FAQs

• I have my MPEG, how do I get started?

  Below is a demo of SyncUploader.  SyncUploader can be used if you already have your media in the desired digital format (most commonly MPEG-1 or MPEG-4.) Demo: Sending in a Job

• How do I get my synchronized transcript into TrialDirector?

  Synchron will deliver the synchronized transcript in the native TrialDirector “.cms” format. You may need to help TrialDirector find your media files. To do this, please use the “Multimedia” menu from the top of the screen and select Modify Multimedia Location(s). Follow the dialogs and you’ll be ready to roll. It is also possible to use our Universal ASCII text file to load into TrialDirector. As we now deliver the .cms file this is no longer recommended.

  If you’re still having trouble the following should reliably locate the media files in TrialDirector:

  1. Open a new case to test the import
  2. Import CMS
  3. Load CMS
  4. Do not copy media
  
  5. Use ‘modify multimedia location’ from ‘multimedia’ menu on top of app window (i.e.*NOT* context/rt. click) to set media location to where your media file is.

  
  NOTE: For current versions of TrailDirector the .dvt in the TrialDirector folder is recommended.

• Can an audio-only recording be synchronized with a transcript?

  Yes indeed! Many court reporters record the proceedings with a high quality table microphone and send in their transcript along with the audio from the deposition. Because the audio quality is not as high as with individual lavaliere microphones for each speaker, the audio is good enough to get an approximate synchronization. It is easy for the court reporter to deliver a CD with the synchronized transcript and audio which will auto-play in the Synchronizer for the attorney.

• I want to make video clips from depositions using a trial presentation application. Can the synchronized files I get from Synchron be used in Sanction or Trial Director?

  Yes. This is one of the primary uses of a synchronized transcript from Synchron.

• My video has not been encoded. Can I still send them in for synchronization?

  Short answer is no, your media will need to be converted to .mpg or .mp4 first.

  You will need to convert your media to a format that is supported by your trial presentation software and operating system.  Currently (2019) some trial presentation applications prefer constant bitrate MPEG-1 media.  Some prefer mpeg-4 (mp4) media files.  Synchron can synchronize to either format, and many others.

  Note: The free Synchronizer player for MacOS Catalina (10.15)+ is limited to video formats Apple supports, which simply put is mpeg-4 (.mp4) files for video. (Apple Supported Formats)

• My files are already encoded. Do I have to ship the physical media to you?

  Absolutely not. Customers who would like to send their files to us electronically can download the SyncUploader application, which lets you send files over the Internet through a secure encrypted connection.

• Video files are very large. How long does it take to send a deposition over the Internet?

  Video files are very large, but behind-the-scenes SyncUploader extracts only the audio and compresses it to a size of about 10MB per hour of deposition.
  An example transfer time per hour of video (audio) at various speeds

  High Speed : aprox. 1 – 10 seconds
  DSL/Cable  :    aprox.  1 – 5 minutes
  ISDN          :    aprox. 11 minutes
  Modem       :     aprox. 30 minutes

• Do I need to stay connected to the Internet while my files are being synchronized?

  No.  Once the transcript and media files have been uploaded to Synchron, you can close down the SyncUploader.  You will receive an email when the synchronization is complete.  You can re-connect at that time and download the finished file(s).