Transcribe long recordings from VLC a stream you recorded or a video you shrank.
To transcribe a long VLC recording, upload the file VLC recorded or converted, up to 10 hours or 5 GB, and a 4-hour talk comes back as text in about 8 minutes. Converting that talk to a 128 kbps MP3 in VLC brings it to about 230 MB, and its 240 minutes fit the $6 pack of 500 minutes after the first 20 minutes free.
From VLC to text
VLC is the free tool that makes a huge video small enough to send.
Converting a long video to MP3
In VLC, Media then Convert/Save opens the converter; add the video, choose an audio MP3 profile, and pick where the new file should be saved. The result keeps every word and loses the picture, which is all a transcript needs. If the upload refuses any file, convert it to MP3 first.
The size, worked out
A 128 kbps MP3 stores 128,000 bits a second, or 16,000 bytes, so one hour is 57.6 MB and four hours is about 230 MB. The same 4-hour talk as a camera MP4 can be several gigabytes. Converting is optional below 5 GB, but the smaller file uploads faster on a slow connection.
Recording a stream with VLC
VLC can open a network stream and record it while it plays, which is how many people keep a long talk or broadcast they are allowed to save. Check the folder VLC writes recordings to in its preferences before you go looking for the file. When the stream sits on YouTube, Twitch, Kick or Vimeo, paste that link here instead and skip recording altogether.
A talk you can quote
The text comes back with a brief, timestamped chapters, and every name, number and date mentioned. Speakers are named in the summary, key quotes and chapters, so a panel of four reads as four people rather than one long block.
Long videos elsewhere
A 4-hour video is usually rejected for its size before anyone looks at its length.
✗ Before converting
A long video that will not go anywhere.
- A multi-gigabyte MP4 that crawls up the line
- Upload caps measured in minutes, not hours
- The Whisper API stopping at 25 MB
- Cutting the talk into short clips
- Lost timestamps between the clips
- A talk nobody can search
✓ After VLC and one upload
A small file and the whole talk as text.
- About 230 MB for four hours of MP3
- One upload, no clips
- Around 8 minutes to read four hours
- Chapters with times across the talk
- 240 minutes on the $6 pack
- TXT, DOCX and subtitles together
Sample
A recorded panel talk, as it comes back.
These lines are illustrative and were written for this page, not taken from any real event. The timestamps sit inside a 4-hour recording.
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
- Unlimited AI chat per 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
- Priority queue
- All export formats
- Unlimited AI chat per transcript
Bulk pack
$24/5,000 min
83 hours of audio — $0.29 an hour. Credits never expire.
- 5,000 minutes of audio
- Priority queue
- API access for batch pipelines
- All export formats
FAQ
VLC recordings and conversions, answered.
How long does a 4-hour VLC file take?
About 8 minutes, since processing takes roughly 2 minutes per hour of audio. The proof page shows a 4.94-hour file done in 372 seconds.
What does a 4-hour VLC file cost?
A first visit covers the opening 20 minutes of the file for free. Four hours is 240 minutes, which belongs on the $6 pack of 500 minutes at $0.72 an audio hour, leaving 260 minutes. Two such talks still fit that pack.
Do I have to convert the video before uploading?
No. A file up to 5 GB uploads as it is, and before your first pack the limit is 2 GB. Converting to MP3 in VLC helps when the video is larger than that, or when the upload refuses the format.
My VLC recording runs past 10 hours. How do I split it?
Ten hours is the most one file can hold, so cut it into two parts. VLC's converter is not a precise editor; a free audio editor gives you a clean cut at a pause, and each part then gets its own brief.
Which languages are recognised?
99 languages, picked up automatically without a setting. A recording that switches language is detected on its main one, and the switches are handled.
What can I export, and is my file kept private?
TXT, DOCX, SRT, VTT and JSON come from one run. Recordings are transcribed on our own servers and are never used for training, whether the file came from VLC or anywhere else.
Related
Formats and long video
Convert it once, upload it once. See the first 20 minutes of the talk free.
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