Transcription Services

Transcription services are often provided for business, legal, or medical purposes. The most common type of transcription is from a spoken-language source into text such as a computer file suitable for printing as a document such as a report.

Common examples are the proceedings of a court hearing such as a criminal trial (by a court reporter) or a physician's recorded voice notes (medical restatement). Some transcription businesses can send staff to events, speeches, or seminars, who then convert the spoken content into text. Some companies also accept recorded speech, either on cassette, CD, VHS, or as sound files. For a restatement service, various individuals and organizations have different rates and methods of pricing. That can be per line, per word, per minute, or per hour, which differs from individual to individual and industry to industry.

Globibo Transcription:

• High-quality and accurate transcription documents
• Affordable pricing for all transcription types
• Fast transcription turn-around time
• Files undergo a 3-tier quality assurance process (restatement, editing, and quality assurance)
• Delivery of transcripts in any format of your choice
• Complete confidentiality measures in all restatement projects

Transcription Audio Types

The source files provided for transcription are a key driver for cost, turn-around time, and quality. The audio length, quality, and file type are often not in control of the client and project manager therefore we work with a multitude of different conversion and editing tools to improve the audio quality.

• Acceptance of different file types and conversion services
• Secure file transfer channels for small and large media types

For the best transfer/encryption methods and audio conversion support, please contact us. To gain access to our FTP infrastructure or SSL web transport, please include your technical contact in the communication.

In case, you are planning on getting our transcription service, you should also check out our blog ‘Two Benefits of Using a Transcription Service’

Transcription Content Types

The content covered in the audio files can be anything from highly technical or legal discussions to social and private interactions. To ensure the fastest turn-around time and quality, we use different methods of pre-processing, restatement, and quality control based on the content type. With our tight integration and partnership with embassies, legal firms, and government agencies around the world, we also understand and consult in regards to certain particularities on transcription topics or processes.

• Industry-segmented subject matter experts
• Legal acceptance of transcription output

To understand the legal requirements of the source or output material, please provide us with the context of your project. If a Non-Disclosure Agreement is required, please provide us your agreement or we can utilize our standard Mutual-NDA template.

Learn everything you need to know about the legal compliance regulation for transcription in the blog ‘Standard Legal Compliance Regulations for Transcription Services’

Transcription Pre-Processing Types

Pre-processing is a key driver of transcription speed and quality. Confidentiality screening is an important step to ensure the correct handling of delicate material. The usage of T2A-Software can significantly speed up the restatement process. Also, keyword review might be necessary or useful to improve service delivery.

• Confidentiality Screening
• Voice-to-text auto-conversion
• Keyword & Relevance Review

Transcription Target Format Types

The actual transcriptions might just be an individual step in a larger project. Also in many cases, it is not required to transcribe the entire text. For example, in compliance reviews, a restatement might just be necessary if certain keywords are (or are not) mentioned. We also translate or re-voice-over transcriptions into any other languages upon request.

• Full or keyword transcription
• Transcription Text Translation
• Re-Voice-Over

Transcription texts will have special annotation for audio segments and descriptions. If you have any special annotation requirements, please specify. Please see the details below.
- [Laughs] / [Laughter]
- [Applause]
- [Editor’s Comments], [Facilitator’s Comments] or [B-Roll], indicates off-topic discussions
- [Audio Gap], indicates extended break in audio
- [Start of New Interview], indicates change of interview subject during continuous piece of audio/video

Contact us

Transcription Tools

A wide variety of transcription tools permit for pre-processing and quality assurance. Those tools support some of the common languages and have their advantages and disadvantages.

• TranscribeMe - (External Link)
• Transcription Panda - (External Link)
• Scribie - (External Link)
• GoTranscript - (External Link)
• GMR Transcription - (External Link)
• Otter - (External Link)
• Temi - (External Link)
• Trint - (External Link)
• Sonix - (External Link)

A recent benchmark of different tools can be found here (external page). To learn more about the best Transcription Tools for your need, please contact us.

Transcription Legal & Industry Standards

The legal standards in regards to Transcriptions are rather rare and limited to national structures. For example in the United States, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act states that no person in the United States should be excluded from participating in any program receiving federal funding because of their disability. Federal entities, as well as organizations funded by the federal government, must provide equal access for users who are deaf or hard of hearing by offering closed captioning.
In the same framework, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act requires all electronic communication and information technologies, such as websites, email, or web documents, to be accessible. As of January 18, 2018, Section 508 has been revised to be compliant with WCAG 2.0 standards. The goal is to establish a congruous standard for the federal government or entities receiving federal grants while achieving global accessibility.
(More information here Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Section 508 Amendment to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973).

Based on the above WCAG has created a best practice to make digital content accessible. In this standard Level A, AA and AAA include restatement already in the lowest level (A).

Also, other private organizations have developed best practices and tips for transcription:
1. Transcripts should be at least 99% accurate
2. Grammar and punctuation are important for providing maximum clarity
3. Speaker identification helps users identify who is speaking
4. Essential to communicate non-speech sounds
5. Transcribe content as close to verbatim as possible
Source: https://www.3playmedia.com/2018/08/21/transcription-guidelines-standards-and-legal-requirements/