Human vs Machine Video Transcripts and Captions

It’s time to go head-to-head and compare human vs machine video transcripts and captions. Let’s pull the gloves off and really duke this one out.

What’s really better when it comes to video transcripts and captioning services? In one corner we have machine transcriptions. In the other, human transcriptions. Which one’s the real heavy hitter? Which one’s going to take home the championship belt?

It’s common, and sensical, for a lot of people to start with machine transcriptions. For starter’s, they’re substantially less expensive, at $.01 per minute of file whereas human transcriptions begin at $.85 per minute.

Machine transcriptions can also be turned around extremely fast through web app’s like our Self Serve solution. Uploading a video and receiving a machine transcription takes mere minutes. And since these transcriptions can be done with our bulk upload and cost is at a minimum, you can get greater search/indexing breadth. And while the lack of full accuracy can impact the strength of your SEO, machine transcription does capture enough accuracy to aid in platform search.

Human vs Machine Video Transcripts and Captions

You should choose machine transcription if you:

• Need immediate turnaround
• Are trying to reduce your spend
• Have a large amount of content you need to transcribe
• Have a very clear audio file (here are some tips on achieving a clear recording)
• Accuracy isn’t critical
• Are free to spend time editing the file
• Want a moderate boost to SEO

After some time, however, people tend to dip their toes into the human transcription pool – literally a huge pool of individuals waiting to manually transcribe and caption your video or audio files. This is because human transcriptions offer features far above and beyond what a machine transcription can provide.

For example, human transcriptions are much more accurate. For accessibility compliance requirements, human-based verification is necessary to meet the 99% accuracy threshold. Especially if the recording or video file is of lower quality, machines have a difficult time making out every nuance of tone, dialect, or jargon.

Human transcriptionists can also provide speaker identification, perform foreign language translations, and include descriptive explanations that go beyond speech-to-text alone.

And with improved accuracy comes improved SEO, search ranking and content engagement.

Then again…  with machine transcriptions,

You should choose human transcription if:

• Are federally required to have accurate captions
• Need or want accuracy for improved brand perception
• Have more money to invest
• Don’t have time to spend on editing your own content
• Want to formally publish your work
• Want to significantly boost your SEO
• Have low-quality recording
• Have a recording with foreign languages that need translating
• Have a recording with heavy accents, dialect or jargon that needs identifying
• Have multiple speakers that need identifying
• Have contextual elements beyond speech-to-text that need identifying

Both machine transcription and human transcription hold a valuable place in the world of online captioning and transcribing. It’s helpful to understand the differences to make an informed investment as you work to optimize your content.

cielo24 Video Transcription and Caption Solutions

At cielo24 we offer a Self Serve web app that allows you to get started ordering foreign language video captions and transcripts immediately, without the wait for contracts or quotes. You can select a preliminary amount of free machine-based transcriptions and captions – which provide a lower level of accuracy guarantee, or human-verified transcriptions beginning at less than a dollar per minute.  For more information on our video transcription, captioning and video intelligence solutions, contact us online or call us at 1-855-243-5624.

cielo24 is removing barriers to increase video marketing ROI, searchability and compliance for all your videos!

cielo24’s new Self Serve app is easy to use and extremely cost-effective. Within minutes a video can be uploaded to your account and you will receive a free machine-based, searchable transcript with keywords.   Take a Video Captioning test-drive >

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