transcription puppy - How Do Transcription Services Work

transcription puppy - How Do Transcription Services Work?

Transcription services deliver speech to text. Most commonly, this is through digital audio files. But, video to text services are common. A few services provide specialist in-field notetakers or stenographers that will come to you and transcribe events as they happen.

On the face of it, transcription services are simple and straightforward. You find the best rate online, create an account, send in your recording and download a text transcript. There are, however, important distinctions between the types of transcripts you will receive and why certain services cost more than others.

Transcription Services Human transcription services produce accurate transcripts that you can count on — automated speech to text software does not. For an ‘ideal’ and high-quality recording, the difference can be slight. However, independent comparisons demonstrate that audio to text software transcription services struggle to hit accuracy rates above 80% under any circumstances. That number can decline to as little as 3% accuracy for complex audio with multiple speakers and poor sound quality. Even at the 80% level, it is painstaking to correct the errors.

Reasons You Should Use Human Transcription Services Human transcription services consistently hit accuracy rates above 99%, even when dealing with poor audio quality, multiple speakers and complex language. If you are willing to pay for it, even better outcomes can be guaranteed. Most human transcription services will remove ‘ums’, false starts and stutters to create a smoother reading experience without damaging meaning. Using transcription services allows for customised outcomes and the transcription of audio files that would be indecipherable for software.

Audio quality, multiple speakers, the speed at which individuals are speaking, accents, background noise and the complexity of language all impact automated transcription quality. For human transcribers, these complications will slow down the process and can drive up costs, but a quality outcome will be delivered. For speech to text software, one or more of these complications can create nearly unintelligible outcomes. Fundamentally, you will need to review and edit any transcription made using an automated service.

What Will My Transcript Look Like?

Transcripts take many forms so it's important to ask yourself: what will my transcript look like? With automated transcription services, it is always possible that your transcript will look like gibberish. All software transcription platforms attempt to deliver a verbatim account of your audio file (including ‘ums’, ‘errs’ and false starts), and attempt to distinguish between different speakers.

Although most automated transcription services claim to be able to distinguish between speakers, this is one area where they struggle — along with deciphering a clear transcript when there is background noise, poor audio quality or certain accents.

So what transcript do you really need? There are three main categories of transcript: word for word, summary/notes and verbatim. These offer different levels of detail vs. readability at a number of different price points — allowing you to tailor results to suit your needs.

Word for word transcripts, also called ‘intelligent verbatim’, deliver an edited but detailed transcript. ‘Ums’, ‘errs’, false starts and direct repetitions are removed. However, the word for word account of the recording is retained. They are easier to read and easier to create than strict verbatim transcripts, and often cost less per minute of recorded audio to produce. They are the most common format delivered by human transcription services.

Note transcriptions are an abridged account. They do not focus on capturing direct phrasing and instead summarise the sentiment, meaning and conclusion of a conversation. This is a valuable option when transcription is being sought specifically to enable the faster consumption of information. They are cheaper per minute of audio than other options with the understanding that the result will be rougher, condensed and in ‘note’ form.

Verbatim transcription covers a few options that are more precise than intelligent verbatim transcripts. This can reintroduce all ‘ums’, ‘ahs’, repetitions, coughs, and the phonetic use of colloquialisms such as ‘cos’, ‘gonna’ etc. Pauses can also be included and denoted in length by along with comments on tone and laughter. When extreme details matter, you can always pay more for their inclusion.

Think About Who Is Transcribing Your Recording When your professional reputation is on the line, it is important to think about who is transcribing your audio for three reasons: quality, accountability and security.

The content that businesses and individuals want transcribed can be sensitive and confidential. It is vital you answer security conscious questions for transcription services in order to find suitable services for you. It is important to look into the reputation of transcription firms and their encryption/online security protocols. You should also think about who is transcribing your file.

A lot of companies will outsource transcriptions abroad to bring down costs. If you find human-based transcription fees starting at less than £0.75 ($1) per recorded minute, you can pretty much guarantee that offshoring is how those fees are achieved. From a cost perspective, this is great. It is not optimal from a security or quality standpoint.