Pros and Cons of Real-Time Transcription Software

Advancements in communication technology are rapid. Just a few years back, voice recognition technology was the hottest issue. Today, automatic transcription software is ”in.” Many transcription service providers are using AI-assisted program for their work, especially for niche business sectors such as academic, legal, and medical.

Additional to this is the real-time captioning for live lectures, presentations and conferences. The software is of great help for businesses to reduce costs and increase efficiency. While there are several benefits that real-time transcription software brings to companies and organizations, it is important to recognize the fact that there will also be a downside to the application.

Benefits of using real-time transcription software

Technological innovations improve work processes. They enhance efficiency, reduce operation costs and provide consistency and quality to work output.

Technology that is supported by artificial information makes real-time captioning faster. The real-time transcription software replaces the old method of using a machine that converts shorthand into text. The modern method includes voice recognition, which automatically transcribes and types the words into text.

Real-time transcription software works faster, allowing users to transcribe large files in less time. The process becomes more efficient and cost-effective.

The automated transcription program provides security, which is vital to many clients, such as the legal and medical sectors. The program makes sure that the information remains confidential and private.

A written version of the proceedings of important meetings and discussions is valuable. It is easier to refer to a written document than look for the particular part in a recorded file. If your live broadcast uses real-time captions, the written text becomes the documentation that your participants can use later as reference when reviewing essential points in the discussion.

Drawbacks to real-time transcription

Automated transcription programs cannot recognize contexts, therefore, they cannot make corrections on the text. Presently, computerized transcriptions are not 100 percent accurate. To rectify the issue, transcription services providers use human transcriptions to edit and double check the transcription.

While the application works faster, it is still not capable of recognizing words when the speaker talks faster. The software is not capable of isolating human voices and transcribes everything it hears, including background noises. The software has a limited vocabulary. It will find it difficult to decipher new brand or product names as well as expressions.

Client options

Because of the limitations of the transcription software, some business owners prefer to hire a real-time transcription service provider instead of buying the software and using it on their own. A transcription service provider can provide customized or hybrid transcription. It has more experience in the task, knows how to use the real-time transcription software and have access to professional transcribers who can edit, proofread, and check the quality of the transcription. They can either do verbatim transcription or edit out the unnecessary utterances, such as the ”ahs” and ”ums.”

Clients can also hire a traditional transcription service provider, if they are going to use the transcription for formal presentations. However, it takes time to finish the transcription project, which defeats the purpose of real-time transcription. But you are sure that you get high quality transcription. You can choose this option as a last resort.

What matters most is to choose the right method that meets your needs.