- Best Speech Recognition Software
- Best Voice Recognition Software For Mac
- Best Inexpensive Voice Recognition Software For Mac Download
- Voice Recognition Software Review
macOS Catalina introduces Voice Control, a new way to fully control your Mac entirely with your voice. Voice Control uses the Siri speech-recognition engine to improve on the Enhanced Dictation feature available in earlier versions of macOS.1
Shop for voice recognition software at Best Buy. Find low everyday prices and buy online for delivery or in-store pick-up. Jul 12, 2017 Macs have voice dictation built-in, allowing you to talk instead of type. This feature functions more like voice dictation on a mobile operating system, and less like the more complicated Speech Recognition feature found in Windows. OS X Mavericks contains an.
How to turn on Voice Control
After upgrading to macOS Catalina, follow these steps to turn on Voice Control:
- Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Accessibility.
- Click Voice Control in the sidebar.
- Select Enable Voice Control. When you turn on Voice Control for the first time, your Mac completes a one-time download from Apple.2
Voice Control preferences
When Voice Control is enabled, you see an onscreen microphone representing the mic selected in Voice Control preferences.
To pause Voice Control and stop it from from listening, say 'Go to sleep' or click Sleep. To resume Voice Control, say or click 'Wake up'.
How to use Voice Control
Get to know Voice Control by reviewing the list of voice commands available to you: say 'Show commands' or 'Show me what I can say'. The list varies based on context, and you may discover variations not listed. To make it easier to know whether Voice Control heard your phrase as a command, you can select 'Play sound when command is recognised' in Voice Control preferences.
Basic navigation
Voice Control recognises the names of many apps, labels, controls and other onscreen items, so you can navigate by combining those names with certain commands. Here are some examples:
- Open Pages: 'Open Pages'. Then create a new document: 'Click New Document'. Then choose one of the letter templates: 'Click Letter. Click Classic Letter'. Then save your document: 'Save document'.
- Start a new message in Mail: 'Click New Message'. Then address it: 'John Appleseed'.
- Turn on Dark Mode: 'Open System Preferences. Click General. Click Dark'. Then quit System Preferences: 'Quit System Preferences' or 'Close window'.
- Restart your Mac: 'Click Apple menu. Click Restart' (or use the number overlay and say 'Click 8').
You can also create your own voice commands.
Number overlays
Use number overlays to quickly interact with parts of the screen that Voice Control recognises as clickable, such as menus, checkboxes and buttons. To turn on number overlays, say 'Show numbers'. Then just say a number to click it.
Number overlays make it easy to interact with complex interfaces, such as web pages. For example, in your web browser you could say 'Search for Apple stores near me'. Then use the number overlay to choose one of the results: 'Show numbers. Click 64'. (If the name of the link is unique, you might also be able to click it without overlays by saying 'Click' and the name of the link.)
Voice Control automatically shows numbers in menus and wherever you need to distinguish between items that have the same name.
Grid overlays
Use grid overlays to interact with parts of the screen that don't have a control, or that Voice Control doesn't recognise as clickable.
Say 'Show grid' to show a numbered grid on your screen, or 'Show window grid' to limit the grid to the active window. Say a grid number to subdivide that area of the grid, and repeat as needed to continue refining your selection.
To click the item behind a grid number, say 'Click' and the number. Or say 'Zoom' and the number to zoom in on that area of the grid, then automatically hide the grid. You can also use grid numbers to drag a selected item from one area of the grid to another: 'Drag 3 to 14'.
To hide grid numbers, say 'Hide numbers'. To hide both numbers and grid, say 'Hide grid'.
Dictation
When the cursor is in a document, email message, text message or other text field, you can dictate continuously. Dictation converts your spoken words into text.
- To enter a punctuation mark, symbol or emoji, just speak its name, such as 'question mark' or 'per cent sign' or 'happy emoji'. These may vary by language or dialect.
- To move around and select text, you can use commands such as 'Move up two sentences' or 'Move forward one paragraph' or 'Select previous word' or 'Select next paragraph'.
- To format text, try 'Bold that' or 'Capitalise that', for example. Say 'numeral' to format your next phrase as a number.
- To delete text, you can choose from many delete commands. For example, say 'delete that' and Voice Control knows to delete what you just typed. Or say 'Delete all' to delete everything and start over.
Voice Control understands contextual cues, so you can seamlessly transition between text dictation and commands. For example, to dictate and then send a birthday greeting in Messages, you could say 'Happy Birthday. Click Send.' Or to replace a phrase, say 'Replace I’m almost there with I just arrived'.
You can also create your own vocabulary for use with dictation.
Create your own voice commands and vocabulary
Create your own voice commands
- Open Voice Control preferences, such as by saying 'Open Voice Control preferences'.
- Click Commands or say 'Click Commands'. The complete list of all commands opens.
- To add a new command, click the add button (+) or say 'Click add'. Then configure these options to define the command:
- When I say: Enter the word or phrase that you want to be able to speak to perform the action.
- While using: Choose whether your Mac performs the action only when you're using a particular app.
- Perform: Choose the action to perform. You can open a Finder item, open a URL, paste text, paste data from the clipboard, press a keyboard shortcut, select a menu item or run an Automator workflow.
- Use the checkboxes to turn commands on or off. You can also select a command to find out whether other phrases work with that command. For example, 'Undo that' works with several phrases, including 'Undo this' and 'Scratch that'.
To quickly add a new command, you can say 'Make this speakable'. Voice Control will help you configure the new command based on the context. For example, if you speak this command while a menu item is selected, Voice Control helps you make a command for choosing that menu item.
Create your own dictation vocabulary
- Open Voice Control preferences, such as by saying 'Open Voice Control preferences'.
- Click Vocabulary, or say 'Click Vocabulary'.
- Click the add button (+) or say 'Click add'.
- Type a new word or phrase as you want it to be entered when spoken.
Learn more
- For the best performance when using Voice Control with a Mac notebook computer and an external display, keep your notebook lid open or use an external microphone.
- All audio processing for Voice Control happens on your device, so your personal data is always kept private.
- Use Voice Control on your iPhone or iPod touch.
- Learn more about accessibility features in Apple products.
1. Voice Control uses the Siri speech-recognition engine for U.S. English only. Other languages and dialects use the speech-recognition engine previously available with Enhanced Dictation.
2. If you're on a business or school network that uses a proxy server, Voice Control might not be able to download. Have your network administrator refer to the network ports used by Apple software products.
Transcription software is very useful for those users who have large chunks of audio and video files to be converted into a text document. There are many such tools which are free or offer a free trial and seek for subscription and up gradation charges. Automatic transcription and also transcription with playback features are what make these transcription tools attractive. Here are 10 Transcription Software for Windows.
1.Listen N Write
Listen N Write is a straightforward and easy to use tool for transcription. It doesn't have too many sophisticated options but a simplistic interface to convert the speech to text. You can skip or rewind the file to ease transcription task.Best Speech Recognition Software
Listen N Write supports MP3 and WAV files and generates the necessary size for the output. It operates on Windows 10, Windows 7 (32 bit), Windows 7 (64 bit), Windows 8, Windows Vista (32 bit), Windows Server, Windows Vista (64 bit), Windows XP.
The tool is free with no installation or downloading charges. Once you launch the program, the file appears in a media player file. The corresponding text can be edited in the text editor that pops up. It does not, however, do automatic transcription.
By default, Listen N Write plays for 5 seconds and pauses for you to type. You can adjust the speed and playback options if you find the speed to be too fast. Fast forward and rewind can be adjusted using hotkeys. Using a Bookmark feature, critical sections in the file can be marked for a quick recall later.
2. Eurescribe
EureScribe makes the transcription faster for audio and video files. One of its striking features is that it breaks down larger media files into smaller segments. This can help you memorize quickly, and you can also use many keyboard shortcuts to have a hassle free typing experience. The output will be stored in RTF file or as subtitles video files if you are making movie subtitles.However, to use other formats such as PDF, an explicit conversion will have to be done later on. EureScribe works with all the main formats like WAV, MP3, WMA, AVI, MPEG and DVD video. There are two editions for this tool designed to fit different users. Personal edition can be helpful for individual needs. Workgroup for organizations or companies that are working on subtitling a project or film.
3. MAXQDA
MAXQDA is a powerful transcription and data analysis tool. You have various options to analyze interview, audio/video files, images, and online surveys. Unstructured data and test theories can be organized to generate creative graphics and reports. The tool can be used to adapt the audio speed quickly and adjust the sound. Also, by the use of foot pedals, transcription can be accelerated.MAXQDA first creates an empty document automatically and connects it with the media file. And the Transcription mode control panel will appear where you can customize how MAXQDA should behave during the transcription. You can change the playing speed to speed up or slow down the clip. Using a rewind interval option, you can decide for how many seconds the player should jump back to continue playing the media file after you have stopped playing it.
A rewind interval of 3 to 5 seconds is preferable. A time stamp can be set which automatically enters a time stamp into the transcript each time you click an Enter button. Time stamps can be used to connect text in the document and corresponding location in the media file. So using the time stamp, you can jump to any place you wish. Foot pedal and hotkeys can be used to speed up transcription.
4. Transcribe! - Seventh String
Transcribe! from Seventh String is useful for users who deal with music and audio files. It can be used to work with a particular part of music from a recording.The music player of Transcribe! has many transcription specific features which are specially designed for speech to text conversion. Some of its features are that it is adaptable to changes in pitch and speed. It has storage and recall of named loops. With the support of foot pedals, transcription is further easier.
5. Enhilex Medical Transcription Software
Enhilex Medical Transcription Software is designed for easing out the medical transcription process. Medical terms and abbreviations can be easily managed using this tool. It can hold an unlimited number of lab names and abbreviations across various folders.These entries can be copied from notepad and pasted into MS Word or any other file format. It has a well-structured database where search operations can be done fast. It has a one-month free trial, and if you like it, the full version can be purchased.
6. Transcribe
Transcribe can efficiently convert speech to text even with background noise and multiple speakers. Using automatic transcription feature, it can speed up the transcription process with twice or thrice the normal rate. Using the control buttons such as the pause and rewind buttons, and also the hotkeys, transcription can be better controlled.Speech to text conversion can be advanced with accurate. You can transcribe quickly with the media player playing the audio file and having the text file in the same window. It will save a lot of time spent on switching between text and audio file. It supports all the main file formats such as mp3, mp4, m4a, AMR, WMA and wav.
And there are many hot keys to function as shortcuts. Transcription at each keystroke will be auto saved. Undo key can be used to go back to the previous state so that you can rectify your errors and move forward. The output file can be exported as a .doc file to your device using Export icon.
Also, there is a dictation feature that can be used to convert spoken words directly into text using voice recognition. You can even repeat what you hear in the video in your voice so as to convert it into text. Dictation engine supports all the key European and Asian languages. Also, there are supporting features such as USB foot pedal and time stamps for exact transcriptions.
7. Transcriber Pro
Transcriber Pro is a convenient, fast and easy to use tool for professional translators. It opens the audio and text file in the same window for an easy transcription process. Some hotkeys can be completely customized, and time stamps and speaker are also tagging. Playback speed adjustment and unique HTML export options are some other unique features of Transcriber Pro.Best Voice Recognition Software For Mac
The proofreading is less tiresome with navigation through media and the document and the assignment of unique tags. You can also split the transcription and finally merge them so that multiple users can work at the same time. Transcriber is compatible with Windows 8/8.1/10, Windows 7/Vista.8. Transcription Helper
Transcription Helper is a handy tool for transcription. Playback can be controlled using hotkeys and foot pedal. There is a feature to generate time stamps automatically to navigate to specific points in the video. The transcript document can be exported into the text document which can be used in other programs.This is an excellent tool to create subtitles, translating lyrics of songs. It supports all the key audio and video formats including WAV, MP3, WMA, AVI, MPEG and MOV files. With such remarkable features, Transcription Helper works well for lengthy audio and video clips.
9. Voice Again
Voice Again, using the slow down and speed up features can translate speech to text without changing the pitch or other parameters. The tool can be utilized for the documentation of interviews and dictations. Voice Again retains the vocal clarity of the clip even at variable speeds using its high-quality algorithms.The rate can be changed to 10 times slower or up to six times faster. There are noise reduction features and audio, graphic display with zoom controls. Videos of WAV, MP3, OGG and WMA formats are supported. Also, Compact Disc Audio from your CD or DVD drive can be imported. You can also bookmark important parts of a recording using the annotation feature.
10. Microsoft Speech to Text Transcribe
Using your Windows PC, you can dictate or read out documents using a microphone or other external microphone. You can use it to type word documents or get your tasks done using voice commands. To do this, type Windows Speech Recognition in the Cortana search bar in Windows 10.For other Windows users, you can find Speech Recognition in Control Panel. A window to set up microphone will appear. Place the microphone and take a session to train your device to recognize and understand your voice. You can also play audio files and transcribe it in a Notepad document.