Transcribe a long A-law telephony file phone audio from outside North America.
A long A-law file is 8 kHz telephone audio at 64 kbps, about 29 MB an hour, so a 10-hour recording stays near 290 MB and length is the only limit that applies. At about 2 minutes per audio hour a 6-hour file is text in roughly 12 minutes; the first 20 minutes are free, and 360 minutes fit the $6 pack of 500.
A-law, explained
Same rate and size as μ-law, a different curve, and the default on most phone networks outside North America and Japan.
Where A-law files come from
G.711 A-law is the phone codec used across Europe, Africa, much of Asia and Latin America. Business phone systems, call loggers on digital trunk lines, conference bridges and voicemail platforms in those regions store their recordings in it. It turns up as headerless .al or .alaw files, or as a WAV whose format field says A-law.
A-law or μ-law?
The two use the same 8 kHz, 8-bit layout but compress loudness differently. A raw file decoded with the wrong one plays, but sounds harsh and crackly. If a converted file sounds like that, run the conversion again with the other law; the clean version is the right one.
Converting the raw kind
An A-law WAV usually uploads as it is. A raw .al file has nothing that describes it, so if the upload refuses it, convert to MP3 or MP4 with ffmpeg or VLC. With ffmpeg: ffmpeg -f alaw -ar 8000 -ac 1 -i line1.al line1.mp3. sox can write a WAV with sox -t al -r 8000 -c 1 line1.al line1.wav. Files above 500 MB carry on through upload page.
What comes back
A long line recording returns a brief of what was asked and agreed, chapters at each call or topic, the reference numbers, dates and amounts read out, the questions the calls answered, and a chat over the text. Callers and staff are identified and named in the summary, key quotes and chapters.
Why A-law archives go unread
The logger kept every call. Getting one call out as text has been a project of its own.
✗ Logger files in a drawer
Recordings exported from the logger come out as raw .al files with cryptic names.
- Players that will not open raw A-law
- Audio that crackles when decoded wrongly
- Complaints checked by listening end to end
- Upload limits counted in minutes
- A licence for each auditor
- No overview of a shift
✓ A shift in text
One conversion if needed, one upload, one transcript of the shift.
- Six hours in about 12 minutes
- Reference numbers in the brief
- Speakers named in the summary
- Moments found by timestamp
- $6 for 500 minutes
- Five export formats
Sample
Part of a long line recording, as text.
Illustrative only: written for this page. The caller, organisation and reference numbers are invented.
Export
One transcript. Five clean formats.
Every pack exports all five — no format is held back for a higher tier.
Plain text
De-ummed paragraphs. Ready to paste.
SRT captions
Timed to the speech. Every video editor reads this.
WebVTT
HTML5 player + YouTube uploads.
Show notes
Formatted with chapters and pull-quotes.
Machine-readable
Timestamped text for your own tools.
Pricing
Honest pricing, no surprises.
A pack from $6 (500 minutes) opens the full transcript. After that, no subscription and no auto-renew — every tier is a one-time minute pack, and credits never expire. Buy once, use the minutes whenever you need them.
Casual pack
$6/500 min
8 hours of audio — $0.72 an hour. One-time — credits never expire.
- 500 minutes of audio
- All export formats
- AI chat over the whole transcript
- Executive summary & key quote
Best value
$12/2,000 min
33 hours of audio — $0.36 an hour. Credits never expire.
- 2,000 minutes of audio
- Summary, chapters and key quotes
- All export formats
- AI chat over the whole transcript
Bulk pack
$24/5,000 min
83 hours of audio — $0.29 an hour. Credits never expire.
- 5,000 minutes of audio
- Summary, chapters and key quotes
- API access for batch pipelines
- All export formats
FAQ
Long A-law files, the common questions.
Will my A-law file upload as it is?
A WAV with A-law audio usually does. A raw .al or .alaw file often does not, since it carries no header. Convert it with ffmpeg or VLC at 8 kHz, one channel, and upload the MP3.
How long does a long A-law file take?
About 2 minutes per audio hour: a 6-hour file in roughly 12 minutes, a 10-hour file in about 20.
What does an archive of calls cost?
Thirty hours a month, 1,800 minutes, fit the $12 pack of 2,000. An archive of 80 hours, 4,800 minutes, fits the $24 pack of 5,000 with 200 left. The first 20 minutes on a first visit are free, and the minutes do not expire.
Our logger exports stereo files. Does that matter?
No. A two-channel file is about 58 MB an hour instead of 29 and is still far below 2 GB for 10 hours. Both sides of the call are transcribed into one text. Recording calls needs the consent the law where you are requires.
A file is longer than 10 hours.
Cut it into two files of under 10 hours each and upload both. Each comes back with timestamps from zero, so note where the second one starts.
Which languages, and where is the audio processed?
99 languages are detected automatically, and a call that switches language is detected on its main language. Recordings are transcribed on our own servers and are never used for training.
Related
Other telephony formats
Upload the A-law file. Read the shift as text.
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