Industry Information
The E-Reporting industry is quickly becoming known as the only way to create a verifiable record. Through electronic means and monitoring, a complete recording is made of a proceeding. Parties in an action not only obtain a written transcript, but they may also obtain a copy of the audio exactly as it occurred. E-Reporting is one of several methods of taking the record in a legal or other type of proceeding. Other methods include stenographic and stenomask reporting. You can find a full description of E-Reporting on the American Association of Electronic Reporters and Transcribers web site at www.aaert.org.
E-Reporters typically use four-channel recording equipment. Many consider four-channel recordings to be the most accurate method of capturing the record, as E-Reporters are recording the participants' voices onto separate channels. This allows unwanted noise to be "shut out" during transcription, as when participants talk over one another. By listening to one channel at a time, E-Transcribers can hear what occurred more clearly than the participants themselves might have heard.
There are several electronic methods of taking the record, including analog audio or video and digital audio or video. Four-channel recording is available in all of these systems.
Analog audio recording has been a highly accurate and effective method of taking the record for over 30 years. Using a dual-deck, 4-track audio cassette recorder, the E-Reporter records the proceedings onto high-grade audio cassette tapes. Industry standard recording equipment is virtually fail-safe. This equipment will not record over existing data and will immediately alert the reporter in the event of a tape malfunction. At the same time, the machine automatically switches from the malfunctioning tape to the blank tape in the opposite deck, which immediately begins recording. When this tape reaches its end, the unit automatically switches back to the first deck, which now contains a blank replacement tape, and begins recording onto this tape. Both tapes record simultaneously for up to three minutes, ensuring no data is lost. Playbacks, like read-backs for stenographic reporters, are easily accomplished on these dual-deck machines.
Digital recording is rapidly becoming the most widely used technology in electronically capturing the record. E-Reporters record the proceedings directly into a computer. The recording is downloaded onto a compact disk or, if requested, uploaded to a secure web site and then downloaded to any authorized computer for auditory review or transcription. If a playback is requested, the recording continues, capturing the entire playback along with the rest of the proceeding.
