Frequently Asked Questions
How does pricing and billing work?
What is your turnaround time?
What media formats do you support?
What if my content is on physical media like DVD discs, VHS tapes, or audio cassettes?
How do I get my media files into your system?
What caption and transcript file formats do you support?
What does it mean to have an account?
Do you use automatic speech recognition technology?
What is the expected transcription accuracy?
Does the size of the project matter?
Is your process secure?
Will you sign a non-disclosure agreement?
Do you guarantee the quality of your work?
How does pricing and billing work?
We offer the most competitive prices in the industry. We charge on a per-minute basis and prorate to the nearest second. There is no minimum file size and there are never any hidden charges. You can either pay by credit card or we can invoice you. Volume pricing is available for large orders. Please contact us for pricing details.
What is your turnaround time?
Standard turnaround is three to five business days and we offer a 1-day rush service. If you have a large archive or a continuous workflow, we will work with you to create a schedule that works best for you.
What media formats do you support?
We support many different media formats. As a general rule, if a file can be played in a standard media player, we will likely be able to process it. Formats we support include:
.8med .8svx .a2m .aa .aa3 .aac .aax .ac3 .act .aif .aifc .aiff .al .alaw .amr .ape .atrac .au .bwf .c01 .caf .cdr .csh .dig .dig .dmf .dsf .dss .dts .dvf .DWD .ear .efa .efe .efk .efq .efs .efv .f32 .f64 .flac .fls .g721 .g723 .g726 .gsm .gsm .ics .iff .jam .k25 .k26 .la .lvp .m1a .m4a .m4b .m4r .ma1 .med .mgv .mid .midi .mka .mmf .mo3 .mp1 .mp2 .mp3 .mpa .mpc .mpga .mpu .msv .mzp .nap .nrt .ntn .odm .oga .ogg .oma .omg .pac .pca .pcm .peak .pk .pna .pvc .qcp .ra .ram .raw .rmf .rmi .rmj .rmm .rso .sb .sd .sf .shn .sid .smf .snd .sng .sw .syw .tsp .txw .u .ub .ulaw .ulw .uw .val .vmf .voc .vrf .vyf .wav .wave .wma .wv .xmf .xmi .3g2 .3gp .3gp2 .3gpp .amv .arf .asf .avb .avi .avs .avs .bin .bix .box .bsf .cvc .d2v .d3v .dat .dce .dir .divx .dmb .dpg .dv .dvr-ms .dvx .dxr .evo .eye .f4v .fbr .fbz .flc .flh .fli .flv .flx .ivr .ivs .lsf .m1pg .m1v .m21 .m21 .m2t .m2ts .m2v .m4e .m4v .mgv .mj2 .mjp .mnv .moov .mov .movie .mp21 .mp21 .mp4 .mp4v .mpe .mpeg .mpg .mpv2 .mqv .mts .mtv .mvb .mvc .nsv .ogm .ogv .par .piv .pmf .pxv .qt .rdb .rec .rm .rp .rts .rts .rv .smv .spl .ssm .svi .swf .tivo .tod .tp .trp .ts .vc1 .vdo .vgz .vid .viv .vivo .vob .vp6 .vp7 .wm .wmd .wmv .xvid .yuv .8MED .8SVX .A2M .AA .AA3 .AAC .AAX .AC3 .ACT .AIF .AIFC .AIFF .AL .ALAW .AMR .APE .ATRAC .AU .BWF .C01 .CAF .CDR .CSH .DIG .DIG .DMF .DSF .DSS .DTS .DVF .DWD .EAR .EFA .EFE .EFK .EFQ .EFS .EFV .F32 .F64 .FLAC .FLS .G721 .G723 .G726 .GSM .GSM .ICS .IFF .JAM .K25 .K26 .LA .LVP .M1A .M4A .M4B .M4R .MA1 .MED .MGV .MID .MIDI .MKA .MMF .MO3 .MP1 .MP2 .MP3 .MPA .MPC .MPGA .MPU .MSV .MZP .NAP .NRT .NTN .ODM .OGA .OGG .OMA .OMG .PAC .PCA .PCM .PEAK .PK .PNA .PVC .QCP .RA .RAM .RAW .RMF .RMI .RMJ .RMM .RSO .SB .SD .SF .SHN .SID .SMF .SND .SNG .SW .SYW .TSP .TXW .U .UB .ULAW .ULW .UW .VAL .VMF .VOC .VRF .VYF .WAV .WAVE .WMA .WV .XMF .XMI .3G2 .3GP .3GP2 .3GPP .AMV .ARF .ASF .AVB .AVI .AVS .AVS .BIN .BIX .BOX .BSF .CVC .D2V .D3V .DAT .DCE .DIR .DIVX .DMB .DPG .DV .DVR-MS .DVX .DXR .EVO .EYE .F4V .FBR .FBZ .FLC .FLH .FLI .FLV .FLX .IVR .IVS .LSF .M1PG .M1V .M21 .M21 .M2T .M2TS .M2V .M4E .M4V .MGV .MJ2 .MJP .MNV .MOOV .MOV .MOVIE .MP21 .MP21 .MP4 .MP4V .MPE .MPEG .MPG .MPV2 .MQV .MTS .MTV .MVB .MVC .NSV .OGM .OGV .PAR .PIV .PMF .PXV .QT .RDB .REC .RM .RP .RTS .RTS .RV .SMV .SPL .SSM .SVI .SWF .TIVO .TOD .TP .TRP .TS .VC1 .VDO .VGZ .VID .VIV .VIVO .VOB .VP6 .VP7 .WM .WMD .WMV .XVID .YUV
What if my content is on physical media like DVD discs, VHS tapes, or audio cassettes?
We have partnered with a company that extracts files from various media and ingests the content directly into our system. The original materials are shipped back to you.
How do I get my media files into your system?
There are multiple ways to get your content into our system:
- Direct upload (up to 100MB)
- Batch FTP
- Pasting links
- API
- Direct transfer from compatible online video platforms (e.g. Brightcove, Kaltura)
- Extraction from physical media (tapes, DVDs, audio cassettes, etc.)
What caption and transcript file formats do you support?
Transcripts can be output to MS Word or HTML.
Caption files can be generated in the following formats:
.DFXP – Flash video
.CPT.XML – captions for Captionate to encode into Flash video
.QT – QuickTime video or audio
.RT – RealText captions for RealMedia video or audio
.SCC –DVD captions for Sonic Scenarist, DVD Studio Pro, Encore, and others. Also used for iTunes, iPods, and iPhone.
. STL – DVD subtitles for DVD Studio Pro
.SRT – Subtitles for SubRip. Also used for YouTube.
.SMI – SAMI captions for Windows Media video or audio
If you need a different output format, please let us know and we can often build it.
What does it mean to have an account?
Your 3Play Media account provides powerful transcript editing and publishing tools. You can upload and manage files, set user permissions, set project specifications, and track job status. You can search, edit, adjust captions, and analyze content. You can even make real-time text edits and watch them propagate to final transcripts and caption files seconds later! Learn more about the online account system.
Do you use automatic speech recognition technology?
Yes, but it is only the first step in our process. We guarantee that a human will go through every word of your transcript and captions. Our technology optimizes the combination of automation, human transcription, and overall quality assurance. Learn more about our process.
What is the expected transcription accuracy?
We produce transcripts that are 99% accurate, even in cases of poor audio quality, multiple speakers, difficult content, and accents. We define accuracy in the following ways: (1) words are spelled correctly; (2) phrases and sentences make sense as a standalone document; and (3) text is a near-perfect replication of the spoken words. Unless specified otherwise, we produce “clean read” transcripts, which do not include unintended speech such as “ums”, “uhs”, and stuttered speech.
Does the size of the project matter?
We can accommodate any size project. If you have a large media library, please contact us to create a schedule that works best for you.
Is your process secure?
Security and confidentiality are an important part of our process. All of our employees, editors, and contractors who touch customer content are bound by confidentiality agreements. All of our editors have undergone background checks. Sensitive data can be transferred back and forth over a secure connection. You get full control over who can download or stream files.
Will you sign a non-disclosure agreement?
Yes, we value your privacy and confidentiality. Please contact us to discuss your project.
Do you guarantee the quality of your work?
We provide a 100% guaranty on all our work. If you are dissatisfied for any reason, our policy is to redo the work immediately at no additional charge.
Learn More
- Contact Sales
- Learn more about our transcription and captioning services.
