Read along: the ebook follows the narration in the AudioSilo player

From version 2.6.0, the AudioSilo player shows a book’s ebook text as you listen. The sentence being read is highlighted, and the pages turn by themselves with the narrator.

It works once your server’s Bridge has made the book’s read-along, lining up its ebook with the narration sentence by sentence.

What it needs

• Server 2.6.0 or later (its web player), or app 2.6.0: on the App Store for iPhone and iPad, and on Android from the APK on its GitHub release until 2.6.0 reaches Google Play (see Android without Google Play). Older players (2.5.0) just don’t show it.
• A DRM-free EPUB beside the audio, the one Read the ebook opens. It must be the same book as the narration, ideally the same edition.
• A read-along for that book, made once by an admin with a Bridge (see below). Listeners switch nothing on.

The Text tab

Play the book and open the player’s companion. The Text tab opens the ebook at the sentence being read and follows the voice. Pausing, skipping or changing speed moves the highlight too.

• Tap a sentence to move your place there.
• Turn the page yourself to look around. Back to narration returns you.

On a phone, a Text chip under the player’s actions opens it directly.

Follow narration in the full-screen reader

With the book in the player, press Read the ebook, then Follow narration at the foot of the page. It works like the Text tab. While following, the reader doesn’t save your reading place; turn away and it saves as usual. See Reading the ebook.

Offline

A downloaded book keeps its read-along beside its ebook, so both work with no connection.

Making a read-along

An admin makes it once per book, with a paired Bridge, AudioSilo’s optional companion container. It uses speech recognition only: no AI agent is involved, so there is no agent cost.

1. Open the book. In the admin console, its Read-along card sits under Chapters. In the player, an admin sees the Text tab on any book with an ebook.
2. Press Make read-along (or Make again).
3. Check the confirmation: the ebook it lines up, up to how long transcription can take, and that no agent is used.
4. Watch the progress (with Cancel). When it finishes, the text appears.

The Bridge must be online, offer read-alongs (update an older Bridge) and be able to write to the library. It saves the read-along in the book’s hidden .audiosilo folder; the server still only reads. See Making a read-along.

Good to know

• A poor match is refused. If less than half the ebook lines up with the narration, nothing is saved. Put the matching edition’s EPUB beside the audio and try again.
• Out of date: if the ebook or audio changed since it was made, listeners don’t see the Text tab until an admin makes it again.
• Transcripts are reused. If the Bridge already transcribed the book (for characters and recaps, chapters or an earlier read-along), it reuses that transcript. It keeps one for 30 days after the book’s last job.
• One book at a time. There’s no action for a whole library or series.
• Downloads: a remade read-along from the same ebook reaches a download the next time the app sees the book. If the server’s ebook is replaced, the download keeps its own pair. Downloads made before 2.6.0 need a connection for the Text tab until the app next sees the book on your server.

More

The docs have each part with screenshots: the Text tab, Follow the narration, read-alongs offline and Making a read-along, including from the player. For what else a Bridge does, see Characters and recaps from your own Bridge.