Tag Archives: transcription

fixed : get a transcription of a YouTube video

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I have been watching a YouTube video that was so interesting that I would like to have the text transcribed for reviewing later on.

Is there a FREE and easy way to get a text transcript of a YouTube video ?


Answer :
Yes, there is.
It all depends on the quality of the transcription that you want ot get which type of transcription will suit you best. Previously, the three (‘other’) options listed at the bottom of this post were some of the best around, but things are developing fast in the world of AI, and there now is one FREE option that will probably suit everyone that has an M1 / M2 / M3 / M4 Mac :

Whisper AI – Speech to Text
– get it in the Mac AppStore (make sure you get the app that is by Rocket Techology Inc.) :
https://apps.apple.com/nl/app/whisper-ai-speech-to-text/id6738070552?l=en-GB&mt=12
– type : macOS native app for video/audio transcription ( for self-recorded, live or downloaded video )
– output : options to export to .txt, .docx or .html file
– accuracy : the ‘tiny’ Whisper-model that is preloaded is quite fast and rather accurate (and for more accuracy and or speaker recognition you can download more advanced Whisper-models using the ‘Manage Models’ option)
– privacy : high, as it runs entirely offline ( according to the developer )
– speed : made for Apple Silicon Macs, so extremely fast on M1/M2/M3/M4-Macs


Here are three other options :

Tactiq.io
– use it online at : https://tactiq.io
– type : online video/audio transcription ( for Youtube video ) – the FREE plan can now only be used through the Tactiq Chrome browser extension ( so no longer an option for Safari… )
– output : an auto-generated ( not very accurate ) subtitling .srt document converted into a plain text document
– privacy : low, as it runs online
– speed : extremely fast, but the output is just the subtitles-file converted into plain text ( so including all the time stamps – if you want to get rid of those, you can do that in ChatGPT or something )

Transcribe.mov
– use it online at : https://www.transcribe.mov
– type : online video/audio transcription ( for YouTube video )
– output : a rather accurate plain text document
– privacy : low, as it runs online
– speed : slightly faster that playing the original video : takes 7 minutes to transcribe 15 minutes of video

Aiko
– get it in the Mac AppStore : https://apps.apple.com/us/app/aiko/id1672085276&ved=2ahUKEwikv-LT85uLAxUpSf4FHZEZEisQFnoECAwQAQ&usg=AOvVaw1s9T7EI1AzX63HnIjAhNuZ
– type : macOS native app for video/audio transcription ( for self-recorded, live or downloaded video )
– output : a rather accurate plain text document
– privacy : high, as it runs entirely offline ( according to the developer )
– speed : made for Apple Silicon Macs, so extremely fast on M1/M2/M3/M4-Macs : takes just 1 to 5 minutes to transcribe 15 minutes of video – but very slow on Intel-Macs : takes about 5 hours ( ! ) to transcribe 15 minutes of video ( because Intel-Macs don’t have the neural engine )

So it all depends on your needs what the best solution is… so take your pick !

enjoy πŸ˜‰

fixed : get a local ( offline ) version of a YouTube video super fast

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Question :
There are some videos on YouTube that I would like to view offline on my MacBook also, since I will be travelling and I will not be having internet access al the time.

Is there a FREE and easy way to view YouTube-videos offline ? or download them ?


Answer :
Yes, there is.
If you can do with a lowres 360p video with sound ( which is easy to store and high enough quality for general use, not for in-depth studying or full-screen presentation ), just do this :
– open the YouTube website
– copy the URL of the page that the video you want to download is on
– go to the EaseUS website : https://multimedia.easeus.com/online-video-downloader/
– paste the URL
– when the video opens in a separate window, you can save it as a .webarchive-video that you can play locally in Safari, even if you don’t have an internet connection

that’s it !

enjoy πŸ˜‰

NOTE : if you need to have an MP4 version, you can paste the .webarchive-file name into a video downloading app like Downie.app ( however, some video downloading apps like 4KVideoDownloader+.app aren’t able to convert the .webarchive file )

fixed : transcribe WhatsApp voice messages

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Question :
I have some friends and acquaintances that prefer to not send me text messages in WhatsApp, but they nearly always send me voice messages… I get frustrated by them, because I can’t speed-read-scan those for the clue, I can’t easily find the info back later on and I can’t listen to them if I don’t have my headphones nearby…

Is there an easy way to have them transcribed ?

Answer:
Yes there is, and it is built-in into WhatsApp since november 2024… however, WhatsApp is not releasing it worldwide everywhere all at once… so, it may be available for you already, but you might also need to wait for it a little longer…

To switch on the Transcribe-function in WhatsApp do this :

  • make sure your iPhone is running iOS 16 or newer ( since the fall of 2024 we’re on iOS18 )
    Note : in iOS 16 only English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Turkish, Chinese, and Arabic are supported ; in iOS 17 Danish, Finish, Hebrew, Malay, Norwegian, Dutch, Swedish and Thai were added.
  • make sure that Siri is turned on
    to turn on Siri, do these :
    – goto Settings.app > Siri > Talk to Siri > make sure that “Press Side Button for Siri” is turned ON
    – goto Settings.app > Siri > Messaging with Siri > READ MESSAGES > Add Language… > make sure that the languages that you frequently use to communicate are activated
    – goto Seetings.app > Siri > [scroll down] > Apps > WhatsApp > make sure that all options are switched ON
  • then, open WhatsApp.app on your iPhone
  • open the main ‘Chats’ screen ( that’s were your most recent chat conversations are listed )
    • click on Settings ( bottom-right ; with the sprocket/gear-icon )
    • in the ‘Settings’ screen that opens, scroll slightly down and click on ‘Chats’
    • in the ‘Chats’ page that opens, you’ll see an option named ‘Voice Message Transcripts’
      Note : this option will only be visible if WhatsApp has released it for your you, so if you don’t see it (yet), comback to this page later to chack wether it’s available for you…
    • switch ON ‘Voice Message Transcripts’ to activate it, and choose your Transcript Language

      Then, to create transcripts of voice messages, do this :
    • open WhatsApp.app on your iPhone
    • open the ‘Chats’ screen ( that’s were your most recent chat conversations are listed )
    • click on the chat that you’ve received the voice message in ( so, locate the voice message )
    • click & hold on the voice message
    • click ‘Transcribe’ when it appears
    • click the smal triangular arrow (the downward pointing angle) to expand the transcription
    • now, the transcription will be shown…
      Note : it might take some time before the transcription will appear
    • That’s it !
      enjoy πŸ˜‰

      Note : if you get an error saying ‘Transcript unavailable’, this may be because of one of the following :
      – you have set te wrong transcript language
    • the voice message language isn’t supported (yet)
    • you have set the wrong transcript language
    • the audio quality it too poor to be transcribed ( e.g. due to background noise )