By Bill Spiegel, Byline Editor
More seasoned members of this group will recall the days when editors used a “cassette recorder” to record interviews. Transcribing these cassettes was painstaking and arguably the worst part of agricultural communications. When I was editor of Kansas Farmer magazine, one of my interns told me her boyfriend transcribed her interviews for her…talk about true love!
Now, of course, there are a plethora of apps and smartphone tools to record audio interviews. I used Voice Memos on my iPhone for years – occasionally loading these files to Rev and paying a hefty fee to have some human transcribe these interviews. Then, one day, a few years ago, then-ACN president Mindy Ward introduced me to Otter…which recorded and transcribed audio on the fly, using artificial intelligence (AI), and for free.
Mind. Blown.
Suddenly, the most dreadful part of ag communications was not as dreadful.
Alas, all good things must end. Otter recently announced it would not only limit the number of free transcriptions each month but also limit the number of those who subscribe to its annual Pro Plan, who would also have a reduction in services.
So we thought we’d take a look at the most popular Transcription Services, plus a few new players in the business.
I learned in my research that pricing for these products is confusing. Most have various options to receive more minutes of transcription–of course, more minutes cost more money. All the options listed below also claim at least 90% accuracy. Most will let you add words to the service’s “dictionary.” For example, almost all will get “dicamba” wrong, but you can add it to ensure that dicamba is part of the app’s lexicon.
Accuracy is improved with high-quality recording. Meetings, auditoriums, crowds, etc., will all compromise the transcription’s integrity.
There are many, many additional transcription services, far more than we could study. And, as quickly as the space changes, I’m not positive I have all the highlights and up-to-date pricing. Otter, for example, has changed its structure in the last month; its users have complained that the changes are not clearly defined.
|
Price (subject to change) |
$29.99/month |
$0.25/minute |
$16.99/month ($119.99/annual) |
$37 for basic; $97 for Unlimited |
$22/month (plus $5/hour) |
$52/month Starter; $60 per month Advanced |
|
Mobile App? |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
Yes |
|
Pros |
Interactive Editor. Transcript assistant for live meetings. Option for human transcription. Solid reputation. |
Pay as you go; you only pay for what you use. |
Automated Summary. Smart Meeting Assistant (records notes during virtual meetings) |
Multilingual transcription. Various add-ons for podcasters, video editors, etc. |
Can record phone calls. Basic user platform. |
Very Accurate. Designed by journalists. “Story Builder” function helps create outlines. |
|
Cons |
After 20 hours of recording, you will be charged 25 cents per minute until the next month. |
No monthly subscription option. |
Playback limited to normal speed Users only receive access to the last 25 conversations. |
Confusing price structure. Website looks amateurish. |
Subpar accuracy. Expensive. |
No real time translation. Expensive. Cannot record live from computer. |
Here’s a quick synopsis of some more products that colleagues have recommended:
- Capsho: Seems to be geared toward bloggers, podcasters, and video casters. Ranges from $99-129 per month, with AI-assisted captioning, titles, descriptions and soundbites.
- Fireflies: Transcribes, summarizes, and analyzes web-based conferences and meetings. Price starts at $18/month.
TranscribeMe: Starting at $0.07 per minute, this is one of the more inexpensive options. It is not instant, and the platform is a bit clunky. But it’s not a bad low-cost option.
What do you use? Let us know by emailing the Byline editor, bspiegel2880@gmail.com