Have questions about your project? We might have your answer right here. If not, then please give us a call at 202-857-8000 or email us at acetypists@aol.com.
What kinds of audio files do you transcribe?
Digital recordings. We have a secure site where you can upload your digital sound files - such as mp3, wav, avi, RealPlay, webcast, others.
Video recordings. We can transcribe from Zoom, YouTube, etc. Contact us if you have any questions about your video recording.
How much would an hour of tape recording cost to transcribe?
Unlike other services, we charge by the page. Our lowest rate starts at $3.50 per page for a single speaker (see rates page). An hour of tape can yield from 35-45 double-spaced pages. Call us for an estimate of your work.
Do you transcribe medical reports?
No, we do not. However, we do accept audios of meetings, conferences, etc. that have medical words. We consider that technical and charge accordingly.
Why would it take 3 hours to transcribe an hour of audio if it's only 1 hour?
A person speaks about 180-250 words per minute, while a transcriptionist can transcribe about 8 to 12 pages an hour, depending upon the quality of the tape. Speeches and interviews are easier to transcribe than focus groups or business meetings.
What do you consider difficult audio and why am I being charged more for them?
Difficult audio can be as follows: "Foreign" accents or non-native English speakers, audio source far from speakers (we can't hear them clearly), technical words (medical, legal, foreign words, industry-specific words, etc.), meetings with many cross-talking such as focus groups, loud background noise that interferes with understanding the speaker's words, etc. These difficult audio take more time to transcribe as we need to relisten, sometimes over and over again. If you have a question about your audio, please give us a call and we can provide an estimate of your work.
Can you transcribe hard to hear audio?
Remember, we can only transcribe what we can clearly hear. If you have difficulty understanding a speaker, then more than likely we will too.
How accurate are the transcripts?
Our accuracy is usually over 97% -- why not 100%? It all depends on your audio - if it's clear and audible, we're very accurate, but as always, we can only accurately transcribe what we can clearly hear. Unlike other transcription services, we try to give you a realistic picture of your transcript - we'll call you if there will be problems with your audio. We've turned down jobs we feel will not yield a useful transcript. Of course, we do edit our work for grammar and spelling and we even Google names, places and current events that are unfamiliar!
I only want a certain speaker transcribed - can you do that?
Yes if we can easily distinguish the speaker's voice that you wished transcribed. For example, in a one-on-one interview, and you only want the Interviewee's answers transcribed, we can do this, however you will be charged more than one speaker, but less than 2 speakers. Why? Because we still need to listen to the Interviewer to get to the Interviewee's answers and that takes time. If you can remove all of the Interviewer's voice audio, then we will charge you the 1 speaker rate.
How do you deliver transcripts?
Transcripts are e-mailed as a Word document attachment. We can send it to you via our secure server.
How do I send you our digital recording for transcription?
We will provide a secure site for you to upload your digital recording or send us the link or ftp site with directions.
I have other questions not covered here.
Give us a call at (202) 857-8000 or send us an e-mail at acetypists@aol.com.
