This software mainly performs speech to text conversion making your job a whole lot easier. Here are Top 10 Transcription Software for Mac. Express Scribe Express Scribe is designed considering the needs of Mac users. The user can control the audio playback using a transcription foot pedal or by using the keyboard.
Yesterday, I got this email from a reader of this blog. I’ll paraphrase (won’t bore you will the smiles and lols). “Hey Kongo, thanks for all the advice on choosing a transcription headset. What would you recommend as the best transcription software for Mac? Thanks, Maggie.” I replied to her email and I thought I should post the reply on my blog for other transcribers that might be searching for a transcription software to use on their mac computers.
Free Transcription Software For Windows
Now, let me be clear. By transcription software, I’m referring to software that’s going to assist you manually transcribe audio/video files. I’m not referring to software that automatically converts speech to text: aka dictation software, voice recognition software, speech recognition software. I prefer to refer to these types of software as dictation software.
And since we’ve digressed, let me share with you my 2 cents on dictation software. The accuracy of dictation software is poor – on average about 60%. Accuracy improves with good quality, single speaker audio. If you’re looking for a dictation software to automatically convert your audio to text, I’d recommend you don’t buy software that’s not cloud based.
Here’s why, speech recognition algorithms improve every day (machine learning etc). And you’ll not be able to take advantage of these improvements with an offline software (for instance Dragon Dictate). I’ve tried a few cloud based dictation services and they’re not bad – I got 90% accuracy on a YouTube video transcript. Most use either IBM Watson or Google Speech API.
Anyway, transcription software are meant for those of us who want to get a software that’s going to assist the manually transcription (= type out the text using our fingers and sometimes our feet!) of audio/video files. To reiterate, the main advantage of a transcription software over a normal audio/video media player is the ability to control audio/video playback.
Here were my requirements when I was searching for transcription software for my Macbook Air. 1) Easy configurable transcription controls. 2) Support video and audio of various formats and codecs. 3) Timestamp Support. 4) USB foot pedal support. Grab a cup of coffee and let’s look at each one of these in depth.
Key Features of a Good Mac Transcription Software
Configurable Transcription Controls
Any transcription software worth its salt supports keyboard hotkeys. And they are easily configurable. But the really good ones support global hotkeys. Which means that you are not restricted to typing on the word processing plane provided with the transcription software. Thus, you can transcribe into any word processor of your choice (Pages, Word etc) and the transcription hotkeys will work. And the advantages of using a dedicated word processor are numerous (spell check!).
Support Various Audio and Video Formats
As a transcriber, you do want to get a transcription software that supports a wide range of audio and video (very useful for slideshow videos) formats. For me, this is not usually a deal breaker because I can’t expect a transcription software to support all audio and video formats – and there is a lot of them. But a transcription software for mac must support .mp4 video format and .m4v/.m4a/.mp3/.mpg audio files. I have a dedicated audio and video converter that converts audio files to .mp3 files. And the .mp3 format work well on most mac transcription software.
Timestamp Support
A lot of my clients ask for timestamps/timecodes to be inserted into the transcripts. Timestamps make it easier for them to refer back to the video or audio. And if they’re using the transcripts to create a paper edit for a documentary project, timecoded transcripts provide the easiest and most efficient way to get a handle on a large block of video footage.
So, timecode support is a must. But again, this is a feature that is not very well supported in any of the mac transcription software. They usually do support it on their word processing plane, but getting the timecode to Pages or Word is challenging. There are workarounds that I’ll share with you.
USB Foot Pedal Support
Again, most mac transcription software support USB foot pedals. However, compatibility is an issue and it’s not guaranteed. Having said that, I own the Infinity IN-USB-1 and I’ve yet to come across a mac transcription software that does not support it.
Having gone through the 4 basic requirements for a mac transcription software, you really have only 2 choices: F5 or Express Scribe. InqScribe is a good transcription software, but it doesn’t support global hotkeys, which is a real shame. If you’re okay transcribing into their word processor, you can try it out. All other mac transcription software I found were very old versions (5 years) and were no longer actively supported.
Best Transcription Software for Mac
F5
I really like F5 and I use it exclusively to transcribe on my mac. It’s checks all the boxes and is perfect for my transcription needs. A while back it used to be free (as in beer), but that’s no longer the case. To be honest, I find their pricing model to be complicated. There’s a free version of F5 – which only allows you to transcribe the first 10 minutes of a video/audio file. A standard version, unlimited transcription (you can transcribe any length of audio/video file) but no USB pedal support, no waveform, memos and auto speaker changing. I recommend you get the pro version, mainly because of the USB pedal support (not sure why this is not in the standard version), and you’ll need a foot pedal (here are 3 I recommend) to play and pause F5 in the background.
My other gripe with F5 is inserting timestamps into my transcripts. It’s easy enough when you’re transcribing into the F5 word processor – just press F8. Which reminds me. You’ll need to activate the F keys under System Preferences > Keyboard, for them to work on your Mac.
Anyway, back to inserting timestamps, there is no easy way to insert timestamps into Pages. You’ll have 2 options. Option 1 is switch to the F5 window, CMD + T (to generate the timestamp),and copy and paste the timestamp to Pages. Works, but as you can imagine, if you want to insert timestamps every 30 seconds, it’s a lot of work going back and forth between the F5 and Pages. The second option is write an apple script or use Keyboard Maestro to record a macro. I’d recommend keyboard maestro – very easy to use (if you want me to create a short how to video let me know in the comments section below). Here’s a link to the video – I don’t know why, but I ramble a lot in this video; bear with me.
I do know my way around code, so I have an apple script that I use to insert timestamps into my transcripts with one keyboard stroke. Other than that, F5 is simply great. I get better audio quality using F5, and it’s really very easy to use and customize. Definitely the best transcription software for mac. Download from Mac App Store.
Express Scribe Pro
Where to begin with Express Scribe. Some people love it, others hate it. Personally, I’m ambivalent. I’ve used it a lot in the past, but that’s before I found F5. I do have a lot of issues with NCH – the company that makes this software, but the software is pretty good.
You’ll want to get the pro version. I’ve had numerous issues with the “free” version and vowed never to install it again! But the pro version doesn’t come with adware, supports most USB foot pedals, and plays videos and a lot of other formats. Though, the audio quality is not that great – especially if you slow it down.
The interface is a little complicated and you’ll have to take time to get used to this mac transcription software. For instance, here’s how you insert timestamps into your transcript. You’ll need to first create a system wide hotkey to copy the timecode to the mac clipboard. You can create a hotkey via Options > Hot Keys. Once you’ve created the hotkey, adding a timestamp to your transcript on Pages involves hitting the hotkey and then CMD + V to paste the timestamp.
Very easy, but I wish it was more intuitive. So yes, there is a steep learning curve on how to use Express Scribe for transcription – well worth it, because this software has a lot of customizable features that are going to help you become a very efficient transcriber. Download from Mac App Store.
Jun 04, 2019 List of apps that have asked for camera access in macOS Mojave. Apps with access to the camera will have a check mark in the above list. You can revoke access by unchecking the app you want to revoke access to. There's a separate list for apps which have requested microphone access. MacOS will only prompt you once for each app. Control access to your microphone on Mac. On your Mac, choose Apple menu System Preferences, click Security & Privacy, then click Privacy. Open the Privacy pane for me. Select Microphone. Select the checkbox next to an app to allow it to access the microphone. Deselect the checkbox to turn off. If you later decide to give a denied app access to your Mac, choose Apple menu System Preferences, click Privacy, click Accessibility, then select the app’s checkbox. To remove an app’s access to your Mac, deselect the checkbox. You can also drag an app into the pane to add it yourself, then select the app’s checkbox. Follow these steps to allow the apps to access your microphone: On your Mac, choose Apple menu System Preferences. Click Security & Privacy. Choose the Privacy tab. Select Microphone. Check the box next to the app to allow it to access your microphone. Add app to access microphone mac.
That’s it for this post on mac transcription software. I hope you’ve found it worthwhile and please feel free to use the comment section below to share tips, suggestion, frustrations, reviews etc on the transcription software of your choice. Happy transcribing!
Working with music can prove to be very entertaining and you can edit audio files or transcript them to create musical tones of your own. If you’re looking for the best possible way to transcript music files, then the music transcription software is all that you need. This software tool is all that you need to edit parts of a musical recording or an audio file. This article describes some of the best music transcription software tools used for transcription of music files.
Related:
Transcribe
Transcribe is a music transcription software which provides various special features for editing your music files. Use this software to modify the speed, volume, format, size and clarity of your music files. You can also split a music file or a recording into different sections, change the pitch of the audio file and create cool music using this tool.
ScoreCloud Studio
ScoreCloudStudio comes under the music transcription software, free downloads category and it can be used to create musical sheets from your songs collection. Use this software to record, share audio files, store and sync files. This software also comes with special features which enable users to modify audio files and create notations.
Tune Transcriber
The Tune Transcriber tool can be used to transcribe music in many different ways and it helps you create wonderful audio clips without consuming much time. It can be used to learn more about musical tones and its variations. You can also use this music transcription software to slow down the music file using the delay option.
Music Transcription Software for Other Platforms
Music transcription software tools consist of a number of useful features which can help you transcribe music files with ease. Best writing software for mac. These software tools can support different platforms and so they can be used in all kinds of computer systems. Find and install your preferred software to transcribe your music files right away.
Music Transcription software for Linux – Accurate Music Transcription
Accurate music transcription software tool comes under the category of automatic music transcription software and it contains the AnthemScore program which helps to create accurate music sheets automatically. Linux users can use this software to edit short file sections, add delay to the music file and make changes to the audio file.
Music Transcription Software for Mac – Sibelius
Sibelius uses the ultimate version of Audio Score product for converting audio files and creating a musical sheet or a notation. The software can be used in Mac devices to edit recordings and create background scores. This music transcription software can transcript music files and gives accurate results within no time.
Music Transcription Software for Android – Absolute Pitch
Absolute Pitch is an Android application which is used to learn music notes in an amazing way like never before. This app provides music lessons in the form of a music game so that all users can have fun while learning. Android users can use this app to get an amazing musical gameplay experience.
Most Popular Music Transcription Software – TwelveKeys Music
TwelveKeys Music transcription software comes with several features which can help to create a visual representation of notes in any music recording. This is a perfect tool for musicians who transcribe music recordings and work with different kind of music files. This software can be used to create musical notes and it works with many instruments playing simultaneously, thus creating music with multiple tones. You can also see Music Tag Editor
What is Music transcription software?
Music transcription software is the best tool for creating sheet music from a recording or music file. The player program that is inbuilt in the software helps users to transcribe music files and it also allows speech transcription, play-along practice, etc. This software lets you play music recordings and analyze all the small sections of a music file to help with the transcription. It also provides useful features to help you slow down music, loop sections, change the pitch, extract audio files, store songs in the cloud and much more. You can also see Music Writing Software
You can also share your work and transcribe music files of different formats with ease.Music transcription software tools can provide you with special features which can be used to convert audio recordings into music sheets. Use any of the above-mentioned Music transcription software tools to start editing your music files right away. Download and install this software to create musical notes of your own.