A mystery machine used to facilitate respeaking and live captions during the Lindsay Clancy murder trial has sparked a conversation about what it is.
And having provided thousands of live captioning projects at VoiceBox, we thought it would be useful to outline how live caption services are provided, sometimes using these using these strange machines.
There are two ways that live captions are delivered. One way including stenographers, who type out what is being said, and the other being respeakers, who speak into machines like the stenomask that was been used during the trial.
In this blog, we will explore:
- What is being used in the Lindsay Clancy trial?
- Stenography: in more detail
- Respeakers: in more detail
- Stenographers vs respeakers: What are the key differences
- And more
What is being used in the Lindsay Clancy trial?
In the Lindsay Clancy trial, a respeaker is using a stenomask. This is a handheld microphone that is pressed to the mouth of the court reporter.
Using the stenomask, the respeaker can dictate what is said during the trial very quietly and avoid disrupting the flow.
Stenography: in more detail
Trained stenographers, in contrast to respeakers, use a stenotype machine (which you may have heard referred to as a steno machine), which is like a shorthand keyboard.
This machine allows the user to press several keys at the same time to represent syllables, sounds, words or phrases.
Typically, this keyboard has around 22 keys. These are arranged according to speech sounds.
Using the machine, stenographers (that we select using our in-house vendor management) can write at more than 200 words per minute; therefore, they can keep up with natural speech.
Stenographers are commonly used to provide live captions for events as they type out what is being said by presenters, panellists and more in real time.
And during these events, clients need to consider where they will place the stenographer in the room.
They can’t be too close to the speakers, otherwise the noise may get picked up by a microphone. Additionally, if they are too close to the audience, they will hear the clicking of the stenography machine.
Respeakers: in more detail
Respeakers clearly repeat spoken words and verbalise punctuation into a respeaking device.
The audio is then sent to a speech recognition software of their choice, with the speech-to-text software needing to be trained on the user’s voice.
This software converts the respeaker’s speech into text in real time.
Equipment for respeaking is typically:
- A stenomask
- A headset microphone
- A desktop or specialist microphone
Stenographers vs respeakers: What are the key differences?
To understand the key differences, we enlisted the help of our Senior Project Manager and Team Leader, Mohanned Khallof, to give us his insight.
Number to choose from
In the industry, the number of stenographers compared to respeakers is far greater. So, we work with stenographers most of the time.
Accuracy levels
Stenographers have higher accuracy levels than respeakers.
This sits at 98% for the former, and 96% for the latter.
Noise levels
Typically, stenographers are quieter than respeakers. Therefore, stenographers can be used closer to the audience when providing live captioning for events.
Respeakers may need different arrangements because they can be louder when repeating the same audio and may need to go further from the audience.
Typically, in court, respeakers aren’t used because of the noise disruption, which is why the stenomask sparked attention in this particular case.
Working hours
Stenographers can work for longer, between 1-2 hours without a break. On the other hand, generally speaking, respeakers can’t do more than 30 – 60 minutes on average before needing a break as their voice gets tired.
As part of our dedicated account management at VoiceBox, we will always be honest about what we feel is best for the client’s needs and specific project. It’s a case of who fits the job best (a stenographer or respeaker). It also depends on experience and availability of professionals.
Case Study: University of Liverpool
During the University of Liverpool’s National Postdoc Conference in 2021, the University used our live captioning and transcription services.
Our stenographer, Euan, provided the live captions and they were delighted with his efforts.
Euan, our stenographer [impressed us]! The conference was quite a complex environment, and he was really flexible. He also had the confidence to give us insight into stenography and accessibility, which helped the panel to communicate more clearly for our audience.
– Dr Saneeya Qureshi, Head of Researcher Development and Culture, University of Liverpool
Conclusion
Whether you’re after live captions for webinars, public events, meetings, conferences, education, entertainment or something else, we hope you are now better informed about stenographers and respeakers, the differences and which may be better suited to your project.
Contact us today to explore live captioning services in more detail.