Transcription Aid ™ for Dragon Naturally Speaking ™
Keyboard Abbreviation Expanders
Digital Dictation & Transcription
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© 2007, Sylvan Software
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Transcription Aid™
Comparative
Features
Main
differences between Dragon NaturallySpeaking® (the "Extras Toolbar")
and Transcription Aid®
Comparative chart of crucial features between Dragon
NaturallySpeaking® and Transcription Aid®
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Main differences between Dragon NaturallySpeaking® (the "Extras Toolbar") and Transcription Aid®
Dragon NaturallySpeaking® is a superior speech recognition engine. However, the correction facilities that it provides are still rather limited for professional use. Enter Transcription Aid® Professional version 3, and access the following additional features:
- "Background" transcriptions of voice recordings. This means: one single click download, conversion of sound format and transcription of voice recordings generated with virtually any digital recording application or portable device, as for instance, any digital recorder, PDA (Pocket PC®, Sony Clié® and Palm®), MP3 music player with recording capabilities, and even Smartphone. All these facilities while the transcriptionist uses the PC for other tasks
- Transfer the correction of those transcriptions, as well as any transcription directly generated by Dragon NaturallySpeaking® Professional (the ".dra" file), to a third person (transcriptionist) and with the following additional advantages:
- Support of a
certified "plug & play" foot pedal (a device that is
most familiar and natural to a transcriptionist)
- Play the voice
recording of the author attached to every transcription, while reading
it in the screen, to facilitate its correction by simple comparison
between the sound and the text
- Inclusion of
some very useful macro commands (icons) for the most repetitive functions
needed by a professional transcriptionist doing this process
- Possibility to improve the "Speech files" of the dictating author while correcting, to increase his recognition accuracy even further...
- Unique "No Playback Dropout" technology. Moreover, starting with version 3, direct editing and correction of the transcriptions in the main window of Transcription Aid®, without damaging playback of the voice recording of the author (the "*.dra" file), is possible. This feature, not supported by the Dragon, allows the following advantages:
- The dictating author
can insert voice comments (with its corresponding transcription) with
formatting or processing instructions for the transcriptionist, anywhere
within the dictation
- The transcriptionist
can substantially increase output and performance when using good quality
"Speech files" (as it can directly correct in the transcription
and avoid the use of the Dragon Spell window)
- To hear the playback
of the word or phrase to be corrected, within the Dragon Spell window,
for confirmation purposes, even when the "PlayBack" button
is grayed out
- The archival of the original, unmodified, "*.dra" file for later verification or reference, even after direct corrections have been introduced by the transcriptionist (a must have feature for legal firms and hospitals)
- Simple and intuitive interface, similar to the world leading Microsoft Word®. A key element to reduce the learning curve of the transcriptionist and maximise output in very little time. This interface provides advanced features, unique to any currently available transcription application, as for instance:
- Multilevel Undo
& Redo
- Open and Save Microsoft
Word® ".doc" files directly, etc.
- Main WYSIWYG window,
allowing to see the transcription within its physical context (the margins
of the page)
- Margin justification
- Paragraph and hanging
indents
- Tab settings (all standard ones)
- "Pack & Email transcription for revision" function. Voice recordings (".dra" files) get quickly very big. With this command, the author can pack, compress and send through a network or e-mail to the transcriptionist, his transcription and voice recording together for revision. All with a single click...
- New, fully multimedia, Quick Startup Manual.
Comparative chart of crucial features between Dragon NaturallySpeaking® and Transcription Aid®
|
Transcription
Aid®
version 3.x |
NaturallySpeaking®
DragonPad, with the "Extras Toolbar" activated, version 8
|
Benefits
for User
|
|
WIDE
SUPPORT FOR TRANSCRIPTION OF VOICE RECORDINGS
|
||
|
Automatic
detection and conversion of virtually any digital voice recording
file format (Wav, ADPCM, MP3, WMA) for transcription
|
NO
|
Transcription
Aid® supports most digital recording applications, digital recorders,
Pocket® PCs, Palm® PDAs, Sony Clié®, MP3 music players and Windows
Mobile® Smartphones
|
|
Background
transcription (while the transcriptionist uses the PC in another
tasks) from digital recorders
|
YES
(for Sony and Olympus)
|
Transcription
Aid® also provides direct support for Philips digital recorders.
For background transcription 512 megabytes of RAM memory is recommended.
|
|
Background
transcription from Pocket® PC
|
YES
(only in release 8)
|
Transcription
Aid® also supports this feature with releases 6 and 7 of NaturallySpeaking®
|
|
Background
transcription from Palm® PDA
|
YES
(only in release 8)
|
Transcription
Aid® also supports this feature with releases 6 and 7 of NaturallySpeaking®
|
|
Background
transcription from Sony Clié®
|
NO
|
Automatic
detection and conversion of ADPCM voice recordings
|
|
Background
transcription from MP3 music player with good voice recording capabilities
|
NO
|
Automatic
detection and conversion of MP3 voice recordings
|
|
Background
transcription from Windows Mobile® Smartphone and other types
|
NO
|
Windows
Mobile® Smartphones can generate wav files without additional software.
Other Smartphones capable of generating either wav or MP3 voice
recordings with third-party software, as for instance the Sony Ericsson
P800, P900 and P910i models, are also supported
|
| WORKFLOW MANAGEMENT OF VOICE RECORDINGS, TRANSCRIPTIONS AND SPEECH FILES | ||
|
Automatic
creation of a "Transcription Aid Documents" folder, to facilitate
document management
|
NO
|
File
operations within the ‘Open’ and ‘Save’ windows are automatically
addressed to it
|
|
Speech
file management ('Open User', 'Copy to User' and 'Copy from User'
from the server or another PC) with "smart" features (i.e. checks
for the date of the User profile before copying)
|
YES
(only in releases 7 or 8 and without "smart" features)
|
Transcription
Aid® also supports this feature in release 6 of NaturallySpeaking®
|
|
Automatic
verification of the Speech file used to generate a given transcription
("*.dra" file) at the moment of opening it for correction
|
NO
|
Transcription
Aid® warns the transcriptionist if the active Speech file is not
the correct one, to avoid its corruption when correcting
|
|
Pack,
Compress and Send or E-mail the transcription and voice recording
together for revision
|
NO
|
"Pack"
links the transcription ("*.doc" or "*.rtf" files) with the corresponding
voice recording ("*.dra" file). "Compress", "Zips" them (up to -40%)
for easier and faster sending through a network or e-mail connection,
to the transcriptionist
|
|
Add
a Voice comment to the "Package" above, with processing instructions
for the transcriptionist
|
NO
|
Maximum
length of one minute for the voice recording or comment
|
|
Automatic
archival of the intact original "*.dra" file (the voice recording
of the Author), even after the corrections are introduced by the
transcriptionist
|
NO
|
Essential
feature for lawyers and medical for tracking and verification purposes.
Another benefit of the "No Playback Dropout" technology
|
| SMART PLAYBACK OF TRANSCRIPTIONS | ||
|
Availability
of permanent Playback, whatever the changes or corrections directly
introduced by the transcriptionist in the main window of Transcription
Aid®
|
NO
(partial deletion of the corresponding sound segment)
|
With
the "No Playback Dropout" technology, correction output can be substantially
increased as the transcriptionist does not need to use repetitively
the standard Dragon Spell window with high-quality Speech files.
Essential feature for lawyers and medical doctors, as it preserves
the integrity of the ".dra" file
|
|
Possibility
for the Author to insert "real-time" Voice comments, as well as
color their transcription differently for easier identification,
with instructions for the transcriptionist
|
NO
|
Another
benefit of the "No Playback Dropout" technology. The transcriptionist
can delete their transcription, once executed, without affecting
the normal Playback of the whole document
|
|
Playback
large number of utterances in transcriptions from "*.dra" files
and "*.wav" voice recordings
|
NO
(limited to approximately 100 utterances, according to Nuance's
Technote 3744)
|
Transcription
Aid® plays back transcriptions from up to approximately 45 minutes
long "*.dra" files, as well as those from much larger "*.wav" voice
recordings
|
|
Play
the transcription forward
|
YES
(but only with Menu item, Shortcut key or Voice Command)
|
Transcription
Aid® achieves this action either by clicking a button with the mouse;
pressing a function key (F5); pressing and holding either F12 or
the central foot pedal
|
|
Move
the cursor word by word backwards in the transcription
|
NO
|
Transcription
Aid® also achieves this action by clicking a button with the mouse;
pressing a function key (F2); pressing and holding either F11 or
the central footpedal
|
|
Automatic
Rewind, Playback "X" words and Stop function
|
NO
|
Either
by clicking a button with the mouse or pressing a function key (F3).
The "X" words amount is user configurable with a slider
|
|
Automatic
Playback from the start of either the Document, or the current Paragraph,
or the current Sentence or the current Line
|
NO
|
By
clicking on the corresponding icons with the mouse or using a shortcut
combination
|
|
Change
the color of the text while doing Playback, for easier tracking
of the cursor location by the transcriptionist
|
NO
|
The
color of the text is user configurable
|
|
Plays
back a whole transcription generated with Dragon and within Microsoft
Word®
|
YES
(only in release 8. Previous releases played only the first few
lines and then, the last ones)
|
Transcription
Aid® also supports this feature with releases 6 and 7 of NaturallySpeaking®
and even when graphics are inserted within the dictation
|
| SMART CORRECTION OF TRANSCRIPTIONS & IMPROVEMENT OF SPEECH FILES | ||
|
Fast
opening of the standard Dragon Spell window
|
YES
(clicking a button, using a shortcut key or Voice Command)
|
Transcription
Aid® also supports clicking a button with the mouse and either pressing
a function key (F10) or the right-hand side foot pedal
|
|
Double-click
a single word to automatically select it and open the standard Dragon
Spell window for quicker correction
|
NO
|
NaturallySpeaking®
DragonPad only selects the word
|
|
Automatic
foot pedal selection of 1 to 5 words (from the cursor position backwards)
and opening of the Dragon Spell window for quicker correction
|
NO
|
NaturallySpeaking®
DragonPad only allows for automatic selection of the full utterance
in the Spell window. Correction of long utterances, typical of fast
dictating Authors, may become substantially slower and difficult
|
|
Optional
automatic selection of the most probable choice within the Dragon
Spell window (Choice 2)
|
NO
|
Speeds
up correction output by 20% on an average
|
|
Optional
automatic Playback of the selected 1 to 5 words when opening Dragon
Spell window, for quicker verification of misrecognition
|
NO
|
Speeds
up correction output by 5% on an average
|
|
Foot
pedal Playback of the selected 1 to 5 words in the Dragon Spell
window, even when the 'Playback' button is deactivated (grayed out),
for confirmation of misrecognition
|
NO
|
Speeds
up correction output by 5% on an average, thanks to the unique "No
Sound Dropout" technology. Works with the right-hand side foot pedal
|
|
Foot
pedal navigation of the Dragon Spell window in Transcription Aid®
|
NO
|
Pressing
the center foot pedal navigates the Choice list downwards; letting
up the foot and pressing again, upwards. Speeds up correction output
by another 20% on an average
|
|
Foot
pedal cancelling of the Dragon Spell window, as clicking in the
'Cancel' button
|
NO
|
Works
with the left-hand side foot pedal
|
| SMARTER EDITING OF TRANSCRIPTIONS | ||
|
True
WYSIWYG interface very similar to Microsoft Word
|
NO
|
See
the transcription within the real dimensions of the page in the
main screen of the application and many other options
|
|
Open
Microsoft Word® ".doc" documents directly
|
NO
|
Useful
feature when the Author dictates in Microsoft Word®
|
|
Multilevel
Undo in the transcription without damaging the playback
|
NO
(only one)
|
Allows
for repetitive Undo operations in the transcription
|
|
Multilevel
Redo in the transcription without damaging the playback
|
NO
(only one)
|
Allows
for repetitive Redo operations in the transcription
|
|
Paragraph
and hanging indents of transcription
|
YES
(more limited)
|
Essential
feature for lawyers and other professionals
|
|
Margin
Justification of transcription
|
NO
|
Essential
feature for lawyers and other professionals
|
|
Five
standard Tab Settings
|
NO
(only one Setting)
|
Essential
feature for lawyers and other professionals
|
|
Bulleted
& Numbered lists
|
NO
(only Bullets are available)
|
Essential
feature for lawyers and other professionals
|
|
Graphic
insertion
|
NO
|
Insertion
of virtually any type of graphic in the transcription
|
|
Optional
Font Type and Size of the transcription by default
|
NO
|
User
defined
|
|
Keeps
User defined Font Size after pressing Return, along the whole transcription
|
NO
|
NaturallySpeaking®
DragonPad uses to get back to the default Arial 10
|
|
Find
and Replace
|
YES
|
This
feature was not available in the previous release of Transcription
Aid®
|
|
Print
|
YES
|
This
feature was not available in the previous release of Transcription
Aid®
|
| USER FRIENDLINESS | ||
|
5
minutes multimedia Quick Start Manual for self learning
|
YES
|
|
|
Informative
on-line message windows with instructions and tips to guide inexperienced
transcriptionists through the different processes
|
NO
|
Most
of them include a 'Print' button and a deactivation box
|
|
Extensive
on-line Help on all aspects of transcribing voice recordings, correcting
the transcriptions and improving the 'Authors' Speech files
|
NO
|
Can
also be printed
|
| OTHER INTERESTING FEATURES | ||
|
The
license is always bundled with either a proprietary USB/Serial foot
pedal or USB key dongle
|
NO
|
The
proprietary USB foot pedal provides "plug and play" support for
the most useful features above
|
|
One
single license allows for two installations (author/transcriptionist
PCs), because all features are mouse, keyboard and footpedal driven
|
YES
(but may require two licences, as it is not easy correct without
Voice commands and the creation of a new Speech file by the transcriptionist,
in the absence of most features above)
|
The
dictating Author will need to purchase a second USB/Serial foot
pedal or USB key dongle for the second installation
|
|
Upgrade
Assurance Availability
|
YES
|
Product
license MUST be registered at http://www.transcriptionaid.net /download/upgrade.php
to receive 12 months of no cost upgrades from date of purchase.
|
|
Wide
choice of configurations
|
YES
|
Transcription
Aid® is offered in three configurations: Individual (for correction
of one Speech file); Small-Group (for three Speech files), and Corporate
(unlimited number of Speech files). They are all user upgradable
with a Code provided by distributors.
|
1-800-235-9455 Tollfree from US & Canada
Sylvan Software
Local: 719-495-7469 Fax: 719-532-9993
Address: 6825 Silver Ponds Heights Road, #111, Colorado Springs, CO 80908
Technical Support
Phone: 719-495-4145 Fax: 719-532-9993