We can transcribe from the following Digital Video formats.

• H.264 mpeg-4 (mp4)
• Quicktime MOV file (mov) –> Please use H.264 as the CODEC.
• Apple iPhone/iPad/iTV – (m4v) -> please use setting suitable for iPhone resolution (320×180)
• Apple MPEG-4 (mp4 or mov) — > NOT optimal. Use H.264 instead.
• Windows Media format (wmv)
• Real Media (rm or rv) –> NOT optimal, obsolete format
• AVI (compressed format only) –> Not optimal. Use WMV instead.

The above formats must be in a compressed format. We can not transcribe from your uncompressed digital video files.

If your video is already on YouTube or Vimeo, you can provide us with a link. If your Vimeo footage is password protected, you will need to provide us with a password as well.

Preferred Video Specifications:

Our preferred specifications for digital video are as follows.

H.264 mpeg-4 video with these specifications:

• 250 kbit/second data rate for the video stream
• 320×180 (16:9 aspect ratio) or 320×240 (4:3 aspect ratio) window size
• audio set to Stereo with AAC audio compression
• Audio sample rate at 44.1 or 48.0khz with 128kbit of data for the audio stream
• 12 fps or 15 fps (1/2 actual rate)
• single stream format

Our upload application will restricts file size to no more than 1000 MB per file. Using the above specifications, a 60-minute video file will be approximately 160 MB.

Client Supplied Hard Drive of Footage

If necessary, you can submit your hard drive with source footage. We charge a base handling fee of $40.00, as well as a per hour render fee of $30.00/hour for converting high resolution footage to a format suitable for transcription. It also increases your turnaround times. We will only accept a backup copy of your footage, not your ‘only copy’. Please call to discuss if you want to pursue this option.

Relevant Tutorials

We provide a tutorial for exporting directly from Final Cut Pro. You may be able to apply parts of the tutorial to your own system such as Avid or Premiere, so it’s worth a look if you’re not sure how to do it.

You can also recompress existing files using this HandBrake Tutorial.

Additional Information

If your digital video is already recorded and not at our exact specifications, don’t worry, we can probably handle it anyway. Give us a call.

Please name your file in some unique way rather than just ‘file1.mp4’. For example:

• 2011-10-01_Jane_interview.mp4
• Tape_2_John_Doe_Lecture.mp4
• john_doe.mov

Once you have your files prepared, login to the client area and upload the files on the main page. To get a login and password, sign up for an account.