Sorry, we do not maintain separate educational pricing. Some resellers may from time to time participate in educational pricing promotions. (top)

Do you have volume pricing?

Volume pricing plans are available starting at quantities of 5 and higher. Please contact us for a quote, and indicate whether this is an enterprise, government, or educational request. For Character Server solutions, you may qualify for VAR (Value Added Reseller) pricing - please inquire for details.   (top)


Do I need to pay royalties?

No. Licensed Character Builder users may distribute Flash files using stock characters on a royalty-free basis.

Materials produced with the Character Server may also be distributed royalty-free.

The optional Speech Packs include royalty-free audio distribution rights, when distributed in a Character Builder-generated media file. Please contact us for licensing details on Character Server versions of the Speech Packs. (top)


How can I purchase the Character Builder?

You can purchase the Character Builder using our online store, by phone at 425-831-6384, or by purchase order at 425-671-0816 (fax). The Character Builder is also available through select resellers. (top)


What kind of support is included?

Standard email support generally prevents us from working with your content directly. We can also work more closely with your team to provide hands-on assistance. An Extended Support package lets you pre-pay for a certain number of hours that are then useable at any time. (top)


What is the difference between the Character Builder and the Character Server?

The Character Builder is an application that you install on your desktop. You use it to "Render to Flash", i.e. create individual Flash SWF files that you can then upload to your web server or place on a CD, for consumption by many different users. Because the Flash files contain the actual audio synchronized with a character's lips and other actions, you must determine in advance all the possible things a character might do or say. Each atomic unit of delivery is called a Message. A Builder-generated Flash file can contain several messages, and the messages can be triggered externally, or based on input from the user. You might use a message to greet a user, present a slide, present a bullet item on a slide, prompt the user for a multiple choice input, or respond to a user's input with "Yes, that's correct." or "No, that's not correct".

The Character Server is an optional component that you can install on your web server. With it, you can create a Flash file "on-the-fly", taking into account variable information, such as information from a database or web-service, or even a specific message that an end-user might have typed-in. Because of this, the Server is almost always used with a Text-to-Speech engine, also located on the web server. The Character Server is typically used in conjunction with the Character Builder to implement "External Messages", in which the text to be spoken is not known until runtime. (top)


What is the difference between the Character Builder and Character Hosting?

The Character Hosting service makes it easy to create and maintain several common types of applications, or "Scenes", from any web browser. There is no software to download: simply log on, make your changes, and Publish them. While the resulting Flash files remain on the Character Hosting servers, you can link them to your own site so that they blend seamlessly with the rest of your content. The Hosting service measures how many "views", or "streams", your scenes receive. You can choose from several monthly subscription plans based on the usage level that you need. Your Hosting account enjoys access to all stock characters, the NeoSpeech Paul and Kate TTS engines, as well as Character Server functionality, such as the Respond() and Speak() API.

Why choose Character Hosting? In a sense you are leasing the output rather than purchasing the means of production. While the Hosting system doesn't have as much flexibility as the Character Builder, it remains a simple and inexpensive option that is suitable for many users. (top)


Do you have international language support?

The Character Builder itself is only available in English, however it will create content in any language. The lip-sync component is language-independent, and has been tested with languages such as French, German, Spanish, and Japanese. High quality Text-to-Speech engines are also available for many foreign languages - please see the purchase page for samples. (top)


How many characters do you have?

The Character Builder ships with several "stock" characters. Additional characters and character add-ons are available for download from our characters page. We can also work with you to create custom characters and character add-ons in a range of styles, through our Service Desk. (top)


How do I license characters for use with the Character Server?

Characters and addon packages have per-user licenses. Unlike the Character Builder, the Character Server will normally service several users at the same time. You can purchase stock characters for use with the Character Server in the same manner as for the Character Builder. However, as is common with server-based speech products, character products are normally limited so that they can only be accessed by one Character Server user at a time.

For example, if user A requests a stream using the "Al" character, and the request results in 120 frames (10 seconds) worth of Al animation, then the Al license will be unavailable to other users for generation for 10 seconds following the request, even though the request itself is serviced very rapidly. If a user B requests a new resource using Al during this time, then the request will be delayed until the license is freed up, in this case up to 10 seconds if user B's request arrived shortly after user A's request. Effectively a single user of an online system would never see delays, since the character license remains in use for precisely the period of time required to view the previous generation. Requests that are returned directly from the cache do not require generation and do not use up a character license. Similarly custom characters created by either Media Semantics or users of the CBEK are not affected by character license pooling.

As you move beyond the test phase, you will want to purchase multiple instances of a character license and request that they be assigned to a Character Server license to form a license pool. For example, with a pool of two "Al" licenses, the chance of delay is reduced substantially, since up to two users can be generating concurrently. License pooling is enabled in Character Server 4.4.2 or higher. Additional character licenses can be purchased from the purchase page at the regular price of $10 to $20 each, and can be assigned to a Character Server license after your purchase by placing a request with our support team. The request will result in an updated verification.txt file which you will install in your Character Server directory. Character pack products such as the $100 Realistic Pack can also be assigned to a pool. For example a pool of two Realistic packs is equivalent to a pool of two Steve characters, a pool of two Robert characters, etc.

The right pool size depends on many factors - you can use the Character Server's Stress tool to simulate a traffic load, and monitor warnings in the Extended log file that appear when one or more users are waiting on a particular resource. The first few characters that you add to a character pool will have the most impact on performance, with the benefit tapering off as the number of characters in the pool increases. A pool size of 10 is considered equivalent to an infinite pool size by the Character Server, which will no longer attempt to meter the usage for that character.

Note that this is a departure from our earlier character licensing policy, which placed limits on the type of application rather than the number of users. (top)


What can I make characters do?

Our stock characters share a set of standard actions, allowing them to be easily interchanged. These standard actions include turning, pointing, looking, hand gestures, and facial expressions. You trigger actions by inserting the appropriate action icons into the transcript. Actions are independent where possible. For example you can follow a Look Left action by a Gesture Left action, and both actions will be executed simultaneously. (top)


Can I modify a character's appearance?

Most of our Cartoon and Illustrated Head characters can be recolored directly within the Character Builder. You may also be able to install an add-on that will alter a character's appearance. PhotoFit characters can be configured to match any face, and the Character Builder includes functionality to extract face parameters from a regular photograph. (top)


Can I create a character from a photo?

Yes. A new line of "PhotoFit" characters allow you to use a photo to create a custom character. The Character Builder's Edit Face window will analyze your face and then save the shape and texture parameters in a "face" file. This file is then used to "just-in-time" render the animations required to create your Flash output, and the resulting Flash and video files have all the same run-anywhere characteristics that Character Builder users have come to expect. (top)


How easy is it to create a new character?

We have created a Character Builder Extensibility Kit specifically for developers and animators who need to create their own characters and library objects. The kit contains tutorials and source files that will let you create your own characters. An extensive knowledge of vector and 3D graphics techniques is assumed however, so the kit is not for everyone. (top)


What is the artist outreach program?

The Character Builder is an open and extensible framework that bridges the gap between character artists and a much broader audience of web developers and eLearning practitioners. There is a growing opportunity to provide this audience with compelling "ready-to-animate" character resources. The Artist Outreach program lets us locate talented individuals who have demonstrated an ability to create custom characters, and reward them with free Character Builder software (a $300 value), lead sharing, and other partnership opportunities.

To qualify, you must already have access to Adobe Illustrator and/or Smith Micro Poser, or equivalent, and have obtained a 15 day trial version of the Character Builder. Please contact sales@mediasemantics.com to gain limited access to the Extensibility Kit. We will want to see a public URL that shows your custom character in action, along with the "Powered By" logo (see How can I link to your site). Please send your URL submissions, along with detailed contact information, to sales@mediasemantics.com. (top)


Do I need Adobe's Flash product, or any other tools?

The Character Builder renders Flash SWF files that can be read by the Adobe Flash control, which is freely available and is generally pre-installed with the browser. Adobe's own Flash authoring tool can be useful for advanced users who wish to create applications that either contain a Builder-generated Flash file.

The Character Builder includes the ability to import Powerpoint slides, however this functionality is only available when a licensed version of Microsoft Powerpoint 2003 or higher is installed.

The Character Builder includes basic audio processing capabilities, such as noise gating, trimming, and normalization, however a more powerful audio-processing tool may be desireable for heavy users of recorded audio. You will also want access to Adobe Illustrator and or Photoshop, or equivalent products, to create supporting artwork. (top)


What are my choices for audio?

The Character Builder lets you record audio files "in-place" from a standard headset microphone. The Builder also lets you import audio from a recording studio. You should ensure that the source audio is high quality, specifically 44.1khz 16 bit, mono PCM .wav audio (i.e. CD format, but mono). You can use a service such as Voice123 to locate and purchase voice talent over the web.

Another option that is becoming popular is the use of high-quality Text-to-Speech engines. Although broadcast-use licensing has traditionally been difficult, we have worked with several leading vendors to provide Speech Packs, or high-quality engines, with distribution licenses for use with the Character Builder. Please see our online store for details. (top)


What other tools does the Builder work with?

Generally speaking, the Character Builder works with any tool that lets you embed Flash movies. A short list of compatible tools includes Microsoft Powerpoint, Adobe Flash, Adobe Captivate (formerly RoboDemo), Adobe Authorware 7, Articulate Presenter, Lectora Publisher, and Qarbon ViewletACE. In creating Builder movies for insertion into other products, we recommend using the "Straight Flash" output option, available on the Project properties panel. While there are some limitations to the Straight Flash mode, the resulting flash movie is a simple linear sequence of frames, which will ensure maximum compatibility. Notes regarding the integration with individual tools can be found on the support page.

The Builder also allows movies from other tools to be inserted within a scene, however not all tools have their own equivalent to "Straight Flash" for the creation of a linear list of frames. As a result, you will not always be able to use the Start, Stop, and Goto Frame actions. (top)


Do my users need to download anything?

The vast majority of PCs and Macs come with Macromedia Flash 6.0 or higher pre-installed, so no download will be necessary in most cases. (top)


What version of Flash do you render to?

The Flash player is available from Macromedia, and is already present on most desktops, with implementations for the Macintosh, Linux, and PDAs. The Character Builder normally renders SWF 8 files that run on Flash 8 through 10. The Builder can also be configured to render to Flash versions 4 through 10. (top)


Does the Character Server run under Linux?

The optional Character Server is a COM component designed for Windows Server 2000, 2003 and Windows XP. The Server is typically used in conjunction with Active Server Pages (ASP) and Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) Server, but other configurations are possible, including Apache/PHP. We get many requests for Linux, however we do not have a Linux implementation at this time. (top)


How many simultaneous clients can a Character Server service?

Character Server features such as dynamic Flash generation and question-answering can require considerable server-side resources. The total number of simultaneous clients that can be served by a single Character Server depends on many factors, but the gating factor tends to be the Text-to-Speech (TTS) engine.

TTS requests are normally queued up, and the actual TTS generation occurs at several times real-time. For example, going from a text sentence to a flash stream consisting of a character speaking that sentence may require 100 milliseconds of intense CPU activity on a commodity server. During this time the audio is generated, compressed, and inserted into the Flash stream, along with animation frames selected from the character's animation library. Additional requests are queued while a request is being processed, which will affect the latency, i.e. the total time between when a request is made and a response is received. In many cases the Server will improve the overall throughput by using a cache to detect identical requests and redirect these to previously-created Flash files.

The Character Server is multithreaded to take advantage of multicore CPUs, however Text-to-Speech licenses tend to be sold "per port". Depending on your application, your load, and your Text-to-Speech engine, you may need multiple Text-to-Speech ports in order to achieve the maximum throughput on even a single core CPU. The Character Server's Speech Server component can be configured to take full advantage of speech products by Loquendo, NeoSpeech, Cepstral, and others. For more details, please consult the Readme file associated with the Character Server product. (top)


What are the bandwidth requirements?

In general you will find our characters to be very bandwidth-efficient, however this depends to a great extent on the style of character chosen. We recommend a 56K or better modems for applications involving rendered characters. Cartoon and illustrated-head characters use an efficient vector format, and leads to great results, even on older modems. (top)


Can I put my content on CD-ROM?

Yes. You can point the Flash control to any URL, including a simple file path. You can use a number of products on the market to create standalone shells employing the Flash control. You can also include your SWF within a Macromedia Director project, which is the most common platform for CD-ROM and kiosk development. (top)


How can I link to your site?

At Media Semantics we are dedicated to helping you strengthen your brand. We will never force our own brand upon your audience. However we do occasionally suggest that a discrete "Powered By Media Semantics Technology" logo be displayed close to your published work:

You can use the following HTML syntax to place the logo on your site: