Transcribe a 4 GB video file without shrinking it.
A 4 GB video is under the 5 GB ceiling, so it goes up exactly as it is. Because it is over 2 GB, it starts once a pack is on your account; a $6 pack holds 500 minutes, enough for most videos that size. Processing takes about 2 minutes per hour of audio, so three hours comes back in around six minutes.
What sits in 4 GB
Four gigabytes can be fifteen minutes or four hours.
Read the length, not the size
At a typical 1080p bitrate of 1 to 2 GB per hour, a 4 GB file runs two to four hours: a full conference session, a long webinar, an evening's livestream. A 4K phone clip can reach the same size in ten to thirty minutes. You pay for minutes of audio, so the running time is the number to check.
Pack first, then it runs
Files over 2 GB start after a pack is on the account. Three hours is 180 minutes, which a $6 pack of 500 minutes covers with 320 minutes to spare. Minutes do not expire, so the remainder waits for the next recording.
The upload is the long part
Moving 4 GB at 50 Mbps upstream takes about eleven minutes; at 20 Mbps it is closer to half an hour. The transcription after that is short. Keep the laptop awake and on a wired or steady connection until the bar completes. Large files go up from the upload page, which accepts up to 5 GB.
Or skip the upload
If the video is already on YouTube, Vimeo, Google Drive, Twitch or Kick, paste the link. The file is fetched on our side, so nothing has to leave your laptop and a slow home connection stops mattering.
The 4 GB workaround routine
Most advice for a 4 GB video is about making it smaller.
✗ Shrink it to fit
Guides for large videos tend to start with a converter and end with you stitching text files together. None of those steps is about the words.
- Handbrake open for twenty minutes
- Audio extracted to a separate file
- The video cut into four pieces
- Four transcripts merged by hand
- Timestamps off by the length of each cut
- A converter that changed the sample rate
✓ Upload the 4 GB as it is
The original goes up untouched and returns as one transcript whose timestamps point into the original video.
- One 4 GB file, no converter
- Soundtrack read from the video
- One transcript, one clock
- A $6 pack covers about eight hours
- Chapters to find the part you need
- SRT and VTT that sync to the original
Sample output
Hour three of a recorded conference track.
Illustrative only, not drawn from a real recording. A 4 GB session video becomes one transcript, and the third hour carries the same running clock as the first.
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
4 GB videos, answered.
Is 4 GB too large to transcribe?
No. The ceiling is 5 GB and 10 hours for a single file, and a 4 GB video is within both for nearly every recording. The only 4 GB file that would trip the hour limit is very low-bitrate audio, and a video of that size never comes close.
Why does a 4 GB file need a pack before it starts?
Anything over 2 GB starts once a pack is on the account. Smaller files can start with the first 20 minutes free; a 4 GB upload skips that preview and runs in full.
What does a 4-hour video cost?
Four hours is 240 minutes, and the $6 pack of 500 minutes covers it with 260 left over. The hourly rate drops on bigger packs: $0.36 an hour on the $12 pack and $0.29 on the $24 pack.
How long until the transcript is ready?
About 2 minutes for every hour of audio once the upload finishes, so a four-hour video is usually done in about eight minutes.
My 4 GB video is on Google Drive. Do I download it first?
No, paste the Drive link instead. That saves you downloading 4 GB and then uploading the same 4 GB again. Make sure the file is shared so that anyone with the link can view it, or the fetch will be refused by Drive.
Which languages and exports are available, and is it private?
The language is detected automatically from 99. You can export TXT, DOCX, SRT, VTT or JSON. Videos are transcribed on our own servers, and nothing you upload is used for training.
Related
Related sizes and lengths.
Four gigabytes, untouched. One transcript back.
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