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Having produced more than 10,000 transcripts, Accentance will create written transcripts of your meetings,
conference calls, interviews, presentations, seminars, and much
more. You won't ever have to bother with taking notes again. Just
sit back and let your audio recorder and our transcriptionists do
the work.
We provide another bonus: Throughout your
transcript we include timestamps/timecodes. That enables you to
quickly find the location in the audio that corresponds to the location
in the transcript, if you so desire. Of course, you have the option
to exclude them as well.
Typical turnaround time for small projects (up to 1.5 hours, two or fewer speakers) is two working
days; larger projects are typically three days to a week, depending on size. For
an added fee a one-day rush service is available. Transcripts are delivered to you
via e-mail, in Word format.
To view a sample transcript, click here.
Upload Your
Digital Files
If your recording is in the form of a digital
audio or video file (i.e. WAV, MP3, WMA, DSS, WMV, or MP4), simply upload the
recording to us here.
Tapes Welcome,
Too
You also can send us cassettes,
reel-to-reel, videotapes, DVDs, or other media. Not only will we
send you back the original recording, but along with your transcript(s)
we will e-mail you the digitized version of the recording (e.g.,
MP3 or WAV), enabling you to take advantage of the timestamps by
listening to it on your computer using standard software such as
Windows Media Player or RealPlayer. This also creates multiple backups
of your recordings.
Please include this order
form when sending your materials.
Nationwide
and Worldwide Service Including the UK
It does not matter whether you are across
the street from us, across the country, or across the world. While
we are located in the Washington, D.C. area, you can be located
anywhere, thanks to digitization and the Internet. The same holds
true if you're sending tapes. Turnaround time, bargain rates, and
top-flight service are the same regardless of where you are.
North American Transcriptionists
Many transcription companies outsource
to India or other foreign locations. Not us. Unless they grew up
in or spent many years in North America, the vast majority of foreign transcriptionists
often cannot understand certain accents, slang, references to popular culture,
and other nuances in North American English. We therefore only employ
transcriptionists who are very familiar with North American English,
which in most cases means they grew up here.
Big Transcription
Project?
We can handle large transcription projects
involving many hours of audio. To speed turnaround time, rather
than assigning an entire large project to one or two transcriptionists,
we distribute the project among many transcriptionists. That way,
for a project consisting of, say, 20 hours of audio, we usually
can deliver the finished transcripts to you within a week or less.
Competitive
Rates
Our rates are very competitive. Click here for a price chart.
How to Get
Started
The process is simple. To take advantage,
upload your audio file(s) here. Fill
in your contact information so that we can e-mail the transcript
back to you ASAP. We'll invoice you, and you can pay by check or
credit card.
You also can send us your recording via
regular mail, such as on a CD-ROM, cassette tape, microcassette,
videotape, camcorder cassette, or DVD.
Note: If you do not desire timestamps,
please let us know beforehand. Also, if you try to upload a digital
file directly from a CD, it may not work. Often you need to first
transfer the file to your computer using CD "ripper" (extraction) software.
Transcript
Style and Format
Click here
to see the styles and formats that we use in our transcripts,
i.e. how we deal with labeling speakers, inaudible words, superfluous
words, grammar errors, etc. Feel free to have us customize styles
and formats to fit your needs.
A Note on
Accuracy
In addition to audio or speaking quality,
accuracy could depend on the extent to which industry-specific words,
esoteric words, and/or unique names are used, with which the transcriptionist
may not be familiar. Keep in mind that our transcripts include the
timestamp every minute or so, enabling you to easily verify with the original audio what was said.
If your recording contains many technical
terms or unique names, we recommend providing us with a list of
them beforehand. A list of people's names can be highly useful as
well.
A Note on
Audio Quality
We can't emphasize this enough: when recording,
place the recorder or the microphone as close to the speaker as
is humanly possible. And record in a room without background noise,
if possible. More often than not, audio quality is poor because
the microphone is too far away from the speaker(s) and/or because
of background noise. That results in a less-accurate transcript,
and a higher cost for you due to the extra time involved in transcribing.
The quality of the recorder makes a big difference as well. Cellphones and smartphones generally produce low-quality so avoid those if possible unless talking directly into the microphone. Standard digital handheld recorders are OK, although certain recorders are better than others in terms of audio quality. The best solution is to purchase a recorder with high-fidelity sound - practically a must if you're recording a meeting or other venues with three or more speakers.
We recommend the Olympus WS-110 WMA Digital Voice Recorder, or the WS-210S, widely available online and perhaps at your local Radio Shack. Another high-fidelity recorder is the M-Audio MicroTrack II, available online for around $175. (However, it is more technologically sophisticated to use, and has a quirk: you have to push record twice to begin the recording.)
Always have a back-up recorder. With digital recorders, it can be easy to think you're recording when in fact you aren't.
If there are two or more people the best arrangement is to attach a clip-on (also known as lapel or lavelier) microphone to each person - particularly if you're using a lower-quality standard digital recorder. Clip-on mics are available at Radio Shack or online; you'll also need a small adapter to turn one microphone input into two inputs - known as Y-splitters, also available at Radio Shack.
If you're recording a phone conversation
and the line connection is not good, don't hesitate to tell the
person with whom you're speaking that you'll hang up and call back
in an effort to get a better connection. Or ask the speaker to switch
phones, if that is the problem. If he or she is using a speakerphone,
resulting in poor audio, if feasible you should ask him or her to
use the receiver instead.
Professional Audio and Video Recording Services
As emphasized above, good-quality audio is essential for accurate transcriptions. If you don't want to deal with the headaches of acquiring the right recording equipment and setting it up correctly - especially when it's a multi-speaker event such as a focus group or seminar - we will do it for you. Accentance is a full-service provider that offers professional audio and/or video recording services, in addition to transcription. For more information on audio recording, click here. For video, here.
How to Contact
Us
Finally, if you would prefer to send us
your recording via regular or overnight mail, or if you simply would
like more information, contact us by clicking here
or by calling us toll-free at 866-805-2425 (local or international:
703-378-0202).
DISCLAIMER:
While we
will make every effort to ensure that transcriptions are as accurate
as possible, we cannot ensure 100 percent accuracy. Therefore, to
ensure accuracy, for important passages always play the audio file
and listen to the quote yourself to verify what was said. We will
not be held responsible or liable for any misquote, damages, or
other problems, financial or otherwise, that occurs as a result
of a transcript inaccuracy or inaccuracies.
Member:
Dulles Regional
Chamber of Commerce
Business Leaders of the Community
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