WebM to text: transcripts of browser recordings and web video
Drop in a WebM from a browser screen recorder or a webcam app and read back everything said in it, line by line, with who spoke and when. If the video is still online, paste its link and skip the download.
Transcribe a WebM
Free: 30 min a month, no card. Your file stays in this browser until you sign up. Compare plans
- About an hour of video in about two minutes
- Speaker names on Free too
What a WebM turns into
Below is a short real recording, NASA's Apollo 11 landing, as PrismaScribe writes it out for the Word download: each speaker named above their words and a [m:ss] time at the start of each line. A screen recording or webcam talk comes back in the same shape; the TXT file holds the same lines, unstyled.
Apollo 11 landing
Neil Armstrong
[0:00] Houston, uh, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.
CAPCOM, Charlie Duke
[0:06] Roger, Twang... Tranquility. We copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. We're breathing again. Thanks a lot. [beeping]
Apollo 11 landing.srt
- 100:00:00,500 to 00:00:05,980Neil Armstrong: Houston, uh, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.
- 200:00:06,640 to 00:00:08,478CAPCOM, Charlie Duke: Roger, Twang...
- 300:00:08,478 to 00:00:12,494Tranquility. We copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue.
- 400:00:12,494 to 00:00:14,720We're breathing again. Thanks a lot. [beeping]
Apollo 11 landing.vtt
WEBVTT
- 100:00:00.500 to 00:00:05.980Neil Armstrong: Houston, uh, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.
- 200:00:06.640 to 00:00:11.301CAPCOM, Charlie Duke: Roger, Twang... Tranquility. We copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys
- 300:00:11.301 to 00:00:14.720CAPCOM, Charlie Duke: about to turn blue. We're breathing again. Thanks a lot. [beeping]
After the WebM becomes text
What people tend to do with the transcript of a browser recording.
- Turn a screen walkthrough into written steps. Recorded yourself explaining a tool or a bug? The transcript is the first draft of the how-to or the ticket.
- Minutes from a recorded call. A browser-recorded meeting becomes text you can search, quote and send round, with each person's lines marked.
- Feedback you can quote. Read a webcam reply or a user test back as text and lift the exact words, each with its time in the recording.
- Study a web lecture. Paste the link to a talk that's online, then build a summary, a quiz or flashcards from what the speaker said.
- Subtitles for the same video. Download SRT or VTT and add them in your editor, or wherever you post the clip.
How to convert WebM to text
Bring the file in or point us at the video, then read and fix the result.
1 Upload the WebM or paste its link
Choose the file your recorder saved, often in Downloads. For a video that's on YouTube, Vimeo or a similar site, paste the address instead.
2 Set the language and start
Name the language spoken or let it be detected, add the number of speakers if you know it, and begin.
3 Check, name, download
Click any word to replay it and correct it, give Speaker 1 a real name, then take Word (DOCX), TXT or PDF, or copy the text out.
30 min of transcription free every month, no card asked.
Read the recording in another language
Translate
Got a WebM where people speak a language your team doesn't? Translate its transcript into any of 99+ languages and take it as TXT, or as SRT or VTT subtitles that follow the video's timing.
- Each translated subtitle line keeps its original start and end time.
- Free comes with 20,000 characters of translation each month.
More
Copy all
Export
- TXT
- SRT, selected
- VTT
Apollo 11 landing_es.srt
- 100:00:00,500 to 00:00:05,980Houston, eh, aquí Base Tranquilidad. El Águila ha aterrizado.
- 200:00:06,640 to 00:00:14,720Recibido, Tranq... Tranquilidad. Los copiamos en tierra. Tenían a un montón de tipos a punto de ponerse azules. Volvemos a respirar. Muchas gracias. [pitidos]
WebM in, transcript out
What a WebM is, where yours probably came from, and the files you get back.
WebM, the file you bring
WebM is an open, royalty-free media format from the WebM Project, which Google started, built on Matroska. Its video is VP8, VP9 or AV1 and its sound Vorbis or Opus, and a WebM can carry sound alone. Chrome and Firefox record WebM through the browser's own recording interface, so many browser-based screen and webcam recorders save it. We transcribe the speech in the sound; the picture isn't read.
- Inside a WebM
- VP8, VP9 or AV1 video; Vorbis or Opus sound
- Sound only
- Taken too, just like a WebM with video
- Usual sources
- Browser screen and webcam recorders, saved web video
- Still online
- Paste the link; we take the video's sound
The WebM Project's own description of the format; the uploader's list of accepted files and the link import's list of sites.
The text, as Word or TXT
Word (DOCX) lays the transcript out as a document, names in bold and a time ahead of each line, ready to edit, comment on or print. TXT is the bare text, readable in any app, under a short header with the file name, language, length and date.
- Turn on or off
- Names and timestamps, each on its own
- Also offered
- PDF, Markdown, SRT, VTT
- Spoken language
- Any of 99+
- Edits you make
- Kept in every file you export
Taken from the export window of the web app.
What it doesn't do
Good to check before you record or upload.
- No words read off the screen. Code, slides or captions visible in a screen recording aren't transcribed; only speech is.
- No signed-in links. A private video, or one for members or behind a sign-in, can't come in by link. Download it and upload the WebM.
- No video in the player. The dashboard plays the recording's sound beside the text, without the picture.
- No shrinking. A WebM over your plan's size limit is refused, not reduced. Trim it or save a smaller copy first.
- PDF for Latin, Greek and Cyrillic letters. Speech in any other script downloads as Word, TXT, Markdown, SRT or VTT.
Good to know
- Background noise removal and custom vocabulary need a paid plan. Removing noise counts 2× the minutes; custom vocabulary counts 1.25×.
- Free gives 30 min a month, no more than 15 min in a day, and one recording at a time.
- Upload a WebM longer than 15 min on Free through the website and only its first 15 min is transcribed. In the iPhone app such a file is turned away.
- Top-up hours lift the daily and per-file time limits on Free. The 500 MB size cap still applies.
Plans
Every plan's price by the month and by the year. See the pricing page for the full side-by-side.
30 min a month, files up to 15 min
- Monthly
- $0
- Yearly
- $0
5 hr a month, files up to 5 hr
- Monthly
- $7 a month
- Yearly
- $52 a year, Save 38%$4.33 a month, billed once a year
20 hr a month, files up to 5 hr
- Monthly
- $20 a month
- Yearly
- $150 a year, Save 38%$12.50 a month, billed once a year
40 hr a month, files up to 8 hr 20 min
- Monthly
- $40 a month
- Yearly
- $300 a year, Save 38%$25 a month, billed once a year
Your recordings stay yours
- Encrypted on the way to us and in storage, visible to you and anyone you choose to share with.
- Not used to train any AI model.
- Kept until you delete them.
WebM to text FAQ
Another question? Write to hello@prismascribe.ai.
How do I turn a WebM file into text?
Sign up free, then upload the WebM, or paste the video's link if it's online. Pick the spoken language or leave it on detect and start. You get an email when the transcript is ready, so the tab can be closed. Fix any word by clicking it, then download Word, TXT or PDF, or copy the text.
What is a WebM file?
An open, royalty-free media format from the WebM Project, started by Google and based on Matroska. Video inside is VP8, VP9 or AV1, sound is Vorbis or Opus. Some WebM files hold sound and no picture; the uploader takes those as well.
Why did my screen recorder save a WebM?
Chrome and Firefox record WebM through the browser's built-in recording interface, so many recorders that run inside a web page, for the screen or a webcam, hand you a .webm. Upload it as it is; there's no need to convert it first.
Can I paste a link rather than download the video?
Yes, when the video is public on YouTube, Vimeo, TikTok, X, Instagram, Facebook, Twitch, Reddit, Loom, Dailymotion or SoundCloud. We take the sound from the page and transcribe it. Videos behind a login can't be fetched; download those and upload the file.
Is converting WebM to text free?
On Free, yes, with no card: 30 min a month, at most 15 min a day, files up to 15 min and 500 MB, one at a time, with every download format. Longer recordings need a bigger plan or top-up hours that don't expire. Compare the plans.
Can I download the transcript as Word (DOCX)?
Yes. Word (DOCX) sits beside TXT, PDF, Markdown, SRT and VTT, and in each you choose whether speaker names and timestamps appear. PDF covers Latin, Greek and Cyrillic letters; for other scripts use Word or TXT.
Does it know who's talking in a recorded call?
Yes, on all plans, up to 32 speakers. Each voice gets a label, Speaker 1, Speaker 2 and on; rename one and the change runs through the whole transcript. More on speaker identification.
My WebM is too big. What now?
A file over your plan's size is refused rather than shrunk. Trim the recording or save a smaller copy, or move to Starter or Premium (2 GB a file) or Pro (5 GB). If it's online, pasting the link avoids the upload.
What languages can be spoken in it?
Any of 99+, chosen by you or detected. You can then translate the transcript into any of 99+ languages. Translate video.
Other formats, other outputs
Text from different files, plus the pages that cover every format.
Turn your next browser recording into words.
30 min of transcription free each month, no card.
One recording in.
Everything you need out.