What to do with those Audio
Files?
Today, as scopists, we are
increasingly using digital audio files created either by the reporter’s CAT
system or by a digital recorder. There
are numerous tools available to help scopists receive the audio files; but once
we get them, what do we do next?
Each CAT program has their
own protocol of what to do with the files and how to adjust their settings. The
first part of this series of articles deals with what to do if the digital
files weren’t created by the CAT system you are using to scope the transcript.
There are several programs
available to play back digital audio files:
Express Scribe, www.nch.com.au;
Olympus PC Transcription AS-2300, www.olympusamerica.com/;
Bytescribe, www.bytescribe.com;
Start-Stop Universal Transcription, www.startstop.com/; WAVPedal, www.theprogrammers.com/wavp.html.
These audio files can be played back using programs like Windows
Media Player and Real Player, but there are advantages to using the software
mentioned above. First, you can use a
foot pedal with transcription software, though programs like Express Scribe do
have programmable keys so that you can use your keyboard to execute
commands. Transcription software can
have a backspace setting just like the cassette tape transcribers, and the
transcription software allows you to speed up or slow down the sound. You can also bookmark your place using
transcription software, while if you play back the digital files using programs
like Windows Media Player and stop the playback, you have to start at the
beginning of the audio file.
Make sure that whatever transcription software you are using
supports a variety of audio file formats, such as .wav, .dss, .mp3. Or if your software doesn’t support some
formats, ask the reporter if they can convert the audio file to a format that
you can use.
If you are using any of these generic programs, I recommend that
you create a directory on your C:\ drive to store the audio files, C:\Audio, or
something similar. This allows you to
easily find the audio files when you want to use them or delete them. So by whatever method you have received the
files, you can then download them into your C:\Audio directory.
If you received the audio file by CD, you may be able to play it
back while it stays on the CD, but if you decide to copy the audio file from
the CD to your hard drive, after you have finished the copy process, locate the
file using either Windows Explorer or My Computer and right click on the file
name, click on Properties and make sure that the “Read Only” box is
unchecked. This applies to all audio
files that you copy from a CD, even those created by CAT programs.
Once you have the audio file on your hard drive, you should open
whatever transcription software you are using and open the audio file within
that program. If you just double click
on the file in Windows Explorer or My Computer or even directly on the CD,
Windows may have a default setting to open that program using Windows Media
Player or Real Player. So open the
audio file within your transcription software.
I’ve found that Express Scribe’s hot keys interfere with the
command keys of my CAT software, and I’ve reprogrammed the Express Scribe
keys. In Express Scribe, click on
Settings, click on the Control Tab, double click on the command key you want to
change.
Express Scribe has a feature called “docking." You can connect your cassette tape recorder
to your computer and play back that cassette tape and make a digital
recording. You can use this if you’d
rather work with a digital file than a cassette tape. The Help section of Express Scribe gives you instructions about
docking.
The quality of the sound is dependent on many factors: how the audio was recorded, what type of
audio card your computer has, whether you're using built-in or stand-alone
speakers. You may be able to adjust the
quality of the sound by using stand-alone speakers or headphones that have
adjustable bass/treble control. You can
also suggest to the reporter that they use an external microphone and that they
move it away from their computer as far as possible. Newer computers run their fan much more frequently, and that fan
noise can interfere with the sound quality of the audio file.
In the following months, there will be articles from different
CAT manufacturers with specific instructions concerning using audio files.
Cindy Naffin, scopist, caseCATalyst4
Certified Independent Training Agent
cindynaffin@earthlink.net