A plain transcript answers "what was said." A timestamped transcript also answers "when" — every paragraph is anchored to a moment in the recording. That second question is what makes long recordings workable.
When to choose timestamps
Reach for timestamped output any time you'll go back to the source:
- Recordings longer than ~20 minutes
- Anything you'll cite or fact-check against the audio
- Video you plan to edit
- Lectures, depositions, and interviews you'll revisit
For pure reading — notes, quotes, repurposing — plain text is cleaner.
Using them well
Find, then jump. Search the transcript for a phrase, read the timestamp, scrub straight to it. No more hunting through a scrubber bar.
Build a paper edit. Mark the timestamps of the segments you want, in order, before you open your editor. You're now editing from a script instead of by trial and error.
Reference precisely. "At 14:32 she contradicts the earlier point" is a far more useful note than "somewhere in the middle."
Tip: Need both? Generate a timestamped transcript for navigation and a plain one for writing in the same run — same transcription, two views, no extra cost.
The timestamp is the link between your text and your footage. Once you work that way, scrubbing blindly through a recording feels like the slow path it always was.
Paste any public link or upload a file and get a clean transcript in minutes. First 3 clips every month are on us — no card required.
