It’s becoming more and more common to use speech-to-text automation. They have a fast and affordable response time. An automated transcription service may be viable if you don’t have the time or expertise to hand-type recordings. Many automated transcribing services are available, and it can be challenging to choose the best one. Do not settle for anything less than the best when selecting an automated transcription service for your recordings, be they audio or video, interviews or podcasts.
Here are 6 things you should double-check before uploading your files to an automated transcription service for transcription.
1. Transcription Accuracy
Transcription accuracy is a major consideration when looking for a service. The best way to choose the greatest service is to try a few out first. There are many transcribing services to pick from, and seeing a sample of their work can help you make an informed decision. Regardless of whether or not the service was recommended to you by someone you know, it would be best if you still did your own evaluation. Selecting a transcription service that is accurate and reliable guarantees that you will get the most accurate transcripts.
2. Confidentiality and Security of Transcription Data
There is a wide variety of sensitive information included in the transcripts of businesses, members of law enforcement or patients. Therefore, it is essential to consider when the automated transcription service you are considering choosing upholds the confidentiality and security of transcription data. Find out whether they have had data breaches in the past.
Data leaks can have a negative impact on your business and should be avoided at all costs. The best transcribing services put the confidentiality and security of their clients’ data first before anything else.
3. Turnaround Time
Fast turnaround times and meeting deadlines are critical factors to consider when choosing an automated transcription service. When you upload audio or video files for transcription, you should expect to get back several pages of the material, if not hundreds or thousands depending on the size of your uploaded file. This means you will need a couple of minutes or even hours to compare and contrast the text generated by the automated transcription program with the original audio file. Given the amount of work you already have on your plate, this might not be a feasible option. Because translation software can produce inaccurate results, resulting text materials from automated transcription services require additional proofreading time.
4. Pricing
Before settling for any automated transcription service, also consider the pricing structure. Even though you should only be required to pay for the services that you actually receive, the price should still be reasonable. The transcription costs need to be within your financial means and appropriate for you.
There will be occasions where you come across transcription services being provided at ridiculously low prices. Although it is tempting to use these services, understanding why their costs are kept so low is essential.
5. Audio Formats
The automated transcribing service needs to be able to process and support a number of different audio formats. You would not want to waste time converting the media files before uploading them. Depending on the project’s specifics, there are many formats for audio. Certain files may be saved in raw video or raw audio formats. A good automated transcribing service should provide also assist with the conversions.
6. Features
For many automated transcription online websites, uploading large recording files might be challenging. As a result, the service provider’s website should be able to enable the simultaneous upload of huge files. A good site should be capable of accommodating file uploads of more than 1 GB. Included in the list of desirable features is the ability to include timestamps in transcripts. Timestamps make it easy to analyse the quality of final transcripts. Upon completion of the transcription, the automated transcription service should have a feature that allows delivery of the completed work. Email is the most popular tool for sharing files and especially large-sized files.
Wrapping Up
The most cost-effective way to get an accurate transcription is to use an online automatic transcribing service. This is the ideal solution when you need something transcribed quickly and the audio doesn’t have a lot of complex jargon. Automated transcribing services provide a great level of confidentiality.
However, it is ideal to use human-based transcription if you need absolute accuracy or have really difficult recordings to transcribe. Consequently, if you want precision, you’ll have to give up other benefits, such as reduced confidentially and faster response times.
