Transcription

[The Idler]

Does voice recognition software work for transcribing audio talks to text?

[bricolage]

They work very badly unless you're very rich - even then they're not perfect.

Get Express Scribe and settle in for the long haul.

[The Idler]

Is it easier to just type it yourself?

[bricolage]

I just don't know any voice recognition software you'd even be able to get hold of that would be worth it.
How long is the recording?

[The Idler]

The recording is about one hours worth of speech. I am transcribing opening remarks of talks and not the discussion that follows. I would guess it is taking me about three to five hours to transcribe an hour of speech.

[Alan OldStudent]

Does voice recognition software work for transcribing audio talks to text?

Voice recognition (VR) software is not a panacea. If you want to plop a recording of a variety of voices and have the computer spit out text, that's not going to work. "Recognize speech" can come out "wreck a nice beach."

In the USA, hospitals spend millions on VR software to generate medical reports, and the software has to learn the speech patterns of hundreds or even thousands of doctors. This usually requires the software to analyze 30 to 50 hours of transcribed documents, comparing them to the voice recording for each individual dictator.

Then a medical editor (usually a trained and experienced medical transcriptionist, often referred to as an MT) proofs the transcribed report to voice. The editor speeds up the dictation by about 300% when auditing to meet production guidelines. This requires a very focused level of concentration and is a highly skilled job. Medical editing and medical transcription workplaces are electronic sweatshops.

Sometimes, if the MT gets only a voice recording and transcribes the report, he or she will use VR software. That requires what is called "echo" dictation or "parrot" dictation.

The transcriptionist listens to the dictation and echoes back what is heard into the VR software.

The advantage is that the VR software only needs to learn one voice pattern. Even then, the transcriptionist will need to carefully proof the item. Most transcriptionists doing hospital dictation get random QA checks of their work, and they are held to high standards.

I worked as an MT and medical editor for about 30 years before I retired, and my QA requirements were for 99% accuracy or more.

If it is taking you 3 to 4 hours to transcribe 1 hour of dictation, you are doing well, especially if this is not something you're used to doing. I'd advise against using VR software unless you're willing to spend around US $300 or more and spend a lot of time learning the ins and outs. Those US $99 Dragon Dictate software packages are not worth the money and aggravation. You will need at least the "pro" version of whatever software you use.

[Ceallach_the_Witch]

my only advice from transcribing my seminars for my classmates is that you're going to need a lot of coffee to get through a significant recording. That and a small idol of an elder god to worship at and pray for misfortune and calamity upon those who have inflicted this upon you.

[Alan OldStudent]

They work very badly unless you're very rich - even then they're not perfect.

Get Express Scribe and settle in for the long haul.

Comrade Bricolage suggested using Express Scribe. This is a very good program for transcription. Many independent transcriptionists use it. You need a foot pedal, which starts the playback when you press it with your foot and stops when you lift up your foot. Nobody can do a serious amount of transcription without a foot pedal and software similar to Express Scribe.

***AOS***

[The Idler]

Thanks I don't think I will be getting a foot pedal or shelling out for commercial voice recognition software let alone pro. Occasionally I use VLC and slow it down to listen to audio which may help others wishing to transcribe audio.

[bricolage]

You don't need a foot pedal for express scribe (which is free by the way), you can assign hot keys on the keyboard which will work just as well for your purposes.