The Transcription Process

As our specialised typing software that can pause, slowdown and manipulate recordings only works with electronic audio and not tapes we need first to get the cassettes converted to MP3 type formats and cleaned up.

So please send through your microcassettes tapes to the above address where the audio can be maximised, cleaned up and converted to MP3 type format by our technicians.

First, is it actually a microcassette?

First of all, one of the major problems with microcassettes is that they look almost identical to mini cassettes (we also carry out minicassette transcription as well).

The microcassette looks like a miniature compact cassette ( the standard audio cassette used in the 1990′s – the type that had Michael Jackson’s Thriller album on it). The distinguishing feature that sets a micro cassette apart from the mini cassette is that on closer inspection it has tiny wheels (i.e. capstan) inside the mechanism of the cassette where the mini cassette has no capstan. As mini cassettes don’t have capstan mechanisms they cannot be played using a microcassette machine.

Why the difference between a mini cassette and a microcassette ? Olympus microcassettes where the stock standard and being invented by Olympus, Olympus had cornered the market and others wanted in so differentiated by inventing other systems – such as the mini cassette.

Transcribing from Micro-cassettes

The problem with transcribing from micro cassettes is the poor sound quality that is often produced by microcassette recorders. Microcassette recorders are specifically designed as handheld dictation devices. The microphones on micro cassette recorders are mostly of poor quality and produce recordings that are difficult to hear when they are used to record interviews or focus groups. The central reason for the poor quality of these recordings is that in such situations the recorders are typically placed on table tops or held between the people speaking and not spoken directly into at a close range, as happens with handheld dictation. The resulting recordings are often faint and muffled.

Due to the poor quality of microcassette recordings they often take a longer time to transcribe as transcribers need to go back and replay poorly recorded sections again and again to make out what is being said. The poor quality results in two things.

Firstly, a higher time investment to transcribe the audio (and thus higher transcription costs), and

Secondly, a higher rate of “unintellible”  speech in the final transcript where the speech has been unable to be identified even after being replayed.

Maximising Micro cassette recordings through using Forensic Transcription

If the recording has been so poor that little can be made out  the only course of action is a forensic service. Forensic transcription services aim to enhance the audio through using highly trained  audio engineers who work on the recording trying to maximize and squeeze out the audio. A senior transcriber then painstakingly goes over the recording with a fine tooth com(click here for more about forensic transcription services).

Want to know more? Then give us a call at our London UK Office 0207-55-888-46 or drop by for a cup of tea at  27 Norton road E10 7LQ.

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