If you have decided to add closed captioning for your videos or transcriptions for audio content, then you might be wondering what the best method for obtaining the text is for those videos. There are two main options for people who want to have audio files turned into speech. They can either have the file transcribed a person or service, or they can purchase a software in order to automate this process.
What is Automatic Transcription
Instead of using a service where someone listens to the audio from a file and types out the transcription of that file, you can opt for something that is more automated. Typically, this involves the audio from a file being converted into a written transcription using speech to text technology. It is an artificial intelligence that does transcription for you.
What are the Advantages & Disadvantages
There are pros and cons to both options that are available for transcribing your content. One of the biggest downsides to using an automated service is that these services do not understand the context of the speech. This tends to lead to far more errors than one might see in a traditionally transcribed text.
There are also issues with heavy accents at time. Further, these speech recognition tools are not always accurate when they attempt to distinguish between speakers. Unfortunately, the major downfall to all of these issues is that an automated transcription usually needs to be proofread before it can be published.
However, using automated transcription software has a few advantages as well. First of all, automated transcription is available much faster than a transcription service is usually able to finish the job. Further, you can typically pay one lump sum to use this software for a lifetime rather than paying for the service each time you need it.
Manual Transcription
Manual transcription is usually ordered through a service. These services hire transcriptionists to listen through the audio file and manually convert the words to a written document. These services typically go through various checks and balances for quality control.
Advantages and Disadvantages
When you hire a service to transcribe your file, you usually have to pay by the minute. This means that for each minute of audio that you ever need to transcribe, you will have to pay for the service. Further, these transcriptions take a bit more time to get back than the automated transcriptions.
However, that extra time and higher prices typically come with a very high-quality product at the end. When you receive one of these files, there will usually be no need to proofread heavily or do any editing.
Final Thoughts
The choice between whether you go with automated transcriptions or manual transcriptions is ultimately going to rely on your personal needs for your business. If you are already heavily involved in the revision process or doing transcriptions on your own, then automated might work for you. However, if you want to be less involved, then you should consider manual transcriptions.
