Topic: software for transcribing recorded interviews?

[Alison Stevens]

I'm not sure if this is the right board for this topic, but does anyone know of a good transcription software/program? I'm doing quite a few phone interviews for some non-fiction pieces, and I'd like to have the audio recordings transcribed into a text file (without spending hours doing it myself). Thanks in advance for any suggestions you might have!

[mstephany]

I normally suggest (for the professional speakers that I work with who want to write their first book) that they get Dragon Naturally Speaking. It isn't perfect, by any stretch of the imagination, but you can get the tape/CD/whatever transcribed and begin editing from there. My clients have told me that, depending on the version you purchase and what products you use it with, it can run anywhere between $100 to $200.

What I like about using this option is that I don't have to spend hours trying to transcribe a discussion or interview I conducted with someone. The program does it for you. And then, best of all, if there are places that you KNOW what the speaker was saying but Dragon misunderstood, you can easily correct the transcription.

Maude 

[Alison Stevens]

Excellent! Thank you so much, Maude! 

[Kell]

I've tried Dragon Naturally Speaking, and the problem is that you have to train it to recognize your voice. So if you were going to dictate a book or your own notes, it works. But if you're trying to transcribe interviews for other speakers, it doesn't work so well because it only knows YOUR voice. It was a few years ago that I used it though  -- maybe it's better now.

There ARE cheap transcription services out there, but it only makes sense when depends on whether your pay rate great exceeds the rate of the transcriber.

[mstephany]

I didn't know that, Kell - thanks for piping up. I guess that's something to ask a sales clerk whether Dragon got that fixed or not.

If you are looking for transcription, I am a freelancer at oDesk - a great place to get quality work done... I recommend oDesk if you're looking for a personal transcriber - and many of them are excellent and inexpensive. Whether it's less expensive than getting Dragon, I don't know, but that is for you to decide...

Maude 

[LTMadison]

I use CLK Transcriptions regularly -- 0.94/recorded minute. Turnaround is usually within 48 hours. If this is an occasional thing, I think this might be the route you want to go, especially if you are doing a limited number of 15-20 minute type conversations. The transcripts need editing, but are very accurate.

[Alison Stevens]

That's good to know, Kell; unfortunately, it was on sale through Amazon, so I went ahead and got it. I guess I'll let you all know whether it works for multiple voices or not!

[Alison Stevens]

So to follow-up for anyone else interested in this... Dragon Naturally Speaking does NOT work for multiple voices (i.e. transcribing interviews). If anyone finds another program that does, please let me know! For now, I've got some nice dictation software. Unfortunately, I work better by typing.