Using Videopad software to transcribe speech in videos into text (has limitations)

VideoPad can help with transcribing speech (i.e. converting audio in a video into text), though with some limitations (it will not save the file to a txt file and you cannot copy and paste the text file it generates either – designed for editing captions on a video). Here’s how it works (and alternatives if it doesn’t do exactly what you want):

---

What VideoPad offers

1. Transcript Editor
   VideoPad has a “Transcript Editor” tool that “recognises the speech within a clip, and generates a transcript from this information.” (help.nchsoftware.com)
   That means you can get a draft of the spoken words, then edit them within VideoPad. (YouTube)
2. Simple Video File → Text
   It also offers a “Simple Video File to Text” feature, which outputs the audio from a video file into a text file (i.e. a raw transcript). (help.nchsoftware.com)
3. Automatic Subtitles (Speech-to-Text for captions)
   If you go to the Subtitles dialog (Tools → Subtitles), there is an Auto Generate button. This uses voice recognition to generate subtitles with timestamps. (help.nchsoftware.com)
   On macOS, there is a “Speech to Text” dialog (on the Audio tab) to transcribe audio using Apple’s speech recognition service. (help.nchsoftware.com)
4. Limitations / issues to be aware of
   • The auto transcription may produce one long line of text rather than nicely segmented phrases, unless you split the audio or clips. (nch.invisionzone.com)
   • The speech-to-text in VideoPad may only support a single language (often matching the version / locale of the software). (nch.invisionzone.com)
   • Some users report that the auto-generate subtitles feature sometimes “gets stuck” or fails to complete. (nch.invisionzone.com)

---

How to do it (step-by-step)

Here’s a rough workflow you can try in VideoPad:

1. Import your video clip into the project and place it on the timeline / sequence.
2. Select the clip you want to transcribe.
3. Open Tools → Transcript Editor. Let VideoPad process the clip to generate a transcript. You’ll see the speech broken into “phrases” you can hover over, edit, move, or split. (help.nchsoftware.com)
4. Alternatively, or afterwards, open Tools → Subtitles (or click the Subtitles button). Click Auto Generate to make subtitle segments from the speech. (help.nchsoftware.com)
5. Edit timestamps, text, or formatting, then Apply and Save / Export subtitles (e.g. SRT, SSA, VTT) if needed. (help.nchsoftware.com)
6. If you only want the raw text (a transcript), use the “Simple Video File to Text” option, which outputs as text (no timing) for you to edit further. (help.nchsoftware.com)

---

When VideoPad might not suffice

If your audio is noisy, languages are mixed, or you need very accurate, aligned transcripts, VideoPad’s built-in tools may not be adequate. The automatic transcription is a helpful starting point, but you’ll often need to correct it.

If VideoPad is failing (e.g. stuck, slow, poor accuracy), you might consider:

• Using a dedicated speech-to-text / transcription service (e.g. Otter.ai, Descript, Google Speech-to-Text, Whisper), then importing the resulting transcript or subtitle file (SRT) into VideoPad.
• First exporting the audio track, feeding it into a better transcription engine, and then returning the transcript to your video editor.

---