Transcribe a Deposition or Hearing Recording
ScreenApp is an AI recorder and transcription tool, not certified court-reporting software. It does not use a steno machine, and it does not produce a certified or verbatim legal transcript. What it does is turn a recording of a deposition, hearing, arbitration, or legal interview into a searchable text draft with speaker labels and timestamps, a few minutes after the recording ends.
Upload a recording you already have, paste a link to one, or record it directly in the browser or on your phone. Use the draft to search for a quote, review testimony before a follow-up, or share it with a colleague, then have a certified court reporter or a human transcriptionist handle anything that needs to be an official or admissible record.
What you get:
- A transcript with speaker identification, so each party’s testimony is attributed, in 100+ languages
- live transcript while recording (beta), so you can follow along as the recording happens
- Add names and legal terms with custom vocabulary for transcription, so acronyms and party names come through correctly
- search across recordings by name or transcript, so you can find a moment in a long deposition without re-listening to it
- AI chat with any recording, so you can ask a question about the recording instead of rereading the transcript
- 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 Legal Recording
- Upload, paste a link, or record: Drag in a recording (MP4, M4V, MOV, AVI, WEBM, MKV, FLV, TS, MTS, M2TS, 3GP, 3GPP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, VOB, OGV, RM, RMVB, MPG, MPEG, M2V, F4V, MXF) of a deposition, hearing, or interview, paste a link to one, or record it live in the browser or the app.
- Let it transcribe: The audio is converted to text, speakers are separated, and every sentence gets a timestamp.
- Review and export: Read the transcript, search it, correct anything the AI missed, and export it as PDF, DOCX, TXT, SRT and VTT to share with co-counsel or a client.
Accuracy depends on the audio. A single microphone close to the speaker in a quiet room transcribes best; a courtroom or conference room with cross-talk, distance, or a poor recording device will have more gaps. See how we measure accuracy.
AI Legal Transcription vs Court Reporting Software
| Feature | ScreenApp | Rev | StenoCAT Reporter | Stenograph |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | AI recorder and transcript tool | AI or human transcription service | CAT software for a stenographer’s steno machine | Steno writer hardware and CAT software |
| Needs a steno machine | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Free to try | 2 transcriptions, up to 45 min each | 45 min/month (AI) | Not stated | Not stated |
| Transcription | Included | $25.49/mo (AI, billed annually), $1.99/min (human) | Not stated | Phoenix ASR engine add-on |
| Price | $19/month annual | $25.49/month annual | $950/year plus a $499 startup fee | Not stated |
Sources, checked 2026-09-13: ScreenApp pricing, rev.com/pricing, stenocat.com/products/Reporter
- vs Rev: Rev’s free tier gives 45 AI minutes a month, then charges $25.49/month (billed annually) per minute for an AI transcript or $1.99 per minute for a human one. ScreenApp’s plans include transcription without a per-minute charge, but neither service certifies the result.
- vs StenoCAT Reporter: StenoCAT Reporter is CAT software built to work with a stenographer’s steno machine, at $950 a year plus a $499 startup fee. ScreenApp needs no steno machine and no stenography training, but it produces a draft transcript, not a certified one.
- vs Stenograph: Stenograph sells steno writer hardware and CATalyst CAT software, with an optional Phoenix ASR engine for automatic transcription. ScreenApp is AI-only and does not require the hardware.
Who Uses AI Transcription for Legal Recordings
Paralegals and legal assistants turn a deposition or client interview recording into a searchable draft they can hand to an attorney for review, without waiting on an outside vendor.
Solo attorneys and small firms use it for intake interviews, informal hearing prep, and internal case notes where a certified transcript is not required, saving the certified reporter for the record that needs one.
Mediators and arbitrators keep their own transcript of a session for reference, separate from any official record either party may commission.
Compliance and HR teams transcribe administrative hearings, disciplinary meetings, and licensing interviews for internal documentation.
Self-represented parties record a hearing they attended and use the transcript to review what was said, without treating it as the court’s official record.