Using audio synchronization with digitalCAT software

is simple. Normal digitalCAT audio files end with the

.dm extension, which stands for Digital Media.

In our video software, audio is contained in a .wma

file and video in a .wmv file.

Normally, if the reporter has not altered the names of

the files, downloading an audio file into your

transcript folder should keep the audio link intact.

This is also true of video files. By default, the

transcript folder is C:\Program Files\Digital

CAT\Transcripts\.

To listen to the audio, place your cursor at the

position you wish to hear. Press your Play

Audio command, or click the Play button at the top

of the screen. You can use these same commands to

play the video file if you have our video

synchronization software. If you don't know what your

audio commands are, you can find out by looking under

the Options menu and selecting Keyboard.

If you have video synchronization, you can also choose

to play the audio without video by unselecting

Enable Video Play under Options and Video.

If the sound does not play, and you've checked your

volume settings, then an audio file may not be linked

with this transcript. In this case, you can manually

establish a link. Place your cursor at the position

where audio should begin. Go to the Options menu and

select Document. The second check-box says Audio

available for current caret position in transcript. Make sure that this box is checked. Once it is

checked, click the Browse button to the right of

the dialog. Find and select the appropriate audio

file and click Open. Once you do this, the file path

should appear in the long box to the left of the

Browse button. Click the OK button to apply your

selection.

If you have our video synchronization software, you

can still establish a link manually under Options and

Document. Check the boxes for Set Explicit Audio

File Location and Set Explicit Video File

Location. Using the Browse buttons to the

right of these selections, choose the audio and video

files that correspond to your transcript. Click OK to

apply your selections.

Once the file has been linked to the transcript,

you should be able to use your keyboard commands as

normal to play and stop the audio.

Should it be slightly out of synchronization, you can

adjust the Playback Lag Time. The audio is never out

of sync more than a few seconds. To do this, go to

the Options menu and select Sound Sync. In our video

synchronization software, this setting is listed under

Options and Media Sync. The Playback Lag Time is

basically the amount of time between the instant a

word is spoken and the instant it is translated. By

adjusting this value, you can effectively reposition

the audio, thus placing it back in synchronization.

If you attach the wrong audio file to the text, don't

worry! Just go back to the Options menu and again

select Document. Click the Browse button once more

and find the correct audio file. Click OK, and again

try to play the audio. Please note that it is

sometimes necessary to exit the program and re-enter

for this change to take effect.

You can also combine, or append, two files together

while keeping the audio linked! To do this, go to the

File menu and select Append. A dialog will ask

which file you would like to add to the end of the

current file. Please note that if you are using our

video synchronization software that two media files

created under different compression profiles cannot be

merged. Select the appropriate transcript and click

Open. The audio associated with that transcript

file should still be linked with the corresponding

section of text in the current file! If it is not

properly linked, you may place your cursor at the

position where the second file was merged and go to

Options and Document. Check the Audio available

for current caret position box and browse for the

appropriate second audio file.

Johnny Jackson, Vice-president of Research and Deveopment

E-mail: admin@stenovationsmiami.com