Recording speech into text continues to be essential in various industries. There is increased demand for video transcription and audio transcription services as individuals and organizations seek to increase the scope of their audience. These services ensure that your content is easily indexable by search engines. The content has a higher chance of ranking higher with the required keywords.
Transcribers use several tools to derive the maximum benefit. In this article, readers gain insight into good audio transcription practice that make transcribers experts at their craft.
1. A Transcription Software
Individuals who transcribe video content by themselves require specifically designed software to make the process efficient. Dictation software avoids straining, especially in typing your content. Google docs voicing option is most preferred as it is free. You can also utilize Dragon by Nuance if you are handling translation and transcribing professionally.
2. Foot pedal
It enables audio playback through a keyboard and foot pedal. You do not need a mouse to play and pause the audio. It allows your hands to be free to type. The current foot pedals are plug-and-play to allow a higher speed. This tool saves time and increases efficiency in productivity.
3. Noise Canceling headphones
There are instances where transcribers are in an environment with white noise. It is challenging to concentrate in such an environment. You require noise-canceling headphones to deal with these distractions.
You can also derive other benefits from these devices, such as high-quality sound. A quality sound ensures that you do not miss out on any detail and makes you excellent at the job. Both of these benefits increase your productivity and peace of mind when transcribing.
4. Express Scribe
Express Scribe is a popular and essential tool for professional transcribers. Designers of the audio player specifically created it for transcribing content. It improves the audio quality of audio files that would otherwise be challenging to listen to. This reduces the amount of time invested per audio hour.
In addition, it has a user-friendly interface that is compatible with the keyboard and foot pedal. It has a wide range of hotkey controls to improve speed and efficiency.
5. FTW Transcriber
The FTW transcriber is a tool you can download on your devices to provide high-quality audio playback. It is compatible with Windows and Android software devices. You can use it on your smartphone for added advantage and convenience.
There are a variety of audio and video files it supports. It also facilitates automatic timestamps.
6. Audacity
It is a cross-platform audio software available for free to record, convert and clean up audio files.
The tool minimizes the time spent on low-quality audio files requiring you to decipher unclear audio. This increases the work per audio hour.
Additionally, the tool allows you to merge audio recordings which is a great benefit.
7. Inqscribe
This tool has a user-friendly interface that enables you to transcribe in a single window. There are keyboard shortcuts available that you can customize. Users of the tool can also create snippets to pick up frequently used expressions in their transcripts. There are time codes inserted in the tool for a closed captions file.
In addition, Inqscribe facilitates users to play audio and video from a URL, hard drive, server, or flash drive.
8. Word Expander Software
There are word expander programs such as Instant Text that are ideal for professional translation services and transcribing. It increases your typing speed by around 30%.
It allows you to input your own shorthand for frequently used words and phrases. This eliminates several keystrokes.
9. FX Sound Enhancer
This is a specialized audio enhancer tool for strictly enhancing sound. It reduces background noise and improves audio volume and quality.
10. WinZip
The tool compresses files. Most of the audio files requiring translation and transcription are in a ZIP file with multiple recordings. You require this tool to unzip the files. It is a mandatory software tool in the online workspace.
11. Grammarly
The software tool is the leading grammar check in the industry. It checks for several texts and is essential in legal transcription services. A professional transcriber should not submit work with grammatical errors as it can ruin your reputation. It is, especially useful for dictation software and identifies the errors instantly.
Conclusion
There are several tools that transcribers use in mastering the craft. These tools continue to develop even further with advanced technology. It is best to seek the best tools to become a professional transcriber.