Transcription FAQ

See also the podcast subscription FAQ, and the 1-Day expedited service page.
Is the price really per minute of audio?
Yes. We price on the length of the audio we receive - not the amount of time it takes to complete the transcript. Please keep in mind that we differentiate price-wise between good and bad quality audio. See What quality of audio does CastingWords accept? for more details.
What influences turnaround?
Many things. If you need a file transcribed quickly use our 1- or 6-Day services. We also offer a "difficult audio" option which speeds up turnaround as well.
The biggest influence here is audio quality. Even if your audio meets our minimum quality standards, lesser quality audio still takes longer to transcribe than better quality. Audio with heavy accents, background noise, and/or highly obscure or technical content usually takes more time to transcribe and edit than crisp, clear audio. Long files, of course, generally take more time than short ones. Once files reach the 2 hour-plus mark, turnaround slows dramatically.
What format are the finished transcripts delivered in?
The finished transcriptions are delivered in plain text, HTML and RTF. RTF is MS Word friendly format. If you have the URL for a transcript change the file extension (e.g., .txt) at the end to download the other formats.
What is the notes box for?
It's a way for you to communicate with both CastingWords and the transcriptionist. The box may be used, for example, to list the names of podcast speakers, or to point out potentially tricky technical terms, acronyms, or spellings of words. It is helpful to include a link to the site of the original podcast, audio file, and/or relevant websites. Also, please include notes on anything in the audio file that does NOT need to be included in the transcript (please note if you DO want commercial breaks transcribed). Keep in mind that the quality of the notes included will directly affect the quality of the final transcript. A good set of notes can substantially reduce the time it will take you to edit the transcription once you receive it.
Why get an account?
A CastingWords account is not required for orders, and does not save your credit card information. Accounts do allow you to check up on order status, retrieve completed transcripts, and set up transcriptionist notes for all of your orders.
Does CastingWords skip the ads in the audio file?
Yes. Our policy is that all breaks from programs are to be noted but not transcribed. This includes ads, promos and songs.
If you want that content transcribed, please detail that it in the note box for our transcriptionists.
How many speakers are too many?
With each additional speaker the chances of mislabeled speakers increases. In addition, changes in speaker may not be identified with larger numbers of speakers, or speakers with similar voices. If you don't need to distinguish between every speaker, but want to use something that is more inclusive (such as Moderator and Panelist), please include this in the notes. This helps speed up editing quite a bit.

We generally accept audio files with large numbers of speakers - but set lower standards on the resulting transcript quality, especially if speakers tend to talk over one another. As a general rule, transcripts with 3 or less speakers -- or with one main speaker and some "Q&A" are of good quality. Other transcripts may require significant editing on your part.
What quality of audio does CastingWords accept?
Audio quality affects transcript quality. We need audio sampled at least 44.1 kHz, with adequate volume, and very limited background noise, to produce transcripts of a reasonable quality. We may turn down work if we feel the audio quality is poor. We don't currently offer audio engineering services to improve audio quality.
What is meant by difficult audio quality?
Difficult audio is transcribable, but noticeably hard to understand. Some things that can make audio difficult include: background noise, speakers who talk on top of each other, excessive jargon, and/or strong accents. If more than one of these is present in your audio, it is pretty much guaranteed to be difficult audio. 1-Day transcription and podcast subscription only work with good quality audio. If we can't handle the audio quality we will notify you and refund your order. You can add on difficult quality audio with any of our products. We don't guarantee turnaround times with difficult audio. However, if you pay for difficult audio your transcription gets done much more quickly, often within the turnaround times.
When are timestamps placed?
Timestamps are inserted at the beginning of each speaker change, and if appropriate, for instance in audio files with long monologues, at paragraph breaks.
What feed types does CastingWords handle?
Currently we only accept RSS 2.0 feeds with enclosures, or direct links to audio files. In the future we may handle other feed types. Please send any additional feature requests to support@castingwords.com if this is an issue for you.
What file types does CastingWords accept?

We handle MP3, MP4, and WAV, and most WMA/WMV files at this time. We usually can handle other types of audio and video but your order might take longer to process (including 1- and 6-day orders). See the next question for how to convert other file types into MP3 format.

We can NOT handle some proprietary formats. These include:

  • WebEx ARF files - WebEx does make an tool available to some of it's customers that will allow exports to WMA. If you can get a WMA exported we can transcribe that.
  • DVF files - Usually from Sony audio recorders. Most of these recorders come with software that will export to MP3 or WAV files.

We can NOT handle streaming files at this time - these include YouTube videos, and RealAudio Streams (.ram files and rtmp:// urls) and Windows Media streams (.wax, .wvx, or .asx files)

How do I convert my audio file into MP3?
WAV to MP3 on Windows or Mac using iTunes:

WAV to MP3 on Windows or Mac using iTunes: If you have a WAV file, you can easily convert it to MP3 using iTunes. Open it up in iTunes, then right-click (control click on the Mac) on the file. Choose "Convert Selection to MP3" in the Advanced Menu. To figure out where iTunes saved the new MP3, choose File - >Get Info, then look at the Where section at the bottom of the Summary tab. If you don't see the option to Convert Selection to MP3, you probably need to alter your Import Settings in your iTunes Preferences to "MP3 Encoder".

Can I use FTP?
We now offer FTP to registered users. If you have not already, please sign up for an account with us. After that, upload your files to ftp://castingwords.com, using your email and password to login, just as you would at our site. Most FTP clients ask for a "username". Once your upload is completed go to My Uploads to view, manage, and create orders from your uploads.
What kinds of notifications will I receive?
We always email you. We prefer to use the email supplied with the audio file, but under certain circumstances we use the email associated with your payment method (i.e., PayPal or Google Checkout). Be aware as well that sometimes email does not successfully make it through to your mail server. It might get marked as spam or be turned away by your mail server. You can always log in to our website to download your transcripts and we encourage you to do that especially if you have ordered 1- or 6-day transcriptions.

We also supply you with an RSS feed for your order, which tracks its progress through the system.

Finally we provide you with a 'podcastable' RSS feed of all of the transcriptions we have done for you along with their associated audio.
What kinds of payment does CastingWords accept?
CastingWords uses PayPal and Google Checkout for payments. If you do not already have one of these types of accounts you may pay using Visa, MasterCard, Discover or American Express on our PayPal and Google Checkout payment pages.
Are you hiring?
Yes, we are always looking for freelance transcribers and editors. This page explains how to work for us: How to Work for CastingWords. Below is a brief overview of how we get our transcription done.

We use Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk) platform for our transcription. It's easy to become a transcriptionist. Visit mturk.com and sign up for an account. You don't need to have an Amazon account already because when you sign up one will be created for you.

The next step is for you to take our qualification test. Click on the Qualifications tab at the top of MTurk's website (after logging in) and then find "CastingWords PPT". Click on "Take the Qualification test" and follow the instructions. We don't actually test your transcription skill, instead we automatically start everyone off at the same score of 80. As you transcribe for us your score will increase, and you will be able to work on higher paying transcription tasks.

When we send transcriptions to MTurk they will appear in the "HITs Available to You" area. Find the CastingWords HIT, click on "View a HIT in this group" and, if you'd like to do the transcription, click Accept.

If you want to learn more about MTurk itself, visit Mechanical Turk.


































 

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