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How to convert a video to text
Everything that matters in a video, as far as text is concerned, is in the audio track. The picture contributes nothing to a transcript and accounts for almost all of the file size, which is why the route to text always runs through the sound.
Which route you take depends on where the video lives: published online, or sitting as a file on your machine.
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Step by step
- If the video is on YouTube, paste the linkNothing gets downloaded or converted on your side. This is the shortest path and the one to prefer whenever the video is published.
- If it is a file, export the audioAny video editor can export the audio track, and so can VLC. On the command line it is one instruction: ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -vn -acodec libmp3lame audio.mp3
- Upload the audioMP3, WAV, M4A, OGG, OPUS, FLAC and AAC all work. A 1 GB video usually becomes an MP3 of a few dozen megabytes, which also makes the upload far quicker.
- Read, correct and downloadPunctuation and paragraphs are applied automatically. Check proper names and figures, then copy the text or download it as .txt.
Why separate the audio instead of uploading the video
In a typical recording the image is well over ninety per cent of the bytes and none of the information a transcript needs. Extracting the audio turns a slow upload into a fast one and removes the most common point of failure, which is a transfer that breaks halfway.
It also gives you a reusable file: the same MP3 serves for the transcript, for a podcast version and for any later re-run, without touching the original video again.
What you do not get
No subtitle file. The output is plain text and downloads as .txt; there is no .srt or .vtt export, so this does not replace a subtitling tool.
No timecodes and no speaker labels either. If you need the text synced to the image, this is the wrong tool; if you need the words, it is the right one.
Frequent questions
Can I upload the video file directly?
The uploader expects an audio file, so export the audio track first. For a video already published on YouTube, paste the link instead.
Do I need to install ffmpeg?
No. Any video editor exports audio, and VLC does it from a menu. ffmpeg is just the fastest way if you already have it.
Is there a file size limit?
What counts is the monthly minutes of your plan, not the size of the file. A long video simply uses more of your quota.
Can I get subtitles for the video?
No. The transcript downloads as .txt only, with no .srt or .vtt export and no timecodes.