NetVOCALOID

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NetVOCALOID
Product information
Status	Discontinued
Affiliation	YAMAHA Corporation

NetVOCALOID was an online vocal synthesis service. Users could use synthesized singing voices on a device connected to the Internet by executing the VOCALOID™ engine on the server. This service could be used even if the user did not actually own VOCALOID™ software in such device. The service had been available in English, Japanese, and Spanish and simply required an internet service and a method to interact with its services.

History

It was set up to function as a bonus service for users to make better use of the VOCALOID™ software. The service also featured the original version of VocaListener. On April 28, 2012, the service was discontinued. It would later be replaced with VOCALOID NET. The main difference between the two services was that NetVOCALOID catered for both English and Japanese, while VOCALOID NET catered only for Japanese.

NetVOCALOID had catered to all voicebanks for all VOCALOID2 vocals, both English and Japanese. It also allowed access to all of them via its Network. However, commercial releases that accessed this network were limited for the general public and all voicebanks were restricted.

Main Functions

1. Synthesizing audio data of VOCALOID™ singing from sequence data of melody parts written in specialized XML files.
2. Running effects (Reverb/Compressor) on audio data of synthesized singing.
3. Encoding audio data of synthesized singing as compressed audio files (MP3/FLAC).
4. Providing the above functions with HTTP protocol-based WebAPI.

Although NetVOCALOID offered the synthesis service, it didn't provide the tools for the creation or editing of the required XML file for the synthesis, relying instead on tools provided by the companies that made use of the service.

VocaListener

The first version of VocaListener was available via the service.

logo

VocaListener was a singing synthesis system that automatically estimated parameters for singing synthesis from a user's singing voice with the help of song lyrics. Its creators were Tomoyasu Nakano and Masataka Goto. Originally it was set up to work with NetVocaloid and would work with VOCALOID™. It would work with Japanese VOCALOIDs, though English demonstrations of some of the services did exist.

AIST (National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology) developed the system in which users could adjust the limits to where the original singer could normally sing to where the VOCALOID could better match the original singer's inflections and details to the point of sounding like the original singer.

VocaListener VOCALOID3 details

In demonstrations, Hatsune Miku and her Append voicebanks were used not only separately but blended together; this added many layers to the singing output that a single voicebank alone could not achieve, resulting in a much more human-like tone.

• Demonstrations of the follow VOCALOIDs: Hatsune Miku, Kagamine Rin(Act1), KAITO, MEIKO, Kagamine Rin(ACT2), Kagamine Len(ACT2), Gackpoid, Megurine Luka, Megpoid, Kiyoteru Hiyama, Kaai Yuki, SF-A2 miki, Hatsune Miku(Append), Lily, VY1, Gachapoid, Nekomura Iroha, Utatane Piko, Kagamine Rin(Append), Kagamine Len(Append), VY2

VocaListener was never made available for download. This version was restricted to research groups only.

Net VocaListener was also going to be packaged with VY2; however, for various reasons, the idea was abandoned.

VocaListener2 would later become a job plug-in for VOCALOID3 and VOCALOID4, though it is not the same as this version.

Voicebank rendering

One of the advantages this service offered was vocal rendering without the need to purchase the voicebank or VOCALOID engine itself. So long as there was a legit method of accessing the NetVOCALOID service, users had means to render vocals.

How voice rendering worked was similar in each case, but below is an example using the 'Let's sing with Miku ♪' app:

1. In the app 'Let's sing with Miku ♪', users would type in lyrics that they intended Hatsune Miku to sing, for example "Sakura".
2. Once completed they would send off the data via whatever method was connected to the NetVOCALOID service, in this case the 'Let's sing with Miku ♪' app. "Sakura" would be sent to the service to be rendered.
3. The data "Sakura" would automatically be rendered by the NetVOCALOID service with the correct voicebank, Hatsune Miku.
4. The user would then receive the completed "Sakura" file from the NetVOCALOID service with Miku singing "Sakura" as requested.

Many of the English and Japanese VOCALOID2 vocals were available while the service existed, and it even had voicebanks that were not declared such as the vocal for 'Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker'.

The user did not have much control over the vocals, and it was not always the best method of creating vocal results, but it was not impossible to get samples for use in music and write entire songs using the service. Though the user did not own a voicebank, the results of the services was theirs.

NetVOCALOID products

Smart Phone' Service Track Record

NetVOCALOID was used in two mobile phone services, allowing users to send singing messages. These ones were Utaou (Sing with Miku) and Keitai Gackpoid, allowing the user to use the voices of Hatsune Miku and Camui Gackpo respectively.

Let's sing with Miku ♪

It was also used in promotion for Let's sing with Miku ♪.

Mobile Phone Gackpo

It was used in promotion for Mobile Phone Gackpo.

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

NetVOCALOID interface for MGS: Peace Walker

NetVOCALOID was one of the options available as DLC for the game Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. This option allowed players to customize the phrases sung by Metal Gear ZEKE during the game. The user could use either text/lyric input or phoneme input to edit the pre-established tracks available within the game. 8 additional tracks were available in the different DLC packs available for the game. This is one of the few examples of VOCALOID-flex that was available for use by the general public. This option was shut down on April 28, 2012 when Yamaha removed the NetVOCALOID service from their website.

Plan Ballentine's

Ballentunes for smartphone

NetVOCALOID was utilized during the 2nd edition of PlanB, a collaborative project sponsored by Ballantine's where people could help create the lyrics for a famous artist.

Voctro Labs, S.L. provided the tools that allowed the participants to listen to their written lyrics sung by a virtual female vocalist through the official website. For that the company created Ballentunes, an application that allowed the user to edit the lyrics according to the pre-established melody created by La Oreja de Van Gogh, in an easy and intuitive interface through the website. Ballentunes then transformed the input lyrics into a pre-tuned VSQ, to be synthesized through NetVOCALOID's service. After this, the users received a MP3 file of their entry which they could listen and share, if they so desired to.

The contest ended with "Otra vez me has sacado a bailar" chosen as winner.