The difference production makes

Transcribed isn't the same as done.

We ran the same real deposition through Otter — a popular general transcription tool — and through Stenobox, then checked both against the reporter's certified transcript. Same audio. Very different results.

Otter is a general meeting transcriber, not a legal tool — which is the point: general transcription gets you text; Stenobox gets you a court-ready draft. Every line below is verbatim from the two tools' actual output, and Stenobox's matches the certified transcript.

406

speaker labels a general transcriber leaves you to relabel by hand

with Stenobox — it comes back already in Q. / A.

The real gap isn't accuracy. It's the work left on your desk.

Accuracy is the least interesting part of the comparison. The story is everything you'd have to do by hand to turn a raw transcript into one you can certify.

To make it certifiable, you must…	Otter	Stenobox
Label every speaker	Reassign all 406 by hand	Already Q. / A.
Figure out who "Speaker 2" is	You work it out	Named (MR. / MS.)
Add examination headers	Add them yourself	Already inserted
Format dates, numbers, caps	Reformat to court rules	Already court format
Fix punctuation & spacing	Clean up run-ons	Done
Your actual job	Rebuild, then verify	Just verify

The same deposition, three ways it breaks.

Structure, then sentences, then words. Each example is verbatim from both tools and checked against the certified transcript.

1 The speaker labels collapse — you can't tell who's talking

Otter general transcription

Speaker 3 have you taken Speaker 1 any vacations since the accident? Yes. And where did you go? I went to California in November of 2024 and November of 2025 I went to New York in January of 2025 and then I went to Florida in August of 2025

Stenobox court-ready

Q. Have you taken any vacations since the accident? A. Yes. Q. And where did you go? A. Um, I went to California in November of 2024 and November of 2025. I went to New York in January of 2025. And then I went to Florida in August of 2025.

✓ Four turns crushed into one block on the left. On the right, clean Q. / A. — matching the certified transcript.

2 A clean exchange split at the wrong spot — into nonsense

Otter general transcription

Speaker 1 No, before I how Speaker 2 long before the accident do you think you worked there

Stenobox court-ready

A. No, before. Q. How long before the accident do you think you worked there?

✓ "No, before I how" is a fragment of two different people talking. Stenobox is identical to the certified transcript.

3 Words that change the meaning

Certified transcript	Otter heard	Stenobox
…Farmington Hills, Michigan…	…Farmington Hills machine…	…Farmington Hills, Michigan…
Did the airbags deploy?	did the airbag supply.	Did the airbags deploy?
…for your diabetes…	…for your discipline…	…for your diabetes…
…if brother counsel has any questions…	…if Brother Council has any questions…	…if brother counsel has any questions…

✓ "Discipline" for "diabetes" reads as perfect English — which is exactly why a reviewer misses it. Stenobox matches the certified transcript on all four.

Coming soon A head-to-head against MaxScribe's auto-transcript, scored the same way against the same certified transcript.

Transcribed isn't the same as done.

The real gap isn't accuracy. It's the work left on your desk.

The same deposition, three ways it breaks.

Stop rebuilding transcripts. Start verifying them.