Real-Time Transcription

Real-time transcriptions are now yielding more practical applications in many industries thanks to technological advancements like Artificial Intelligence (AI).

By giving users other ways to consume content‌ — ‌even in noisy environments or when audio playback isn't possible‌ — ‌real-time transcription can enhance your application's user experience as a whole.

This article discusses real-time transcription, how it works, its benefits, its limitations, common features, top tools, and frequently asked questions.  

What is Real-Time Transcription?

Advances in voice recognition technology have led to numerous useful applications, including real-time transcription.

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Real-time transcription is the process of instantly converting speech into written text. After conversion, the transcription is usually displayed in real time on a screen or other output device.

Real-time transcription uses sophisticated speech recognition technology to convert audio into text. Some features common to real-time transcription apps and APIs include live transcription, multi-speaker recognition, and multi-language support.

When extending audio rooms with real-time transcription capabilities, you can expect to build on functionalities such as:

• Language translation
• Live captions
• Note-taking
• Video summarization

How Does Real-Time Transcription Work?

Real-time transcription involves using Natural Language Processing (NLP) and automatic speech recognition (ASR) algorithms to transform speech into text.

The speech-based NLP market is expected to grow from $16.95 billion in 2024 to $38.49 billion by 2030. With such projections, more transcription tools will continue to leverage NLP technologies for better accuracy and performance.

When converting speech to text, the transcription software goes through a series of steps, including:

• Audio capture: From sources such as video recordings, live streams, or phone calls.
• Speech recognition by the ASR technology: To identify phonemes and match them to pre-existing vocabularies.
• Language modeling: To improve accuracy and determine context.
• Real-time processing and speaker identification: The recognized words are converted to text to be displayed as captions.
• Text output: The transcribed content is displayed on the screen.
• Feedback loop: Users can make corrections to update the language models and optimize the accuracy of the NLP and ASR algorithms.

What Are the Benefits You Get From Real-Time Transcription? 

Real-time transcription software has made transcribing videos to text much ‌easier and faster. So, what other benefits do these tools bring?

• Time efficiency: First, users don't have to transcribe videos manually. Real-time transcription tools can save you time since you can transcribe large audio files quickly.
• Enhanced communication and engagement: 41% of Americans watch TV or movies with subtitles or closed captions, while 37% use external speakers. Noteworthy, Gen Z and millennials are more inclined to use closed captions and subtitles compared to Generation X and baby boomers. Indeed, real-time transcription improves user engagement since users can listen to and read the captions for better comprehension.
• Increased productivity: When video content is presented in multiple formats, such as text and audio, users are more keen and productive when engaging with the content.
• Bringing accessibility: Users with hearing impairments or language barriers can easily understand video files by reading captions, ensuring inclusivity.
• Documentation and record-keeping: Transcribed content is usually more accurate than manual work. For instance, if you miss a meeting, you can use searchable transcripts to catch up and as a reference point.
• Multi-language support: The language translation NLP market is expected to reach $5.92 billion in 2024 and $11.94 billion by 2030. As such, most transcription solutions can easily process speech and convert it into multiple other languages. For instance, English students can follow a French seminar broadcast by reading English subtitles.

What are Some Of The Limitations of Real-Time Transcription? 

Although real-time transcription features several benefits, there are also a few limitations. Here are some of them:

• Accuracy: Real-time transcription software isn't always 100% accurate, especially when there's noise or strong dialects. Although some solutions leverage AI models by training them to detect different languages, most still can't guarantee accurate voice transcription.
• Lack of ability to convey non-verbal cues: Real-time transcription software can't capture gestures, facial expressions, or tone of voice. As such, the transcribed text might not reliably portray the actual context of the intended message.
• Privacy and security: Transcribing sensitive information such as legal or medical content raises a concern for data privacy. Only about 55% of US adults have at least some basic knowledge of data privacy and cybersecurity. When developers integrate video player applications with real-time transcription tools, you should ensure they comply with data protection laws.
• Costs: Most real-time transcription software charges per minute. This means that the charges for users who intend to transcribe long live streams or videos can quickly add up, making it costly.
• Technical issues: Software glitches, lag, or connectivity problems can hinder the production of real-time captions on the screen.
• Speaker identification: Some real-time transcription tools might be unable to identify different speakers when transcribing spoken words. For instance, in cases where multiple users host video calls or voice chats, some real-time transcription software may be unable to differentiate who is who.

5 Examples of Real-Time Transcription Tools

Here are some of the top real-time transcription solutions developers can use to extend their apps.

1. Stream : Best Overall Tool for Real-Time Transcription

Stream gives you instant call notes for video recordings and chat built with their APIs. Users can quickly generate transcripts from a Stream channel and export them to email.

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Stream also offers video and audio calling APIs that developers can use to build fully-fledged applications with live-transcription capabilities. You can quickly ship high quality in-app calling through their customizable UI kits and components. Our APIs are enterprise ready and offer you high quality connections through their Global Edge Network.

Key features:

• Active speaker focus
• Geofencing
• Low latency video broadcasting
• Webhooks integrations
• 24/7 emergency support available
• 99.999% SLA uptime
• 2-Factor authentication available

Pros:

• Easy-to-use SDKs and APIs
• Reliable customer support
• Good documentation

Cons:

• Infrequent communication of new features

Pricing: From $2/1000 participant minutes

Integrations: Shopify, Salesforce, Instagram, X, Lasso Moderation

Security and compliance details: ISO 27001, SOC2, DPF, CCPA, GDPR, and HIPAA compliant

Free trials/versions: Free $200 credit.

2. Agora: Best for Instant Live Transcription

Agora's real-time transcription solution lets you integrate low-cost, instant, and accurate audio transcription into your app. They provide an API that developers can extend to create comprehensive solutions with features like:

• Cloud recording with closed captioning (CC)
• Live captioning
• Audio-to-text transcription

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Their APIs use cutting-edge AI to ensure the highest level of accuracy, even when there's overlapping speech, a regional accent, or a bad network connection. You can create solutions that scale from one-on-one meetings to millions of participants.

Key features:

• Live transcription
• Channel-based transcriptions 
• Speaker labeling for up to three simultaneous speakers
• Multi-language support

Pros:

• Developer-friendly documentation
• Easy multi-platform integration
• Good customer support

Cons:

• There are a few errors in the npm packages
• High learning curve

Pricing: From $16.99/1,000 minutes

Integrations: Frazer Auto Dealer Software, ASPIRE Health, PubNub, MiO, Marsview, and ActiveFence.

Security and compliance details: GDPR, CCPA, and HIPAA

Free trials/versions: The first 1,000 minutes are free.

3. Speechly: Best for Accurate Real-Time Transcriptions

Speechly is an API and tool suite for voice technology that specializes in ASR and Natural Language Understanding (NLU).

Through domain-specific model training, Speechly enables you to develop solutions with exceptional accuracy. You can easily train their speech-to-text models to achieve up to 95%+ accuracy rate.

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Speechly can also handle large amounts of data asynchronously through batch transcription, which is useful for transcribing pre-recorded audio or video content.

Their streaming technology powers voice search, command, and control by delivering high-quality transcripts in milliseconds.

Key features:

• Speech-to-text models with 95%+ accuracy
• Batch transcription
• Transcribe on-device instead of in the cloud
• Multi-platform
• Support for 99 languages

Pros:

• Easy to configure
• Real-time visual feedback
• Good multi-platform SDKs

Cons:

• High costs
• The platform has a slight learning curve

Pricing: From $195

Integrations: React, React Native

Security and compliance details: GDPR-compliant

Details about free trials/versions (if any): Free-forever plan

4. Symbl.ai: Best for Real-Time and Asynchronous Transcription

Symbl.ai is an AI end-to-end solution that enables users to create intelligent, asynchronous and real-time transcriptions of audio and video.

Using WebSockets and other streaming protocols, users can transcribe conversations in real-time or asynchronously from recorded video, audio, and text files.

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Symbl.ai offers unlimited simultaneous audio streams, speaker identification, and attribution prediction capabilities.

With the ability to export as SRT or markdown, users can improve the readability of their transcriptions and add closed captions directly into video players.

Key features:

• Implements Unified Modeling approach for lower word error rate (WER) and word information loss (WIL)
• Supports over 20 languages and accent variations
• Supports exports in SRT or markdown for higher readability
• Third-party plugins and add-ons

Pros:

• Easy integrations
• Leverages AI for accuracy
• Features live-streaming transcription

Cons:

• High costs
• Not beginner-friendly

Pricing: From $0.027/min/month

Integrations: Twilio Flex, Gmail, Google Docs, Trello, Microsoft Outlook, Google Calendar, Salesforce, Slack, Jira Software, HubSpot CRM, Confluence, and Unremot.

Security and compliance details: SOC2 Type II, CSA Controls Matrix, ISO 27001, HIPAA, PCI DSS, and GDPR compliant.

Details about free trials/versions (if any): First 1,000 mins /month free

5. Rev AI: Best for AI and Human-Generated Transcripts

Rev AI has easy-to-use APIs, SDKs, detailed documentation, and expert support. Rev AI trains its speech models for more than three million hours to develop the most precise API-driven, automated speech recognition engine.

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Depending on your requirements, you can deploy Rev AI's speech-to-text engine in the cloud or on-premises. Rev AI follows standard security procedures to ensure all data is encrypted while stored and in transit.

Key features:

• 36 languages available for asynchronous transcription
• 9 languages available for real time transcription
• Human transcriptions with a 24-hour turnaround time
• 99.99% uptime

Pros:

• Developer-friendly documentation
• Good speaker identification
• Easy to use and deploy

Cons:

• Poor customer service
• Issues with getting enlisted free credits

Pricing: From $0.02/minute

Security and compliance details: SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI compliance

Details about free trials/versions (if any): Free credits equal to 5 hours of Machine Transcription

Customize Your Apps with Real-Time Transcription Capabilities

While modern speech-to-text software is far superior to initial versions, it still needs improvement. Most transcription programs come with out-of-the-box features, meaning businesses may find it more convenient to modify pre-existing APIs to create custom solutions.

All in all, real-time transcription is a great tool for facilitating better communication, efficiency, and accessibility.

Frequently Asked Questions