Scribie.com

So, you have an audio file which needs to be transcribed to text and have no idea how to go about it. Here’s how to do it.

The first thing you would need is ExpressScribe. It’s a free tool which enables quickly to start/stop/pause playback with hotkeys (or foot pedals) so that your hands are freed up for typing. To setup the hotkeys go to Control -> Hotkeys setup and enter your preferred keys. We suggest the following.

• F7 -> rewind
• F8 -> forward
• F9 -> play
• F10 -> stop

The useful thing is that these hotkeys are global. So you can control ExpressScribe even if it’s not the active application, which means you can type, play, stop, rewind, and forward without leaving your text editor. Very useful. Load up a test file and play around with the setup.

The second thing you would need is a good headset. Transcription is time consuming and it will start paining around your ears if the headset is not comfortable. Any headset which has a bit of padding around the earpiece is good enough.

The third thing you would need is a text editor. You can use Word, OpenOffice.Org or any other editor of your choice. At a minimum it should have word completion and spelling auto-correction. While typing you’ll find that you misspell lot of words and to correct them you’ll have to stop and go back constantly. Auto-correction will save you time. Similarly auto-completion will save you typing, at least for common words.

Once everything is set up, you’re good to go. Bring up your editor, play the file, pause and type whatever you understood. Play-pause-type. Rinse and repeat till the file is complete. One pro-tip is try not to rewind too much. Rewind as few times as possible. Better still, instead of rewinding just mark the inaudible portion with a blank or make a guess, and after you’re finished go back and review the file. You’ll finish the file faster this way.

On an average it takes around 4 to 6 hours to finish 1 hour of audio. It varies by your typing speed,  the audio file quality and/or the diction of the speaker. Difficult files take longer. Plus, you’ll notice sometimes you cannot catch a few words, no matter how many times you rewind and play it back. Ask for a second opinion if you can.

As you would have guessed by now, it’s a painstaking task. It takes a lot of time and effort. That is exactly why we have the Audio Transcription Service. We do all the work for you and deliver a high quality transcript after 1 business day. For $59.40 you can get an hour of audio transcribed. We have a rigorous process and have transcribed over thousands of hours of audio to date. Try it out and check out the results for yourself.

On the other hand, if you like transcribing then check out our Freelance Transcription Program. You can work as a homebased freelance transcriber and get paid on an hourly basis for the work done.

If you get the message “Another application (CallGraph.exe) is attempting to access Skype, but we are unable to respond” from Skype, here are few things you can do to resolve this issue.

1. Make a call to Skype Test Call Service (echo123) or any other contact. This will force Skype to check it’s database of whitelist’ed plugins and respond to CallGraph thereafter.
2. Restart both Skype and CallGraph several times. To exit CallGraph, click on the CallGraph system tray icon and choose exit from the popup menu. Same for Skype.
3. Try starting CallGraph after 15-20 minutes of starting Skype. This will allow Skype to settle down a bit and have more time to respond to CallGraph.
4. Ensure that both Skype and CallGraph are running as non-admin. Both Skype and CallGraph do not require admin permissions to run.
5. Check if your Antivirus or Firewall is blocking the communication between Skype and CallGraph. Try adding exceptions for both Skype and CallGraph.
6. Try re-installing both Skype and CallGraph.
7. Try restarting your PC.

Click here for step-by-step instructions on how to authorize CallGraph to connect to Skype.

From our testing what we have found is Skype is usually able to respond back after a few tries. So restarting CallGraph a few times works. If nothing works then enable logging in CallGraph (configuration -> general tab), restart CallGraph, start recording and stop it after 5 seconds and send the log file to support@scribie.com.

Two more videos on how to record Skype calls using CallGraph. The first one has a nice walk through of the steps of Skype Authorization. Have a look.

Thanks to miliondollaskillz and 118windsor.

You can also record your own videos and get it featured here.

Link to video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1a_ym-cfKro

Thanks to TalkTechTutorials.

YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stlWYhxMrsg

Thanks to HakerzTM.

You can also record your video tutorials get free upgrades to premium accounts!

If an error is detected in connection between Skype and Call Graph during the recording, then the recording is stopped prematurely and a notification is displayed to that effect. Here’s how you can resolve the issue.

• Check if you have any other Skype plugin installed which is causing a conflict. Try disabling them and record a test call to see if it works. Generally if you have another recording plugin, it will conflict. You’ll have to choose between the other plugin and Call Graph.
• Check if your firewall is blocking the connnection between Skype and Call Graph. Try adding an exception rule for Call Graph.

If you require help in resolving it then please contact us or leave a comment here.

The echo/lag issues with Call Graph has been resolved in version 1.3.0.0. Please download it here.

If you get this notification then your recorded conversation will be garbled and filled with breaks. Try the following steps to resolve the issue.

• Try setting the mp3 encoding parameters to 16KHz sampling rate and 64 kpbs bit rate.
• Switch to wav file encoding instead of mp3.
• Check how much CPU time is being consumed by CG when recording. If its more than 20% then close some applications on your PC and try again.

This is usually an indication of a more serious issue on your setup. Leave a comment or get in touch with us here in case you need more help.

For high quality voice recordings of your Skype conversation, please use the following settings

• Recording Mode: Stereo – 2 channels
• Sampling Rate: 16000 Hz
• Bit Rate: 128 kbps

The first three can be configured from the ‘Recording’ tab of the configuration dialog. The last two are in the ‘Advanced’ Tab.

Tips:

• First and foremost, use a headset instead of the inbuilt speaker and mic. It helps to keep the background noise to the minimum and reduces the possibility of any echo during the call.
• If you get an echo then drop the call and try again. If possible, record a test call first and play it back to make sure things are fine.
• For SkypeOut and Conference calls, ensure that the call quality is good enough before you start the recording. Make a few test calls before the actual one if possible.
• Close all other applications which might use your internet bandwidth during that period. Usual browsing should not interfere but downloads or uploads (or BitTorrent) severely hampers the call quality.
• If possible, reboot your machine once before you start on the call. It clears up the memory and performs better.
• Finally, keep an eye on the status displayed at the bottom of the Toolbar as well during the call. It should be showing ‘Recording in progress’. If not restart the call and the recording.

Explanation:

Technically speaking, these settings are optimal for our system. The Speech Recognition engine that we use works in the wideband mode (16 kHz) and the 128 kbps bit rate preserves the optimal voice quality in the mp3 files. Encoding in two track mode enables us to split up each of the track separately and process them.

If you have more questions then feel free to leave a comment or contact us.

If you face any problems with Call Graph, then the first thing that we ask you for is the log file. Here’s how to get yours.

Step 1: Right click on the Call Graph task bar icon.

The CG icon is the brown ‘C’ icon on task bar of your computer. If you cannot see it then Call Graph is not running. Please start it from the program menu.

Step 2: Choose ‘Configuration’ from the popup menu. The following dialog box will come up.

Step 3: Click on the ‘Open log file’ link.

A notepad will open up with all the contents of the log file. Copy and paste everything on the mail.

Thats it. Please dont hesitate to contact us if you face any issue.