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OTranscribe: A free and open tool for transcribing audio interviews

otranscribe.com

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Re: OTranscribe: A free and open tool for transcribing audio interviews

#81
post #57

Are there any open-source or paid apps/shareware/freeware that can: - Transcribe word-by-word in real time as audio is recorded - Work entirely locally - Use relatively recent open-source local models? I've been using otter.ai for real-time meeting transcriptions - letting me multitask and instantly catch up if I'm asked a question by skimming the most recent few seconds worth of the transcript - but it's far from pe…

I have built my own local-first solution to transcribe entirely locally in real time word by word, driven by a different need (I'm hard of hearing). It's my daily driver for transcribing meetings, interviews, etc. Because of its local-first capability, I do not have to worry about privacy concerns when transcribing meetings at work as all data stays on my machine. It's about as fast as Otter.ai although there's defin…

I was so excited until the very end. I have the wrong hardware.

Re: OTranscribe: A free and open tool for transcribing audio interviews

#82
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

California has an exception for hearing aids and other similar devices, but it’s unclear if transcription aids count, or if this has been tested in court. https://codes.findlaw.com/ca/penal-code/pen-sect-632/ (Not a lawyer, this is not legal advice.)

If it were ephemeral? Would that change this? Say recording the meeting locally a 5 minute frame then updating a meeting summary?

Do you mean ephemeral, or are you actually wondering about something implanted under the skin? I'd think/hope if it goes under the skin, it ends up in "hearing aid" territory. I'm less sure about if it doesn't persist.

Re: OTranscribe: A free and open tool for transcribing audio interviews

#83
post #57

Are there any open-source or paid apps/shareware/freeware that can: - Transcribe word-by-word in real time as audio is recorded - Work entirely locally - Use relatively recent open-source local models? I've been using otter.ai for real-time meeting transcriptions - letting me multitask and instantly catch up if I'm asked a question by skimming the most recent few seconds worth of the transcript - but it's far from pe…

I helped coding oTranscribe+ [0], which does something similar to what you are asking for. Using ElectronJS and the current, at that moment, version of oTranscribe, there is this desktop application. It also exists as web version and PWA [1].

Language models were those from BSC (Barcelona Supercomputing Center) at the time. The transcription is done via WASM, using Vosk [2] as base.

I hope it fits.

[0] https://github.com/projecte-aina/oTranscribe-plus [1] https://otranscribe.bsc.es/ [2] https://github.com/alphacep/vosk-api

Re: OTranscribe: A free and open tool for transcribing audio interviews

#84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have built my own local-first solution to transcribe entirely locally in real time word by word, driven by a different need (I'm hard of hearing). It's my daily driver for transcribing meetings, interviews, etc. Because of its local-first capability, I do not have to worry about privacy concerns when transcribing meetings at work as all data stays on my machine. It's about as fast as Otter.ai although there's defin…

I have some staff with combined hearing and visual needs. Have you researched the one-, two- all-party consent requirements? Asking because I hope to identify transcription as "non-recording".

Two/all-party consent are hacky workarounds for the actual harm being inflicted (valid goals including not having your microwave inform Google's ad servers, not recording out-of-context jokes as evidence to imprison people, ... -- invalid goals caught up in the collateral damage include topics like the current one about hearing issues (note that a sufficiently accurate transcription service has all the same privacy problems 2-party consent tries to protect against, maybe more since it's more easily searchable)).

I'd be in favor of some startup pulling an Uber or AirBnB and blatantly violating those laws to the benefit of the deaf or elderly if it meant we could get something better on the books.

Re: OTranscribe: A free and open tool for transcribing audio interviews

#85
post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it were ephemeral? Would that change this? Say recording the meeting locally a 5 minute frame then updating a meeting summary?

Do you mean ephemeral, or are you actually wondering about something implanted under the skin? I'd think/hope if it goes under the skin, it ends up in "hearing aid" territory. I'm less sure about if it doesn't persist.

Yup, typo, sorry

Re: OTranscribe: A free and open tool for transcribing audio interviews

#86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Are there any open-source or paid apps/shareware/freeware Google Pixel phones have this feature and it works _very_ well.

How is that feature accessed? Or what does Google call it so I can search for it.

Live Transcribe in the accessibility settings. AFAIK it's available on any fairly recent Android phone. I bought a Pixel tablet for no other reason but to run it -- nothing else I've tried comes close for local-only continuous transcribe-as-they-speak. (iOS has a similar feature also under accessibility; it's good but not at the same level. Of course I'd love to see an open-source solution.)

This was for English. One problem it took me a while to realize: when I switched it to transcribe a secondary language, it was not doing it on-device anymore. You can tell the difference by setting airplane mode.

Re: OTranscribe: A free and open tool for transcribing audio interviews

#88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have built my own local-first solution to transcribe entirely locally in real time word by word, driven by a different need (I'm hard of hearing). It's my daily driver for transcribing meetings, interviews, etc. Because of its local-first capability, I do not have to worry about privacy concerns when transcribing meetings at work as all data stays on my machine. It's about as fast as Otter.ai although there's defin…

I have some staff with combined hearing and visual needs. Have you researched the one-, two- all-party consent requirements? Asking because I hope to identify transcription as "non-recording".

What did your own research turn up?

Re: OTranscribe: A free and open tool for transcribing audio interviews

#89
post #57

Are there any open-source or paid apps/shareware/freeware that can: - Transcribe word-by-word in real time as audio is recorded - Work entirely locally - Use relatively recent open-source local models? I've been using otter.ai for real-time meeting transcriptions - letting me multitask and instantly catch up if I'm asked a question by skimming the most recent few seconds worth of the transcript - but it's far from pe…

I helped coding oTranscribe+ [0], which does something similar to what you are asking for. Using ElectronJS and the current, at that moment, version of oTranscribe, there is this desktop application. It also exists as web version and PWA [1]. Language models were those from BSC (Barcelona Supercomputing Center) at the time. The transcription is done via WASM, using Vosk [2] as base. I hope it fits. [0] https://github…

Is there a way to get it to punctuate? Or does it only jot down words?

Re: OTranscribe: A free and open tool for transcribing audio interviews

#90
post #79
post #66

Does anybody tested it with Brazilian Portuguese? It is a hard problem, since we have too many accents.

I don't understand what the issue is. You don't know how to type the different diacritical marks? Or the textbox isn't accepting them? (Which seems like it would be a browser issue, not an issue with the site.)

I think that the commentor meant accents as in regional dialects.
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