Page Contents
Professional transcribing solutions from Mac OS developers
Mac OS provides a wide choice of programs for transcription with high-quality results. A few programs are strikingly popular and have gained a good reputation within years among professionals in various fields of industry. This article examines the most efficient free and paid transcription programs for Mac OS X. Use this comprehensive review to choose the most suitable one for business or your personal needs.
5 best transcription software
1. Transcriberry. This service will be a convenient option for those who do not want to scratch head over installations. The range of the services includes manual and automated transcription. Also, they supply subtitles to videos in different languages. The quality of service is highly professional and convenient for all media workers, educators, and researchers. The pricing policy is flexible:
- 25 cents for automated transcription,
- $1.25 for human transcription services;
- $3-$7 per minute for video subtitles;
- 10 cents/ word for translation.
For the convenience of the users, no installations are necessary. After uploading the file to the system for source quality (the system supports most media formats) and price evaluation, the transcribed file is ready for downloading shortly. Clients may save on the transcription software if they do not need a human transcription. Transcriberry pays precise attention to confidentiality. Entrusting your files to this firm is a guarantee from leaking it on the Internet. Transcriberry is a convenient and quick service without the installations and support of human transcriptionists behind the machines. Using AI technologies combined with human assistance guarantees 99 percent of accuracy. It is ideal for business because Transcriberry transcribes meetings, seminars, phone conversations, voice mails, and conferences. Nonstandard services, e.g., religious sermons or lyrics, are available too. Also, Transcriberry provides translation services and burns video subtitles in 15 languages (English, German, Russian, Turkish, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and others). Captions will contain no errors and run on any operational platform. The brand names Sony, Netflix, Microsoft, and Harvard University, have been using the services of Transcriberry.
2. Express Scribe. This software is the product of the first necessity for professional transcriptionists and home job freelancers. It comes in an audio player based on speech recognition software. Express Scribe supports various audio formats (audio records from CD, email, LAN, local storage, files from dictation recorders, etc.), foot pedal control (highly recommended), and speed adjustments, to name a few benefits of this program. HotKeys help control playback when using other programs. Express Scribe is not for amateurs and supposes experience with transcription programs. However, new users can adapt to it quickly. It is excellent for commercials (the middle size and small businesses, enterprises, nonprofits, government, and freelancers) and provides technical support for users around the clock. The software allows a free trial version and training in the documental form. The license starts from $39.95, but some users hook into the free version for years and are completely satisfied with a set of features. Discounts happen and allow purchasing a program at a more attractive price if you want to have a particular tool from the premium package. The producer location is the USA and supports English and integration with Microsoft Word (the software is combative with Windows and Mac OS). The advanced integration tools in this robust software are excellent for regular workflow; accept hardware and third-party applications. The documental guide navigation exists, but it is easy to explore the program without it, thanks to its understandable interface.
3. Dragon. It finds a ready sale among medical and governmental professionals due to its ability to recognize the specific terminology. Dragon has been a popular product software for 30 years. Professional transcriptionists respect this software a lot equally for its excellent working speed. It cuts the time spent on transcription in half. The software is available for Mac and Windows platforms. The AI speech-to-text technology in audio and video files transcription. The transcription accuracy exceeds 90 percent and becomes even more intelligent as you use it (since it can analyze the voice). It allows adding acronyms, using voice commands and provides a deep vocabulary. It supports integration with Microsoft Office 365, Chrome, and Google Docs. The software is not cheap; various tariffs start from $300. Also, you can purchase a subscription-based service for $15 per month or $150 annually, which is convenient for nonbusiness clients who need a transcription occasionally. Dragon Professional Group and Dragon Anywhere Group allow collaborative work across the entire team. Users value it for its simplistic design. It is easy to navigate. Compared to Google Voice’s similar set of features, Dragon offers more commands. Each updated version offers an increased level of accuracy, representing a sophisticated adaptation to voices and accents and the ability to learn unique spellings and new words. It can adapt to personal writing and speaking style via «training» in the program. Customers’ support service is always ready to assist when issues happen.
4. VoxSigma. Vocapia Research, a France-based company, offers a language-specific speech recognition software for the Linux platform with an extensive vocabulary that supports up to 40 languages (Russian, Spanish, German, French, Dutch, English, and others). The focus group of clients is professionals needing to transcribe large scopes of audio and video documentation, e.g., broadcast, telephone data, speech recognition for businesses, media asset management, thanks to using indexing through interactive conversational systems. It supports four modes of operation: real-time, batch, multi-threaded, and single. The software does not include free versions. You should contact the producer to get the pricing details. The VoxSigma facility allows transcription of the media recorded in noisy environments or speeches with background music making it ideal for real-time transcription. The transcription process includes three steps: audio segment identification, spoken language, and conversion with output in an XML file. The online support is available online.
5. F5 Transcription PRO. Designed exclusively for Mac, it fulfills the expectations of transcription users:
- Timestamps with gaps of 30 seconds, addicting automatic timestamps;
- variable playback speed automatic rewind (listening to 2-3 last words again said before the pause);
- auto changing of the speaker in dialogues and paragraphs;
- play speed adjustments;
- text modules for the most repeated symbols;
- foot pedal support with three different modules;
- using abbreviations instead of the speakers’ names, and other vital transcription features are available.
The free version allows:
- transcribe audio up to 10 minutes;
- standard version with unlimited transcription but limited set of tools;
- pro version.
The price for a license is $33.99. It saves time, valuable during manual transcription.
Tips for choosing the transcription software
Transcription programs are in requisition for students and professionals, entrepreneurs and individuals. When choosing the best software for your purposes, pay attention to the following qualities:
- Compatibility: some programs support Mac and Windows installations. Others run on one operating system only. Consider the compatibility of foot pedal with your system, and also audio and video formats compatibility;
- Set of tools: as described above, the professional transcription programs are designed for qualified personnel while students may not need such a wide range of functions. Focus on your purposes. Mostly frequently and necessary tools are global hotkeys, timestamp, and USB foot pedal support;
- Price of license: most programs offer free trial versions that are commonly not enough for the regular workload. Fifteen minutes is usually the maximum length of the file that you can get transcription for free. To transcribe longer files, you will need to purchase the products. Prices for the license and tariff plans drastically vary. Choose the most affordable option wisely;
- Consider using several programs: professional transcriptionists usually do not limit themselves to one software. Due to the variety of AI technologies, some phrases or sentences may contain errors in one program while others recognize it.
Considering pros and cons will help you find the program that matches your requirements among all the best purposes on the market.
Wrap Up
Choosing the best application depends strictly on your needs. You may apply for a free trial version to estimate its work. A few functional software may be inefficient for some users, while others find them excellent. It all highly depends on your skills of work with audio and video content transcription, artificial recognition technologies used in particular software, and ability to transcribe accents, noisy audio, background sounds, etc. Try using several programs for such cases; they may produce different results.
You will barely estimate the quality of the software with rich functionality if you have no exploring experience. Then choose a simple one with a basic set of features or enjoy a free trial program that usually includes a limited capacity. You can switch to a more productive package any time later as soon as you adapt to the most necessary tools.
To avoid the technical fuss, you can always apply for the assistance of a credible transcription company. They will release you from the tech routine and deliver the transcribed content timely.