Transcription Services

Our Process

More Info On:

Transcription from MP3, WAV, WMA,etc.

We can accept a wide variety of digital formats for transcription. You can either upload them directly to our server or burn them onto a CD-R and send them in.

The large advantage of digital files is the ability to upload them to our server. This will save you both time and money.

Preferred Format

Our preferred format for digital audio files is MP3 using the following specifications. See our MP3 conversion Tutorial if needed.

• Mono Channel
• 64 kbit/second data rate
• 44.1 khz sample/frequency per second
• Not more than 60 minutes per file if possible. (e.g.: if you have 120 minutes, split it into 2 files.)

Please name your file in some unique way but with a name not longer than 25 characters. For example: File_1.mp3, File_2.mp3 or bob_smith.mp3, jane_doe.mp3, etc. (Use an underscore "_" instead of spaces " " if possible.)

Once you have your files, you have two options for uploading them to us:

1. Use our 'Easy Upload' to drag and drop your files onto our server. (recommended method)
2. Use an FTP client to upload large orders (20 + files).

To begin either process you must first sign up for an account. After you receive you login and password, select "Upload Files" in the client area. With Easy Upload, you can upload right away. If you want to use FTP there's a secondary signup in the client area to facilitate that.

Additional Format List

All digital files must be 'downloadable'. We do not transcribe directly from web pages or via 'streaming' media files.

• MP3 Transcription
• WAV Transcription
• AIFF Transcription
• Windows Media Transcription
• WMV and WMA Transcription
• DSS Transcription
• RealMedia Transcription
• RealAudio Transcription
• Quicktime Transcription

When using WAV, please be sure that the sample rate is at least 22.1 khz and 16bit audio. In general if there is a trade-off between size and quality, choose quality. That said, remember that large digital files can take some time to upload, even with a fast internet connection.

Please don't send uncompressed audio. AIFF and some WAV files are uncompressed. All AIFF files and uncompressed WAV files should be converted to MP3 before upload.

More exotic formats have slightly longer turnaround times as we will have to convert them to something we can use. We do not transcribe directly from DVF. Please convert to WAV on your end and upload the WAV instead.

Note regarding DSS and DVF format:

DSS is a legacy dictation format from the early 80s. Both DSS and DVF are decidedly inferior to more modern recording formats. Unfortunately most digital dictation devices still use this format. We DO NOT recommend it for recording anything other than dictation. If you need to purchase a portable digital recorder please see our WMA Recorder recommendation.

Long File Surcharge

This applies only to any individual digital file submitted for transcription. It does not apply to the cumulative length of all your digital files.

Any single tape or file submitted that is longer than 2 hours will be billed $15.00 for each 1/2 hour beyond the initial 2 hours. To avoid this surcharge, record your audio or split it into smaller pieces. For example, send three 60-minute pieces of audio instead of one 180-minute piece of audio.

We do not have to visit a madhouse to find disordered minds; our planet is the mental institution of the universe.
--Johann Wolfgang von Goethe