of VR Commander - Speech with Kitt Responding.


http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...95752202482161


What can you do this collection?


It ranges from Basic to Advanced! Don't be scared, the Advanced stuff is not too difficult, plus I've included some basic instructions to get you started! You can simply use these WAV files, make a custom audio CD for your car, pick the WAV files you want the random player to play, go in and clean up (with noise removal), some of the clips and setup VR commander to respond to your commands. You can even setup a "conversation", as long as you "remember you lines" and ask the right questions!


A brief Audio Program Notes instruction are included that tells you what to do & how to do it so you get each program up and running!


Price ?


On Ebay, someone sell's 99 WAV files on Audio CD for $30. Recently, 300 WAV file's sold for $30.


My price?


$60 Shipped Anywhere!


If you do not have a DVD ROM for your computer, I can send 2 CD's (1 CD is MP3 + MP3 RAW DATA FILE + Text Files - 2 CD is Audio Programs, etc).


Shipping: I have first class postage ready to ship within US - Worldwide I can only ship once a week. I am legally blind and that's how often I can go to the post office. US First Class - Worldwide Air Mail.



Disclaimer:


By purchasing this, you consent that if a 3rd party (ie. Universal) asks for proof of ownership, you will provide proof of purchase of the same DVD's I have used to create this collection. Hence we both purchased the material & you are paying me to compensate me for the countless hours and materials used to create this collection which is used in conjunction with your replica to promote Knight Rider.

http://knightregistries.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3795


2 comments:

  1. The detail in this post is absolutely amazing! It certainly answers all of my questions. Well done. I'm going to enjoy following your blog.

    ReplyDelete