The ZipDX transcription tools allow you to get a textual version of your audio conference. With ZipDX, the transcript is generated while your conference takes place, so you (and others) can view it on-line during the meeting.

ZipDX offers two types of transcription:

• SCRIBE uses a team of professional transcriptionists. The audio from each participant is captured (usually a sentence at a time) and sent to one of the transcriptionists. The turn-around time for this process is typically about two minutes. Accuracy is roughly 95%.
• SCRIBBLE is a fully-automated system. The transcription lag time is typically around 30 seconds. Accuracy is roughly 80%. Readers will find that this technology makes quite a few "mistakes" and it sometimes "hears" words that sound nothing like what was said. That is the current state of the art, and it will improve over time. SCRIBBLE is best used as an "index" into the conference recording, allowing users to quickly find specific spots in the conference and then click-to-listen to the original audio. SCRIBBLE is relatively fast, and it is much cheaper than SCRIBE.

There is an additional charge for transcription:

• SCRIBBLE costs $0.165 per minute, or $9.90 per hour.
• SCRIBE costs $1.65 per minute, or $99 per hour.

Transcription charges are billed in one-minute increments, and are per-conference (not per participant). For a 30 minute conference call with twenty participants the charge for SCRIBBLE would be 30 X $0.165, or $4.45. There is no additional charge to store or access (via the Web) the transcription during or after the meeting.

The Conference Organizer can activate transcription in several ways:

• Select SCRIBBLE or SCRIBE (and set access permissions) when setting up a meeting at www.ZipDX.com.
• Set these parameters in a ZipDX Conference Template, and all meetings created from that template (via the Web, the electronic calendar interface, or over the phone) will inherit your selections.
• ACTIVATE and DE-ACTIVATE SCRIBBLE and SCRIBE via the ZipDX Dashboard when the meeting is underway.
• Dial *952 to DE-ACTIVATE transcription.
• Dial *953 to ACTIVATE SCRIBBLE.
• Dial *954 to ACTIVATE SCRIBE.

Your ZipDX Account must be enabled for transcription in order for you to activate it. Account Administrators can choose to disable transcription entirely, or they can make available just SCRIBBLE, or both SCRIBBLE and SCRIBE. Account admins should look for these settings on the Account Settings page (on the Primary Account, or make separate selections on sub-accounts).

The ZipDX Transcription Viewer lets you view the transcription while your meeting is in progress. The Viewer offers these features:

• Each audio segment shows the identity of the speaker and a timestamp (relative to when the conference began).
• A "play" link for each segment allows you to hear the audio, in the original speaker's voice.
• You can play all the audio sequentially from a starting point (with overlapping speech separated), or you can play just the segments associated with a selected speaker.
• You can scroll backward (and forward), and you can search for specific text using your browser search function.
• The Viewer is also available once the meeting has ended, with the speaker identification and "play" links.
• The Organizer always has access to the transcription, and can grant access to just the other meeting participants, or to anyone.

To access the Transcription Viewer when the meeting is in progress, log in at www.ZipDX.com and click on the Transcription link under "In Progress Conferences." Guests can access the Viewer by going to guest.zipdx.com and entering the six-digit conference code.

Once the meeting is over, the Organizer can access the transcription from the ZipDX Portal in the "Completed Conferences I Organized" section. If desired, grant access to others and share the link shown in your browser address bar.

ZipDX records the conference as part of the transcription process. In many jurisdictions, laws require that participants be notified that they are being recorded. In these cases, the Organizer should explicitly notify participants that they are being recorded. Or, the Account Administrator can turn on the ZipDX recording notification feature, which will then make the announcement automatically.

As with any conference call, participants should use a handset or high-quality speakerphone when talking, and should speak as clearly and distinctly as possible. Transcription accuracy will vary with background noise and certain accents. Scribble and Scribe currently work only in English.