Transcribe a long WTV recording recorded TV, as text.
A WTV recording from Windows Media Center runs about 2 to 3 GB per hour in standard definition and up to 8.7 GB per hour in HD, so long recordings pass the 5 GB ceiling; extract the audio with ffmpeg or VLC, about 58 MB per hour as MP3, and upload that. It transcribes at about 2 minutes per audio hour, the first 20 minutes are free, and a 3-hour debate broadcast fits the $6 pack of 500 minutes.
WTV, worked out
Media Center recorded whole evenings of television. The speech in them is worth more than the picture.
What wrote WTV files
Windows Media Center saved TV recordings as WTV on Windows 7 and some versions of Vista and Windows 8, replacing the older DVR-MS format, usually in a Recorded TV folder under the Public folders. Media Center is gone from current Windows, but long recordings remain: debates, parliamentary sittings, documentaries, election nights and local council broadcasts.
Why size is the problem
Broadcast video is heavy. An SD MPEG-2 channel is around 2 to 3 GB an hour; an HD broadcast at 19.4 Mbps is about 8.7 GB an hour, so the 5 GB ceiling arrives after roughly 35 minutes. The audio alone is small: an AC3 track at 384 kbps is about 173 MB an hour, and a 128 kbps MP3 about 58 MB.
Extract, then upload
Try the WTV if it is small, but for anything long, convert to MP3 or MP4 with ffmpeg or VLC: ffmpeg -i debate.wtv -vn -b:a 128k debate.mp3. Recent ffmpeg versions read most WTV files; a recording the broadcaster flagged as protected may not open outside Media Center. A 10-hour MP3 is about 576 MB and continues on the upload page.
What comes back
A brief with the argument and takeaways, chapters at each segment or speaker, the names, figures and dates said on air, the questions raised, and a chat over the text. Presenters and guests are identified and named in the summary, key quotes and chapters.
Why recorded TV stays on the old PC
Gigabytes per hour, in a format only one retired program understood.
✗ Locked in Media Center
WTV files are big, and few tools outside Windows will touch them.
- Hours that exceed 5 GB in HD
- Players that do not list .wtv
- Ad breaks between every segment
- A whole evening in one recording
- No way to search for a quoted figure
- Quotes copied by pausing and typing
✓ The broadcast, read back
Pull the audio once, upload it, and read the evening.
- Ten hours of audio in one file
- About 2 minutes per audio hour
- First 20 minutes free
- $12 for 2,000 minutes, a recorded season
- Chapters at each segment
- DOCX to quote from
Sample
A recorded televised debate, ninety minutes in.
Written for this page as an example, not taken from any real broadcast, candidate or channel; the timestamps mark positions in a long WTV 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
- 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 WTV recordings, the questions to expect.
Can I upload a WTV file as it is?
A short SD one may go through, but most long WTV files are too big and in a format the upload may refuse. Convert to MP3 or MP4 with ffmpeg or VLC; the audio-only MP3 is the fastest route and keeps every word.
How long does a 3-hour recording take?
About 6 minutes, at roughly 2 minutes per audio hour. The MP3 of three hours is about 173 MB, so the upload is quick too.
What does a recorded series cost?
Twenty-two episodes of 42 minutes are 924 minutes, which fits the $12 pack of 2,000. A 3-hour debate broadcast is 180 minutes on the $6 pack of 500. Adverts and music are not transcribed, but their minutes count, so trim them out first if you like.
What if ffmpeg will not open the file?
Some recordings carry a copy-protection flag and play only in Media Center on the PC that recorded them. If a file will not open in ffmpeg or VLC, it cannot be converted; unprotected recordings usually open fine.
Am I allowed to transcribe recorded TV?
Transcribe only recordings you have the right to use, such as a broadcast for your own research or a council meeting you need to review. The transcript is an AI working copy, not a certified or official record.
Languages and privacy?
99 languages, detected automatically. Recordings are transcribed on our own servers and are never used for training. Downloads are TXT, DOCX, SRT, VTT and JSON.
Related
Other broadcast and disc formats
Upload the audio from your WTV. Twenty minutes free to begin.
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