Transcribing system audio

Question

Is there any software that will transcribe audio on my local system on the fly? I am essentially after subtitles.

I am very hard of hearing. With all this working from home and a global team, understanding conference calls are a nightmare for me. My local team is fine, it's hard but they know I can't hear well and accommodate the best they can. For clients and those outside my team it's becoming more and more a chore.

We use so many different platforms due to the number of different people / clients / companies we work with, so in app tools aren't always a solution. I am trying to avoid recording videos and calls, and transcribing later, because of time limitations and consent.

Free and paid solutions welcome.

Answer 1

Starting with Windows 11 22H1, you can press Windows+Ctrl+L to enable live captions. With Apple Silicon or iOS/iPadOS 16, you can turn live captions (beta) on in the accesibility settings. On Linux, you can install live captions from FlatHub with flatpak install flathub net.sapples.LiveCaptions and run it with flatpak run net.sapples.LiveCaptions.

You may want to specify what platform you're using.

Answer 2

On Android (10+, and perhaps not on all phones), one can use the Live Caption feature.

https://support.google.com/accessibility/android/answer/9350862?hl=en (mirror):

With a single tap, Live Caption automatically captions speech on your device. You can use it on media like videos, podcasts, phone calls, video calls, and audio messages.

I use it on Pixel 6 + Android 11.

Answer 3

I have similar issues. I’ve had great luck with Otter.ai. It’s live transcription. You can even teach it the name of voices. It’s great to be able to search for what Iman or Jorge said. After your meeting, you get a searchable transcript, which saves me time at the many status meetings I attend. Just be sure nobody freaks out that you’re recording a meeting. Laws may prevent recording without consent. I always announce that the meeting will be recorded and the transcript will be distributed, so no need to take notes.

Answer 4

I created Hintscribe to transcribe live audio on your computer, like real-time subtitles. It works with any platform and integrates with ChatGPT, letting you ask questions about the transcribed text. It's user-friendly and helps with immediate understanding in calls. It doesn't require any bot joining the meeting.

link