Thanks to technological advancements, digital court reporting is commonplace in courthouses across North America. With professional audio recording software in Seattle, WA and a skilled court reporter, court records are significantly richer. While audio is recorded, the court reporter is taking simultaneous notes on the proceedings. This allows the reporter to digitally annotate the audio, so that a listener can instantly call up the recording and view the notes at the same time. Gone are the days of strictly textual records!
How It Works
Unlike traditional stenographers, who use shorthand and a specialized stenography machine, which renders a text-based result, digital court recorders don’t need to learn stenography. Their job requires a different set of skills. Instead of transcribing the proceedings quickly, they create a log of the proceedings, including speaker identifications. This offers a sort of “outline” of the proceedings, and courtroom audio recording in Seattle, WA makes it easier to recognize tone and inflection.
When the actual recording takes place, the primary participants (for example, the judge, lawyers for both parties and the witnesses) are assigned their own separate sound channels. That way, even if multiple parties are talking over each other, they’re still recorded clearly and their words can be separated. Anyone who has trouble following a conversation in a crowded restaurant can see the value in this feature.
Benefits of Digital Court Recording
Not convinced? We get it—if it doesn’t seem broken, why fix it? Well, there are four major benefits to digital court reporting. Let’s face it: technology is the future, and there’s no point in fighting it:
- Increasingly accurate records: As mentioned above, having separate audio channels for all major courtroom participants is a huge boon. Basically, this reduces the possibility of human error. It’s hard to expect a single person to be able to transcribe a room full of people talking over each other. When you have digital recording on separate audio channels plus notes, you’re combining accuracy and the human element for a superior result.
- Timely and inexpensive delivery of the records: Text transcripts are great, and with digital court reporting, they’re still available—with the addition of annotated courtroom audio recordings in Seattle, WA. Since they’re stored online and can easily be reproduced and sent, lawyers and judges no longer have to wait ages for reporters to produce their transcript.
- Significant cost savings: This same technology that makes it faster also makes court reporting and ordering transcripts significantly cheaper.
- A new supply of digital court reporters: With any technological boom, there will be a need for trained professionals to fill the gaps. The advent of digital court reporting has paved the way for a new generation of court reporters, and the pool of digital reporters will likely grow over time.
Efficiency, Inc. is a woman owned and operated provider of audio recording software in Seattle, WA. We provide cost-effective solutions and committed customer service for any of your voice recording needs. Since 1954, we’ve guaranteed solutions that work! Contact us today to learn more about the latest technologies paired with our matchless client support.