I have tried to use couple of softwares that run on PC. However, none of them I found to be good enough (may be its because of my accent).
Currently, I’m trying this new web based speech recognition software Dictation v2.0. In case you are not familiar with what a speech recognition software is:
Its a virtual secretary who will type what you say! Typically speech recognition softwares may work best with neutral accents. Dictotion 2.0 helps transcribing the user’s voice into digital text. What is interesting is that it uses Chrome Speech API to do the translation from audio to text.
This app can also be installed as a Chrome App in your PC. Unlike other regular Chrome web apps, Dictation 2.0 runs on laptops and PCs, rather than just being a fancy bookmark on your Homepage.
Getting started with Dictation 2.0:
Using Dictation is quite simple even for newbies. Here is a step-by-step guide:
Step 1: Download Dictation from Chrome Store.
Step 2: Plug the microphone into your system
Step 3: Using Mouse, click the Start Dictation button on the screen.
Step 4: Speak out what you want to type out.
Dictation 2.0 is the latest version which comes with features like:
To start a new sentence, Speak New Sentence. This directs the Dictation to automatically add full stop after the completing the sentence. It also types the first Alphabet of the new sentence in uppercase.
You can also direct the software using voice commands to add Next Paragraph.
To exit the Dictation Mode, you can say -Stop Listening.
To start the app again, hit the Start Dictation button once more.
If there are any mistakes while recognizing the speech, all you need to do is simply click the incorrect words and edit them inline. Remember, the entire notepad can be edited as it has been created on basis of content-editable attribute of HTML5.
Storage facility of captured text in Dictation 2.0 speech recognition software:
Dictation 2.0 also allows the users to export their transcriptions to Google Drive and Dropbox.
The thing with speech to text softwares that I have observed is, some people may find the ratio of correct conversion to be very high. However, some may not find that the converted text needs massive correction and the time taken will be almost same as typing it brand new. You can try Dictation yourselves to see if it works for you.