If you are looking to become a transcriptionist, there is some transcription gear that you must have to do the job properly.  Your equipment needs will depend on whether you will be doing digital transcription or tape transcription.  In this article, the aim is to give you an overview of the basic transcription gear that you will need and its function and usage. The first piece of equipment that you will need is the transcriber.  Transcription cannot be done if you can’t playback recordings. There is misperception among many aspiring transcriptionists that audio playback programmes in computers can an alternative to transcribers. However, this is a wrong impression and you will need to buy a transcriber to get the job done.  You will be able to find programs that can deal with digital files. If you want to work with cassettes, you will need a separate machine that can deal with that media.   You can get a microcassette player for cassettes

The second piece of transcription gear that you will need is the foot pedal. This piece of transcription equipment makes the job so much easier and fun. You will see the convenience of the foot pedal when you use one. This piece of equipment increases the speed of work manifold and also boosts the overall productivity.  You can’t imagine working as fast without this essential element of your transcription gear. You should get a USB paddle since most computers have USB ports these days. Make sure that the standalone equipment that you buy ships with the foot pedal or it will be really inconvenient and difficult for you to manage workflow.

You will also need a headset for a transcription job. A pair of simple headphones will be good enough to do the job.  It is not necessary that you buy branded headphones that are meant for transcription. Instead, you can buy a decent pair of headphones but make sure that they are comfortable as you will be working for long hours. Cheap headphones might save some dollars for you but they will break soon and your ears will hurt if you are on job for longer periods of time.  A good option among the headphones will be the noise cancelling headphones which you can find at any audio store. These headphones are comfortable to wear and they let you focus on work eliminating distractions. Whatever the nature of your job, you should consider buying some programmes like the encryption and counting software, text expanders and spell checkers that will help you with work. When you have the right transcription machines, you will have fun while doing the job and won’t get tired.

Medical transcription software is one of the basic requirements for any individual working for medical or health organizations. Medical transcription services are extremely well paid jobs and therefore are very popular amongst people nowadays. Individuals also have the option of working from home which provides more flexibility and longer working hours. On the other hand, individuals can also look for jobs on the internet because there are various websites that post regular vacancies. In addition to that, one can also visit the websites of health organizations in order to keep themselves regularly updated on new job postings as well as projects.

Software for medical transcription is limited to a couple of companies that develop and sell them. Individual operating platforms such as the Mac and Windows have their own voice recognition software but these are not ideal for professional users. Voice recognition or transcription software has the ability to enable users to turn their laptops or desktop computers into digital recording machines. Most users prefer the Dragon Naturally Speaking 9 medical software version that has been specifically designed to enable users to provide transcription services to health organizations.

This software has been developed by Nuance communications and is purchasable at an affordable price of $450. It is compatible with Windows and can be installed quite easily and quickly. One does not have to extensively dictate to the computer in order to make dictation accurate. However, one of the basic requirements is to have an extremely high quality microphone since background noise tends to decrease the accuracy of dictation. This software also contains fully equipped 14 libraries that contain all sorts of vocabulary options. The software also contains terms from subjects such as cardiology, emergency, general medicine and gynecology.

This software works extremely well with wireless microphones specifically ones that have been designed by nuance communications. Medical dictation software such as the Dragon naturally speaking is ideal for professionals who provide transcription services to medical and health organizations. This is ideal medical transcription software for an organization since it can be installed over an entire network and provides lots options in regards to vocabulary as well as managing separate user profiles. The accuracy of this software is also remarkable as opposed to voice recognition programs that come inbuilt with Windows or Mac.

Furthermore, the latest edition of the program works extremely well with Bluetooth headsets therefore making it possible for one to dictate while moving about in the room.

Some people are confused over whether to buy a dictation machine or a microcassette player. Microcassette players have been around for almost four decades. They have been used extensively and offers endless recording options as long as you have an endless supply of cassettes. The only problem with this recording system is that it is old fashioned and has issues with durability and voice quality. It is also not user friendly.

A dictation machine on the other hand does not have these issues. You do not have to use any microcassette with a modern dictation machine. It comes with internal memory in giga bytes that can record hours upon hours of recording. It is basically a marriage between the digital voice recorder and a dictating machine of older days. It comes with a central navigation pod that enables you to record, delete, erase or re-record any audio file, conversation or conference minutes. Most devices have new DSS QP recording mode for higher quality audio recordings. You can also expand the SD/SDHC memory of the machine by using the removable media card slot.

New dictating machines are fully integrated with the USB 2.0 High-Speed interface. You will simply have to connect it to a computer and you will be able to integrate it with voice recording software where you can enhance the voice quality, add or remove parts of the recording or replace it with anther recording. The choice will be yours but the software will allow you to add a multitude of variations. The following machines offer some of the best digital recordings and you can consider them for your next transcription project.

Olympus VN6000

This digital dictation machine does not come with a foot pedal. It simply does not have any need to use a foot pedal as it comes with a comprehensive one touch recording option. It is very compact in size with physical dimensions of 1.5 x 5 x 6 inches and a total weight of 8 ounces. It offers slow and fast playback options along with up to 600 hours of recording. Timer recording is available and you can store your audio data in four folders with ach having 100 files capacity; indexing facility is also available.

Sony ICDB600

It has 512 MB built-in flash memory, one of the largest currently available in these devices. It can support up to 300 hours of recording time and has four message folders that can record up to 396 messages. It comes with a large LCD display that features date and time stamp and is powered by two AAA batteries. It has physical dimensions of 0.5 x 1.4 x 3.8 inches and comes with an aggregate weight of 2.2 pounds.

Certain things need to be considered before you make your mind on buying a transcribing machine. Costs and other factors need to be taken care of and the design and specifications of the machine should be researched before you actually decide on making a purchase. The following lines will give you some information in this regard.

The first thing to know before you buy a transcribing machine is to assess your daily or weekly transcription needs and even monthly if you have a large stack of work. If you work in the medical or legal profession then you will have to use these machines on an extensive basis and for many hours on any given day. This means that you will have to put in extra effort to pick equipment that offers you the best efficiency and workability.

A transcriber machine works on a simple principle. It offers you the opportunity to convert into words all that you have recorded in the audio format. Older transcribing machines offer a very simple working procedure. They come with a playback technology that you can control with your foot. You can playback or forward the recording by a simple tap of your feet. These machines do not have much technology features to offer and have become rather obsolete in recent years.

Modern transcriber machines also have foot pedals but they have plenty of other features to offer. The first distinguishing feature of these machines is the presence of voice recognition software and other tools. The complexity and sophistication of this software will allow you to convert all the conversations, audio recordings made during seminars and conferences and general meeting minutes into digital format, word documents and other formats. All you have to do is to install the software on your computer, which generally comes in the installation CD with the digital transcription equipment, and integrate the device with that software.

Again, you will simply have to use the USB interface available with the device to complete this integration. The actual process will be much simpler. You can insert the disc with the audio recording or download it from the internet or email. You can use the features available on the software to trigger the voice recognition software. The device will recognize the voice and will automatically generate a word document or any other format that have you selected earlier. You can later make amends to this transcript as per the original speech.

A plethora of options are available to replay and forward the audio recordings and you can install additional software to make this process smoother and time efficient. Auto backspace play, speed control, volume enhancements and tone control features are available on most devices along with audible scans and other options.

Transcription Kits have become immensely popular in recent years. They are an easier way of transcribing than using the old methods that are both time consuming and inaccurate. One can now use a device to transcribe a three-hour conference call within a much shorter span of time than the old days when one had to spend a whole day going back and forward listening to different recordings of poor audio quality.

Transcription Kits are available in wide ranging formats. Some of the best are featured in the following lines.

AS-2400PC Kit

Olympus transcription kits have always remained popular with the users. This is because of their high quality and innovative features. AS-2400PC is a superbly designed kit that offers a multitude of functions. It comes with average size foot pedals, an installation disc, headphones and cords and wires required to connect to the computer. It fully supports the USB interface. You can use the software that comes with it to quickly transcribe hours of recordings. It is pretty easy to use and you can read the instruction manual to glean further information about seamless integration of this device. It fully supports DSS, DSS Pro, WMA, MP3 and WAV/AIFF audio files. It comes in physical dimensions of 9 x 6.8 x 4 inches and has a total weight of 4.3 pounds.

Sony FS85USB

This device provides transcription on a broader scale. It fully supports DVF, MSV, WAV, MP3 and ADPCM formats. It comes with playback speed control and automatic secretarial backspace and is fully compatible with the USB interface. It can fully integrate with the Windows 98, 2000, ME and XP operating systems. Software is included in the package that you can install on your computer to quickly transcribe as many files as you want. It comes in physical dimensions of 6 x 11.4 x 2.9 inches and a total weight of 1.6 pounds.

Sanyo PC Transcription Kit

This transcription equipment is equally good. It works efficiently well with digital voice recorders and fully supports a multitude of operating systems including Windows 98 and XP. It comes with standard components including headphones, foot pedal and connecting cords. It has a total weight of 1.8 pounds.

Philips LFH 6277 Executive Transcription Kit

It comes with transcription software and tools that will enable you to professionally transcribe digital dictation directly from a PC. You can also alter the settings as per your personal preferences and dictation formats. It comes with workflow management system with pause transcription so that you will not miss a word. Auto backspace play and go feature works well in a variety of working environments. Audible scan and digital playback features will be equally good for use in small and large organizations.

You can rely on digital transcription software as a tool to convert audio files into word documents, PDF files or any other format that you like. This software has become popular because it is much easier to use than the older devices. The following lines will give you a comparison between two brands of digital transcription tools.

Express Scribe

This Australian digital transcription software offers a number of options for both the experienced and novice users. It offers variable speed playback but with a constant pitch and fully supports audio and video playback. It also supports professional foot pedals that can be connected to the USB port to control playback. Hot keys are present to control playback while you are using other software. The good thing about this software is the fact that you can dock both analog and digital portable recorders to add recordings. The software is fully compatible with Microsoft Word and other word processors. You can integrate it with Express Delegate Dictation Workflow to make things smoother.

There is nothing to worry about when file uploading from digital transcription equipment as it automatically receives and loads files by internet, email or over a local computer network. It comes with the Dragon Naturally Speaking speech recognition software to automatically convert speech to text. You can use dictation management systems to further enhance the working of this software. Shortcut keys and other links are also available to make the transcription process quicker and easier.

Quickscribe

This device provides digital transcription through a very simple format. You can easily edit a RICH audio file format by using the ‘Intelligent Audio File’ (IAF) feature of this software. You will have the opportunity to dictate, undo, redo and erase recordings. You can cut and paste text, create spreadsheets, images, documents, templates and even paste them on e-mail addresses and URL. You can covert all of these formats into a digital dictation file as well.

This voice transcription software do not just offer work-flow format as offered by its competitors. It also offers work-process that makes it easier for you to carry out multiple functions simultaneously without having to wait for one process to finish and you can quickly start the next one. Speech recognition and transformation into text will enable you to quickly transcribe all of your important meetings and conferences.

The Olympus transcription software offers equally good options. It can automatically download audio files and sends transcribed document files by E-mail or FTP. Word processing starts automatically after the audio recording is done and it supports a plethora of formats and features. File arrangement, voice enhancement and transcription updates and other features are also available on this software.

A transcription foot pedal is an important component of a transcription kit. Transcription foot pedals provide users the comfort when it comes to transcribing for long hours. Transcription foot pedals are capable of rewinding and forwarding digital recordings. Furthermore, foot pedals can also be used to control speech recordings. There are many transcription foot pedals available in the market. However, you need to know which pedal will perform best without raising nay issues.

The first thing you need to know when purchasing a transcription foot pedal is its compatibility with the operating system installed on your computer. You do not want to purchase a pedal that is only compatible with one operating system, only to find out that your operating system is different.

You need to check if your computer supports USB or it has the conventional 15 pin input for a cable. Most computers these days come equipped with a USB port. USB transcription foot pedal will be compatible with such machines. However, if you are using an older machine, you need to look for a compatible model.

The transcription software you intend to use is also important in determining which pedal to purchase. Transcription foot pedals are not compatible with all types of transcription software that are available in the market. You need to find out if the foot pedal you are considering to purchase will work with the software you intend to use on your computer.

The size of the pedal is also an important factor to consider. Some people would prefer a large pedal when it comes to working for long hours. Others would prefer a pedal size equal to their foot. If you plan on purchasing a pedal online, looking at pictures alone is not enough. Try visiting local stores to check out on different pedal sizes that are available before ordering to make sure you are choosing the right size.

Reading different reviews will certainly help you highlight the features that you require from a foot pedal. It should be noted that different transcriptions require different kinds of pedals. A medical transcription foot pedal may work for medical transcription, but when it comes to legal transcription, the pedal may not perform efficiently.

Although some people would opt to purchase a transcription pedal from a local store, it is preferred that you purchase a foot pedal by ordering online. Online stores tend to offer great deals to customers due to immense competition. Furthermore, you can choose the delivery option that suits you best.

It has become almost impossible for companies in the medical transcription business to ignore the importance of transcription software. In fact, medical transcription software can effectively handle each and every aspect of their business and this is what makes it extremely vital to take special care when choosing software for transcription. Companies should never spend money on a low-quality program that can’t enhance the performance of their medical transcribers, as it will be a total waste of money.

A transcription program can improve the productivity of a medical transcription business in many ways. As a general rule, a business has to increase its revenue and cut down costs in order to improve profitability. A right transcription program can help a company achieve both these objectives.

As far as cost savings are concerned, a quality software program can help achieve benefits like local dictation phone numbers that can significantly cut down phone expenses. If the suppliers of the program have local phone numbers that are situated in key centers around the country, it is possible to reduce the costs of making long distance calls considerably. While it may not appear to be a huge expense, it can add up to a huge sum over time if a large number of clients are dictating to a software system regularly and for long durations.

Improving profitability also entails increasing revenue. A transcription program will let every transcriber to give more output in a specific amount of time, which will have a huge impact on the company’s productivity and profitability. Not only can a transcription program review and edit the transcript speedily but it also includes an automated mechanism that can deliver the final output to the client.

Given the fact that transcription software is highly technical, a medical transcription company may find it difficult to manage the software as well as the servers that will run it. Thus, the company should choose a supplier that can offer technical assistance whenever it is required. The company should also try to find out about the expenses that it would be required to bear in the future for software upgrade.

A transcription program will have an impact on every department of a company and can significantly reduce the managerial burden on a business. The modern software systems have minimized tediousness that was present in the transcription industry until recently and have helped companies to reduce costs and enhance productivity and profitability.

Speech recognition software is one of the most vital components if one wishes to convert his or her computer in a transcription device. Most platforms like the Windows and Mac OS have their own transcription software that come pre-installed. However, these programs do not provide the accuracy that is required by professional users such as medical and legal practitioners. Hence, specific speech recognition programs like the dragon naturally speaking software as well as the Macspeech Dictate and Scribe are mostly purchased by users who want to convert their personal computers into dictation devices.

The most popular voice recognition software currently available is the dragon naturally speaking speech engine that works with every version of Windows. The only downside to this is that it will not be compatible with Mac OS. However, the latest version provides 20 percent more accuracy as well as being 99 percent accurate in an overall sense which means that it is an extremely viable substitute for typing. The program basically enhances its knowledge base as usage increases and has been stipulate as never making a spelling mistake. Generally research has shown that people can speak over 120 words per minute on an average whereas they cannot really type more than 40 words per minute. However, while using the Dragon naturally speaking software one can formulate letters and type out emails three times faster than an average user.

Similarly, the Macspeech Dictate and Scriber are two separate programs that are bundled together and are primarily used with the Mac OS. They have been developed in conjunction with the Dragon speech recognition software and provide almost the same sort of utility and functionality. However, one can navigate almost every function of a particular computer particularly web surfing by using the dragon software. Hence, the entire process of using a computer to accomplish daily tasks becomes much more convenient and less time consuming. One can also use Microsoft office programs such as word, excel and PowerPoint in the most proficient manner.

Normally people purchase a Bluetooth wireless microphone with the dragon dictation software because that allows one to move about freely while dictating or providing voice commands to the computer. Personal computers that have been bonded with PDAs as well as other hand held devices can also be dictated to by using the dragon software. Transcription programs such as these are extremely resourceful for a number of individuals both professional and home users. Medical and legal practitioners as well as college students and professors can benefit from this software.

A digital transcription system allows users to convert their desktops into machines that can provide the same facilities as a standard machine based recording device as well as provided numerous additional features. Transcription systems are manufactured by a number of renowned companies such as Philips, Olympus and Sony. Most of these devices are extremely expensive but a little research has to be conducted in order to purchase the product best suited for one’s requirements as well as being reasonably priced.

The Philips LFH-9750 is desktop based digital transcription system which provides the same sort of utility as a standard micro cassette recorder except the fact that it uses a memory or SD card that has to be inserted within the device. The LFH-9750 can adopt a variety of memory cards with varying capacities. Some memory cards allow users to record up to 60 hours of talk time. On the other hand, this particular device also provides users with extremely useful features such as hands free listing to dictation, enabling a large amount of workflow storage as well as workflow management.

Basically the LFH-9750 is a dictation transcription system that allows recorded material to be easily transferred onto a personal computer. Also, a high tech microphone as well as a foot pedal can convert this machine into an extremely resourceful transcribing system. The microphone will further enhance digital voice quality whereas the foot pedal can be used to start, stop, play or pause the recording device at one’s discretion. The foot pedal also has the ability to make the entire usage process extremely convenient. In comparison with other devices that are manufactured, the LFH-9750 is considerably affordable at a price of $400. Other similar devices can potentially be extremely expensive whereas this device also provides a lot of additional benefits and features.

This particular transcription system also stored file in DSS format which is the standard format that allows files to be stored with minimum size while still providing excellent sound quality. On the other hand, it also has an LCD screen which allows one to clearly see the recording that has elapsed as well as enabling users to manage files and workflow. The control panel is significantly user friendly and one can easily perform a number of functions without any complications whatsoever. Accessories such as a microphone and a foot pedal enable users to remain in complete control of the recording and transcribing process. Similarly, the USB connectivity interface allows users to easily connect the device to a personal computer thereby transferring and backing up files.

Consequently, the LFH-9750 is an extremely resourceful device that can be used by a number of individuals such as medical and legal practitioners as well as college professors and students.