Potok transcribes Russian speech; this site has been translated into English for convenience.
You can transcribe a VK video to text without downloading the file, through the Potok Telegram bot @potok_now_bot: paste the link to the video, and the bot returns the text. For heavy videos the bot's mini app will do. 60 minutes of transcription a month are free; for dictating your own text by voice on a computer there is the separate Potok app.
A video from VK can be converted to text without downloading a file to the computer: a link to the video is enough. It works both for the Telegram bot and for the web version, and for a short summary in Russian the browser itself has a built-in feature.
Where to get the link to a VK video
- Open the video you need on vk.com or in the VK app and copy the link to it: the ordinary page address of the video will do, and you do not need to download the file separately.
- If the video is already saved as a file on your device, you do not need the link at all: the file is sent directly, like any other audio or video file.
- It is convenient to copy the link in advance and keep it at hand: after that it is pasted once into a message to the bot or into the field of the web version.
VK video transcription to text through the bot
- Open the bot @potok_now_bot in Telegram and start it with the /start command, if you have not opened it yet.
- Paste the link to the VK video right into the message to the bot: you do not need to download and upload the file separately.
- Wait for the reply: a short video comes as text in the chat, a long one as a file; the format for long replies (TXT or DOCX) is set in advance in the settings.
- The buttons under the text, “Summary”, “Tasks and deadlines”, “Ask”, “Other format”, are useful if you need not the whole text but a brief content or an answer about the video.
- A heavier video is more convenient to process in the bot's mini app: the same VK Video link, sign-in by email or through Telegram, a limit of 2 GB per file.
A summary of the video right in the browser
Yandex Browser has a built-in video summary feature: it is free, recognition runs in the Yandex cloud, and it works with Russian-language videos. If you need specifically a short summary of a VK video, not the full text, it is worth trying this feature right in the browser first. When you need the exact full text, with buttons for tasks, export to a file or a breakdown by phrases, a separate transcription service such as the Potok bot fits better. How a short summary differs from full transcription is covered in the article transcription and voice input: what is the difference.
| Task | Characters | Typing (200 chars/min) | Voice (900 chars/min) |
|---|---|---|---|
| chat reply | 300 | 2 min | 0.5 min |
| 1500 | 8 min | 1.7 min | |
| post or meeting minutes | 4000 | 20 min | 4.4 min |
| article | 10000 | 50 min | 11.1 min |
When not to give the bot a VK video
A video not in Russian, or a video that needs to be translated into another language, is not for this: the bot recognizes only Russian speech and does not translate. The bot does not accept links to Instagram or TikTok either: of links it understands only YouTube, VK Video and RuTube, and of the rest, files and voice messages. It labels the voices in a video only with the numbers “Speaker 1”, “Speaker 2” and does not name the participants. Without the internet the transcription will not start: the Potok bot is cloud-based, and recognition runs on servers in Russia. You can compare ready transcription services with each other in a separate analysis, the comparison of transcription services.
Frequently asked questions
For long videos it is more convenient to go straight to the bot's mini app: it accepts both a link to the video and a file up to 2 GB, and the result goes to “My recordings” the same way as from the bot.
Yes, several platforms have built-in meeting transcription: Zoom for cloud recordings, Microsoft Teams during the meeting, Google Meet on Google Workspace plans. The alternative is to record the sound and process it with a separate transcription service after the call. The Potok app does not do this kind of transcription, it is for live dictation; a call recording can be sent as a file to Potok's Telegram bot @potok_now_bot.
Voice input is real-time dictation into the active text field. Transcription turns an already finished audio or video recording (a lecture, a call, a podcast) into text after the fact, often with diarization (splitting by speaker).
With Potok you can dictate the minutes live, speaking them during or right after the meeting. Transcribing an already recorded audio file of a meeting (a finished Zoom or Telemost recording) is a separate transcription task: such a file can be sent to Potok's Telegram bot @potok_now_bot.
Voice input is real-time dictation: you speak and immediately get text in the active field. Transcription turns an already finished audio or video recording (for example, a meeting recording) into text after the fact. The Potok app handles the first task, live dictation; finished recordings in Russian are transcribed by its Telegram bot @potok_now_bot.
Recording to text
Send a recording to Potok's Telegram bot or upload a file of up to 2 GB in the bot's mini app. The first 60 minutes of every month are free.
Open @potok_now_bot in TelegramPrimary 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 or RuTube 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 Russian speech; 60 minutes per month are free.