Scribie.com

We have now enabled file trimming on Scribie.com. If you have a audio file and need only parts of it transcribed then you can trim the audio file and remove the unwanted parts before placing the order, thus saving your costs.

The Trim File option is available from both, the Uploaded Files and Invoice pages (named as Time Range, last option). It brings up a dialog which prompts you to enter the start and end time stamp. The audio file is trimmed to contain only the portion between start and end. A new file is created and placed in your files page. The original file is kept intact and can be use to create further trimmed files. The trimmed file can then be ordered.

Try it out today. As usual, feedback/comments are most welcome.

Dropbox is a popular cloud storage service and it’s not surprising therefore that many customers have asked for the ability to import files directly from Dropbox to their Scribie.com account for transcription. We have now added Dropbox Importer to our uploader. Visit the following link to try it out.

https://scribie.com/files/upload#dropbox

The first step is to connect to your Dropbox account and authorize Scribie Uploader to access your files. After authorization, the uploader will search for supported audio/video files and present a list of the files found. You can then select the files which and upload them to your Scribie.com account. Once uploaded, you can place the transcript order. The authorization step has to be performed only once and the Dropbox account will stay connected till you logout from your Scribie.com account or manually disconnect it.

Along with this update, we have also revamped our file uploader. We have added support for Drag and Drop which is supported in HTML5 browsers. Visit the following link with the latest version of Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome to try it out.

https://scribie.com/files/upload#files

For the best performance we recommend latest version of Google Chrome.

We are planning to add importers for Google Drive and Box.net soon. If you want your favorite online storage service then please leave us a comment. We’ll work on adding support for that.

We have added new transcript order options in the Invoices page. The Option button just below the table brings it up. A screenshot is below.

 

A description of each of the option follows:

Flexible Delivery:

The Flexible Delivery files are delivered anytime with a week instead of the normal 1 day. If within the week we are able to fit in the file in our delivery schedule, we will deliver it. Otherwise you are guaranteed delivery on the seventh day. We offer a 25% discount for these orders.

This option has to be specified before the order is placed. It cannot be enabled/disabled afterwards.

Additional Proofreading:

Proofreading is part of our workflow where we correct all inconsistencies in the combined transcript. It drastically improves the quality of the transcript. For difficult files (eg. files with poor audio quality, background noise, speakers with unclear accents, non-native speakers, etc.) you can request an additional proofreading. We pay special attention to these files and ensure that you get an accurate transcript regardless of the difficulty level of these files. We charge an additional $0.50 per minute of the audio for additional proofreading.

This option has to be specified before the order is placed. It cannot be enabled/disabled afterwards.

Strict Verbatim:

Set this option if you want us to include all ah’s, uhm’s, umm’s as spoken in the audio file. By default our transcripts are non-strict verbatim transcripts which means that these filler words are not transcribed unless necessary (ie. for a affirmative or negatory answer to a question). However these filler terms can indicate hesitation or confusion on the interviewee’s part and including them may prove useful. If this option is enabled then all the filler terms will be included in the transcript.

This option has to be specified before the order is placed. It cannot be enabled/disabled afterwards. No additional charges apply for this option.

Time-coding:

By default we time-code the transcripts. The time-code is the time stamp of the audio when the particular paragraph started. It is useful when you want to cross check the transcript agains the audio file. Time-codes are formatted as H:MM:SS.

This option can be enabled/disabled anytime from the Invoice Details page. No additional charges apply for this option.

Speaker Tracking:

Before each paragraph we prepend the speaker name or initial which identifies the person who was speaking at that time in the audio file. If speaker names are provided or spoken in the audio, then they are used. If not we use the generic format of Speaker 1, Speaker 2 and so on.

This option has two sub-options relating to formatting of the names. If speaker initials is chosen then the first occurrence will be the full name of the speaker and rest will be initials. Eg. if the name is Rajiv Poddar then the first time Rajiv speaks the speaker tracking will contain Rajiv Poddar and all subsequent one’s will be RP. This is illustrated in the sample transcript. If full names option is specified then the full name will be used throughout.

The Speaker Names link allows you to specify each speaker’s first and last name.

This option can be enabled/disabled anytime from the Invoice Details page. No additional charges apply for this option.

The transcripts are prepared as a text file and before the delivery we convert the file to MS Word, OpenOffice Text and Adobe PDF format. We use a template for this conversion. There are four different templates you can specify; Scribie default template with single/double line spacing and blank template with single/double line spacing. The Scribie default template has a title page, a header, footer and the last page contains some stats. Pleas check the sample transcript for an example. Blank template  only contains the transcript. Double and single line spacing adjusts the spacing in between the lines in the delivered file. If you want your own template to be used instead then please contact support and they will help you out with it.

This option can be enabled/disabled anytime from the Invoice Details page. No additional charges apply for this option.

Spelling Style:

The spelling style of the transcript can also be specified. Currently we support American, British, Australian and Canadian styles of spelling. Please contact us for more options.

This option can be enabled/disabled anytime from the Invoice Details page. No additional charges apply for this option.

New Features/Enhancements

• Ability to set the timestamp format in the file name. There are 9 presets available.
• The toolbar and icons have been redone. Better graphics and looks.
• The system tray icon now has a indicators for recording and Skype authorization.
• New option in popup menu which shows the last notification message.

Bug Fixes

• The echo/lag issue has been fixed.
• MP3 conversion failure for files with apostrophe’s in their names has been fixed.
• Crashes when exiting Call Graph has been fixed.
• The flash plugin in Call Graph Browser has been updated to the latest version.

Please upgrade now. Do not forget to authorize Call Graph after the update. As always, comments and feedback is most welcome.

• On some setups starting the recording mutes the callers voices. To prevent this turn off the Near End EC option from configuration -> advanced tab.
• Exiting Call Graph just after the recording is finished or in between the recording might cause a crash. The files are however saved and the call is restored.
• When playing back voicemails Call Graph gives a false notification that the call is being recorded.
• MP3 conversion of files which have apostrophes in their name fails. For a workaround remove the apostrophe from the name.

We’ll be adding to this as we discover more. Please let us know if you find one.

UPDATE

All the above issues have been resolved in version 1.3.0.0. Please upgrade now.

New Features

Skype 4 Echo Issue: A new option to remove Near End Echo when using Call Graph with Skype 4. Thanks to everyone who tested the workaround!

Skype Link Error Detection: If no data is being received from Skype during the recording then the recording is stopped an an error notification is displayed.

Default Wav file encoding: From this release onwards the recorded file is always encoded in wav format during the Skype call and converted to mp3 after the call is finished. This reduces the CPU load during the recording process.

Automatic Recording In Between Call: If Call Graph is started during the Skype call and automatic recording is set, then the recording is started immediately.

Browser Launch Dialog: The browser launch dialog can now be skipped.

Bug Fixes

Manual Recording: Fixed several bugs in the manual recording process.

Browser Launch During Startup: The Call Graph Browser is no longer launched on startup. Instead the toolbar is shown.

Skype Connection Notification: If Skype is not running then Call Graph does not keep on showing the Skype Connection Error notification. Instead after two attempts to connect to Skype, the Skype connection notification is shown once.

Notification Messages: The notification messages have been redone in this release.

Please update now. Do not forget to authorize Call Graph to connect to Skype after installing the update. As usual, feedback/comments is welcome.

UPDATE: Some users have reported that after applying this update they cannot hear their callers anymore. If its happening then please upgrade to version 1.3.0.0 to resolve it.

New Features

Recording Enhancements: Several enhancements have been made to the recording module. A low pass and highpass filter has been added to cut off the background noise. The encoder has been tuned for voice recordings. The recordings will sound much better now.

Skype Connection Handling: Skype connection is now refreshed at each recording start. A notification message is displayed when the connection is successful and an error message when CG cannot connect to Skype after 3 minutes. Login/shutdown of Skype is also now handled properly.

New Servers: We have moved to new faster servers and new domain at Scribie.com. The client now works with the new servers.

Bug Fixes:

Browser Launch Failure: Several bugs have been fixed which used to cause browser launch failures. The configuration dialog can be opened from the notification message if the browser cannot be launched.

XP Freezing Issue: Some more fixes have been made to prevent the XP freezing issue.

Please update now. And do not forget to authroize Call Graph to connect to Skype after the upgrade.

Major Changes in this version

Toolbar/Menu Rearrangement: The Call Graph Browser item has been added to both the toolbar and the menu. A new ‘Recordings Folder’ item also has been added which opens the current configured recordings folder in Windows Explorer. Configuration now opens up the configuration dialog instead of launching the browser.

Open Containing Folder: The actions dropdown ‘Open Folder’ menu item now opens the folder which contains the recorded file and highlights it.

Browser Launch Progress Bar: A progress bar now comes up whenever Call Graph Browser is being launched. The browser also now remembers the last size and position at the last close.

Microphone Muting: Muting the microphone now works. Nothing is recorded or sent when the mic is muted from the Skype UI. Thanks to Brian for pointing it out.

Call Distortion: Fixed a bug which used to distort the call on Windows XP. Thanks to Jean for helping us test the fix.

Lock Up Issue: Fixed a bug which used to lock up the computer when starting or stopping the recording. Thanks to Gabe for tyring out the numerous private binaries.

Vista Crash: Fixed a crash which used to happen on Vista when the recording was being stopped.

Please update now. Dont forget to authorize Call Graph after the update.

New In This Version

Inbuilt Player: The player has been replace with a new version. It now displays visualizations as well as the amplitude information. Here’s a screenshot.

Wav Files: Wav files now can be uploaded to your Call Graph account and played back using the inbuilt player. This was not possible in earlier versions. A copy of the wav file is converted into mp3 and played back or uploaded. If you are using Call Graph for podcasting, you can now user our web service to archive your podcasts!

CPU Stats: CPU stats has been added to the stats and notes page now as well. You can check the CPU loading during the recording if you open the stats/notes window. Only available in the browser UI mode.

Bug Fixes

Volume Drop Issue: The volume drop which used to occur when recording was started is now gone.

Potential Stack Overflow Issue: If you are experiencing intermittent crashes during the recording, then please update. The encoding thread had a potential stack overflow issue which was fixed in this release.

Please update now! And dont forget to authorize Call Graph to use the Skype API after the update. Thanks.

New Features

Speaker/Mic Activity Indicators: The toolbar now has activity indicators for speaker and microphone. During the recording whenever there’s any activity on speaker or mic, they blink. If both the sets are blinking then everything’s okay during the recording. Here’s a screenshot of it in action.

Notes: CG now has ability to add notes during the recording process. This feature is accessible from the live stats window. Each note is appended with a timestamp. The notes can be viewed/edited/deleted from the recordings page.

Wave Audio I/O Type: We have reintroduced back wave I/O type to CG, mainly for Windows 2000 users. Its available from the advanced tab of the configuration window. The default is DirectSound.

Bug Fixes

Breaks in recording: The encoding algorithm had a bug which caused breaks to appear in one of the tracks in the recorded file. This has been fixed now. Thanks to Jon and Chris for testing it for us.

Retry for upload failures: If upload to CG CRIMS fails due to some reason, then it is automatically retried twice. The upload status message now also displays the number of files which are queued for upload.

Skype version check: Fixed a bug in Skype version check. Now CG will notify if version lower than 3.2 is being used and exit.

Various: Several crash fixes, various UI enhancements, etc.

As usual, please send us your feedback on this update. And update now. Thanks!