Most modern users with text-to-speech technology called Text-to-Speech are familiar enough, and there are a lot of talk programs for converting online today. But what to do when you need to perform the opposite action, called transcription or transcription? How to translate audio to text? There are usually a lot of problems with these questions, since it’s quite difficult to find high-quality software, even on the Internet. Basically, such actions are performed exclusively using online services. And they all clearly differ in the quality of the final result. Let's try to consider the most interesting.
Why might you need to convert audio to text?
To begin with, we will briefly dwell on why such actions may be necessary. There may be many options. So, for example, very often this may be required for students who record lectures on their mobile devices, after which they do, say, an essay or term paper. You can translate audio into text using the original sound file. The same goes for journalists who record long interviews, and then they need to submit abridged edited print materials. Sometimes the goal is voice recognition in music tracks (especially if the composition sounds in a foreign language) or even in videos. Performing transformations can be a very interesting solution for people with disabilities who, due to circumstances, cannot type on their own computers. It is clear that it is much easier to dictate the text and record it through a microphone and save it on your computer as a regular audio file, and then transfer it to the usual text format.
How to translate audio to text: options
Of course, the situations that arise are not limited only to the foregoing, and they can be cited quite a lot. But let's see what methods can be used to implement our plans. There are not many options here. The most common and simplest are:
- independent typing for dictation or when listening to an audio recording;
- use of the services of freelancers or firms specializing in such operations;
- access to online services;
- use of specialized programs or browser extensions.
Among the above methods, we immediately discard the options for self-printing and using the services of freelancers or specialized companies. The first method, as is already clear, is very inconvenient, and the second looks very expensive financially. Thus, only two methods remain. We will consider them in more detail. But before proceeding to their description and consideration of questions about how to translate audio into text, you should familiarize yourself with some important settings of the sound system of your own computer so that in the future there will be no problems with obtaining the highest quality result.
Sound Presets and Using the Virtual Audio Cable Connector
If you still decide to use a microphone for recording or dictation, first of all you will need to get rid of all possible noise when recording audio with further transfer of the file to the converter program. Usually it is recommended to use a small utility Virtual Audio Cable, which is a kind of virtual cable, with which you can transfer sound to the transcriptor directly, bypassing the use of audio playback through the speakers. True, you will have to tinker a bit with the application settings, but in the end, the maximum quality will be guaranteed.
It is believed that the option to configure your own sound system looks much simpler.
In particular, this applies to computers and laptops, for sound cards of which the installation of an integrated mixer is provided. In the sound settings, just make it the default playback and recording device. Due to this, it will be possible to listen to audio through speakers, and work on converting speech to text without loss of quality.
Best tools to translate audio to text
Now directly on how to translate audio to text. Working with audio or video files that need to be converted is quite simple by using the following services:
- "Notebook for speech input" (Speechpad);
- Real Speaker;
- Google Transalate
- Google Docs
- Voysnot II (VoiceNote).
These services are mainly designed for users of desktop computers and laptops. The most interesting solutions for mobile platforms will be discussed separately.
Note: if the conversion concerns the video, you can first extract the sound track from it, for which some simple audio editor is used that supports importing audio from the video (for example, Cool Edit Pro).
Of the stationary programs for converting speech to text, only RSPlayer and Express Scribe can be noted. However, it is better and easier to apply the methods proposed below.
How to quickly translate audio into text: “Notepad for speech input”
So, you need to perform the necessary conversions using real-time voice recording on the service website. Dealing with Speechpad tools and translating audio into printed text is quite simple, since the official resource itself has quite detailed instructions.
By and large, you will need to press the record start button and dictate the text. In the text box of the editor, located just below the settings panel, the text will be displayed immediately (in fact, it can also be edited there). Judging by user reviews, the service itself gives a very high-quality result. However, when it comes to converting videos, the service activates the buffer with a delay of about 20-30 seconds, due to which when playing after buffering, the phrases repeat and the editor has to delete unnecessary text permanently.
There, on the site, it is proposed to download a special plug-in, which, alas, works only in the Google Chrome browser.
Real Speaker Service
Now a few words about how to convert audio to text using the Real Speaker service. It is interesting in that it can work with thirteen languages.
To perform the transformations, you just need to download the source sound file, select a language, wait for the processing to finish, and copy the resulting text, which can be presented taking into account a specific dialect or emphasis. The only drawbacks of this service is that the converted text will be available for download to absolutely all visitors to the site, and this in a sense can be called a violation of confidentiality, and you will need to register to use the service.
Google Translator Hidden Features
Ordinary users know almost nothing about some undocumented features of the Google translator or don’t even realize that it is possible to perform speech conversion using it. How to translate audio to text using such a toolkit? Easy too! However, for the most part, you can use it only in cases where you dictate the text in real time. As in other services, you need to press the start recording button and start talking. The converted text will be displayed in the editor field instantly. At the end of the work, the text can be copied and pasted into any editor. It is noted that this service is good in that it even places punctuation marks automatically, and the text itself does not disappear when you close the resource tab with its repeated call. The only negative is the restriction on the number of characters. Only five thousand characters can be converted at a time.
Using the Google Docs Cloud Service
This cloud service is often called a universal tool. After entering, create a new document using the tools, turn on either voice recording, or insert the original sound file, and that’s it.
You can record material almost indefinitely. Using this toolkit is very convenient if you need to convert, say, an entire audiobook. You can easily leave the process for the night, and in the morning you will get the finished result. By the way, it is this service that makes it absolutely elementary to convert to text videos posted on the popular YouTube hosting.
Apparently, there is no need to say that both Google tools can just as easily be used on any Android device, and voice input is completely unnecessary, although it can be advisable to activate it if necessary.
Voysnot II: an extension for the Google Chrome browser
This tool is a special plugin that must first be downloaded and installed from the "Store". The program to convert audio to text allows you to quickly and efficiently.
You can activate the extension by pressing the button on the top panel of the browser, after which a separate editor window will open in which you can immediately select the language, then turn on the microphone for recording and start dictating. No limits! By the way, even the simplest text formatting can be performed in the editor itself.
Performing transcription on apple devices
If you are the owner of an Apple mobile device, it is believed that the best solution to perform all the necessary transformations will be to use the special Dragon Dictation utility, which you just need to install on your device and then turn on for recording when interesting thoughts come to your mind that blood from the nose needs to be instantly fixed.
Everything is simple!
What to use on Android devices?
On Android devices, in addition to the above methods, it is permissible to use the SpeechLogger applet, which is absolutely free and available in the Play Market repository.
It works in exactly the same way as the previous one, and is designed to perform quick recording of speech with its subsequent conversion into text in the form of the most common notes.