Formats long recordings
110 pages in this group. One file can run up to 10 hours or 5 GB and the opening minutes are a free preview. All long-recording topics.
- Convert AIFF to MP3
AIFF is uncompressed: about 635 MB an hour at CD quality. Convert to MP3 with ffmpeg or the Music app before a long upload.
- Convert AVI to MP4
AVI to MP4 with ffmpeg or HandBrake; for a transcript, extract the audio: a DV tape capture of 13 GB an hour becomes about 29 MB.
- Convert FLAC to MP3
FLAC to MP3 in one ffmpeg line or an Audacity export; a long FLAC can go up unchanged up to 10 hours or 5 GB.
- Convert MTS to MP4
MTS to MP4 without re-encoding the picture in one ffmpeg line; for a transcript, pull the audio: 2 hours is about 58 MB as MP3.
- Convert Opus to MP3
Opus to MP3 is one ffmpeg line, but for a transcript Opus is already small: about 14 MB an hour, so 10 hours is easy to upload.
- Convert WAV to MP3 before transcribing?
Should you convert WAV to MP3 first? A 3-hour WAV is about 1.9 GB; the same audio at 128 kbps MP3 is about 170 MB.
- Convert WMA to MP3
Convert WMA to MP3 with one ffmpeg line or VLC; for transcription, try the WMA as it is first, up to 10 hours or 5 GB.
- Convert WebM to MP3
WebM to MP3 is one ffmpeg line or VLC Convert/Save; for a transcript, the WebM usually uploads as it is, up to 10 h or 5 GB.
- Download an HLS stream for transcription
Save an HLS stream you have rights to from its .m3u8 URL with ffmpeg, audio only; on YouTube, Twitch, Kick or Vimeo, paste the link.
- Export audio from a video editor
Export audio from Premiere Pro, Resolve, Final Cut or iMovie for transcription: an audio-only file is a tiny fraction of the video.
- Extract audio with ffmpeg for transcription
One ffmpeg command copies the audio out of a long video without re-encoding; three hours at 128 kbps is about 173 MB.
- Extract the audio from a long video
Extract audio before uploading: a 3-hour 1080p MP4 is 10 to 20 GB, its audio 150 to 300 MB, and only the audio is transcribed.
- How big is a 10-hour WAV?
A 10-hour WAV at 44.1 kHz 16-bit stereo is about 6.3 GB, over the 5 GB line; as 128 kbps MP3 it is about 576 MB.
- How big is a 4-hour MP4?
A 4-hour MP4 is about 4.5 GB at 720p, 14 GB at 1080p and 29 GB at 4K; its 128 kbps audio is about 230 MB.
- How do you convert 3GP to MP3?
Convert 3GP to MP3 with one ffmpeg line or VLC's Convert/Save; most 3GP files also upload as they are. A 2-hour clip is text in 4 minutes.
- How do you convert AMR to MP3?
AMR to MP3 with ffmpeg -i call.amr -ar 16000 -b:a 32k call.mp3 or VLC; a 5-hour AMR is about 27 MB, text in about 10 minutes.
- How do you convert DS2 to MP3?
DS2 dictation converts to MP3 in the recorder's own software or a converter that reads DS2. Packs from $4 for 300 minutes
- How do you convert DSS to MP3?
Convert DSS to MP3 in the recorder's dictation software or with ffmpeg; a 4-hour DSS session is about 115 MB as MP3 and text in 8 minutes.
- How do you convert MKV to MP3 for transcription?
MKV to MP3 in one ffmpeg line or VLC's Convert/Save; a 4-hour recording drops from about 11 GB to 173 MB and is text in about 8 minutes.
- How do you convert MOV to M4A for transcription?
On a Mac, QuickTime's Export As, Audio Only gives an M4A; elsewhere one ffmpeg copy. A 2-hour 4K MOV drops from about 20 GB to a small M4A.
- How do you convert VOB to MP4?
Convert VOB to MP4 by opening VIDEO_TS in HandBrake or joining the VOBs with ffmpeg; for a transcript, an MP3 of 2 hours is about 115 MB.
- How do you extract audio from a Zoom MP4?
Zoom often saves an audio-only M4A beside the MP4; if not, one ffmpeg copy pulls it out. A 3-hour meeting is text in about 6 minutes.
- How do you extract audio from an iPhone video?
QuickTime on a Mac, or a Shortcuts action on the phone, exports iPhone video as audio only; a 2.5-hour 1080p lecture is ~9 GB as video.
- How do you join several recordings into one file?
Three 2.5-hour sessions joined into one 7.5-hour file: one ffmpeg concat line or Audacity, then one transcript in about 15 minutes.
- How do you reduce a video's size for upload?
Keep only the audio (about 29 MB an hour) or re-encode to 720p or 480p; a 5-hour 1080p video drops from ~18 GB to 144 MB.
- How do you split a recording longer than 10 hours?
Over 10 hours, cut into parts of 10 hours or less with ffmpeg's segment option; 16 hours becomes two 8-hour files, about 32 minutes.
- Merge Zoom recording parts
Merge Zoom recording parts with ffmpeg's concat list in one command, or upload each part; same minutes, but one file means one timeline.
- Mono or stereo for transcription?
Mono or stereo for transcription? Mono is enough for speech and halves a WAV; stereo transcribes to the same words.
- Sample rate for transcription
Sample rate for transcription: 16 kHz is enough for speech; 44.1 and 48 kHz are fine; the rate mostly changes WAV size.
- The best bitrate for transcription
Best bitrate for transcription: 64 kbps mono MP3 is plenty for speech, about 29 MB an hour; above 128 kbps adds size, not words.
- Transcribe a long 3G2 file
Long 3G2 files from CDMA-era phones: around 115 MB an hour at 256 kbps, so 10 hours stays near 1.2 GB.
- Transcribe a long 3GP file
3GP video and voice files from older phones, often hours of a lecture or event in a few hundred megabytes.
- Transcribe a long A-law telephony file
Long A-law telephony files: G.711 at about 29 MB an hour, so length is the only limit. Packs from $4 for 300 minutes
- Transcribe a long AAC file
Long AAC files: about 30 to 60 MB an hour, so 10 hours stays under 2 GB; transcribed at about 2 minutes per audio hour.
- Transcribe a long AC3 file
Long AC3 tracks from DVDs and camcorders: 86 to 202 MB an hour, so 10 hours lands near 2 GB; the dialogue channel is what counts.
- Transcribe a long ACT recorder file
ACT files from budget voice recorders: often 3 to 4 MB an hour, read by ffmpeg in many builds; convert to MP3 if the upload refuses.
- Transcribe a long AIFC file
Long AIFC files: uncompressed at about 635 MB an hour or IMA4 near 170 MB; 3 hours back in about 6 minutes on the $4 pack.
- Transcribe a long AIFF file
AIFF from GarageBand, Logic and Mac recorders: about 635 MB an hour, so the 5 GB line arrives before the 10-hour one.
- Transcribe a long ALAC file
Apple Lossless recordings in .m4a: around half the size of WAV, so most 10-hour files fit inside the 5 GB limit, pack or no pack.
- Transcribe a long AMR file
AMR files from phone call recorders and voice apps: about 5 to 11 MB per hour, so even 10 hours is a tiny upload.
- Transcribe a long AMR-WB (.awb) file
AMR-WB (.awb) files from phone recorders: 16 kHz voice at roughly 5.7 to 10.7 MB an hour; most upload or convert in one step.
- Transcribe a long APE file
Long APE (Monkey's Audio) files: often about half a WAV, so near 300 MB a CD-quality hour; convert to FLAC or MP3 if refused.
- Transcribe a long ASF file
Long ASF files from old Windows Media streams: 14 MB an hour as audio, up to 450 MB as video; up to 10 h or 5 GB, 2 min per hour.
- Transcribe a long AU file
Long AU (Sun/NeXT) files: 29 MB an hour as 8 kHz mu-law, 635 MB as CD-quality stereo; 5 GB arrives near 7.9 hours at the top.
- Transcribe a long AV1 video file
Long AV1 videos in MP4, WebM or MKV: the speech transcribes at about 2 min an hour; past 5 GB, pull the audio out first.
- Transcribe a long AVCHD file
AVCHD camcorder footage runs about 8 to 11 GB an hour; send it as audio and a 3.5-hour session is text in about 7 minutes.
- Transcribe a long AVI file
AVI from old camcorders and tape captures: DV runs near 13 GB an hour, so long files go up as extracted audio.
- Transcribe a long Asterisk SLN file
Long Asterisk SLN files: headerless 16-bit audio at about 58 MB an hour. Packs from $4 for 300 minutes
- Transcribe a long BWF file
Long BWF (Broadcast Wave) files: about 691 MB an hour at 48 kHz 16-bit stereo, so 5 GB arrives near 7.2 hours.
- Transcribe a long Blackmagic RAW file
Blackmagic RAW runs to hundreds of GB an hour; send the sound: 90 minutes as MP3 is about 86 MB, ready in about 3 minutes.
- Transcribe a long CAF file
Core Audio Format recordings from Mac and iOS apps: no 4 GB ceiling of their own, so size depends on the codec inside.
- Transcribe a long Camtasia TREC file
Long Camtasia TREC recordings: export to MP4 or audio first; one file up to 10 h or 5 GB, about 2 min per audio hour.
- Transcribe a long Canon Cinema RAW Light file
Canon Cinema RAW Light (.CRM) is hundreds of GB an hour; a 2-hour panel exported as MP3 is about 115 MB and back in about 4 minutes.
- Transcribe a long DSS or DS2 file
DSS and DS2 files from dictation recorders: tiny per hour, often refused by web tools, and how to turn hours of them into text.
- Transcribe a long DTS file
Long DTS tracks: 346 to 679 MB an hour, so 5 GB arrives near 7.4 hours; a stereo MP3 of the speech is the easy route in.
- Transcribe a long DV tape capture
DV tape captures: about 13 GB per hour, so a MiniDV capture goes up as audio; 60-minute tapes in about 2 minutes each.
- Transcribe a long DVR recorder file
Packs from $4 for 300 minutes. MP3 or WAV goes up as is.
- Transcribe a long DVR-MS recorded TV file
DVR-MS recorded TV runs 2-3 GB an hour; pull the sound with ffmpeg and a 3-hour session is about 173 MB, back in about 6 minutes.
- Transcribe a long DivX AVI file
DivX AVI files: often 350 MB to 1.5 GB an hour, so many go up whole; convert if refused; 2 min per audio hour.
- Transcribe a long F4V file
Long F4V files from Flash-era webcasts and media servers: about 450 MB to 1.35 GB an hour; remux to MP4 if refused, 2 min per hour.
- Transcribe a long FLAC file
Long FLAC files: about 300 to 400 MB an hour at CD quality, so 10 hours fits under 5 GB; 2 min per audio hour.
- Transcribe a long FLV file
Long FLV files from old Flash lectures and stream recordings: about 225 MB to 1.1 GB an hour; up to 10 h or 5 GB, 2 min per hour.
- Transcribe a long GSM file
Long GSM files from call centres and voicemail: about 5.9 MB an hour, so 10 hours is under 60 MB; phone-quality audio, 2 min per hour.
- Transcribe a long GoPro LRV file
GoPro LRV proxy files are small MP4s with sound: often a fraction of the main video, so a long session can upload without the 4K file.
- Transcribe a long HEVC MP4
Long HEVC (H.265) MP4s: about 4.5 GB an hour at 10 Mbps, so 1 hour fits and 2 hours needs the audio pulled out.
- Transcribe a long HLS m3u8 stream
An .m3u8 is a playlist, not media: save the stream with ffmpeg or paste a YouTube, Twitch or Kick link; 5 hours is text in 10 minutes.
- Transcribe a long Insta360 INSV file
Insta360 INSV files run tens of GB an hour, so send only the sound: an MP3 of a 2-hour 360 recording is about 115 MB.
- Transcribe a long M2TS file
M2TS from Blu-ray discs and copied camcorder footage: 11 GB or more per hour, so send the audio; 2 minutes per audio hour.
- Transcribe a long M4B file
Long M4B audiobook files, DRM-free only: about 29 to 58 MB an hour, so the 10-hour line comes long before 5 GB.
- Transcribe a long M4V file
Hours of Apple M4V video, from HandBrake conversions to lecture exports: size per hour, the 5 GB line, and when to send audio.
- Transcribe a long MKA file
Long MKA (Matroska audio) files: 29 MB an hour in Opus, about 400 MB in FLAC; up to 10 h or 5 GB, 2 min per audio hour.
- Transcribe a long MKV screen recording
Hours of OBS screen capture saved as MKV: tutorials, coding sessions and webinars, sized by bitrate and sent as audio when heavy.
- Transcribe a long MOD file
MOD files from standard-definition camcorders: MPEG-2 at about 2 to 4 GB an hour; rename or convert, then transcribe.
- Transcribe a long MP2 file
Long MP2 files from radio loggers and playout: 86 to 173 MB an hour, so 10 hours stays under 2 GB; about 2 min per audio hour.
- Transcribe a long MPG file
Packs from $4 for 300 minutes
- Transcribe a long MTS file
MTS and M2TS from AVCHD camcorders: 8 to 11 GB an hour, split into clips, best sent as one joined audio file.
- Transcribe a long MXF file
MXF from broadcast and cinema cameras runs tens of GB an hour, so long ones go up as a mixed audio export.
- Transcribe a long OGA file
Long OGA files: Ogg audio, usually Opus or Vorbis at about 10 to 60 MB an hour. Packs from $4 for 300 minutes
- Transcribe a long OGG file
Long OGG files: Vorbis or Opus at a few to 60 MB an hour, so length is the limit: 10 hours a file, 2 min per audio hour.
- Transcribe a long OGV file
Long OGV screen captures and Ogg video: about 450 to 900 MB an hour at 1 to 2 Mbps; 5 GB near 5.5 h at the top rate.
- Transcribe a long Olympus DS2 file
Olympus DS2 dictation files: roughly 6 to 13 MB an hour, often unread by web tools, so export to MP3 once and send the whole session.
- Transcribe a long Opus file
Opus audio from Telegram, Discord and voice apps: about 7 to 30 MB per hour, hours long, one upload.
- Transcribe a long ProRes MOV
ProRes MOVs: about 66 GB an hour at 1080p ProRes 422, far past 5 GB; export the audio (about 58 MB an hour as MP3).
- Transcribe a long QCP file
QCP files (Qualcomm PureVoice) from older phones and voicemail: about 3.6 to 5.9 MB an hour; convert to MP3 if the upload refuses.
- Transcribe a long RED R3D file
RED .R3D footage runs past 5 GB within minutes; export the sound and a 75-minute interview is text in about 2.5 minutes on the $4 pack.
- Transcribe a long RF64 file
Long RF64 files, broadcast WAV past 4 GB: about 1 GB an hour at 48 kHz 24-bit stereo; convert to FLAC or MP3 if refused.
- Transcribe a long RMVB file
Long RMVB files from 2000s downloads and lecture archives: about 180 to 360 MB an hour; convert if refused, then 2 min per hour.
- Transcribe a long RealAudio file
Long RealAudio (.ra, .rm) files from radio and lecture streams: 9 to 29 MB an hour; convert if refused, 2 min per audio hour.
- Transcribe a long SPX file
Long SPX (Speex) files: 4 to 13 MB an hour, so 10 hours is under 130 MB; old VoIP calls and dictation, 2 min per audio hour.
- Transcribe a long Sony DVF file
Long Sony DVF files from IC recorders: convert to MP3 with Sony's software first; up to 10 h per file, about 2 min per audio hour.
- Transcribe a long Sony MSV file
Long Sony MSV files from older IC recorders: convert to MP3 or WAV with Sony's software; up to 10 h per file, 2 min per hour.
- Transcribe a long Sony XAVC S file
Sony XAVC S MP4s run about 22 to 45 GB an hour at 50 to 100 Mbps; upload short clips as is, extract the audio from long ones.
- Transcribe a long Sound Designer II file
Long Sound Designer II files: old Pro Tools audio, about 518 MB an hour for 24-bit mono; convert, then 3 hours in about 6 minutes.
- Transcribe a long TOD file
TOD files from early HD hard-drive camcorders: about 12 GB an hour of MPEG-2, so send the audio; 2 min per audio hour.
- Transcribe a long TS file
MPEG transport stream captures from tuners and stream tools: heavy per hour, so an audio-only copy or the original link usually wins.
- Transcribe a long TiVo recording file
A .TiVo file must be decrypted with the box's Media Access Key first; then a 2.5-hour recording is text in about 5 minutes on the $4 pack.
- Transcribe a long VOC file
Long VOC (Creative Voice) files from DOS-era PCs: 29 to 79 MB an hour in 8-bit mono; 2 min per audio hour, up to 10 h per file.
- Transcribe a long VOX file
VOX files from call recorders and IVR systems: headerless ADPCM, 10.8 to 14.4 MB an hour; tell the converter the rate, then upload.
- Transcribe a long W64 file
Long W64 (Wave64) files from DAWs: about 1 GB an hour at 48 kHz 24-bit stereo, so 5 GB arrives near 4.8 hours.
- Transcribe a long WEBA file
Long WEBA files from browser recorders: about 22 to 72 MB an hour in Opus; up to 10 h per file, about 2 min per audio hour.
- Transcribe a long WEBM file
WEBM files from browser recorders and screen-capture extensions, hours long, sent as one upload.
- Transcribe a long WMA file
WMA recordings from older Windows recorders and dictation devices, hours long but small: about 30 to 60 MB per hour.
- Transcribe a long WMV file
WMV from Windows Movie Maker, old webinar archives and training libraries: 8 hours fits one $18 pack of 3,000 minutes.
- Transcribe a long WTV recording
Long WTV recorded TV from Windows Media Center: 2 to 8.7 GB an hour, so extract the audio first; 2 min per audio hour.
- Transcribe a long WavPack file
Long WavPack (.wv) files: lossless, often near 300 MB a CD-quality hour; convert to FLAC or MP3 if the upload refuses it.
- Transcribe a long Xvid AVI file
An Xvid AVI is often 400-500 MB an hour; a 3-hour seminar is about 1.35 GB, uploads before a pack, and is text in about 6 minutes.
- Transcribe a long raw PCM file
Long raw PCM files: state the rate, bit depth and channels, convert, upload; 4 hours back in about 8 minutes on the $4 pack.
- Transcribe a long μ-law telephony file
Long μ-law telephony files: 8 kHz at about 29 MB an hour, so 10 hours stay under 300 MB; 8 hours of calls fit the $18 pack of 3,000 minutes.
- Transcribe long VOB files
Long VOB files from DVDs: about 1.8 to 3.6 GB an hour in 1 GB pieces; join a title or take its audio, 2 min per audio hour.
- Video too big to transcribe?
Video over 5 GB? Extract the audio (about 58 MB an hour), drop it to 720p (about 1.1 GB an hour) or split it into two files.
Operated by Neugence Technology Pvt. Ltd. · contact@whipscribe.com · Security · Privacy · Terms