Hi everyone,

I have a very specific need and would very much appreciate your help or comments, in fact anything that could help. Do you happen to know about any recording software that will allow me to record a continuous stream of sound (speech to be exact) and automatically chop it up in say 5 minute pieces WHILE still continuing the actual recording?

To be more specific, here's the case: I need to be able to transcribe a 3 hours long, 8 persons wide conversation, LIVE (on the fly).

Now, in order to do a normal transcription job, the company I work for uses a special Australian program, that enables you to load files (saved sound data) and play them back for the person doing the transcribing, aiding them with providing special functions, like permitting the user to rewind 2 seconds back, playback at differnet speeds, speed up slow speech and so on.

My problem is that this special software works only with already saved sound files, like the ones you would hand out to your secretary for transcription.

My need is something that would permit a way of time shift recording for me... like the TIVO does for TV, but for sound...

I want to begin recording the LIVE conversation, and let my transcriber begin work 3 minutes later. If I could find a software that could record the live speech and constantly churn out say 5 minute sound files while still recording, I imagine I would be set.

My idea is that my transcriber (using her preferred aforementioned special playback program) begins work at 0:03:00 (h:mm:ss) conversation time, and by the time she finishes transcribing the first 5 minute chunk, the program has already produced some more 5 minute files, she loads them up, works on them and so on. Her typing is way slower than the panel's speech rate, but while the panel of participants takes a break, or speak in a slow rhythm, or draws charts on a screen, she can use their idle time and continue working at the same speed and "catch up" with them, ultimately being able to produce a full word-for-word transcription, within a 30 minute period after the end of their session. This is our goal.

I searched the net for something that can do this, the only application I read that can do it is a program called Total Recorder. I have had no time to try it yet and need to keep my options open.

I can clarify more if needed, please reply with whatever you think can help.

http://www.totalrecorder.com/productfr_trPRO.htm

I have NO knowledge of this but I was fascinated to read about it .
I therefore got, via google, the above information which may or may not be of interest----particularly as there is a trial version.
cheers

sorry,I seem to have not read your mail properly.
I now can see that you already knew about this.....at least we both came to the same conclusion about it!!!!
cheers
Eddie

Thanks for your effort Eddie.

I went the Google route before posting on SZ and found out about the program.

What fascinates me more, is when reading closely in the link you provided I saw the screen with options to "repeat the last XX seconds of the previous file"...

Music wise this is not desirable but speech wise it probably can save you from the gap in the recording while the system is busy saving the previous file while preparing the next one for recording, especially on slow machines.

Obviously you have an eagle eye (or eyes!)
It just shows how the seemingly most insignificant search can sometimes bring something of interest which perhaps warrants further examination.
As for your description of the reason why you want a piece of software to help you to report a meeting within a short time is to me also fascinating and tells me you have a very interesting work.

P.S. of course in times gone by, the reporters in our midst used "shorthand" (Pitmans) and the telephone system to get their copy to the newspaper!
cheers
Eddie

Not very interesting work, (outsourcing services in data entry, document scanning and transcribing speech business) but work nonetheless... as you probably know, things are not the best here in Greece, unemployment is rampant.

If I am not boring you to death, heres how it goes: Transcribing a conversation takes about 3x to 4x the time of the original conversation (or so I am told). For this test project, we need to find out if we can get close to real time transcription. I got a potential customer that performs what they call qualitative market research. Basically an advertising agency comes up with a new TV commercial, screens the commercial to 6-8 individuals meeting some criteria and they all talk about it with a moderator leading them around. The ad agency guys usually watch the others behind two way mirrors, and usually stay for half an hour later than the "test subjects". They get the transcription 1-2 days later.

The conversation is usually relaxed, not auctioneer-like, they draw ideas on boards, they take breaks etc, so I think we can use their slow pace and breaks and periods of silence to our advantage as I described previously... and the ad guys can get their transcription right there. In order to discover if we can actually pull it off, we need to do a test run, but how can a typist be able to catch up to 8 individuals discussing? That's why I want a software like the one above.