Which Audio and Video File Formats Can Be Transcribed?

Which audio file formats can be transcribed?

Zeepit, on iPhone and Android, reads the audio formats that phones, apps and recorders actually produce, so you can transcribe a file as it is. Here is what each format is and where you usually find it.

• MP3: the most widespread compressed format, used for podcasts, downloads and many digital recorders.
• M4A: AAC audio in an MP4 container, the default for iPhone Voice Memos and many Android recorder apps.
• AAC: the same codec as a bare file, exported by some apps and recorders.
• WAV: uncompressed audio from field recorders, dictaphones and editing software. Large but simple.
• FLAC: lossless compression, common in archives and high-quality recordings.
• CAF: Apple's Core Audio Format, produced by some iOS recording apps.
• OGG and OPUS: the formats behind many voice messages, including WhatsApp and Telegram voice notes.
• AMR: a compact speech format found on older phones, call recorders and some voicemail files.
• WebM: audio recorded in a web browser, for example by online recorders.

If your file has one of these extensions, you do not need to convert it first.

Can video files be transcribed? Yes, through the audio track

A transcript only needs the sound, so a video file works just like an audio file. MP4, MOV, MKV and AVI files can all be transcribed this way: only the audio track is used, and the picture is ignored.

• MOV is what an iPhone camera records by default.
• MP4 is the usual format for Android camera videos, screen recordings and most downloaded clips.
• MKV and AVI show up with exported lectures, older archives and some screen-capture tools.

Check two things before you start. First, the video must contain sound. Some screen recordings are saved without audio, and nothing can be transcribed from them. Second, speech has to be audible over music or sound effects, because loud background music makes any transcript worse.

For lectures, recorded calls and clips, see our guide to turning any video into a transcript.

Step by step

1. Install Zeepit

   Download Zeepit on your iPhone or Android phone. Your first conversions are free after install, with no account and no card.

2. Find the recording

   Open the app that holds the file, such as your voice recorder, WhatsApp, Telegram, Files or Google Drive.

3. Share it to Zeepit

   Tap Share and choose Zeepit, or open Zeepit and pick the file. Supported formats need no conversion.

4. Read and export the text

   Read the full transcript and the instant summary. Then copy or share them, or export a PDF, Word or plain-text file.

Does the file format change transcription accuracy?

The format matters much less than most people expect. An extension such as .m4a or .mkv names a container, and inside it is audio encoded with a codec. Once the file is decoded, the transcription engine hears the same speech whatever the wrapper.

These factors decide the quality of the text:

• Distance to the microphone: a phone on the table in front of the speaker beats one across the room.
• Background noise: traffic, music and side conversations cost more words than compression does.
• Overlapping voices: when people talk over each other, some words are lost.
• Distortion: speech recorded too loud gets clipped and becomes harder to understand.

Lossless formats such as WAV and FLAC are useful for editing. For a transcript, a clear voice note in OPUS or MP3 usually does just as well. Converting an MP3 to WAV never restores lost detail. It only makes the file bigger.

Do you need to convert OGG, OPUS or AMR files before transcribing?

You don't, as long as your tool reads these formats directly. The advice to convert exists because some desktop tools and web services only accept MP3 or WAV.

Converting has real downsides:

• It adds a step, and it often means uploading your recording to a converter site you know nothing about.
• Re-encoding one compressed format into another can slightly degrade the audio.
• On a phone, it means switching between several apps and ending up with duplicate files.

OGG and OPUS matter most here because voice messages travel in these formats. You can share a WhatsApp or Telegram voice note straight from the chat to a transcription app, and the original stays untouched. Our guide to transcribing WhatsApp voice notes shows the exact taps.

Convert a file only when its format is not on the list above.

How to transcribe a supported file on iPhone or Android

Everything happens on the phone. There is no desktop app and no web upload page. You can bring a file into Zeepit in two ways:

1. Share from another app. In your voice recorder, WhatsApp, Telegram, Google Drive or Files, open the recording, tap Share and choose Zeepit.
2. Pick it inside the app. Open the app and select the file from Files, Google Drive or another storage location.

You get the full transcript, word for word, plus an instant summary in a short, medium or long version. If the recording is in another language, you also get a translation. The language is detected automatically. You can copy or share the result, or export it as PDF, Word (DOCX) or plain text.

If the recording is on a computer, save it to a cloud folder such as Google Drive and open it on the phone. Your first conversions are free after install, with no account and no card, and the usage is shown in the app.

The app also takes YouTube, podcast and web page links and turns them into a summary. Our article on what files and links can be transcribed covers this.

Why a file might not transcribe, and how to fix it

• It is longer than 4 hours. That is the maximum per recording. Split the file into parts with an audio editor and transcribe each part.
• The video has no sound track. Play it with the volume up. If you hear nothing, there is nothing to transcribe.
• The download is incomplete. A file that did not finish syncing from a cloud drive or chat may be cut short. Download it again and check that it plays to the end.
• It is copy-protected. Episodes and tracks saved inside some streaming apps are locked, and other apps cannot open them.
• The format is not on the list. A format such as WMA or AIFF needs to be converted to MP3 or M4A first.
• There is no clear speech. Music, silence or very distant voices produce little or no text.

A note on privacy: the file is sent to Zeepit's servers, transcribed and deleted right after. Recordings are not archived or reused, and there is no AI training on your recordings. Your transcripts and summaries stay on your device.

Frequently asked questions