WMA to text: transcripts from Windows Media Audio files
WMA files usually come from an older Windows PC or a digital voice recorder: a ripped CD, a Sound Recorder clip, years of dictation. Upload the .wma without converting it and read it with every speaker labelled and every line timed, then fix it and download TXT, Word or PDF.
Transcribe a WMA
Free: 30 min a month, no card. Your file stays in this browser until you sign up. Compare plans
- About an hour of audio in about two minutes
- On Free too: TXT, Word and all the other downloads
A WMA recording as a transcript
Below is a real recording, NASA's Apollo 11 landing, which PrismaScribe transcribed, set out like the Word download: the speaker, then the words, and the time every line starts. Dictation or a meeting saved as WMA turns out the same, and the TXT download has those lines in plain text.
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]
Uses for a WMA transcript
WMA recordings tend to sit in old folders for years. Text makes them useful again.
- Dictation from an old voice recorder. Turn letters, reports or notes dictated on a digital recorder into text you can finish in a document.
- Sound Recorder clips from Windows Vista and 7. Read what you or your family recorded on an older Windows PC, without hunting for the right moment in each clip.
- Family recordings and old interviews. Give recordings kept from years ago a written copy you can share with relatives or keep beside the audio.
- Editing in Word (DOCX). Open the WMA's transcript as a Word (DOCX) file to rewrite, comment and print, or download a PDF to send.
- Minutes from a recorded meeting. Make minutes or a to-do list from a meeting recorded to WMA, with each point tied to its speaker.
- A searchable library of old audio. Keep every WMA in your library next to its text, grouped into folders, so you can search what was said.
How to convert WMA to text
WMA uploads on the website, from a computer or your phone's browser.
1 Copy the WMA to your computer
Find it in your Music or Documents folder on the old PC, or copy it off the voice recorder by cable or memory card. The iPhone app can't pick a WMA, so use the website.
2 Upload on the website
Drop in one WMA or a folder's worth in your browser. Pick the language or let it detect, and give the number of speakers if you know it.
3 Listen, correct, take the text
Click a word to hear and fix it, name the speakers, then download Word (DOCX), TXT or PDF, or copy the text.
30 min of free transcription per month, no card required.
Old recordings in another language
Translate
A WMA from a relative or a colleague abroad? Translate its transcript into any of 99+ languages, read it in the dashboard, or download the translation as TXT, SRT or VTT.
- Translated SRT and VTT keep each line's original timing.
- Free has 20,000 characters of translation per 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]
WMA in, text out
What WMA is, where your WMA files probably came from, and the files you get back.
WMA, the file you upload
WMA, Windows Media Audio, is Microsoft's family of audio codecs, saved in Microsoft's ASF container with a .wma extension. Older versions of Windows Media Player ripped CDs to WMA by default, the Sound Recorder in Windows Vista and Windows 7 saved .wma, and so did some older digital voice recorders. The newer Windows Voice Recorder app saves M4A instead: see M4A to text for those. A copy-protected WMA from an old music store may not open; export or record an unprotected copy.
- Made by
- Microsoft: Windows Media Audio codecs in an ASF container
- Usually from
- Windows Media Player CD rips, Sound Recorder in Vista and 7, older voice recorders
- Newer Windows
- Voice Recorder saves M4A, not WMA
- Longest WMA
- 15 min on Free, 5 hr on Starter or Premium, 8 hr 20 min on Pro
Microsoft's documentation for Windows Media Audio, ASF and Windows Media Player; the uploader's list of accepted files.
TXT and Word, the files you keep
TXT gives a header of a line or two (the recording's name, language, length and date) and then the transcript itself, with or without speaker names and [m:ss] times. Word (DOCX) lays out that same transcript as a document you can edit and print.
- Switch on or off
- Speaker names, timestamps
- Alternatives
- PDF, Markdown, SRT or VTT
- Languages
- 99+, each in its native script
- Corrections
- Included in all downloads
All text formats in the web app's export window share these options.
What it doesn't do
Points about WMA files in particular.
- No WMA in the iPhone app. The app's file picker doesn't list WMA. Upload on the website, in your phone's browser or on a computer.
- No copy-protected files. A WMA locked with DRM by an old music store may not open. Export or record an unprotected copy and upload that.
- No reading the recorder directly. PrismaScribe can't connect to a voice recorder. Copy the WMA onto your computer first.
- PDF limited to Latin, Greek and Cyrillic letters. WMA recordings in other scripts download as TXT, Word, Markdown, SRT or VTT.
Good to know
- Background noise removal and custom vocabulary are on a paid plan, charged at 2× and 1.25× the minutes.
- Free allows 30 min per month, 15 min per day at most, with one WMA transcribing at a time.
- A WMA longer than 15 min uploaded on Free is transcribed for its first 15 min only.
- Buy top-up hours and Free's daily and per-file time limits go; its 500 MB size limit doesn't.
Plans
Every plan's price, monthly or yearly. The pricing page has the whole comparison.
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 WMA files stay private
- Encrypted in transit and in storage; nobody but you and the people you share with can play them.
- None of your recordings ever train AI models.
- Kept for as long as you want, until you delete them.
WMA to text FAQ
A question we missed? Write to hello@prismascribe.ai.
How do I transcribe a WMA file?
Open a free account on the website, upload the WMA and start it, with the language chosen or on detect. We email you when the transcript is waiting in your dashboard; then read it, click a word to correct it, and download or copy the text.
What is a WMA file?
Audio in Windows Media Audio, Microsoft's family of audio codecs, stored in Microsoft's ASF container. It was a common format on Windows PCs and some digital voice recorders.
Do I have to convert WMA to MP3 first?
No. A WMA uploads to the website as it is. Converting it to MP3 would only cost you a step.
Can I upload a WMA from my iPhone?
Not in the PrismaScribe app, whose file picker doesn't take WMA. Open the website in your phone's browser, or use a computer, and upload it there.
My WMA won't play or upload. Why?
It may be copy-protected: some WMA files bought from old music stores carry DRM and may not open. Export or record an unprotected copy. Recordings from Windows Media Player, Sound Recorder or a voice recorder are usually unprotected.
Is WMA transcription free?
Yes, on Free, no card needed: 30 min each month, up to 15 min a day, with files up to 15 min and 500 MB, one at a time and every download included. Need longer files? Compare the plans or add top-up hours that never expire.
Can the WMA's transcript be saved as Word?
Yes. Word (DOCX) is one of six downloads, beside TXT, PDF, Markdown, SRT and VTT, with speaker names and timestamps each on or off. For recordings in scripts other than Latin, Greek and Cyrillic, choose Word or TXT instead of PDF.
Will the speakers in my WMA be told apart?
Yes, on every plan, up to 32 speakers, labelled Speaker 1, Speaker 2 and so on. Name a speaker once and the whole transcript changes. How speaker identification works.
Which languages can I transcribe from WMA?
99+, detected automatically or set by you. For a translation, the transcript goes into any of 99+ languages. Translate audio.
Every other format
Transcribe other audio and video files, or browse every format.
Old WMA recordings, finally readable.
30 min of free transcription per month, no card required.
One WMA in.
Readable text out.