Tape transcription: what is it?

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Tape transcription is the process of capturing recorded speech and turning it into written text. In most cases, this form of transcription is used by professionals who dictate notes and findings as they work. The recordings are given to a transcription service, a secretary or a specialized computer program in order to transform the audio into text. This process has become significantly more common than the older method where transcription took place at the time of speaking. It has also opened up a number of new career opportunities for people who are not able to work in a typical office environment.

Transcription, in general, is simply taking spoken words and writing them down. When a boss dictates a letter to a secretary, this is a type of oral transcription. Court stenographers who copy proceedings on record are also using oral transcription. Until the later part of the 20th century, oral transcription was very common for thousands of years. It wasn’t until the invention of small, affordable recording devices that tape transcription became possible.

The term tape transcription originally came from the medium used to record the messages. The first major way to make a tape for transcription was through reel-to-reel recorders. This worked well at the time, but the size and complexity of the machines quickly led to smaller cassette tape systems. In more modern times, tape transcription is usually done with fully digital devices such as voice recorders, cell phones or personal computers. Even though the tapes are gone, the name has remained.

Using recorded messages, a person no longer needs to be present to transcribe spoken words. This simple change had a big impact on many different business practices. With recordings, a person could literally work on speeches, notes or memos anywhere they could keep a tape recorder. With modern recording technology, this is almost everywhere. The recording can just go to the transcriber whenever the recorder wants to send it.

It also spawned a new industry: tape transcription services. In most cases, a person sends hard copies of tapes or sends digital files via email to one of these companies. The transcriptionist will transcribe the audio and send the information back to the consumer. This requires less time and space at the end of the recorder and reduces the cost of the process from a weekly wage to an as-needed service.

There are also computer programs capable of tape transcription. These devices read digital audio files and translate speech patterns into text, often without the need to play the file. While this dramatically speeds up transcription, reliable computer-based methods are still uncommon.

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