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Quality Voice Talent since 1998

Automatic Translations (Software) Vs. Human Translation

A posting from Voice Talent / Translator David Barrera

Who better than a human to interpret another human?
A machine with artificial intelligence?
I don't think so.
 
Despite advances in artificial intelligence, there are still flaws in “automatic” translations from one language to another.
Software-aided translations are not refined enough because they are “literal”. They translate word by word…disregarding context, or, how the words are properly used in the target language.
 
The wealth of the human translator, in many cases, lies in his or her life experience, something that AI will never have. Knowing idiomatic expressions or slangs, how to interpret them according to the social, cultural context, the subject being discussed and the time period, are some things that AI does not do well.
 
Formality is important when speaking Spanish. You do not speak to your family using the same informal expression of “you” as you would with a business professional, such as a doctor. Using formal or informal Spanish will determine how you conjugate verbs, as well as which subjects and articles you use. When translating from English to Spanish, automatic translations still seem not to recognize when to use the informal pronoun "tu" and when to use the formal pronoun "usted" and they also don’t know how to maintain one form or the other even within a paragraph! In fact, the first clue that someone has used a computer to translate, is the mixing of the formal and informal pronouns! In Spanish, it’s one or the other, never both within the same text.
 
Machine translations are also not accurate with numbers expressed in words, they do not correctly interpret in Spanish the abbreviations that English speakers make for certain cases, ruining promotions and generating confusion with your Spanish speaking audience (in Spanish, a monthly car payment is NOT expressed as “three ninety nine”. That would imply $3.99! Not the intended $399.00) 
 
Ultimately, AI can learn more and more, but our way of speaking and writing is always changing, global society is adopting new expressions and discarding others, changing the meanings of many words, exchanging expressions between different languages. In short, our communication will never stop evolving and I doubt that machines will be able to keep up with us.
 
Posted: 11/4/2024 11:55:01 AM

Speedy Spots VO showcase

Who doesn't Love a Red Tag Sale?!
Video Produced and Edited by KTVB
Voiceover by Dani O'Brien

 
Posted: 7/16/2024 11:38:44 AM

Speedy Spots VO showcase

Deliciously Done!
Thank you Dave Williams and Bullseye Video Productions out of Greencastle PA.
Voiceover by Genny Brown

 

 
Posted: 6/27/2024 11:07:39 AM

Thank You for Choosing SpeedySpots.com

We are proud to hear time and time again how easy it is to use Speedy Spots.  You’ll find our site easy to navigate, and packed with examples of what we can do to make your broadcast day a lot easier.

Besides expanded demo pages to better showcase what we can do, we have a “Quick Talent Navigator”, making it easier than ever to listen to our wide selection of demos and quickly find the perfect talent for your project.

Quick Talent Navigator screenshot from new home page

We’ve got the voices you’re looking for all built into this easy to navigate feature. 

Need phone on hold messaging? Corporate,  Industrial training, E-Learning voice over?  Be sure to visit our “What We Can Do” page for niche market examples of the immense variety of voiceover styles our talents can provide – sure to speak directly to your customers’ needs.

What We Do page screenshot

 

Posted: 3/25/2014 6:59:12 PM

How to pay an invoice with your stored credit card:

Now that you can store your credit card information, here’s how to pay your monthly invoice using your stored card.

1.  Once you receive your emailed invoice, view your invoice from either the attachment or the “view it here” link.  Make note of the dollar amount owed as you will need this later in the process.  To make a payment click the blue “click here”

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2.  If you are logged in to your account, you will be directed to our payment page.  The invoice number will automatically prepopulate for you, as will the Company name of your account.  Fill in the invoice payment amount or the amount you are paying on this invoice.  Select your payment source, the drop down will have your stored credit card(s).  Complete the transaction by clicking “Pay Now” and a receipt email will be sent.

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3.  If you are not logged in to your account, when you click to make a payment from your email, the payment form will ask you to log in to your account.  Click the blue “log in to your account”.  The system will then take you to the login screen.

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You have now arrived at the pre-populated payment page.  Please follow step 2 instructions to complete your payment .  Easy as 123!!

-Rhonda

Posted: 3/24/2014 11:55:01 AM

How we maximize the security of your credit card

To safeguard credit card information, the Speedy Spots website uses industry standard encryption technologies, including SSL and AES encryption to protect sensitive data while it is in transit and when it is stored into our systems. Speedy Spots has also partnered with the leading internet payment gateway to store credit card numbers in a PCI compliant environment. The gateway uses a “tokenization” process in order to process transactions using stored credit card data. This means that once you have saved a credit card to your Speedy Spots account, that credit card number is replaced with a unique token value that the Speedy Spots website can use when sending payment instructions to the payment gateway. All future transactions use this special token to authorize transactions between the Speedy Spots website and the gateway service, thus protecting the actual credit card number.

Speedy Spots wants to ensure that your credit card information is protected. We provide customers with the option of saving credit card payment information inside of their accounts to simplify the process of making online payments. Customers who are uncomfortable with storing credit card information online are not required to do so. Please note that sending your credit card information to us via an email or typing it out in the ‘Production Notes’ area of the voiceover request form is not a safe practice. For the best security, please save your credit card information under the “My Credit Cards” tab of your user dashboard, or simply check mark the box “store this credit card for future use” when paying an estimate.

Posted: 2/24/2014 11:56:13 AM

Feature Highlight: Storing your Credit Card Information

Our website can now store your credit card information.  Thank you for your patience as we developed this feature. We did so with your utmost security in mind.  And with the service you’ve come to expect from us, it’s easy to begin storing your credit card information. Paying for your production just got a whole lot simpler so let’s begin with some “how-to” steps.

Once you are logged in, your dashboard has a tab labeled “My Credit Cards” –click that tab to start storing cards! 

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You can also save your credit card information when paying on an estimate. 

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BONUS FEATURE:  PRE-AUTHORIZATION!  Already familiar with our rates and don’t want to wait for an estimate to be sent to you before your card is charged? You can pre-authorize us to charge your card at the same time you are making a request. This feature is activated once you have a credit card saved to your user profile. 


 

 

That sums it up in a nutshell. Of course if you have any questions what so ever we are only a phone call or email away. One of our producers would be happy to help you, call us at 1-800-697-8819 or email us at [email protected]

 

Posted: 2/23/2014 11:56:55 AM

Feature Highlight: The “All Requests” Tab

Managing a creative workforce can be incredibly rewarding, but keeping everyone on the same page and supervising the workload can be a challenge. So we have a tool that can help you keep track of the voiceover work your production department is ordering. It’s called the “All Requests” tab. It allows people who work for the same company, or the users you specify, to see each other’s requests!
For example, let’s say Kelly is the production manager at her company, and she oversees two producers, Mark and Rishi. All three of them regularly request voiceovers. But Kelly would really like to see Mark and Rishi’s requests too, not just her own. Now she can, with the All Requests tab.
All Request Tab
We can set it up “manager style”, where one person oversees the producers, who can only see their own requests. Or we can set it up “group style”, where everyone may see everyone else’s requests. Or even a mix of the two… the choice is yours.
We’re happy to provide this feature at no cost, but it must be configured manually on our end. So if you’re interested in how you might benefit from this feature, please call us at 1-800-697-8819 and one of our producers would be happy to enable it for you.
-Spencer & Dawn
Posted: 2/24/2012 11:57:45 AM

Feature Highlight: Status Bar

Your Dashboard already includes information as to the “status” of your request.  We’ve added another feature to better answer the perpetual question, “Are we there yet?”

Status Bar

When you open up a request you’ve submitted from your dashboard, you’ll be taken to the details page.  Here you’ll find the new Status Bar, along with a few other details regarding your order.  It tracks the progress of your request through the different stages of completion.  No more wondering.  Only knowing.  Neat, huh?

 

Posted: 2/23/2012 11:58:21 AM

Feature Highlight: Interactive Music Library

For years we’ve had samples of music from our production library up on our website, but it wasn’t as user friendly or inspiring as it could be.
You spoke. We listened. Introducing our new interactive music library:
Music Library

You can filter thousands of tracks by genre, tempo, length, or any combination of the three to help you find the perfect one. Then preview the tracks by listening to them with our built in music player- no annoying downloads to crowd up your desktop. And the coolest part? You can rate the tracks! This way you can mark tracks you like and come back to them later, making it easy to compare them.
 
Posted: 2/21/2012 12:11:21 PM