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Voice Recognition

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1. How long does it take to transcribe?

The industry norm allows up to one hour to transcribe 15 minutes of clearly recorded speech. Transcriptions can take much longer for focus groups, meetings, seminars and conferences with multiple participants - perhaps as much as 8 or 10 hours for one hour of recorded audio. Sycamore offers a rapid turnaround and much faster transcription times than the industry standards. This is achieved via parallelization of the transcription and verification processes via programmatic break up of audio streams as well as intelligent use of human resources.

2. Why does it take so long?

It is a commonly held misconception that it only takes one hour to transcribe one hour of recorded audio. This is incorrect. We usually speak much faster than we write or type. It is mostly accepted that we can speak about four times faster than we can type and speak about seven times faster than we can write. Hence the timings above, which are based on good quality tapes of 'broadcast-quality' material. Poor quality recordings will increase these timings even further. There are a number of other factors which affect the transcription time.

3. What determines the length of time it takes to transcribe?

The quality of the recording This can be affected as much by the recording equipment itself as by background noise which obscures the words or the recording volume, the type of microphone/telephone or the compression characteristics of the audio.

The clarity of the voices If the speaker's voice is hard to hear, because the speaker is too far from the microphone or mumbles, speaks too fast or too low, this can mean our transcriptionists can't decipher the words.

The number of people speaking Some recordings of groups, meetings or seminars can be affected by the tendency of voices to overlap or by the difficulty in identifying who is speaking at any one time, particularly if the speakers do not identify themselves. Multiple participant recordings take longer than one-to-one interviews.

The speed at which they are talking It may sound odd but if someone is a fast talker, it will take longer to transcribe what they are saying than someone who speaks more slowly. For example, take two tapes - both one hour in length. The first interviewee talks slowly, 'normally' - the resulting transcription is perhaps 10,000 words long. The second interviewee talks at 'machine gun' speed and the transcript totals 16,000 words. Same length of tape - completely different result. A fast talker = more words. More words = more to type = more time taken = more time charged.

Whether they speak in coherent sentences Everyday speech is usually littered with ums and ers. People switch thought in mid-sentence or don't speak in coherent sentences at all. In such situations, the transcriber must go back and work out where to insert the punctuation so as not to lose the thread of the whole piece. The more coherent speakers are, the less time it takes to transcribe their words. The transcriber can 'type as they talk' and rarely needs to go back and puzzle out the meaning.

Whether there are any regional accents Wherever a recording is made in the world, if the speaker has an accent which is difficult to decipher, this will adversely affect the time it takes to transcribe a tape.

The amount of technical and specialized terminology involved Material which is full of technical, financial, computer or specialized terminology which may be unfamiliar to the transcriptionist will increase the amount of time required to transcribe a tape. It may be necessary to relisten to words, sentences, or even whole sections several times in order to distinguish the words. In such circumstances, it helps enormously if a glossary can be provided in advance by the client or if words can be spelt out at the time by the person dictating.

The position and number of microphones used If the microphone is too far from the speaker (or speakers), this may result in a poor quality recording. If there is only one microphone for a group discussion, this will only clearly record the speaker's voice nearest the microphone. Microphones are not as selective as the human ear. Our ears can filter out all background noise, the rustling of papers, scratching of pens, coughing, air conditioning, noise outside a room or through a window and even the recorder itself. A microphone cannot do this and we have encountered instances where the clearest sound was the turning of the pages in the interviewer's notebook and the whirring of the tape! The voice of the interviewee was too faint to be heard at all.

4. How can I make a better recording and cut down on transcribing costs?

Cut down on background noise Recording in a noisy environment makes it doubly difficult to decipher any speech. These include airports, restaurants, pubs, cars, buses, planes, trains, conferences - anywhere where there is a degree of background noise. It will greatly reduce the amount of transcription time if you make the effort to record in a quiet environment. Close windows and doors, and move away from air conditioning, photocopiers and machinery.

Ensure that the speaker is loud enough If the speaker has a quiet voice, the chances are the resultant recording will be very poor and difficult to hear. If you can't hear the speaker's voice, then the chances are the microphone won't either. Please ask the speaker to raise their voice if necessary.

Use an external microphone Most built-in microphones are of poor quality with limited control over volume levels. Remember that microphones will pick up sound from the nearest source - which in this case is the recording equipment. Using a good quality, compatible microphone will greatly enhance the quality of the recording leading to a subsequent reduction in transcription time.

Place the microphone near the speaker or speakers It may be tempting for the interviewer to sit very close to the recorder to check it's working all the time, but if the interviewee is too far away from the microphone, then the clarity of the recording will suffer. It's only logical that the further away a person is from the microphone, the fainter their voice will be and any background noise will increase proportionately. Please ensure that the microphone is as close as possible to the speaker.

If there are several speakers, for example in a group meeting or seminar, ensure that there are sufficient microphones around the room to pick up all the participants clearly. If seated around a table, use something like a Conference mixer which links several microphones to one central unit which will pick up a discussion more clearly than one central microphone.

Be decisive when chairing the group. Ensure everyone is aware they need to speak clearly and one at a time or their words will not be clearly recorded.

Avoid micro-cassettes for anything other than dictation Micro-cassettes are designed to be used in a dictaphone held very close to the mouth. If that same equipment is used on a table between speakers, the resulting recording will be of low quality. Full size standard audio cassettes or mini discs produce far better sound quality than either micro or mini cassettes.

Use a fast recording speed Some recorders can be used at slower speeds. This extends recording time and saves on the number of tapes used. However, there is a consequential loss in recording quality and an increase in the amount of background hiss. We would recommend that you use only the fastest speed setting on your recording equipment. Tapes are comparatively cheap, so why save on tape costs when those savings will be swallowed by the extra transcribing time which will end up costing more in the long run.

Turn off voice activation If you use recorders with a voice activation feature and the speaker is too far away from the microphone or speaks softly, this may not be picked up by the equipment. In some instances, the recording will even switch off in mid-sentence if the sound level goes below the minimum pick up threshold. Prior to beginning a recording, it's in your interests to switch this feature off.

Send only original tapes Original tapes will always be of better quality than copies, regardless of the quality of the copying equipment. To ensure greater accuracy and a lower transcription cost, please ensure that only original tapes are sent to us.

Use the best quality recording equipment & tapes Buying a budget recorder is a false economy because the final recorded result will not be of high quality and a poor quality recording will take longer to transcribe. If you end up paying for more transcription time, this will quickly outweigh any savings you may have made by buying a cheaper recorder.

As standard audio tapes produce better quality recordings than micro or mini tapes, a full-size cassette recorder is a worthwhile investment in the long run. It produces a better sound with less tape hiss. Minidisc recorders also produce a very superior quality of recording.

Micro and mini cassettes are usually used in dictaphones where the machine is very close to the speaker's mouth. If dictaphones are used to record interviews or group meetings and placed too far away from the speakers, the quality of the recording will suffer. The machine is being asked to record in an environment for which it was never designed. Micro and mini tapes are thinner than standard tapes and are more prone to break, particularly if they're re-used many times.

Brand name tapes, such as Fuji, Sony, TDK, Philips, Sanyo and Olympus will produce a high quality sound recording, with less likelihood of tapes sticking or breaking. Compromising on quality with cheap tapes will result in longer transcription times and higher costs.

Seek professional help when recording conferences or seminars When there are multiple speakers in large rooms or individual speeches from a podium, it is vital to seek professional help to ensure that everything is clearly recorded. Most hotels and conference centres have in-house facilities and experts or can recommend an AV company who can advise you. The ideal solution is to connect standard mikes to their professional recording equipment via a direct feed. Roving mikes will also be needed to capture any question and answer sessions.

A less efficient alternative is to place the microphone of your recording equipment on or near the podium. Recording podium speakers using a recorder on your lap while you are sitting in the audience is virtually useless. The microphone will pick up sound from the immediate vicinity, background voices, people moving around, rustling noises, sound system feedback, air conditioning and any speech from the podium will not be recorded clearly, if at all. Unlike the human ear, a microphone is not selective and will not filter out superfluous noise.

If your budget allows, hire a professional sound technician with the proper equipment to produce a 'broadcast-quality' recording. This will cut down transcription time considerably and therefore your costs.

5. Does this mean you won't tackle poor quality recordings?

We are more than happy to attempt to transcribe any tape you may submit. But clients should be aware of the extra time it will take to transcribe poor quality recordings or technical material and the extra costs it will involve. We will do our best to produce an accurate transcript. The only limitation is what your budget allows. If we are told a tape is of good quality but on listening to it, it becomes obvious that this is not the case, we will inform you, give you our professional opinion on how much longer your tapes will take to transcribe and request your permission before we proceed.

6. Why is transcription more complicated than just typing what you hear?

As a transcriptionist types, it's not just a matter of putting down the words verbatim. We don't type like robots! It's about typing the right words, inserting the appropriate punctuation and conveying the sense of the passage or text as a whole. We pride ourselves on really 'listening' to what's being said. We realise that understanding the flow of the words is equally important and that the wrong punctuation can completely alter the meaning of a sentence. We make every effort to render a transcript intelligible. We will not type gibberish, but neither will we make up dialogue to fill gaps. We will type exactly what we hear and no more.