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how long does transcribing text take?
Thread poster: Maria Danielson
Maria Danielson
Maria Danielson  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 19:49
Dutch to English
+ ...
Feb 19, 2003

I\'ve been asked to give a quote on transcribing 3 90-minute tapes of a board meeting. I type fast. I\'ve never done anything like this. Can anyone give me a rough estimate of how long this might take me?
 
Margaret Schroeder
Margaret Schroeder  Identity Verified
Mexico
Local time: 17:49
Spanish to English
+ ...
6x Feb 19, 2003

It will depend widely on how fast they talk, of course, but my rule of thumb for video is 6 times, i.e. 1 hour to transcribe 10 minutes of tape. Your tapes, being audio, might take longer, because there will probably not be any breaks. For any job with such uncertainty, ideally you should say that your quote is not firm until you have had a chance to review the material, at least a sample. However in the real world, that isn\'t always possible.
 
Rick Henry
Rick Henry  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 18:49
Italian to English
+ ...
One other thing to consider... Feb 19, 2003

for audio, I generally X 4 the total minute count.

The other thing you MUST consider (and definitely should ask your client) is the quality of the audio. I\'ve received tapes that are in absolutely terrible quality (garbled conversation, drop-outs, etc). If the tape is of poor quality make sure your client uderstands this and work accordingly.



HTH



R.

==
 


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how long does transcribing text take?







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