Express Scribe Pro?

[kaydville]

I'm just starting out and am on a tight budget. However, I know sometimes it takes money to make money so I am considering getting the Express Scribe Pro while it's on sale. What do you all think- is the upgrade something a newbie needs right away? Does Express Scribe run sales often? Is the Pro version worth the money?

Thanks for your help!

[Cyndi318]

Hopefully someone will chime in here who actually uses the pro version - I don't. I've been using the free one for about two years and have had no trouble with the software or the features. I guess it really depends on why you feel the need to upgrade. I'd certainly recommend having more than one player. Depending on the audio quality, there are times I just can't hear things in Express Scribe that are clear as crystal on FTR.

Also, the free version of Express Scribe today is not quite as liberal as the free version I picked up back when. I made the mistake of downloading the latest version a few weeks ago to a new laptop and was surprised by the frequent prompts to upgrade as well as the fact that video play wasn't an option. Video is a must-have for me; a little digging around the web and I was able to find links to the older version of Express.

Good luck to you.

[kaydville]

Thanks for your response, Cyndi. What is FTR? I've looked for older versions but haven't found any working links to anything other than the new version.

[Cyndi318]

This is a link for Express Scribe version 5.13. It's the one I've been using since day one - no troubles.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/42474679/essetup_v5.13.exe

FTR is For The Reord. They offer their player (The Record Player) as a free download as well. There's a bit of a learning curve to using this one if you're comfortable with Express, but if I'm not mistaken, FTR plays more file formats than Express. It will also handle the really big files that Express can't seem to load.

There's a link at the bottom of this page to download The Record Player if you're interested. Digital Court Recording & Police Interview Room Recording | ForTheRecord | FTR

Let me know if there's anything else I can do to help.

[kaydville]

The link works perfectly. Downloaded it and FTR. Thanks very much for all your help, Cyndi.

[Cyndi318]

No problem, Kay. Save the money you've earmarked for software and put it into something that will really help you, like a good headset or a foot pedal when you're ready. Again, good luck to you in your endeavors.

[heather.tucker]

I use the pro version at work. I do medical transcription for a doctors office. The only reason I had to upgrade it here is because the audio files that come from her recorder were not supported by the free version.

With that being said, I have used the free version for two years now and haven't had the need for the pro until I started working here. I would definitely just stick with the free version unless you need the pro for the other kinda of audio files.

[kaydville]

Thanks very much, Heather!

[VirginiaBlue]

I have actually found some files that I download from Ubiqus that do not play on the free version of Express Scribe. I was planning to upgrade when my 14-day trial of the free professional version trial expired so that I would be able to play any format, however I may try the FTR player now that I know it exists so maybe it will play the file I run across every now and then that Express Scribe free version doesn't play.

[Centerre]

Does the free version work to transcribe video files?