Legal Transcription:  As electronic recordings become more prominent in courtrooms and depositions, as well as in investigative interviews, the need to have a written verbatim transcript of the record increases.  Many people believe all they need to do is type up the audio/video recording of their proceedings.  What they don’t realize is that this transcript should be prepared by an unbiased individual who has no interest in the outcome of the proceedings.  Many court systems have already instituted a requirement to have the transcript prepared by someone who is certified in transcribing and who understands the formatting requirements of the courts. 

General Transcription:  The majority of general transcription requirements does not require a certified transcriber, but having your documentation prepared by someone who is trained and experienced in transcribing will give you a more professional and accurate transcript.  There are many times you may need to have a written document, instead of just the audio or video recording. 

For both Legal and General Transcription, our certified transcriptionists listen to every file at least twice, and often more than twice, to try to discern each word spoken in the transcript  -- the first time through to understand the concept of the recording, and additional times to pick up on terms and ideas that were not known at the start of the project.  Having an understanding of the proceeding that was recorded and the players involved in the proceedings enables the transcribers to better understand the recording the second time through.

Why the Written Word?  It is very difficult to search and target in on a specific area of an audio or video recording.  Even when minutes are being kept, there may be instances where a certain word or phrase was used, but the minute was not noted.  The entire audio or video may need to be listened to in an attempt to locate each instance of this word or phrase.  An experienced transcriber can produce a transcript, as well as a concordance (word index) of every word in the document and where it occurs (by page and line number).

Additionally, audio and video can be very difficult to understand, the recorded volume may be very low, and it is very tiresome to listen to audio/video and maintain focus on the details.  The written word allows re-reading of a passage in order to understand it more clearly or to flesh out the details of what was said.