Why do businesses need transcription services?

by Target Language Translation Services

- November 18 2021

If businesses have a video or audio file and want to turn it into a text-based file, they need to use a transcription service. Business transcription can be defined as the service of taking the spoken parts of the file and putting them down on paper for companies across industries ie., for all types of businesses.

Why do businesses use transcription services?

Transcription services are vital to the vast majority of businesses at some point. Many industries rely on transcription to precisely get messages across to wider audiences and record, store and share a log of everything that took place. Likewise, when the spoken word needs to be repeated with 100% precision or translated into other languages, transcription converts audio into text – by far the best way to document what was said in a way that can be accessible to everyone who needs access to it.

With transcription technology improving every year, it is easy to think people will soon get to a point where businesses no longer need to hire professionals to do the job on their behalf. It is a good job, too, because the list of businesses in need of transcription services is rapidly increasing, but people will quickly realize technology cannot replace trained transcribers.

While transcription tools can help get the job done, they cannot do it alone and more businesses than ever will be needing professional transcription services.

Where are transcription services applied?

Business transcription is basically to transcribe conference calls, meetings, seminars and analyst calls. It also stretches its wings to areas such as sales meeting, budget planning session and other business conversations. It is about transcribing conference calls with maximum precision and high security for confidential contents.

Business transcription can be divided into different segments: Business transcription for business groups

Business transcription for speakers/moderators

Business transcription of teleconferences

Business transcription for books/manuscripts

Business transcription for medicines and insurance groups.

Process of transcription services

Transcription is a skilled task that requires excellent focus and attention to detail. A transcriptionist usually works with a foot pedal that links to software specially designed to play audio and video files. The foot pedal allows the transcriptionist to stop and start the recording in order to transcribe the content, which is usually recorded in the Standard/micro cassettes, audio files, (wav, vox, dss, mp3) Internet, VHS or DAT. The software also allows transcriptionists to rewind and fast forward through the file, which can be particularly useful when parts of the recording are unclear.

The transcriptionist is also responsible for time-stamping the typed copy. This is particularly crucial for video transcription, as it connects each piece of dialogue with the relevant visual part of the file. If the transcription is then translated and foreign-language dialogue applied to the video, the time-stamps will ensure that the spoken and visual elements of the file are in sync. The same is true if subtitles – whether in the original language or a translation – are applied to the video.

Which other services complement transcription work?

As transcription is such a critical part of video and audio translation, it is often used alongside a number of other services. These include time syncing, the translation process itself and subtitling. Where video or audio translation is required, it is usually more efficient and more cost effective to use one individual or company to provide all of these different parts of the process.

About audio quality

A final thought before starting transcription project relates to the quality of the audio file. Successful transcriptionists are focused and attentive professionals. However, if the quality of the audio is poor, then the transcriptionist can only do so much in terms of transcribing what is said. As such, if the quality of recording isn’t great, it’s worth discussing this with the transcriptionist first in order that both sides can be clear on what is and is not achievable.

At Target Language Translation, we help several businesses to transcribe their audio/video content to text. If you’re ready to get started with your transcription project, please feel free to contact us for any questions or comments.

This article is reprinted from Tomedes, TRUiC and translate plus.

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