Descript Reviews

I have been using Descript for a while now, and have noticed a new series of features being added to the platform. However, even though those additions have been more than welcome, what I consider the platform's top feature is something that has been at its core for quite some time: Descript's transcription tool. In particular, I was really impressed by the accuracy of the transcription tool's AI. If I had to estimate, I would say that the accuracy of the transcriptions Descript has done for my video content has been around 90%, which is really good.

While the transcription tool has been very good and accurate, I feel that its user interface could be improved. In fact, it has happened to me a few times to accidentally delete parts of a video (since Descript can be used for video editing too), while I was trying to edit some of the captions/subtitles that were created by the tool's automated transcription feature. Luckily, I have also noticed this in time but this could have very well have led to a video having missing parts because of this "accident".

My favorite aspect of this software is the ability to delete filler words, shorten pauses between phrases and make my guests sound so much better than they do in the rough interview track. I love being able to edit the audio file by deleting things from the transcribed text and being able to go back and forth between editing in the text and editing in the audio file. The last episode I edited on descript cut 20 minutes off the interview. Then I bring that edited track into garage band to add intro/outro music, etc. ( i know I’m supposed to be able to do all this inside descript but I haven’t taken the time to learn how to do that.

Poor transcription of non native speakers. Not knowing how to add in existing transcript and match it with the raw interview track before editing.

Descript is a strong collection of audio tools that just weren't available when I started making podcasts. The ability to organise, collaborate and publish an audio project in the cloud with a friendly interface is great and used to be a huge pain to figure out. Editing audio with the transcript and the waveform at the same time allows you to skip a bunch of technicalities and focus on your creativity. Video capabilities expand the possibilities, and the overall suite of tools make me rethink entirely what podcast editing can or should be in a good way.

Stability is the biggest problem I have with this. After working on about a lot of different projects with different collaborators, I'm still coming up against things that make it freeze, make it crash, or break a project (usually salvageable at least), and end up needing to work around issues to keep things rolling. Also, while Descript has a lot of features, in comparison to any long-standing audio...

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I love that to edit the audio or video, you just make the edits in the transcription instead of trying to find the exact place in the audio file. Makes it so much easier! My favorite is that it can take out all the "filler words" like "um" in about 2 clicks and make the audio sound great! So much faster than how I was doing it before with having to listen and take them out one at a time.

There are constant updates to the software, about 1 a week. This can be annoying since there is always a pop-up that says you need to update and restart almost everytime I open the app. Also, if you have multiple accounts (I have multiple clients I work with), it is hard to sign out of one account and then sign into another. Not sure why this isn't straightforward, but often when I sign out of one account and then try to sign into another, it just puts me back into the same account.

It's very easy to use as a novice. There are lots of functionality buried within that I know I'm not utilizing, but I don't need it to get my job done. I love the ability to edit the audio by editing text and adding music onto my podcast voice files is straightforward. This is by far the easiest editing tool I've tried.

There are lots of features that I know exist but that I don't see or that I don't know how or when I should use them. This is on me to learn, but I do wish tools would provide access to mini-tutorials from within the main workspace so that when you are working you could better identify whether that functionality you've never used might help to solve your problem.

This software utilizes the experience of using a word processor, and harnesses it to help make an editing process that is intuitive, easy, and efficient. This makes it a time saver for me, and I have been able to teach non-design and non-tech colleagues how to use it in order to share the production work across various projects with ease.

Initially, the transcript and audio functions worked excellently, while the video was still a but rough. Now, though, Descript has spent several months upgrading and updating their platform so that the video editing is much more seamless and more can be done through the platform to produce great videos. The overdub is clever and helpful, but requires quite a bit of honing to get high-quality results.

I love that I can basically edit my podcast episodes by working with what is essentially a word doc. The auto transcriptions are super helpful for pulling quote, clips, and soundbites - especially if I ever go back through and just want to skim the content (without having to listen for a specific section of the episode.

I don't have many cons to share. If I were using the transcripts as part of my finished product I might like them to be a bit more accurate, but it looks like there are frequent updates to make them more and more spot on (with easy enough features to customize and dial in the exact transcript where needed).

It takes a completely unique approach to media editing, with the content and concept as focus instead of just abstract files.

When I get used to a function it changes quickly with updates affecting work flow. However sometimes the changes are easier.

Ease of editing by working with the transcript and not the video & audio only.

The continual updates. Seriously this has got to stop. Every single week a button has moved or been added or changed shape. Please stop. I would pay triple to stop the changes.

Descript has many amazing features - even ones that I would have never thought of to wish for. Here are some of the features that most impressed me. I love being able to edit video or audio recordings simply by editing the transcript. You can edit within the same file, or you can open another file in a separate window and copy/paste the sections you want from the original file - which remains intact....

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The accuracy of the automatic transcription can be a bit hit or miss. British accents are notoriously problematic. Not only does the app misinterpret words, but the rhythm of the person's speech can cause the app to put the wrong punctuations in all the wrong places. If the transcript needs a lot of editing, I'll put the whole transcript in Edit Mode. But I often need to play back a section of audio...

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I love that Descript makes editing video and audio content so easy. And the transcriptions are so accurate it's scary! This software has saved me countless hours but more importantly removes so many barriers that keep people from getting started with creating video and audio content.

The editor UI is a bit clunky and compressed, I feel like the editor area should be larger which might make it even easier to use.

love that the transcripts are very accurate the product has so many features and i am learning new features everyday love that i can eliminate 4-5 pieces of software love that i can create audio grams very easy for editing text and video

there are so many features, it does have a long learning curve with some of its functions the demo videos are a little confusing and I had to watch them a few times to figure out how exactly to do certain things.

What I like the most about using Descript, is that it allows me to use 1 tool for many of my needs. Previously I would have to use 3-4 different sites/tools to get the job done. It also allows me to make media (podcasts) more on my own time, instead of relying on freelancers and others.

It does seem to take a lot for my computer to process using Descript. I haven't run into any issues yet and have an upgraded computer, but could see an issue if I'm traveling or had less capacity.

A must use tool for any podcast company. Editing has never been more streamlined.

Video editing the s close but I use three cameras and two to three audio sources. Multicam needs to be more streamlined

I love how it makes editing podcasts easy with my clients and collaborators. Editing the text to edit the sound is a really handy feature. Filler word removal has been great Its great for recording scripted ads too as I can quickly punch in/out to get the right cadence and ultimately the best take

There are some glitches when it comes to collaboration i.e. not being able to make comments (and notifying your collaborator) until the audio is transcribed, which as a collaborator on someone else's drive I cannot do Room tone generation seems to be selected as default When using filler word removal, the cuts can sound quite harsh and require spaces before and after to sound natural

I was skeptical that editing audio in this way would result in a good-sounding podcast, but it has made the editing process so much clearer. Lots of great little features enable me to make content that I can push to socials as well!

The software frequently updates with significant changes to where things are placed and stored and no explanation of these changes. The auto-transcription is riddled with errors that it’s a little tedious to correct. Too many features are behind a SECOND tier paywall. Some of these things I get (the high-tech voice generation feature seems with extra money) but it seems odd that as a paying subscriber I can’t, say, replace the Descript logo in my audiograms.

The difference Descript has over other transcription services is that you can 1. Create variations by making different projects 2. Export XML to Final Cut or Premier for an edited version that speeds up workflow for interviews and the spoken word. Learning the software is pretty straight forward and they have great tutorials when you run into a snag. Descript has been a game changer for my corporate and personal profile video workflow. I share the script with my client and ask them to highlight stuff they want me to try and keep in their spoken word. When I’m done putting a rough together, I send them a link from the site. Super easy and looks really professional.

I can’t really say there are any con’s at the moment. This software tops the other transcription services that I was using and wouldn’t go back because of the features and cost of descript.

The features i liked about Descript are, -it has a automatic speech to text. -you can also change settings to suit what's best for the user - it's friendly user - one can edit videos as well - it has different variety options in one software which makes it accessible - fike documents are kept safe and its a trustworthy software which i would recommend to a beginner who doesn't know and wants to learn how to transcribe - and also there are mini courses so one can understand the software better for which ii think it's a great feature to have.

It tends to mulfunction which makes it difficult to use Tye software can sometimes crash due to having more users on the software which i believe it has to be taken into consideration, considering that its a used software all around

It's a life saver for editing audio. Never again will I edit audio blindly - Descript is SO helpful in storytelling, and scripting narrations, and overall getting a better grasp on what you have in your audio. I love being able to add multiple compositions into a single project - it keeps things wonderfully organized.

The recent update to removing filler words has been cutting off words from either side of the filler word.

This really helps me get my job done,. It's fun to use, too. Great video editing tool and to make content from interviews.

I'd say my only criticism is the support is slow. But you will be able to figure it all out for yourself. And there YT videos are the perfect way to learn

There is absolutely nothing in this world that is easier to use than Descript. It has saved me HOURS of work compared to Camtasia (which is really complicated and hard to learn). You can cut parts out of the video by deleting words from a transcript that Descript automatically generates, and remove filler words (um, ah) with a single click. The final video is better than when I use Camtasia to cut things down to the millisecond. It's a genius piece of software and everyone should try it.

There are a lot of features I know I'm not utilizing enough.

I love that you can see the transcript while editing. It really helps with people with a learning disability like myself to see the words on the screen as well as hearing.

That there is no way to edit two separate tracks in one audio. (i.e. two people speaking with their own audios).

I love how simple it is to use. I love how I can open it up, it's organized, easy to start a new project, edit away, and export easily to other applications as well as .mp3 or .wav files. It's saved me tons of time in my workflow. Being able to see the words and search by word is a game changer. I love that I can create audiograms for audio, highlight text for quotes, and export finish projects.

I use an another DAW, Adobe Audition, because I am familiar with more intense editing within Audition. From the use of plug ins to more customization with cross fades, I feel I can do more outside of Descript when it comes to mixing and mastering the audio files. The cross fades also do not export to Audition and that would be a huge help if Descript was able to do that.

I love the text editing feature. It makes it so much easier to edit visually which is great and easy.

The user interface is different than most standard audio editors so there is a learning curve.

It’s simple to use and to create different assists for podcasting. It cuts editing time significantly.

Limited automated editing. Would be great if certain things could be autocorrect like the spelling of a name or of the show title. Also thought it would be useful to be able to put marker where you want time stamp and then with click it would auto gen show highlights. There’s no affiliate program. Give back to those that support you and refer you.