Transcription

Transcribing a RuTube video: how to get the text

Mark Vesyoly · founder of Potok · ~8 min

Potok turns speech into text in 33 languages, including English and Russian.

The Potok Telegram bot @potok_now_bot turns a RuTube video into text: send it a direct link to the video. A short recording comes back as text and a long one as a file, with 60 minutes per month free. The alternative is the built-in retelling of Russian-language videos in Yandex Browser. For typing your own text by voice there is the Potok app.

A RuTube video needs to be turned into text: you can copy the link and send it to the bot, or first try the built-in retelling right in the browser. We go through both ways and what you get back.

Where to get the link to a RuTube video

  1. Open the video you need on RuTube, in the browser on a computer or in the mobile app.
  2. Copy the link to it: the “Share” button under the player shows the address at once, or you can take it from the browser address bar after opening the video page.
  3. Check that the link leads to the right video and opens without signing in to an account, so it is easier to paste into the conversation with the bot or into a form on the site.
  4. You do not have to download the file to the computer: both the bot and the web version below accept the link itself, with no separate upload.

How to send a RuTube link to the bot and get the text

  1. Find the bot @potok_now_bot in Telegram, go to a private chat with it and start it with the /start command.
  2. Paste the copied RuTube video link there. You will not need to download and upload the file separately.
  3. After a while the result arrives: if the recording is short, the text appears right in the chat; if it is long, it comes as a file, TXT or DOCX as chosen in the bot settings.
  4. Next to the finished text there are the buttons “Summary”, “Tasks and deadlines”, “Ask” and “Other format”.
  5. Speaker labels (“Speaker 1”, “Speaker 2”) and timecodes are shown only to those who turned them on beforehand in the bot's /settings.
  6. A longer than usual video is easier to drop into the bot's mini app: it accepts both a link and a file up to 2 GB. A similar case with another platform is in the article why meeting transcription is harder than ordinary dictation (in Russian).

Your own video retelling in Yandex Browser

Yandex Browser has a built-in retelling of Russian-language videos: the browser itself shows a short summary of the video right on the page, with no third-party services or extensions. According to the site, a specific list of supported video platforms is not given, so for a RuTube video it is worth simply opening it in Yandex Browser and seeing whether a retelling appears. If there is no retelling, or you need the exact text rather than a short summary, then the bot or one of the transcription services from the table below will do. A general overview of the categories is in the material audio to text transcription: comparison of services.

Prices are taken from the services' official websites.
ServiceFreePaid
Potok bot and web version60 minutes per month7 days: 249 ₽, 30 days: 449 ₽, one year: 2 890 ₽; included in the Potok app subscription
KolerskyAI Whisper Botthe first 5 minutes69 ₽/15 minutes; 149 ₽/50 minutes; 490 ₽/200 minutes
Happy Scribe10 minutes of AI transcription$17/mo (Basic, monthly, 120 minutes); $29/mo (Pro, monthly, 600 minutes)
Fireflies.ailimited storage and AI credits—
TurboScribe3 files a day, each up to 30 minutes$20/mo (Unlimited, monthly)
Tactiq10 meeting transcriptions per month$12/mo (Pro, monthly)
Transkribator (@gotranscribeai_bot)3 transcriptions per month—
Calculated from average typing and speaking speeds, not measured.
TaskCharactersTyping (200 chars/min)Voice (900 chars/min)
chat reply3002 min0.5 min
email15008 min1.7 min
post or meeting minutes400020 min4.4 min
article1000050 min11.1 min

When the bot will not fit for RuTube transcription

A video that is not in Russian will be left without a transcript: the bot's model is set up only for Russian speech and does not translate. Do not expect real names of participants either: only “Speaker 1”, “Speaker 2” in order of lines. The bot will not cope with a live broadcast: it needs a finished, complete recording, not a real-time stream. And the key condition: the Potok bot is a cloud service, recognition happens on servers in Russia, so it does not work without an internet connection.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just forward the bot a RuTube video link, without downloading the file?

Yes, a RuTube link is one of the formats the bot accepts, along with YouTube and VK Video; there is no need to download the file to the computer.

What does the bot send back for a long RuTube video?

A separate file, TXT or DOCX as chosen in the settings, not one solid message in the chat; timecodes and speaker labels can be turned on beforehand in the bot's /settings.

Transcribing a RuTube video: what to do and what to check?

Transcribing a RuTube video. Potok recognises speech in 33 languages, including English and Russian, in the cloud, and inserts the finished text into the active field; it does not work without an internet connection. Potok has a personal dictionary for terms and brands, the 152-FZ data mode for data kept in Russia, and a separate on-prem installation for business; punctuation and capital letters are added automatically. Names, terms and speech that mixes languages are recognised without hints. The people who use Potok: product managers, developers, copywriters and technical writers, lawyers and doctors, and anyone tired of typing. For Transcribing a RuTube video you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.

Transcribing a RuTube video: how Potok differs from built-in dictation?

Transcribing a RuTube video. Potok recognises speech in 33 languages, including English and Russian, in the cloud, and inserts the finished text into the active field; it does not work without an internet connection. Potok has a personal dictionary for terms and brands, the 152-FZ data mode for data kept in Russia, and a separate on-prem installation for business; punctuation and capital letters are added automatically. Names, terms and speech that mixes languages are recognised without hints. The people who use Potok: product managers, developers, copywriters and technical writers, lawyers and doctors, and anyone tired of typing. For Transcribing a RuTube video you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.

Transcribing a RuTube video: does recognition work without an internet connection?

Transcribing a RuTube video. Versions are available for Windows, macOS and Linux, and the default hotkey is Ctrl+Space; there are no mobile versions. Potok recognises speech in 33 languages, including English and Russian, in the cloud, and inserts the finished text into the active field; it does not work without an internet connection. The hotkey can be changed in the settings: any key, a combination or a side mouse button will do. Potok is a sole proprietorship registered in Russia; data and voice recordings are kept on servers in Russia, with the 152-FZ mode on by default. For Transcribing a RuTube video you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.

Transcribing a RuTube video: how much it costs and what the free plan includes?

Transcribing a RuTube video. The free plan costs 0 ₽ with a limit of 2,500 words a week; Pro costs 690 ₽ a month or 5,999 ₽ a year (499 ₽ a month). Here is how Potok works: hold the hotkey (Ctrl+Space by default), speak, release — and the finished text is inserted into the active field of any app. Names, terms and speech that mixes languages are recognised without hints. The people who use Potok: product managers, developers, copywriters and technical writers, lawyers and doctors, and anyone tired of typing. For Transcribing a RuTube video you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.

Transcribe your own recording

Forward a voice message, or send a file or a YouTube, VK Video, RuTube, Instagram or TikTok link to Potok's Telegram bot, and the text arrives in the same chat. 60 minutes per month for free.

Open @potok_now_bot in Telegram

Primary sources: yandex.ru · vc.ru · speech2text.ru · audio-2-text.ru

Transcribe a recording in Telegram

Voice messages, video notes, audio and video are transcribed by Potok's Telegram bot @potok_now_bot: forward it a voice message from any chat, or send a file or a YouTube, VK Video, RuTube, Instagram or TikTok link. A short recording comes back as text in the chat, a long one as a file; timestamps and speaker labels can be turned on. The buttons give a short summary, tasks and deadlines, an answer to a question about the recording and export to TXT, DOCX, PDF or SRT. Large files, up to 2 GB, are easier to upload in the bot's mini app, via the Upload button next to the input field. The bot recognizes 100+ languages (the language is detected automatically); 60 minutes per month are free.

Mark Vesyoly — founder of Potok. Writes about voice input: how to dictate in work apps, what gets in the way and how to fix it.
© Potok · Vladimir Olegovich Lipatnikov · INN 502915859701 · Public offer (in Russian) Comparisons · FAQ · About (in Russian) Free voice input · Voice input for AI chats · Data and Russian privacy law · Voice input on Mac · Bot plans (in Russian) · 14 days of Pro for a review (in Russian)