Top 10 Free Transcription Software That Are Essential To Your VA or Transcription Business
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In setting up a transcription business, free transcription software is a necessity. But this kind of software is also indispensable tools for those who have decided to leave regular employment and become home based virtual assistants. There are programs that need to be purchased, but why opt for those when you can just download equally effective tools for free? Here are ten of the best options available for download. It is up to you to examine the pros and cons of each and decide which fit your needs. All of these platforms are fully automated systems that do not need additional personnel to run, and most are pretty straightforward and require nothing more than basic computing skills.
10. Listen N Write
Listen N Write is a standard transcription software that is designed for MP3 and WAV files. It does not take up so much space in your computer, yet it has the basic capabilities expected of any transcriptions software, including playback, text editing, key control and book marks. Your transcription tasks are significantly simplified and the tool is effective in helping you write what you are listening to as fast and as accurately as you need to. But you need to work hard still, because it has no automatic transcription features nor does it have voice or speech recognition technology.
9. VoxSigma
The VoxSigma suite is an offering from Vocapia Research. It has multiple language capabilities, and among the world languages it supports are Spanish, French, Arabic, Russian, Dutch, German, English, Mandarin, and Portuguese. This software is intended for professional use and for hefty workloads. It works best in dealing with challenges such as transcribing a speech recording with a noisy background. It is also designed to deal with loads and loads of audio and video files that need transcription in real-time or in batches. The VoxSigma suite is suited to the requirements of call-center data transcription.
8. Enhilex Medical Transcription Software
The Enhilex Medical transcription software is more than a tool for medical transcriptionist. It is also great for word and folder listing and in managing related organizing tasks. Your folders will self sort and there is no limit to the words and folders that it can manage. The full version will cost you a few dollars, but the trial version is absolutely free.
7. InqScribe
InqScribe also supports multiple languages and has the capacity insert time codes and utilize analysis codes. It is simple to use and very flexible such that the strengths of the user are maximized. You can view a video and transcribe it using one window. One distinguishing feature of InqScribe is its capacity to creating subtitled movies. Why not convert your transcribed work into a movie with subtitles? You can also use a foot pedal for controls, leaving both hands to type. In this way, you get to complete your workload and finish deadlines on time.
6. Dragon NaturallySpeaking
What is “Dragon Naturally Speaking?” This innovative software is offered by Nuance Communications. Its Mac version is called “Dragon Dictate.” This tool has three main functions, namely command input, dictation, and text-to-speech. This program has voice recognition software that becomes handy in a network set-up as it has good voice profiling capacity. You may use this to dictate text that is soon transcribed in written form. Customization of commands is allowed in the Pro version.
5. MacSpeech Scribe
For those who prefer to use Apple hardware and software, MacSpeech Scribe is our recommendation. It is a very efficient and smart tool to use, and guarantees fast transcription speeds. Its main function is to transcribe recorded dictation by a single speaker that is saved in any of the following standard audio file types: wav, .mp4, .m4a, .m4v, .aif, and aiff. This program can process recording made using any handheld devices for as long as they are in the supported formats. Nuance Communications owns this software now.
4. HyperTRANSCRIBE
HyperTRANSCRIBE by Research Ware is an easy to use tool for a huge array of video files and audio files. This tool employs QuickTime to play various media formats, including .MP3, MPEG, WAV and AVI. HyperTRANSCRIBE is one of the most convenient transcription programs available in the market today, and it comes with a pedal, freeing your hands for typing. This tool is guaranteed to give you the speed that you need in transcribing audio file to text documents pronto.
3. MAXQDA
MAXQDA is a text analysis software that does an effective and efficient comparative analysis of audio or video and document files for assessment purposes. And since MAXQDA has its own built-in media player, professional-level transcription can be done directly. Very handy transcription tools are provided, such as pause and playback, sync mode, time stamps, etc. The output from this program may also be used in another transcription software.
2. EureScribe
Another transcription software that is guaranteed to ease out the challenges of the job is EureScribe. This program supports many audio and video formats such as WMA, WAV, MPEG, AVI, DVD, and MP3. Keyboard shortcuts make the job much faster than it would be if you’d use a lot of the mouse. Text transcriptions are save in RTF format or as subtitles.
1. Express Scribe
Whether your system runs on Mac or PC, the Express Scribe transcription tool with it foot pedal control is sure to assist you in coming up with a professional job every single time. You can also opt to just use the hot keys, of course, but you can maximize all the features of this program for fast results. And you won’t have to pay a single penny for multi-channel control, file management, and playback features.