Q: Do I need to compress the audio I send online for transcription?
ANS:
If you upload the audio online through FTP servers such as leapfile.com, compression of the audio files is not required, but if the files are being sent through an email account, depending on the account you are using, audio files do need to be compressed to under 10 MB a file.
Q: How do I compress audio files for sending them through email?
ANS:
A simple method you can choose to compress audio files is,
a) By using a Windows application for recording your speech,
CLICK
Start > Programs > Accessories > Entertainment or Multimedia > Sound Recorder
> Sound Recorder will be displayed
> Click on the Recording button of the Sound Recorder (red dot)
(With a Head-Set plugged into the computer and the microphone positioned correctly)
> Speak into the Microphone to record your speech
> After you finish, click the stop button (square mark) to stop recording
> Click Playback to play and check the recording
> Click File in the Sound Recorder
> And click Properties
> Click - Convert Now - in the Properties
Sound Selection pop-up option will appear
>Click on the arrow on the right of the Attributes list
And from amongst the drop-down options displayed, choose 22,050 KHz, 16 Bit, Mono and click OK
(NOTE: Choosing 8 Bit option may not be compatible with the Compression Software listed below)
>Click OK to close the Properties
>On the File menu choose Save As
(Name the file and save it in a folder of your choice, click OK. The file saved will have a .wav format.)
About the compression software, that is to downloaded & installed read the section below
If the length of the recorded audio file is 60 seconds, the file will occupy approximately 2.5MB of space on the hard drive, and in order to reduce the size of the file for a quick upload/download, a compression software is required which will shrink the length of the file, without the quality of audio being affected.
The audio compression software called SCMPX is designed to work in Windows and can be downloaded from the link, choose the English option to navigate on this Japanese web site http://www.din.or.jp/~ch3/index_e.html the .exe file name is MPEG Audio Player converter, choose the latest version.
After download is complete and installed on your system,
> On the desk top click the shortcut icon to open SCMPX
>Click on the Convert button,
>Options of Single File or Multiple Files will be displayed.
>Select Single File
>Select Encoding Mpx
> Now select the .wav file to be compressed, the SCMPX will open the Encoder
>In the Encoder change the bit rate setting to 128000. Allow the rest of the settings to be on default.
> Click OK
>The SCMPX will compress the file and create a second copy of it in an MP3 format; the compressed file will be ten times smaller than the .wav file
The compressed file in the MP3 format can be then sent as an email attachment.
