Transcribe Lectures, Seminars and Research Interviews
University work produces a lot of recorded speech: a lecture you cannot rewatch in full, a seminar where the useful point came in the last ten minutes, an interview for a dissertation. Upload the recording, or paste a link, and ScreenApp turns it into a transcript with each speaker labeled and a timestamp you can click.
The point of a transcript is to stop rewatching. You search it for the term you half remember, copy the exact wording, and go back to the audio only for the lines that matter. Check anything you plan to quote against the recording, because automatic transcripts contain mistakes, especially with unusual names and specialist terms.
What you get:
- A transcript with speaker identification, in 100+ languages
- AI chat with any recording, so you can ask what the lecturer said about a topic instead of scanning the whole text
- chapters with timestamps to move around a long session
- Export as PDF, DOCX, TXT, SRT and VTT
- Free plan: 2 transcriptions of recordings up to 45 minutes each, with AI chat on both
How to Transcribe a University Recording
- Upload or paste a link: Drag in the audio or video file (MP4, M4V, MOV, AVI, WEBM, MKV, FLV, TS, MTS, M2TS, 3GP, 3GPP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, VOB, OGV, RM, RMVB, MPG, MPEG, M2V, F4V, MXF), or paste a link to a recording you are allowed to use.
- Let it transcribe: The audio is converted to text, speakers are separated, and each sentence gets a timestamp.
- Review and export: Read it in the browser, fix a name or a term, and export as PDF, DOCX, TXT, SRT and VTT for your notes or your draft.
Accuracy depends on the recording. A phone at the back of a large lecture hall, a room with an echo, or several students talking at once will produce more gaps than a close microphone. See how we measure accuracy.
What University Recordings Do People Transcribe?
Lectures
Turn a recorded lecture into searchable text for revision. See lecture transcription for the study workflow.
Seminars and Tutorials
Several voices in one room. Speaker labels separate who said what, so you can follow an argument back to its source.
Research Interviews
Transcribe dissertation or project interviews and check the wording against the audio. See research transcription and the research interview tools.
Focus Groups and Group Work
Discussions with several participants, with a transcript to code or quote from. See focus group transcription.
Whatever you record, check your university’s rules on recording and on storing research data first, and get consent from the people in the recording.
AI Transcription or a Human Transcription Service?
Many university transcription services sell human transcribers, and for some jobs that is the right choice. Here is the honest split.
AI transcription suits lectures for your own study, seminar notes, first drafts of interview transcripts, and any case where speed and cost matter and you will check the text yourself. You get a transcript in minutes and keep the recording tied to the text.
A human service suits work where every word must be exact without your own review, such as material for publication, noisy recordings with heavy accents or overlapping speech, and projects where your institution requires a human-verified transcript. Human services cost more per minute, and some sell to departments with an institutional purchase order.
A common middle path is to run the AI transcript first, then correct the parts that matter yourself. ScreenApp supports transcript corrections, line removal and speaker reassignment saved to the recording.
University Transcription vs Other Apps
| Feature | ScreenApp | Otter.ai | Rev | Sonix |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 2 transcriptions, up to 45 min each | 300 min/month | 45 min/month (AI) | 30-min trial |
| Speaker identification | Included | Basic | Included | Included |
| Export formats | PDF, DOCX, TXT, SRT and VTT | mp3 and txt on the free plan, plus pdf, docx and srt from Pro, with bulk export from Business | Not stated | DOCX, PDF, TXT, SRT, VTT |
| Languages | 100+ | 6 | Not stated | 54+ |
| Human transcription | Not offered | Not stated | $1.99/min | Not stated |
| Paid plan | $19/month annual | $8.33/month annual | $25.49/month annual | $25/month |
Sources, checked 2026-10-01: ScreenApp supported languages, ScreenApp pricing, Otter pricing, Rev pricing, Sonix pricing
- vs Otter.ai: Otter’s free plan caps you at 300 minutes a month, and its speaker identification tier on the free plan is Basic.
- vs Rev: Rev also offers human transcription at $1.99 per minute, which ScreenApp does not. It is the better choice when you need a human-verified transcript.
- vs Sonix: Sonix gives a one-time 30-minute trial, then a $25-a-month plan. ScreenApp’s free plan renews rather than being a one-time trial.
Who Uses University Transcription
Undergraduates transcribe lectures they recorded with permission, then search the text while revising for exams.
Master’s and PhD students transcribe interviews for a dissertation and check each quote against the audio.
Researchers and research assistants prepare transcripts for a project, then take the exported file into their analysis software.
Lecturers transcribe their own sessions to share notes or check what they actually covered.
Student societies and project groups transcribe meetings and discussions so decisions are written down.