Dicta-Notes

Recording & Transcription

How to record meetings, see live words on-screen, then save and process an AI-quality transcript with speakers, translation, and exports.

Start a Recording

Where to begin and basic controls

  1. Open the Record Meeting page (More menu)
  2. If you see previous content, click Clear Screen
  3. Choose Microphone or System Audio (for meetings, leave Include my voice on)
  4. Set Speech recognition language for live captions (Chrome or Edge)
  5. Click Start Dual Recording and grant permission when prompted
  6. Speak normally — live words appear in Chrome or Edge (browser speech, not the final transcript). The Windows app skips live captions.
  7. Use Pause / Resume for breaks
  8. Click Stop when finished — the session is saved automatically

Dual‑Layer Experience

Immediate feedback + AI-quality results

  • Live layer: Words appear on-screen in Chrome or Edge while you speak. Pick the speech language first. The Windows desktop app still records but skips this layer.
  • AI layer (after save): Open the saved session and click Click here to transcribe this Audio to process with Google Gemini 3.7 Flash for high-accuracy transcription and long-form speaker diarization.

Choose Your Audio Source

Microphone or System/Tab Audio for online meetings

Microphone

  • Best for in‑person meetings
  • Place the device/mic near speakers
  • Reduce background noise for clarity

System Audio

  • Best for Zoom/Teams/Meet in your browser
  • Keep Include my voice on so your side is captured too
  • Select the meeting tab/window and enable “Share audio”
  • See the Video Meetings Guide for step‑by‑step tips

Translation (130+ languages)

Translate the finished transcript, not the live captions

  • Translation is on the session Transcript tab after Gemini finishes — not live while you record.
  • After saving, choose a language and click Translate All (or translate a segment).

Controls & Status

Clear indicators while recording

  • Recording — Red indicator with a running timer
  • Paused — Yellow indicator; resume to continue
  • Saved — After Stop, a toast confirms the recording was saved; open Sessions to transcribe

Tips for Better Transcription

Small tweaks, big improvements

  • Use a good microphone, close to the speakers
  • Minimize overlapping conversations when possible
  • Close noisy apps/tabs; keep a steady system volume
  • Do a quick test recording before important meetings

Troubleshooting

Common quick fixes

  • No words appearing? Use Chrome or Edge, refresh, and check microphone permissions. Missing captions on the Windows app is expected.
  • No system audio option? Switch to Microphone mode or see the Video Meetings Guide
  • Echo/feedback? Use a headset. Keep Include my voice on for meetings unless the room speakers are feeding back into the mic

Privacy & Saving

Your control, secure storage

  • Recording starts only after you grant permission
  • Audio is backed up locally every 30 seconds; Stop uploads the session to your account
  • If a save is interrupted, use Recover pending recordings on the Sessions page
  • Saved data is stored securely with Firebase

Quick Links

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