Transcription has become a go-to solution for professionals like doctors or lawyers who want to create a written version of critical audio files. It is also quite beneficial for podcast producers, YouTubers, or video content creators, as transcripts can improve the overall impact of their content, such as searchability and audience retention. Now that the market is flooded with automated services, how can one choose the right transcription services provider with all the right features to create a professional-grade transcript that will convey the exact meaning of a message?
In this article, you’ll learn to:
- Utilize transcription features like speaker identification, timestamping, and keyword spotting to enhance the usability and searchability of your transcripts.
- Consider the pros and cons of automated and manual transcription methods, taking into account factors such as audio quality, accuracy requirements, and budget.
- Understand the different types of transcription (verbatim, edited, intelligent, and phonetic) to choose the most suitable one for your needs.
What Is Transcription?
Transcription is converting audio and video into a text file or written document. It involves listening to the recording and typing out the dialogue, narration, “ums,” “ah,” or anything that can be heard from the recording, at least for verbatim transcriptions.
Transcriptionists must have sharp listening skills, be good at typing, and pay attention to detail to accurately capture the spoken sound and convert it into text.
Once complete, the transcripts can be used for legal cases, patient medication, creating subtitles, providing a record of meetings, or making content accessible to a wider audience—depending on the type of content.
Types Of Transcription
Now that you understand transcription, let’s dive into the details. Below are the main types of transcriptions you might encounter or be work with.
| Type | Description |
| Verbatim Transcription | Captures every word, sound, and filler, including “um,” “ah,” and pauses. Ideal for legal proceedings, market research, and interviews where exact wording is crucial. |
| Edited Transcription | Removes filler words, pauses, and irrelevant sounds while maintaining the speaker’s intended meaning. Suitable for business meetings, conferences, and educational content where clarity is important. |
| Intelligent Transcription | Edits for clarity and readability, correcting grammar and sentence structure without altering the meaning. Perfect for blog posts, articles, and content where a polished, professional transcript is desired. |
| Phonetic Trancription | Captures the pronunciation of words using phonetic symbols, often used for languages with non-standard writing systems. Commonly employed in language learning, linguistic research, and dictionaries. |
Additional Features Of Transcription
Not all transcription services are the same. Certain features apply to certain job types, and some require an additional charge.
To maximize the benefits of transcription, here are some features that you can request:
Speaker Identification
Speaker identification means labeling each speaker’s dialogue in a transcript. It helps distinguish multiple speakers and also makes the transcript easier to follow. It’s done by assigning an identifier to each speaker, like their name or “Speaker 1” or “Speaker 2.” This way, readers can easily point out who says what throughout the transcript.
This feature is useful in settings with more than one participant, like interviews, meetings, panel discussions, or anywhere where every participant’s contribution is crucial to the overall context. It improves the usability of the content, especially for those who were not present during the recording.
Timestamping
Another important transcription feature is timestamping, which means putting time markers throughout the transcripts. These timestamps are usually placed at the beginning of each speaker’s dialogue to provide a reference point for readers to locate specific moments within the original recording easily. For one, a timestamp might look like [00:15:30], representing 15 minutes and 30 seconds in the recording.
Aside from allowing you to jump to the desired section transcript quickly, timestamping is useful when cross-referencing the corresponding part of the recording. This feature is particularly beneficial for podcasts, lectures, interviews, or any long recordings where pointing out quotes is important.
Punctuation and Capitalization
When transcribing, it is important to accurately represent the spoken words in a way that is easy to follow, right? Thankfully, readability can be achieved with proper punctuation, like periods, commas, question marks, and exclamation points. Punctuation makes it much easier to indicate pauses, intonation, and the flow of the conversation.
Proper capitalizations also help structure the transcript so that it’s easy for readers to spot the beginning of new ideas. So, note that paying attention to this feature can help properly convey the audio recording in the written version.
Keyword Spotting
Keyword spotting lets you locate specific words in a transcript quickly. With this transcription feature, anyone (with access) can search for particular keywords in the transcription and highlight them throughout the text, pretty much like the “Ctrl+F” shortcut.
It might not be much; however, keyword spotting can save time when looking for something within the transcript, as you no longer need to scan the entire document manually. This feature is handy for researchers, journalists, or anyone working with huge chunks of transcripts who must find relevant quotes, data points, or discussion topics as quickly as possible.
Language Identification
Language identification automatically labels the languages within an audio recording. It’s useful for content with multiple spoken languages or simply when the language of the dictation or recording is unknown—quite self-explanatory, right?
This not only saves time for the transcriptionist; it also ensures that the transcript is properly categorized based on language. Moreover, language identification enables language-specific human transcribers to be more accurate.
Subtitling and Closed Captioning
Subtitling and closed captioning can make your video content more accessible. These involve synchronizing the transcribed text with the video’s timeline so viewers can read the narration while watching the video.
Subtitles are mostly helpful for translating the audio into a different language, so those who don’t understand the language can still follow along—Spoken English with Japanese captions, for example.
However, these features can benefit anyone, even those watching videos in noisy environments, learning a new language, or simply preferring to read along with the audio.
Ways To Transcribe
Suppose you now have enough understanding of what transcription is; let’s consider the most common transcribing methods.
Automated Transcription
Automatic transcription software, or voice recognition, is designed to transcribe spoken words into text. It can sometimes be a valuable tool for transcribing interviews, and you can start by uploading your high-quality audio or video file.
It’s easy to use—no need for API integration or such. However, there are a few things to remember when using automatic transcription options.
First, it’s essential to have a good-quality recording. The clearer the recording, the easier the software can understand and transcribe accurately.
Second, you’ll need to edit the transcript afterward. This is because nothing is more accurate than human transcribers. A recent study showed that automated transcription is only 86% accurate at best. However, if options are limited, transcription software is better than trying to remember everything that was said.
In short, computer-generated transcription does not generate perfect results, and there will likely be many errors.
Transcribing Manually
Despite being massively better than artificial intelligence, manual transcription is still the gold standard of transcription.
Transcribing manually doesn’t require a wide range of special equipment or software. You only need an audio player, pen, and paper (or a computer to type the transcription). This makes it very accessible for people who don’t have a lot of money to invest in transcription tools.
It’s also relatively easy to learn how to transcribe manually. The main challenge is trying to write fast enough to keep up with the audio, so with a lot of practice, most people can get pretty good at it.
On the downside, the manual transcription process can be prolonged and tedious—one hour of recording can take professionals four hours or more to transcribe. So, if you have a somewhat long recording to transcribe, you’ll pull an all-nighter.
Invest In Ditto’s Reliable Transcription Service
Since 2010, Ditto Transcripts has provided human transcription solutions for the medical, business, legal, and academic verticals. We’ve transcribed audio for authors, writers, journalists, city councils, museums, oil and gas companies, and families.
Ditto Transcripts offers transcription services starting at $1.50 per audio minute.
We can deliver your completed transcripts in as little as twenty-four hours.
When it comes to accuracy, security, and affordability, all our boxes are ticked. So, it’s no surprise that Ditto is one of the country’s leading transcription service providers.
Why Choose Ditto Transcripts To As Your Transcription Partner?
Ditto Transcripts provides the best transcription services in the US. We have the broadest range of turnaround times, with the highest-quality transcripts—99% accuracy guaranteed—and expertise in different industries.
Ditto Transcripts is a FINRA, HIPAA, and CJIS-compliant transcription company based in Denver, Colorado. We provide fast, accurate, and affordable transcription services for companies of all sizes. Call (720) 287-3710 today for a free quote and ask about our free five-day trial.
