In the digital age, it’s easier than ever to capture audio and video. Heck, anyone with a smartphone (that’s 5 billion of us around the world) can record hours of high-quality audio with the tap of a finger. Yet, while audio and video may be easier than ever to capture, they’re just as difficult as before to extract data from, unless you have a transcription of it.
You can’t search an audio or video file in the same way you can search a written document. And as you certainly already know you can’t use CTRL+F to find an important word, statistic or phrase in an audio or video file. For this reason, if you’re capturing audio or video in any professional or academic capacity, you need a transcribing service.
A transcribing service can condense your lengthy and inscrutable audio and video files into highly accurate text documents which are infinitely more searchable and easier to parse for the information you need.
Can’t I do it myself?
It’s perfectly reasonable to expect that you’d be able to transcribe your own audio or video files. However, those who try quickly learn that it’s a much harder and more painstaking process than they realized. Industry standard for a transcription service is four hours transcription time for every hour of audio. For an inexperienced amateur, it’s likely to take significantly longer, like 10 times longer if you have no experience.
A transcribing service can get you the data you need from your video or audio file with;
- Accuracy
- Affordability
- A time that fits your deadlines
Who needs a transcribing service?
There are many professional, creative and academic contexts where transcribing services are invaluable. Lots of people use them to get quick and easy access to the data that matters. Here are just a few common industry use cases;
- Legal- Legal professionals need transcriptions of depositions, interviews, and court hearings to build their cases and protect their clients.
- Human Resources- HR teams often rely on transcription of meetings and interviews when it comes to making decisions about hiring and possible discipline or firing of an employee.
- Business and Strategy- Transcribing business meetings can be a great alternative to minute taking which offers accuracy, detail and quality. It also allows everyone to be present and not worried about taking notes or missing something.
- Law Enforcement- Police officers and other law enforcement professionals often rely on transcripts from interviews, jail calls, statements, undercover wires… to help build their cases.
- Video Production- Not all video production is scripted, all videos will need subtitles for accessibility and ease of use though. Transcription can give production houses a useful post production transcript to use for editing and then eventually convert into SRT files for subtitling.
- Medical- From diagnosticians to clinical psychiatrists, all kinds of medical professionals take detailed voice notes to document their findings. Medical transcribing services can make those audio files much more accessible and editable.
- Academia- Lecturers may choose to transcribe past lectures (in full or in part) and incorporate them into slides, handouts etc. while students may also wish to transcribe lectures , TED talks, interviews, focus groups, and other resources when writing a paper or thesis.
What kinds of transcription are there?
There are numerous kinds of transcribing service out there, and while different providers have different names for them, they broadly fall under one of these categories.
- Full Verbatim– The raw, unaltered transcript, including verbal tics like like “umm”, “uhh”, “y’know?”, false starts, stutters etc.
- Intelligent verbatim- Here you still get a word-for-word transcript of the audio, with all the “umms” and “uhh”s etc. removed for clarity.
- Notes- Deviations and off-topic talk are removed and the transcript is condensed into a series of notes.
- Speech to Text- Speech to text apps can convert hours of audio into text in minutes. Be wary when using them, however, most struggle to achieve over 50% accuracy, and that’s only when your audio is perfect with no distracting background noise, accents, or interference of any kind.
Why choose us for your transcribing service needs?
We give you exactly what you need from a transcribing service. We provide guaranteed accuracy because we use a carefully selected pool of talented and experienced transcribers. We are fully flexible and can work with your budget and schedule, helping you find the right combination of speed and affordability for your needs.
What’s more, we are fully compliant with all relevant data protection laws (HIPAA, HITECH, CJIS) and keep your data right here in the US in order to be compliant, and where it’s safe. That’s absolutely essential when a transcribing service is working with sensitive data. Be wary of any transcribing service that ships your data off to be transcribed in another country as they may not be subject to the same stringent data laws. We can even send you our BAA (business associates agreement), NDA (non-disclosure agreement), and a confidentiality agreement if you wish.
It’s simple. Send us your file through our secure online FTP file-sharing system. If you prefer, you can also mail or drop off hard copies of your audio.
Next, your file will be carefully handled by our dedicated account manager, quality assurance manager, and experienced transcription team. You’ll have a fully personalized transcription experience from start to finish.
Our team will work hard to get your file back to you within your chosen time frame.
Once it’s ready, we’ll send your error-free transcription online by email, with our secure online file server, or you can pick it up at our office located centrally in Denver.
Are you in a rush? No worries — We offer same-day service for your convenience.
What will all this convenience cost you? With Ditto Transcripts, you’ll pay 25-50% less than if you hired a traditional transcriptionist.
Check out our competitive rates and same-day service options here.
How To Get Started?
Does Ditto Transcripts sound right for you?
Start by clicking contact us above and then filling out the form with your information and project details. You’ll then receive a confirmation email letting you know we’ve received your request and we’re looking into it. You can call (720) 287-3710 for immediate service.
When you need something transcribed, you don’t have to undergo this arduous and often frustrating experience alone. Trust us to bring high quality transcribing services when you need it and at great prices!
