If you work with audio or video recordings, chances are you have had to transcribe at least some of those files.
Since this process takes a lot of time and concentration, a dedicated transcription service, such as Scribie, could make your life easier.
As with other human-based services in this category, you upload an audio or video recording to the site, and then wait for a team of freelancers to complete the work.
Scribie's excellent overall accuracy and cheap automated option for simpler transcription jobs make it an excellent choice for anyone looking to save some time and effort.
Pricing
Like many other transcription services, Scribie charges per minute of audio transcription you order.
Since the last time we reviewed the service, Scribie has simplified how it calculates rates.
All manually-transcribed audio files now cost $0.80 per minute and are returned within 36 hours.
Scribie claims 99 percent accuracy with its manual transcriptions.
On top of the base cost, you can opt for some extras.
For example, if you want a strict verbatim transcription of your file, that adds on an extra $0.50 per minute.
According to Scribe, transcripts with the verbatim option take into account "various sounds, the non-verbal communications, and the like." There are additional fees ($0.50 per minute each) for recordings with noisy backgrounds, accented speakers, or poor audio.
Scribie does not offer any kind of free trial.
Scribie's automatic transcription used to be free, but now it costs $0.10 per minute, with a minimum charge of $1 per file.
Scribie claims to be at least 80 percent accurate with its automatic transcriptions, provided your files are not noisy, involve heavily accented speakers, or are of poor recording quality.
Files are returned within 30 minutes.
Scribie is a good value across the board.
For comparison, Trint's automated transcription service costs $15 per hour of transcription, which is more expensive than Scribie's plan.
That said, Otter offers a free automatic transcription service.
Rev charges $1 per minute for manual transcription, regardless of audio quality or accents, and most files (under 30 minutes) are returned within 12 hours.
GoTranscript's base option costs $0.72 per minute, but as soon as you starting adding options like a quicker turnaround time or timestamps, the cost can easily shoot up into the upper $2-per-minute range.
Web Dashboard
To use either Scribie's automatic or manual transcription service, you need to sign up for an account.
Scribie's web console is just average; it's visually unimpressive and can be confusing to navigate.
One of the quickest ways to improve its overall appearance would be to streamline the details section under each file and to use consistent color schemes and design styles across all elements.
In the upper right, there are five different sections: Upload (default), Files, Calls, Payments, and Settings.
Scribie lets you upload files from your local drive, use a link from YouTube or Vimeo, and even connect to your Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive account.
Audio and video file support includes the basics—MP3, WAV, MP4, and AAC—in addition to less common ones such as AIIF, MKV, and OPUS.
In the unlikely case that your file does not match any of the listed formats, it's easy to convert it to one Scribie does support, either online or with software such as Audacity.
Once you upload a file and Scribie processes it for basic information, it brings you to a dashboard that lists all of the files you've uploaded.
Files are sorted chronologically with the most recent appearing at the top of the list, but there's no way to customize it.
For actions involving multiple files, you can select All, Pending, Delivered, or None from a left-hand menu and an action, such as Order, Auto, Download, or Delete from a center menu.
Automatic transcriptions appear directly on the page underneath the listed file, while download links show up beneath any transcripts you ordered.
You can edit either type of transcription in Scribie's built-in editor (more on that later).
Every file listed in the dashboard includes a green Order Now (manual service) button, with a drop-down menu alongside it, from which you can rename items, change tags, or trim audio.
Down the right-hand sidebar, Scribie shows your current delivery limit (20 hours per week and four hours per day), along with other information relevant to the current tab.
The delivery limit is the maximum number of hours worth of audio that you can upload to Scribie for processing.
Rounding out the rest of the features, you can use the Calls tab to set up a recording and subsequent transcriptions of a conference call.
For this service, Scribie hosts the call and takes the recording on the server side; all participants need to do is dial into the call.
The Pricing tab lets you view details of every order you placed.
The Settings section has lots of customization options, though the sidebar menu makes it easy to navigate.
I particularly like the detailed mail notification choices and the option to add team members to an account.
Rev has a similar team-based functionality.
Transcription Process
Scribie follows a four-part transcription process detailed on its site, which gets the company points for transparency.
First, the transcript is broken up into segments and sent out to home-based freelancers who begin the work.
Next, an additional set of transcriptionists fix any mistakes and add extra services such as timestamps or speaker identification.
The file remains separated until the next stage, where it is read once more to fix any inconsistencies.
The last stage is a quality check.
If the transcript is at or above a 99% accuracy rate, it is sent back to the consumer for review.
If not, the transcript alternates back and forth between the last two stages until it is ready to be sent out.
In terms of privacy, Scribie says that access to your files only happens on a strict need-to-know basis and that all of its employees are bound by a confidentiality clause.
It also uses 256-bit SSL encryption for any communications between the server and browsers.
Scribie's process of breaking up files into multiple segments is an additional precaution since it limits who has access to a complete file.
Online Editor
Once the transcription is complete, you can access the file from the dashboard.
All transcription services need a capable editor for cleaning up files, and Scribie's makes a good impression.
The web editor is a modified version of what Scribie's freelancers use.
The editor has a minimalist look and primarily uses black and white elements, with the exception of the Order Transcript (Blue) and Download (Green) button in the lower right corner, though it does feel crowded.
I like its overall look and feel, but I think the web console and this editor would benefit from a more consistent design.
Also, a dark layout mode and the ability to change the font type would improve its overall usability.
Both Temiand Trint have simpler and more aesthetically pleasing editors.
At the top, there is a waveform overview of the clip and a wide range of playback tools directly below.
All the basics are there, as well as a few extras, such as Timestamp, Find and Replace, Analyze (highlights uncommon words and phrases), and Dictate buttons.
To the right, there are playback speed and volume controls and another set of options for adjusting keyboard shortcuts, pulling up the user guide, and applying various enhancements to the audio file.
Accuracy Testing
To test the accuracy of the transcription services, I uploaded the same 16-minute recording to each one.
The original recording of a three-person conference call came from an Olympus VN-722PC dedicated voice recorder.
It's not an easy recording, but all the voices are clearly audible.
Scribie returned the transcript in just over a day, which is within its promised 36-hour timeframe.
Rev only needed around an hour for the same task.
All of the automated transcription services completed the task in the range of three to four minutes.
Instead of comparing the entirety of each test transcript, I chose three paragraphs, one from each speaker on the call.
For each snippet of the transcription, I marked an error wherever there was a missing or extra word. Next, I calculated the overall error rate by dividing the total number of mistakes into the total number of words across the combined sections (in this case, 201 words).
The sample for section A is a short introductory section.
Section B is slightly longer and uses more complex vocabulary.
Section C is even lengthier and contains some technical language.
Scribie did an excellent job with this test; it only had an error rate of six percent.
While this does not meet their promise of 99 percent accuracy, it's worth noting that my testing methods and definition of accuracy are my own.
More pertinent is the fact that Rev turned in slightly better results, with an error rate of just three percent.
Most of the automatic services produced near unusable results, with the exception of Scribie's offering, which had a comparatively low error rate of 42 percent.
Take a look at the full chart below for the complete breakdown.
Those services denoted with an (A) are automatic services.
I retested all the automatic services, including Scribie, with a simpler recording (two people recorded in person) and calculated the error rate, in the same manner, using two samples instead of three.
The automatic services fared better with this task, but they still weren't perfect.
Scribie actually fell to the bottom of the pack with an error rate of 27 percent, though is not too far off from Trint's 14 percent or Temi's 20 percent.
The full results of the second test appear below.
Scribie Is Solid
When you choose a transcription service, accuracy is the primary metric you should use to make your decision.
Scribie gets high marks in that category.
It also now features streamlined pricing tiers and its formerly free automated transcription service remains a good deal.
However, a well-designed interface and a mobile app are also important aspects, and Scribie needs to clean up its web portal and launch a mobile app for users who take recordings on the go.
None of these shortcomings are egregious, but Rev, a competing service, just does everything a little bit better.
For that reason, Rev wins our Editors' Choice for the category.
