ScriptoSphere Audio Transcription Blog

Have an audio that needs to be transcribed, but don’t know what to do? Let us help.

We get new requests from new clients regarding audio transcription on a daily basis, and so we thought it would be a good idea to make a post with useful information that could help these clients and save them some time.  I’ll illustrate this information in a few bullet points down below, so here it goes:

• Read the website first: In many cases, most of the information that you seek can be found on the website alone, and in ScriptoSphere‘s case, all the information that a new client may need, is given on the homepage, the Policy page, and the Terms & Conditions page.  Going through these pages will save you a whole lot of time.  You may also want to check out the Privacy Policy page.
• Your audio file format: Though ScriptoSphere has absolutely NO issues with whatever file format you may have, for your convenience it’s advisable to record your audio file in any one of the “lossy” formats or formats that make your file-size smaller, for example MP3, WMA, DSS etc.  You can do so by setting up your digital recorder or buying a digital recorder that records in MP3.  This way, when you upload your audio files, it takes lesser time.  This is hugely helpful especially if you’re running on a tight schedule.
• Be prepared to pay first: Because of certain inconveniences in the past, not only us, but many transcription companies around the web have become more wary of first time clients or clients who provide no name, no data, and provide an external email address.  This is why ScriptoSphere may ask you to pay us first before emailing the transcript to you.
• Specify instructions clearly for custom transcription: Always specify how you want the transcription done, whether it’d be verbatim transcription OR grammatically correct, clean and concise edited transcripts (which is what we do by default), and also if you have a specific template in mind, otherwise you may need to re-send the transcript and we may have to redo it.

Hopefully this post will help new clients with making key decisions, which in the end will help them and the transcription service save a lot of time and do the job in a fast and efficient manner and produce a highly accurate, clean top-notch quality transcript.

Pricing for audio transcription

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Email us for a quote or further details: service@scriptosphere.com

What are the perks of being freelance at-home transcribers?

Not everybody wants to take the risk of being a freelancer, because even there they seek for job security.  Freelancers have traditionally been writers, musicians etc. and lately there’s a big surge in freelance transcriber jobs.   Transcription service providers have been searching for good at-home transcribers for a long time now, and the need is only growing every day.

The perks of being freelance at-home transcribers are as follows:

• No boss: You work for yourself, and the contractor who gives you work can’t really be called a boss.
• Timing: You work on your own time (unless you’re working on urgent business transcription files).
• Cost: You cut major cost by saving on traveling, food and other expenses by staying at home and working.  Saving money has never been easier.
• More time for yourself: The time you save by not traveling or running errands, you spend with your family or take care of yourself.

Hopefully this post helped someone wanting to make the switch for a long time, or maybe some transcribers to feel good about their jobs during this stressful business transcription peak season.

Audio Transcription Rates

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Email us for a quote or further details: service@scriptosphere.com

Which are the most preferred audio formats by online transcription services?

While ScriptoSphere is fine with any type of audio format, there might be transcription services around the web who might need specific formats to work with.  This post is intended to help readers make some adjustments before starting to record, so that the process of converting voice to text later becomes much easier.

Digital recording is the most preferred format worldwide with any transcription service these days.  It’s because the resulting audio not only helps with transcription by being crystal clear, it provides that clarity in around the same file-size as that of an analog file.  Plus, analog recorders have already gone out of date, but there are still some available, which are cheap.

You have to be very careful while choosing a recorder.  The money you’ll save on the recorder, you’ll probably end up paying for the transcription, because bad audio file means more expensive transcription rates.  So, that’s why make sure it’s a digital recorder, and then read the info or ask the seller what’s the output format.

Most of the audio transcription companies around the web prefer MP3, WAV, DSS, WMA or RA (Real Audio) formats for sound files, and AVI, MPG, WMV etc. for video formats.  MP3 is probably the most preferred format because of its file size and quality, so it makes the process of uploading and downloading fairly easy.  It’s also the most recognized format, so that means almost any player would play it and you don’t need any special codecs.

Hopefully this post helped you.

Transcription Service Pricing

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You need to be multi-talented to be well paid in the audio transcription industry

We at ScriptoSphere make sure to have a team of professionals who display a broad and varied field of capabilities, whether it’s about the number of speakers in the audio file that needs to be transcribed, the language, the different accents or when it’s about the client’s specific requirements regarding the output file formats.

Let’s take them one by one:

1. File indexing: This feature is very useful for lawyers and their records.  Legal transcription tackles the conversion of voice to text of legal depositions for the court of law. The way legal files are transcribed, it means lawyers are able to research specific terms (or keywords) due to reference points placed in the documents, instead of going back and forth through the audio recording.  This is very helpful for summarizing and for synchronizing text to a video.  We are constantly on the lookout for professionals who can do all this effortlessly, and also training our in-house transcribers to become experts in delivering top-notch quality transcripts.

2. Time stamps or time coding: Our transcribers can place time stamps if the client asks for it, or as some would call it “time coding” in the transcripts to have a reference point – helpful in synchronizing text and audio, to get the exact time where there was a speaker change in an interview.

3. Legal use transcripts: As we mentioned in our previous posts, our transcription team is qualified to cover the following fields in legal transcription:

• Recorded Depositions
• Official Hearings
• Court of Law Proceedings
• Witness Interrogation

4. Special formats we process:

• Webcasts
• Analog or digital recordings
• CD/DVDs

5. Audio Transcription AND translations for:

• English
• Hindi
• French
• Romanian

Rates for Transcription

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Important pointers for transcribers new to the transcription service industry

Have you recently landed a job with a transcription service provider or are working as a freelancer with many contractors?  Does it all seem a bit too tough and you find yourself getting impatient very often?  While all of it may seem overwhelming to many people new to this business, it’s all a matter of the old saying ‘practice makes perfect’.  To be an expert transcriber, while it may take months or in some cases years, it’s all about honing your skills, training your ear and hands to work in unison, in perfect harmony, otherwise it can become a brain numbing job.

First of all, when working on urgent files, such as in the case of business transcription (season at its peak right now), you have to really pay a LOT of attention to what you’re listening and typing.  The audio quality is not perfect, and the turnaround time is sharp, and I’ve seen many transcribers getting utterly frustrated, throwing their hands up when they can’t grasp many words.  Many new transcribers can be arrogant or maybe just overconfident, and type what they hear without thinking what it means in the context of the whole sentence, and thus we have some really silly blunders sometimes.

To avoid these silly mistakes, it’s very vital that a transcriber pays full attention to what is spoken during the conference or the interview or even just a dictation.  The mind cannot wander outside thinking about what you’re going to cook for dinner this weekend, it HAS to stay on the subject matter.

Sometimes words sound similar, and it’s the transcriber’s job to ascertain whether that word fits in that sentence or not, and that maybe another similar sounding word does.  It’s all trial and error until you get to a place where all your tools are working as they should, and then it makes the process of converting voice to text OR what is called audio transcription seem like a breeze of cool air.

Fee for Transcription

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Part 2 of our ongoing series regarding health issues many transcribers may face

This one deals with stress.

Yesterday, we talked about how long hours of desk jobs can create problems for your back.  Continuing in the same theme, let’s talk about stress and fatigue in the field of audio transcription today.  Transcribers, especially freelancers can work for extremely long hours to make some extra money.  Not only this, salaried transcribers who work for a company may also work over their limit to make some extra dough through overtime.

While, working hard is always an admirable quality that any transcription service would seek, we don’t want you to play with your health.  People who work this hard and long can have stress problems, especially keeping in mind the fact that it takes a few hours to unwind after a full day’s work.

Often we have seen that transcribers, when taking a break, remain at their computers, either surfing the net or playing maybe a little game.  This is not really the best way to go about taking a break.  Your body and your mind needs a break from the computer, and that’s why it’s best to get up and walk around, leave the computer area, maybe go to a balcony if you have one and get some fresh air.

A lot of people smoke like chimneys in their breaks.  While nicotine gives you the sense of relief, especially if you’re addicted to it, it does a lot of harm to your body over a short-term and long-term period, so it’s better to be off it.  It’s better to drink some water or some juice, or a herbal tea, green tea is also good.  You can also do some basic stretches to feel rejuvenated when you come back to your desk.

Also, it’s always good to finish your work ASAP, so that you have then more time to rest later, and you’re not in a big hurry to finish your work.  This always works.

Rates for Transcription Service

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Email us for a quote or further details: service@scriptosphere.com