Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with dictation

OS X Speech Transcription

aladfar — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 11:07:39 -0800

OS X dictation/transcription software: is it worthwhile? I've recorded several hours of audio onto an MP3 voice recorder. I'd like to move the files to my mac, and run them through dictation software. Is this feasible? It seems my only choice in this space is MacSpeech Dictate - it runs $199, and no demo is offered. I'm happy to pay, but only if I can be assured that it runs reasonably well. I don't mind putting some time into training, and will be very happy if it can reduce the overall effort of manual transcription by 50% or so.

Alternatively, I've given some thought to outsourcing the task to Mechanical Turk or an overseas freelancer (a topic discussed previously). But as these audio files constitute a personal journal, I'm wary of sharing them with a third party.

Digital voice recorder that works just like a tape recorder?

troybob — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 11:12:29 -0800

Is there a digital voice recorder that works like a microcassette recorder--specifically, allowing you to stop recording where you are, rewind it back a few seconds to listen, and record over that section if you need to correct it...? I work in medical transcription and would like to start going from tape dictation to digital. When checking out the digital voice recorders online and reading through user guides and product descriptions, I cannot verify if any of the recorders allow on-the-fly editing specific to report dictation.

With a microcassette recorder, you can stop your dictation (or just after putting down the recorder for a while) and then rewind it a little bit to check the last thing you dictated, and/or you can rewind it and hit record again to re-dictate over an error. Some of the digital recorders have FF and REW buttons, but they are documented as working for menu navigation or playback-only functions. And I don't find any documentation that any of the recorders allow recording over a previously recorded section.

Is this something that digital voice recorders cannot do? It is only possible on high-end pro recorders (though I cannot clarify so in documentation for those either)?

Bonus for something easy to use for technically challenged (though otherwise genius) doctors.

What should I use to convert speech to text?

stevis — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 15:02:21 -0800

I need to convert speech on wav files into text and I don't want to do it via manually transcribing them. Do you have any suggestions or stories from experience? Oh, and either Mac or PC solutions are fine, too. Thanks!

Speech to text without a secretary

Kickstart70 — Thu, 29 Dec 2005 22:07:38 -0800

Is there a free/cheap speech-to-text converter (ie. dictation, verbal notes) that works reasonably well? Best if it accepts wav files. Bonus points for Linux command line, but Windows is acceptable. All I really want is raw text from speech-only audio, and it doesn't have to be perfect. Oh, and I don't want to invest massive time cobbling together my own tools from the half-baked libraries and things that are out there.

Looking for the eensiest, beansiest audio note-taker ever...

fuzzbean — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 07:13:22 -0800

Looking for a *tiny* audio recorder to take notes throughout the day, then upload to a computer (Linux) to prioritize, annotate, and transcribe as appropriate. What's the best, cheapest, smallest option? Anyone have any experience with using the MobiBlue cube as a voice recorder? The specific requirements:

Small, light, cheap. Doesn't have to have lots of memory or super long run time (as long as it can be on standby for 24+ hours w/out problem).
Decent quality voice recording with built-in mic. Doesn't have to be stellar, but has to be good enough not to interfere with clear transcription.
Easy UI for recording: press a button to start recording a new file, press a button to pause/unpause, press a button stop. Pause is an optional feature I can live without if the rest is good. BUT, what's important here is that it can be ready to record at a single button press all day without burning up the batteries, and when you're done recording one note, you're still in recording mode -- i.e., it's no good if you have to navigate to the recording menu from scratch each time.
Standard USB drive interface with standard file formats (wav, mp3, or ogg); specifically: will work with Linux.
Ideally, it would include rechargeable batteries and a charger. USB charging is fine. (If it requires one to buy rechargeables and a charger, should still be competitive on cost after all that.)
mp3/ogg playback is a nice bonus but of secondary concern.

The MobiBlu cube looks close to perfect, except I have heard the microphone quality is really bad, and I am unsure of the UI (i.e., because it is primarily a player with a voice record feature on the side, I don't know if it can *practically* be used as a throughout-the-day voice recorder). The various products designed specifically to be voice recorders are large, heavy, and expensive, and often use proprietary audio
file formats and PC-specific interface software.

So, Metafiltarians, what's my best bet?