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FAQ

Online Digital Typing & Translations @ The Typing Factory The typing services provider for high quality, low cost online typing & translations services

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How long does one hour of dictation take to transcribe?

The professional industry standard allows one hour to transcribe 15 minutes of clearly recorded speech. However, we - at www.typingfactory.com - appreciate that there can be huge variations in this, depending on a number of factors that we will go into more fully below.

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 speech. This is incorrect. We speak much faster than we can type or write. It is generally accepted that we can speak four times faster than we can type and speak seven times faster than we can write.

3. What other things affect the transcribing time?

- The quality of the recording

This can be affected as much by the recording equipment itself, as by eventual background noise, which obscures the words or the recording volume.

- The clarity of the voices on the audio file

If the speaker's voice is hard to hear because the speaker is holding the voice-recorder too far from the mouth or mumbles, speaks too fast or too low, our transcribers may not be able to 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 one talks

It would be helpful if the person dictating would merely try to bear in mind the fact that he or she is actually dictating a certain text in order to have it typed out for a particular purpose and adjust his or her dictating speed rate accordingly, otherwise it might become difficult for the transcriber to provide the respective client with satisfying results. 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.

- Where there are any regional accents

Wherever a recording is made, if the speaker has an accent difficult to decipher, this will adversely affect the time it takes to transcribe a speech.

- Vocabulary, pronunciation and idioms

The transcribing speed increases in time as the typist gets used with the vocabulary, pronouncing particularities and idioms usually used in dictation by every client.

- Names spelling

When it comes to names, it'd be good to always try and spell them. Taking into account the fact that there is no standard pronunciation when it comes to names, there's no way by which one could guess the right spelling of name, reason for which we take no responsibility in names spelling errors in case they are merely pronounced as usual words.

- The amount of technical and specialised terminology involved

Material full of technical, financial, computer or specialised terminology, which may be unfamiliar to the transcriber, will increase the amount of time required to transcribe a speech. It may be necessary to listen to certain words, sentences, or even whole sections several times in order to distinguish the words. In such circumstances, it helps enormously if the client can provide a glossary in advance or if the person dictating can spell words at the time.

- The complexity of text layout styles used

The styles you use for layout of the transcribed documents takes time to apply and this add to the general time of dictation transcription. If the styles are very complex, applying them can take up to the same time as the transcribing time.

- The position and number of microphones used

If the microphone is too far from the speaker a poor quality recording may result. If there is only one microphone for a group discussion, this will only clearly record the speaker's voice nearest to 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! The voice of the interviewee was too faint to be heard at all. It is in the interests of both the transcriber and the client to deal with recordings of the highest possible quality. A poor quality recording will result in a high number of inaudible files and take longer to transcribe. Good, clear recordings result in highly accurate transcripts. The less time it takes to transcribe your material, the lower your final cost will be.

4. How to make better recording in order to cut 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 and 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.

- 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.

- Use the best quality recording equipment

Buying a budget recorder is a false economy because the final recorded result may be of poor quality that will take longer to transcribe.

- 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.

- Regular use of our typing services

The regular use of our transcription service will improve the typing times. As the transcriber becomes familiar with the style of work voice and dictating of the dictator, the transcription time will rapidly improve. It is our intention, when carrying out contract work for clients, to allocate a transcriber solely for their work. This will help improve the speed and quality of the transcription.

5. What advice would you give me when using a dictaphone?

There are quite a number of things you can do to ensure that any recording is clear:

• Record in the quietest environment possible with the least background noise
• Speak slowly, clearly and loudly enough
• Begin recording well before you start speaking
• Spell out names, places, initials, technical or specialised terms or jargon
• Turn off voice-activation as it can cut off the beginning of any words
• Ask all speakers at a group meeting to identify themselves as they speak
• Ensure that each person speaks one at a time and that voices don't overlap.

6. What's the difference between DSS and WAV digital recordings?

Digital recordings are undoubtedly more convenient than conventional recordings, as the potential delay by using the post is eliminated. However, clients should be aware of the sheer size of the recorded files involved. If you have a choice, DSS files are far easier to handle as they are much smaller than WAV files. DSS files are highly compressed voice files and are therefore easier to send as email attachments. 16 minutes of dictation would create a 1MB DSS file, whereas it would only take 2 minutes for a WAV format to fill a 1MB file. As some ISPs limit the size of file they will allow to be transferred, clients may experience problems trying to send WAV files. When dictating, do not speak faster in order to limit the size of the file to be sent. This will only increase the end transcription time and resulte in higher costs for the client. Far better to send a slightly larger file containing clearly dictated material which can then be transcribed more easily. DSS files are used on most of the Olympus digital recorders. You can find further information on the Olympus website.