Some reporters would do anything to have software that magically transforms audio interviews into text. Unfortunately, no such magic exists—at least not when it comes to automatically transcribing with 100 percent accuracy and reliability. Most automatic transcription software on the market has limited utility for journalists, as it can only decipher about a dozen spoken variations of the English language.
JOURNOS ON A DEADLINE: No more frantic typing, Transcriva 2 makes transcribing fun. Photo by: Tala Al Ramahi.
The new Transcriva 2, however, can help organize transcriptions and annotations, making the sometimes tedious transcription process much easier. As the audio of an interview plays, users type in what looks like a chat window under the playback menu. With both audio and word-processing controls in the same place, there’s no need to juggle the two.
If you speak with more than one person during an interview, transcribing can be tough; it’s not always easy going from one voice to another. And when you review your notes later, it’s not always clear who is who. With Transcriva 2, you can input the names of all of your sources, pick a color for each and designate hotkeys. When someone new starts talking, a simple keystroke clearly labels the words as his or hers.
If manually controlling audio playback is too much and you really want to free your hands for typing, you can connect USB foot pedals that play, pause, stop and rewind your audio. This way, you can easily transcribe everything without having to fiddle with your recorder and mouse while typing.
What’s even better is that the playback speed on Transcriva 2 can be varied without affecting the pitch, so that you can sync your typing speed with the playback.
Even if you’re woefully analog, Transcriva 2 is easy to use, efficient and customizable—making transcription both easier and faster.
More transcription tools:
- Express Scribe – This free program can do just about everything that Transcriva 2 does, but its interface is not as user-friendly. Express Scribe features variable-speed playback, requires foot pedals and supports both analog and digital recordings. It can also be used in conjunction with voice-recognition software for automatic transcription.
- Dragon Dictate – This pricey program purports to be the magic box, but barring pristine articulation, it fails the accuracy test. It can decipher 13 variations of spoken English–but automatic transcriptions of thick accents are doomed.
- MacSpeech Scribe – It’s basically the same as Dragon Dictate, but for Macs. It’s about 95 percent accurate—about the same as most automatic transcription software.
