| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Softwares for tape transcription - feedback needed Thread poster: Katia Perry
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Katia Perry 
Brazil
Local time: 18:33
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Hi,
does anyone know if softwares like Dragon Naturally Speaking and IMB Via Voice are useful for transcription of tapes?
TIA
Katia
| | | | Fran Cesca
Italy
Local time: 23:33
English to Italian
+ ...
Dear Katia,
I do lots of transcriptions in my practice and actually I only rely on the tape/audiofile to do that. Actually I never tested none of them, but I was told by some colleagues that Via Voice needs a long training, i.e. there is lot of work to do to have it recognize the voice.
I do not know if in the meanwhile those systems have been improved in some way and I am an 'old school' translator hardly relying in technology for my work, but I never heard anyone of m... See more Dear Katia,
I do lots of transcriptions in my practice and actually I only rely on the tape/audiofile to do that. Actually I never tested none of them, but I was told by some colleagues that Via Voice needs a long training, i.e. there is lot of work to do to have it recognize the voice.
I do not know if in the meanwhile those systems have been improved in some way and I am an 'old school' translator hardly relying in technology for my work, but I never heard anyone of my colleagues using softwares for transcripts.
Kindest regards,
Francesca ▲ Collapse
| | | | | I wouldn't think so | May 4, 2009 |
Though I never used them, I've been translating video (from the soundtrack) since 1987, and I know what I've been through, so I don't rhink software would be able able to do it. It's like wondering whether OCR software would be able to cope with (cursive!) handwriting.
Speaking is as personal as handwriting. Considering input from translators that use Dragon & ViaVoice, they had so much trouble calibrating the program for their speech, and take so much care with the way they ... See more Though I never used them, I've been translating video (from the soundtrack) since 1987, and I know what I've been through, so I don't rhink software would be able able to do it. It's like wondering whether OCR software would be able to cope with (cursive!) handwriting.
Speaking is as personal as handwriting. Considering input from translators that use Dragon & ViaVoice, they had so much trouble calibrating the program for their speech, and take so much care with the way they speak, that I wonder whether it would work generally for anyone's ad-lib talk. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Katia Perry
Brazil
Local time: 18:33
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you, Francesca and José Henrique.
I was wondering if these softwares were worth the investment. Probably you help me to save some money!
Nice week!
Katia
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| I'll save you more! | May 4, 2009 |
Both Perry and Francesca,
Have you ever tried Express Scribe for audio translation?
I used two open-reel Akai tape recorders for doing it during more than a decade. One, a 1721W is still with me, just in case. The other one, a GX-630D was amazingly heavy, but it had electric controls, so amything required just a touch. I tried Express Scribe for two weeks, and retired both. Haven't used them again for ages.
The best news is that Express Scribe is freeware.<... See more Both Perry and Francesca,
Have you ever tried Express Scribe for audio translation?
I used two open-reel Akai tape recorders for doing it during more than a decade. One, a 1721W is still with me, just in case. The other one, a GX-630D was amazingly heavy, but it had electric controls, so amything required just a touch. I tried Express Scribe for two weeks, and retired both. Haven't used them again for ages.
The best news is that Express Scribe is freeware.
You may download it from http://www.nch.com.au/scribe .
P.S. No need to buy the pedal, the F-keys work fine, as you will be pounding the keuboard already. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jaroslaw Michalak
Poland
Local time: 23:33
Member (2004)
English to Polish
SITE LOCALIZER | If you really need them... | May 5, 2009 |
José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:
P.S. No need to buy the pedal, the F-keys work fine, as you will be pounding the keuboard already.
But if you really need them, you can make them yourself (just a little bit of soldering is required) - the professional gear tends to be overpriced... Let me know if you want to know the details.
| | | | | Transcription pedals | May 5, 2009 |
Jabberwock wrote: José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:
No need to buy the pedal But if you really need them, you can make them yourself (just a little bit of soldering is required) - the professional gear tends to be overpriced... Let me know if you want to know the details.
Jabberwock,
I would highly appreciate your time and efforts if you could share the details.
| | | | | NCH gives pedal info | May 5, 2009 |
Jabberwock wrote: José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:
P.S. No need to buy the pedal, the F-keys work fine, as you will be pounding the keuboard already. But if you really need them, you can make them yourself (just a little bit of soldering is required) - the professional gear tends to be overpriced... Let me know if you want to know the details.
NCH explains the pedal wiring here:
http://www.nch.com.au/scribe/pedalwiring.html
... and how to adapt game pedals here:
http://www.nch.com.au/scribe/pedals.html
I did initially adapt the pedal from a vintage Agavox transcriber, but didn't like working with it.
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Katia Perry
Brazil
Local time: 18:33
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you all to the information. I´ll try.
Katia
| | | | Jaroslaw Michalak
Poland
Local time: 23:33
Member (2004)
English to Polish
SITE LOCALIZER | Info already given... | May 5, 2009 |
Boris Sigalov wrote:
I would highly appreciate your time and efforts if you could share the details.
Boris,
Actually, José has already given the proper references (you might have posted earlier...).
Basically, you can wire cheap pedals, either from used game wheels or industrial ones, such as those:
http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/Pedal_Switch.html
either directly to a gameport (although not many computers have those anymore) to a serial port (also rare) or rewiring some buttons on any gamepad or joystick.
| | | | Meezermex
Local time: 16:33
Spanish to English
| Not good for very general transcription | Oct 23, 2010 |
After having gone through the hours and days that it takes to train Dragon to understand me accurately, I can definitively tell you that it does not do well with "random" transcripts. It is a program that tailors itself to one user at a time.
Once it is fully "trained" it will do an excellent job of transcribing anything spoken by its trainer, but not for an unknown person. It may recognize some words that are in its database, but that is all.
Off topic, I would like ... See more After having gone through the hours and days that it takes to train Dragon to understand me accurately, I can definitively tell you that it does not do well with "random" transcripts. It is a program that tailors itself to one user at a time.
Once it is fully "trained" it will do an excellent job of transcribing anything spoken by its trainer, but not for an unknown person. It may recognize some words that are in its database, but that is all.
Off topic, I would like to say that I love this product. I do Spanish to English translation, and training the program to understand new words is very simple and effective. For example, if I am reading a document and am doing instantaneous translation, and I know that there is a name that it will not recognize; I can spend maybe 10 seconds training it and keep going for the rest of the document without having to worry about retraining it. I also love how it learns to recognize the various pronunciations of a single word.
I hope this helps! ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Express Scribe | Oct 23, 2010 |
I have been using Express Scribe for years.
You don't need a pedal as you can use the "F" keys to do the same job.
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Katia Perry
Brazil
Local time: 18:33
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Then, can I say that although Dragon is worthless for transcription it may be helpful in accelerating my translation capacity, as long as I can speak faster than typing?
| | | | Milos Prudek
Czech Republic
Local time: 23:33
English to Czech
+ ...
| Heals hurting wrists | Oct 25, 2010 |
perry wrote:
it may be helpful in accelerating my translation capacity?
Even if it did not make you more productive, it would always save your wrists. Long typing sessions result in repetitive stress injury, carpal tunnel syndrome or just wrist and finger pain...
| | | | Katia Perry
Brazil
Local time: 18:33
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Thank you, Milos! | Oct 25, 2010 |
undoubtedly, this is something to consider. After all, I intend to be in this profession for a long time...
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