Do you want to edit a YouTube video, online course, podcast, or business meeting without extensive cutting and trimming? AI text-based editing allows you to convert video into text and edit it like a document, saving you time and effort. You can remove specific text and silent parts directly from the transcript.
We’ve rounded up the top three AI tools that automatically provide transcripts, allowing you to fine-tune your video. These tools help translate video into text in seconds, making it easy to edit footage and synchronize changes. Let’s explore the benefits of video-to-text conversion and tips for maximizing your transcription experience.
In this article
Benefits of Converting Videos Into Text
Converting videos into text unlocks many benefits, including:
- Content repurposing – You can turn a YouTube video into a blog post, an online course into an ebook, a business meeting or customer call into a document, a client testimonial into a case study, an interview into a transcript for reference, etc.
- Video editing efficiency – Advanced video-to-text converters offer AI text-based editing, letting you edit videos by editing their transcripts, cutting post-production time. You can cut specific sections from videos by deleting text, perfectly synchronizing the changes. You can also remove silences to improve the pace and flow and make videos more professional.
- Higher SEO ranking – Turning a video into text that accompanies it (e.g., a transcript below a video podcast) helps search engines understand and index your content, ranking it higher on SERPs (Search Engine Ranking Pages).
- Better content accessibility – Transcribed videos are crucial for people who are deaf or hard of hearing because captions enable them to engage with the content.
- Breaking language barriers – Some video-to-text converters can transcribe and translate videos, helping you reach a broader audience.
Let’s explore the best video-to-text transcription tools.
- Converting videos into text with high accuracy and clarity.
- Vast video/audio effects and creative assets.
- Powerful AI for effortless content creation.
- Intuitive, professional yet beginner-friendly.
- Works on Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android.
Top 3 Tools for Converting Videos Into Text
The following video-to-transcript converters are perfect for all content creators, each providing user-friendly features and multiple export formats.
Wondershare Filmora
Filmora is an intuitive video-to-text converter with advanced AI algorithms and cross-platform compatibility (Windows and macOS). It can convert a video to text within seconds, letting you cut specific sections by deleting text (including filler words) and pauses. You can also embed captions into your video and download an SRT file.
This professional desktop software offers many more audio, video, and text editing features, including an AI copilot, AI text-to-speech, AI speech-to-text, AI translation, AI text-to-video, multi-camera editing, etc.
Top Features
- AI text-based editing – automatically convert a video into text and edit it like a document;
- Silence detection – delete all silent sections or some pauses using the built-in text editor;
- Transcript editing – edit time codes and add, correct, delete, merge, customize, and animate text;
- SRT export – save your captions in an SRT format.
Pros & Cons
Pricing
- Free – limited features and 100 AI credits to convert videos to text for free
- Basic – $9.99/month with 200 monthly AI credits
- Advanced – $34.99/year with 1,000 monthly AI credits
- Perpetual – $49.99 (one-time payment) with 1,000 AI credits
You can earn bonus AI credits with daily logins and interactive activities.
Descript
Descript offers many tools, including a desktop or online video-to-text converter. It lets you extract text from a video online for free and generate dynamic captions. Some premium users can also translate their transcripts into 23+ languages.
Besides uploading files, you can use Descript as a video link-to-text converter, providing a URL to transcribe a video. You can also edit your video by editing the transcript (e.g., remove filler words) and enjoy many more AI features, including the Underlord AI assistant.
Top Features
- Video-to-text generator – import a file or paste a URL to transcribe a video online or offline;
- Speaker detection – identify and label all speakers for streamlined editing and publication;
- Transcript editing – correct errors and edit time codes;
- Multi-format support – export your captions as an HTML, DOCX, MD, TXT, or RTF file.
Pros & Cons
Pricing
- Free – one hour of free monthly transcription
- Hobbyist – $12/user/month
- Creator – $24/user/month
- Business – $40/user/month
- Enterprise – custom pricing
Temi
Temi is an online video transcriber with easy-to-use features. You need to upload an audio or video file and sign up so it can send you an email with your transcript link. You can then correct it in the platform’s online editor, download it to your device, and share it with multiple collaborators via a shareable link.
However, Temi supports only one language (English) and offers no translation or video editing features. Also, its video-to-text transcription free trial limits you to one video. Still, the affordable pricing makes it excellent for quick transcripts.
Top Features
- Video/audio-to-text converter – get text from a video or audio file;
- Speaker detection – label identified speakers;
- Transcript editing – correct errors, add highlights, strikethroughs, comments, and notes, and edit time codes;
- Multi-format export – download your transcript with or without timestamps and speaker names in DOCX, PDF, TXT, SRT, or VTT format.
Pros & Cons
Pricing
- Free trial – a 45-minute audio or video limit
- Premium – $0.25/minute of audio or video
How to Pick the Best Video-to-Text Converter
Whether you wish to transcribe a video to text online for free or don’t mind paying for advanced features for all-in-one desktop or online use, consider these factors when picking your favorite tool:
- Transcription accuracy – Does background noise prevent a converter from producing accurate transcripts? What about thick or heavy accents? Try every shortlisted video-to-transcript converter for free to see how it works with low-quality and clear audio.
- Language support – You may make videos in only one language now, but what if you decide to localize your content at some point? A video-to-text converter supporting multiple languages will save you time. Translation capabilities are a plus.
- Conversion speed – Tools offering a quick turnaround are your best bet. After all, automatic video transcription should be faster than human transcription services.
- Editing capabilities – Besides transcript editing, check for features for fine-tuning your videos. Advanced software like Filmora lets you add transitions, animations, video effects, music, SFS, filters, LUTs, etc.
- Ease of use – A user-friendly UI is essential, even if you don’t have video editing features. You don’t want to jump through hoops to convert videos, edit transcripts, and download files.
Here’s how to use a video-to-text converter that ticks all these boxes.
How to Convert a Video Into Text
Filmora is the best video voice-to-text converter, so let’s see how it can provide video transcripts. You can’t use this video transcriber online, so download and install it on your computer first.
Here’s how to convert a video into text with Filmora:
Step 1: Launch the software and click Create Project > New Project.
Step 2: Click Import and choose a video from your computer. Drag and drop it onto the timeline.
Step 3: Click the AI Text-Based Editing button in the timeline toolbar. If you don’t see it, hit the All Tools button on the left, drag the item into the toolbar, and click Save.
Step 4: Specify the video’s language and click OK.
Step 5: Edit your video by selecting and deleting text. You can also find specific words or phrases in the search box and click Delete all silent clips to remove pauses. Click Export to Timeline to save the changes.
Step 6: Double-click the text on the timeline to open the advanced text editor.
Step 7: Correct the transcript, edit time codes, and add, merge, or remove text strips. You can also customize and animate the text (perfect if you export the video with captions). Click Save once you fine-tune everything.
Step 8: Right-click your text on the timeline and select Export Subtitle File to extract the transcript from the video. A dialog box will pop up, so choose a location on your computer. Click Export in the top right corner to save your video with captions.
Step 9: Adjust the output settings and hit Export.
Tips for Converting Videos Into Text
Regardless of your chosen tool to convert a video into a transcript, follow these tips for high accuracy and clarity:
- Clean the audio – High-quality audio equals accurate transcriptions. Therefore, reduce background noise with advanced software like Filmora before transcribing a video.
- Check for errors – Always proofread your video transcripts because AI can make mistakes. It may misinterpret or misspell brand names or misunderstand words and phrases due to a heavy or thick accent.
- Label speakers – Even if your video-to-text converter doesn’t identify speakers, edit the transcript to include their names for clarity. That’s vital for interviews, conference meetings, customer calls, and other discussions.
- Add timestamps – Besides helping you quickly find and reference specific moments, timestamps let your viewers follow along while watching the video or jump to marked sections.
Whichever video-to-transcript converter (free or paid) you choose, these tips will help you make the most of transcriptions.
Conclusion
Whether you wish to convert a video to text online or offline, you have abundant options to streamline the process with AI and get accurate transcripts.
However, Filmora is your best bet because of its high accuracy rate and cutting-edge AI text-based editing. Besides turning your video into text, it lets you modify the video and the transcript simultaneously by copying, pasting, and deleting text and removing unwanted pauses, automatically applying the changes to your video.
Filmora has many other AI-powered features in an intuitive, all-in-one video editing package, so try it for free to transcribe, translate, and transform your videos.
