One of the major things that the MacSpeech Dictate family has been lacking is the ability to take pre-recorded files and convert them to text. Not any more: MacSpeech Scribe will do just that for you, with up to 99% accuracy.
MacSpeech Scribe will accept any file in one of these formats:
- .wav
- .aif or .aiff
- .m4v, .mp4, or .m4a
Audio file quality will affect the quality of your recognition, of course, so using a certified recording device is recommended, but not required – anything that will produce the correct file format will work. At the moment, the iPhone, iPod Touch, and several Olympus digital voice recorders are the only devices certified but I would expect that MacSpeech expands this range fairly quickly.
Recording a sound file to run through Scribe is pretty much like using MacSpeech Dictate itself, but without the ability to correct and train phrases as you go. If you want your transcribed document to include punctuation, you need to speak the punctuation signs into the recording, and you need to train MacSpeech Scribe to the voice of the person who recorded the audio file before it can transcribe.
So what are the limitations? Bear in mind that I have not had access to MacSpeech Scribe myself, but these are the limits that have been described by MacSpeech or can be inferred from the behaviour of other products in the MacSpeech family:
MacSpeech Scribe lets you record sound on your iPhone, iPod Touch, or other recording device, then transcribes it when you're back at your computer.
- You can only have one speaker per file, so MacSpeech Scribe will not be helpful for transcribing a meeting or class or any other situation where there is more than one speaker.
- The program must be trained to the voice in the recording, so it’s also unlikely to be useful for transcribing a speech or lecture unless the speaker is willing to spend some time with you creating a profile for MacSpeech Scribe.
- Because of the need for punctuation to be spoken aloud, I am not sure if the accuracy would be adequate in a situation where punctuation was not spoken – from Scribe’s perspective the text produced would be one really long paragraph.
- We know from other MacSpeech products that the distance from mouth to microphone is very important for recognition, so I would think any speaker who is moving around would significantly degrade accuracy. If you need to record a speaker like this for MacSpeech Scribe’s use I would suggest investing in a lapel microphone for your recorder.
- Background noise or any other non-speech noise in your recording will also degrade accuracy. Get a directional microphone for your voice recorder so it only picks up your own voice, or dictate in a quiet place.
- Changes in voice quality from emotion or emphasis also degrade recognition. MacSpeech Dictate
, in my experience, does best with a very steady tone of voice – not a monotone but no getting excited or sad or speaking too fast or too slowly – so I would expect that MacSpeech Scribe is similar in this respect.
MacSpeech quotes that:
MacSpeech Scribe lets you easily add new words and acronyms, edit and navigate transcribed documents, and so much more. MacSpeech Scribe makes it easy to work with your transcribed document so you can create the perfect document for your needs.
which leaves me unsure if its editing abilities are the same as other MacSpeech products and, if they are, does it let you verbally add a word or phrase that was missed by the dictation engine? If so, what does Scribe not have that Dictate has? I’ll have to get hold of it to clarify that one for you!
MacSpeech Scribe is available immediately, in English only, for all the dialects of English usually recognised by MacSpeech products. There is a special price of US$99 for currently registered MacSpeech Dictate 1.5 customers, the regularly suggested retail priced is US$149.
- Ricky Buchanan
If you are going to buy or upgrade any version of MacSpeech Dictate from the USA or UK.
stores, please consider using these links in this article. If you do, I'll get a commission - a small percentage of the sale price. It won't cost you anything and it will help to support me and ATMac.
Photo credit to Twon.
atmacjournal February 13, 2010 at 9:02 pm
New ATMac post: New MacSpeech Scribe For Transcription http://bit.ly/9MocWv
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
John Barbee February 14, 2010 at 9:27 am
Dear ATMac:
Please take this not as criticism, but as feedback to imrpove the readability/accessibility of your website.
As a somewhat visually impaired person, I find most of your site pretty readable, especially when I “zoom” in. But I find it very had to read text that you have in light blue (links, resources, etc.), even when I zoom in, use the web browser text “bigger” adjustment or the Magic Mouse zoom feature.
Another thing that could vastly improve the info. transfer in your articles would be to offer an audio (<listen) option, as they tend to be long, but very interesting. Using this “audio option” would be a real plus for those of us users with viual impairments of various degrees. AND….it would place ATMac among the very few innovative accessibility-focused websites!
Ricky Buchanan February 20, 2010 at 12:57 pm
@John: Not feeling criticised at all! I’m glad you felt it was worth taking the time to write. Do you find the blue “light” blue on your screen? It’s quite a dark blue on my screen here – it’s weird to try to match colours across the internet! I can’t take it a huge amount darker without it turning into something that my own not-very-good vision can’t tell from black, but I can make it somewhat darker. Do you think this would help things?
As for an audio option, are you thinking ones that are narrated by me or computer-narrated? I’ve been thinking about how to do a computer-narrated option for a long time and will revisit the idea soon.
Accessibility ideas are always welcome! Thanks.
Paul Natsch February 15, 2010 at 8:00 am
This actually sounds pretty neat. I have an iPod Touch 2G with a plug-in mic and the excellent recording app Voxie so it could be useful for me. Unfortunately even the $99 pricetag for MacSpeech Dictate users is a bit too steep.
so for now I’ll stick with the excellent and free Dragon Dictate app for my mobile dictating needs. It’s limited compared to what could be done with Scribe but it’s free.
Perhaps they’ll lower the price in the future.
adelaidelad February 15, 2010 at 3:27 pm
But I am still investing in MacSpeech Dictate now that MacSpeech scribe is out!! http://atmac.org/new-macspeech-scribe-for-transcription/
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
Mike Van Horn February 20, 2010 at 7:58 am
Ricky
I would be delighted to purchase Scribe via your site (credit card is in my grubby hand!) if, or when, Scribe can understand the audio formats I can produce. I dictate using an Olympus DS-30 digital audio recorder that produces WMA, which I make Mac-readable using Flip4Mac. But WMA was not one of the formats you mentioned.
I can dictate onto the Mac using Audacity, which produces some of the favored formats, but that defeats the purpose.
mvh
Ricky Buchanan February 20, 2010 at 6:09 pm
@Mike: I suggest you download the excellent and free audio conversion program Switch and use that to convert your WMA files to AIFF format. Scribe will then understand them fine. I don’t think this will damage the comprehension rates for MacSpeech Scribe but I’m not 100% sure – you’d have to check with the support people at MacSpeech to be sure. Best of luck and let me know how it goes!
Dave Doolin March 5, 2010 at 10:08 am
It turns out my professional-quality (ok, Radio Shack, but still) directional mic plugs right into an iPhone using an adapter.
And it works!
Now I’m curious whether this would make for easier transcriptions. Which I’m not doing now, but plan to be doing soon.
Dr. K March 23, 2010 at 4:58 pm
I heard that as a registered owner of MacSpeech Dictate (latest version) I can get Scribe for only $99. But darned if I can find that anywhere on your site. Please advise. And thanks for a great product!
Ricky Buchanan March 23, 2010 at 5:49 pm
@Dr K: I suggest you contact support@macspeech.com about that, I had a look on their website but it’s not immediately obvious to me either. Let us know if you find out!
Dr. K March 24, 2010 at 11:04 am
I heard back from them. It was a limited time offer and time ran out long before I heard about the offer. I was told to read the next newsletter, that other discounts to existing customers may be forthcoming. Hard to wait though, I’ve wanted a product like Scribe for a very long time.
Ricky Buchanan March 25, 2010 at 2:10 pm
@Dr K: At least you know where you stand now. Thanks for letting me know.
Charles May 9, 2010 at 4:21 am
You mention having only one speaker per file and the need for training. What if you’re not interested in perfect transcription, but say 80% correctness. Is it possible then to, for example, record interviews (2 people talking) and then use the software to transcribe the interview?
Ricky Buchanan May 11, 2010 at 11:51 am
@Charles: Honestly, you’d have to find somebody who had tried this. I suspect that results would vary wildly depending on the recording conditions, the relative volume of the voices, how similar or different the voices were, and so on. It’s not something I’ve ever needed to do.
David Hatch September 12, 2010 at 12:58 am
Ricky, thank you for your website! I’m looking to buy dictation and scribe software for my Mac, having been a dictation software user since the mid 90s first with Voice Talk, then 3 different versions of Dragon. You site was very helpful reading the questions and answers to determine if there is a product I would use on my Mac. Your commentary is much more valuable than a simple review, and your answers to questions are always supportive, kind and very knowledgeable.
You provide an invaluable service. Thanks
Ricky Buchanan September 24, 2010 at 8:25 pm
@David: Thanks for the compliments
I’m really happy when people find ATMac useful – that is, after all, the point!
David Hatch September 12, 2010 at 1:02 am
I forgot to mention, I noted your request to buy software through your link, I’m looking for it and will do just that.
cecilia gomez May 25, 2011 at 4:46 am
Hi All,
I bought MacSpeech Scribe and am trying to transcribe interviews where 2 people are taking. I want to know if someone has already done this and have been succesful?
Thank you!!
Cecilia