Opus works in very short slices of sound, so a voice note holds many tiny pieces rather than one clock. To get a text with timestamps from Opus files, send the voice note to Potok in Telegram as 1 message. You get readable times back; test 1 passage from the middle.
Get the text of your recording
Open @potok_now_bot in Telegram, attach the recording and wait: the transcript arrives as a message in the same chat.
Go to @potok_now_bot in Telegram
Export to TXT, MD, DOCX, PDF, SRT and VTT · files up to 2 GB · about 30 languages · speakers and timestamps on request
In short
- RFC 7845 defines the Ogg encapsulation for the Opus codec.
- RFC 7845 recommends the .opus extension and the audio/ogg MIME type for Ogg Opus files.
- Opus encodes frames of 2.5 to 60 ms (2.5-60 ms frames), and a packet holds up to 120 ms.
- Potok accepts .opus files up to 2 GB and reads them without a conversion step.
What a Opus file is
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Kind | Audio codec, stored in Ogg as .opus |
| File extensions | .opus |
| What it holds | The Opus codec in an Ogg encapsulation |
How to get timestamps for Opus files
- Hand the file to the bot. Find @potok_now_bot in Telegram and add your .opus file as a message. The bot takes up to 2 GB; very long recordings are better uploaded with the mini app's Upload button.
- Keep the format in mind. Opus encodes frames of 2.5 to 60 ms (2.5-60 ms frames), and a packet holds up to 120 ms.
- Turn on time marks. Under the result open the other-format options and enable timestamps; before you quote a mark, jump to that place in the file and listen.
- Before sending. Send the .opus file as it is. Do not re-save it to MP3 first; each re-encoding loses detail.
What time marks look like
[00:00] Speaker 1: Thank you for calling support, how can I help?
[00:12] Speaker 1: My router restarts every evening around nine.
[00:31] Speaker 1: Let's check the firmware version together.
[00:58] Speaker 1: Remember to book the train tickets before the weekend rush.
Lines written by us to show the layout. They are not output from a real Opus file.
| Topic | Answer |
|---|---|
| Digest | Press the summary button under a finished transcript for a short digest |
| Spoken languages | About 30 languages with good published results; a few more with warnings |
| Size limit | Up to 2 GB |
| Speakers | Speaker labels and timestamps are optional switches |
| Save as | TXT, MD, DOCX and PDF for text; SRT and VTT for subtitles |
Typical Opus slips
| What goes wrong | Effect | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Expecting Opus frame sizes to appear in the transcript | The text shows readable times, not frame data | Use the minutes and seconds already shown |
| Sending an Opus clip trimmed from the middle of a longer call | Stamps start at zero instead of the original call time | Add the clip start offset yourself when merging notes |
| Mixing Opus voice notes into one long file | You cannot tell which note a given stamp belongs to | Send each Opus note separately |
| Forwarding the Opus voice note through other apps before sending | Re-compression adds noise and may blur words near the stamps | Send the original voice message directly to the bot |
More
Terms used here are explained in the glossary. Handy helpers live in tools; apps are on the download page.
Questions and answers
Is Opus supported?
It is: the bot takes .opus files of up to 2 GB and decodes them itself, so you do not need to convert anything first.
Can timestamps be combined with speaker labels?
Yes. Both can be switched on in the other-format options, and the result is shown again with the marks you chose.
Which apps and devices create Opus files?
Telegram sendVoice takes audio in an OGG file encoded with Opus (Telegram sendVoice input).
Sources
We opened each page below on the date shown. Because pages get updated, confirm important details at the source.
- RFC 7845: Ogg encapsulation for the Opus audio codec, IETF · checked
- RFC 6716: Definition of the Opus audio codec, IETF · checked
Run your own recording through it
Drop an audio or video file, or a voice message, into the chat with @potok_now_bot; the recognized text is sent back there.
Go to @potok_now_bot in Telegram