File Quality Concerns

Report a Quality Issue

To have a human transcript, caption file or subtitle file reviewed, contact support or email support@rev.com with:

• Your order number
• The file name
• What’s wrong, with the timestamps where the issues happen

Timestamps help the Quality team find and check the issues quickly.

 

We can review files up to 6 months (180 days) after they’re delivered.

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Rate a Transcript

You can rate a human transcript yourself in the Transcription Editor:

1. Open the transcript in the Transcription Editor.
2. Select a star rating from 1 to 5 at the top of the editor.
3. Add a comment describing any issues, with timestamps.

A rating of 3 stars or lower sends the file to our Quality team for review. A 5-star rating passes your compliments on to the transcriptionist. You can rate each transcript once, so check that you’re rating the right file.

To report a problem with captions or subtitles, contact support.

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What Happens After You Report a File

The Quality team compares your file with the audio and Rev’s style guidelines, then emails you the result. If the file doesn’t meet our standards, we’ll offer to redo it at no extra cost and send you the corrected file when it’s ready.

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How We Rate Transcripts

Transcripts are rated from 5 to 1 on accuracy (does the text match what was said?) and formatting (does it follow Rev’s style guidelines?).

• 5, Excellent: Speech is captured accurately throughout. Any minor errors don’t change the meaning, dialogue is attributed to the correct speakers, and the text is well formatted and readable.
• 4, Good: Most of the file is accurate. Errors are infrequent, with an occasional speaker labeling mistake, and the transcript is readable.
• 3, Needs Improvement: Several errors change the meaning or are noticeable, with frequent speaker labeling or formatting errors. The transcript is mostly readable.
• 2, Poor: Speech is frequently misrepresented, large sections may be attributed to the wrong speaker, and the transcript is hard to read.
• 1, Unusable: The file is incomplete or too inaccurate to use, or wasn’t formatted to Rev’s guidelines. This includes a verbatim transcript delivered in standard style, or speaker labels that are offensive.

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How We Rate Captions

Captions are rated from 5 to 1 on accuracy, formatting (including speaker changes) and syncing (do captions line up with the audio?).

• 5, Excellent: Speech is captured accurately, captions are well formatted, speaker changes are marked correctly, and every caption starts within 0.5 seconds of the speech or sound.
• 4, Good: Most of the file is accurate and well formatted. There’s an occasional speaker-change or timing error.
• 3, Needs Improvement: Several errors change the meaning, and some formatting, speaker-change or timing errors affect readability. The captions are mostly readable.
• 2, Poor: Speech is frequently misrepresented, speaker changes are often missed, and most captions are timed incorrectly, so they’re hard to read.
• 1, Unusable: The file is incomplete, wasn’t formatted to Rev’s guidelines, or is missing captions for a significant part of the video.

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Before You Report an Issue

Some things that look like mistakes are expected, and aren’t treated as errors when we review a file. For example:

• Speaker labels in split files: Long or rushed files may be divided among several transcriptionists, so speaker labels may not match exactly across sections.
• Caption end times: Each caption is timed to start within 0.5 seconds of the speech. End times are set automatically.
• Word choice in subtitles: Subtitles are translated for meaning, not word for word. A different word with the same meaning isn’t an error.
• Anything outside our style guidelines: For example, subtitles don’t include speaker names on every line. See Style Guide References for what’s included.

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Burned-in Video Quality

Burned-in caption and subtitle videos keep the same resolution and frame size as the video you uploaded. Other aspects of quality may be slightly reduced, but the video should look very close to the original.

If you ordered from a link or a connected app, we may have received a lower-quality version of the video than your original file.

 

Replace the Source Video

To have your burned-in video made from a higher-quality file:

1. Email support@rev.com with your order number and the replacement video, or a link to it. Links must be publicly accessible and not password-protected.
2. When we confirm the video has been replaced, download the burned-in video again from the Caption and Subtitle Editor.
3. Use the download link in the new email you receive. Links in earlier emails download the old version.

The replacement only affects the burned-in video. The editor still plays your original upload.

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