How to Convert/Transcribe a YouTube Video to Text?

Want to Convert/Transcribe a YouTube Video to Text?

YouTube is a well-known online video sharing and social media platform owned by Google. Many people like to watch videos using it. For some YouTube videos, users not only want to watch them but also want to convert them to text for personal use. However, is it possible to transcribe a YouTube video to text?

Usually, a YouTube video is embedded with a subtitle. The subtitle of a YouTube video is also called a video transcription, the textual representation of the spoken content in the video. The YouTube video subtitle is added by the video uploader. Other users can’t directly get it.

But you can use a third-party YouTube videos downloader like MiniTool uTube Downloader to download the subtitle of a YouTube video and then transfer the downloaded subtitle to text. An online YouTube video to text converter is also a choice.

Besides, you can open a transcript of a YouTube video and copy & paste it into a text file. This can achieve the same effect

There is another situation: the YouTube video has no subtitles. If so, how to transcribe/convert a YouTube video text? You can use special speech recognition software like Google Docs to listen to the video or audio and automatically convert the speech content to text. This method only works when the YouTube video has sound.

So, there is more than one method to convert a YouTube video to text. Which one is the best choice? It depends on the YouTube video you want to convert. To help you choose a suitable method, we will introduce these methods in this article.

Here are four easy methods:

1. Convert a YouTube video to text using MiniTool uTube Downloader
2. Use online YouTube video to text converter
3. Use YouTube video transcript
4. Make a voice typing using Google Docs

How to Convert a YouTube Video to Text Using MiniTool uTube Downloader?

If you want to convert a YouTube video to text, you can first download the subtitle and then can use a special subtitle to text converter to convert the subtitle to text.

Step 1: Download the Subtitle of the YouTube Video

MiniTool uTube Downloader is a free YouTube video download tool. This software is specially designed to download a YouTube video to MP3, MP4, WAV, and WebM with high resolutions. But it is not just a YouTube video downloader, you can also use it to download the subtitle of a YouTube video.

If you want to try this software, you can directly click the following button to download and then install it on your computer.

MiniTool uTube DownloaderClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

This software supports YouTube video batch download. You can click the hamburger button on the top-right corner of the software, select Settings, and choose a number for the batch downloads, the number range is 1 to 10.

Besides, the downloaded YouTube videos are saved to the software specified location by default. If you need to save them to another folder, you can also go to Settings to change the destination location.

Here we will show you how to download the subtitle of the target YouTube video using this software.

1. Open the software to enter its main interface.

2. Copy and paste the URL of the target YouTube video to the address bar next to the Home icon on the top. You can also directly use this software to search for your needed YouTube video. You can even sign in to your YouTube account within this software to view your subscription and view history for downloading.

3. Click the Download button to continue.

4. A small interface pops up, in which you can see the video or audio format & resolution you can download. Under the video/audio download formats, it is subtitles download. If there are available subtitles, Subtitle will be selected by default. You can expand its options to select the subtitle you want to download.

5. Click DOWNLOAD to start downloading.

6. You can follow the above steps to add more YouTube videos to download if needed.

7. When the downloading process ends, you can click the Navigate to file icon to go to the location of the downloaded file to find the downloaded subtitle. The downloaded subtitle is in SRT format.

Step 2: Convert SRT to Text

It is very easy to convert an SRT file to text. You can just change the extension of the SRT file to txt. You can also open the downloaded SRT file with Text and then copy & paste the content in it to a text file. Next, rename the text file as your wish. Then, you can get a text file.

Use MiniTool uTube Downloader or Not

MiniTool uTube Downloader is a free and 100% safe YouTube video and subtitle downloader. With some simple clicks, you can get your needed YouTube videos and subtitle. However, this software doesn’t support speech-to-text recognition/conversion. So, if a YouTube video has no subtitle, you will need to ask professional speech recognition software for help.

If you want to convert a YouTube video to text, you can use MiniTool uTube Downloader to download the video subtitle and then convert the subtitle file to a text file.Click to Tweet

How to Convert a YouTube Video to Text Online?

You can also use an online YouTube video to text converter to directly convert a YouTube video to text. We do not specify which software to use. You can search for YouTube video to text online using Google and select a proper tool to help you convert your specified YouTube video to text.

The universal process is to copy & paste the URL of the YouTube video to the online tool and press Enter to start the conversion. However, these online tools are not completely free. For example, it may just allow you to convert a portion of the video speech to text. If you want to convert the entire file, you need to pay for it.

Use Online YouTube Video to Text Converter or Not

So, if there are available subtitles, your best choice is to use MiniTool uTube Downloader to free download the subtitle for text conversion.

How to Transcribe a YouTube Video to Text?

YouTube is a very powerful platform. It allows you to open a transcript of a YouTube video (if it is available) and view it. The transcript is just the content of the subtitle. You can select the content and copy & paste it to a text file.

Well then, how to get the transcript of YouTube videos? It is easy to do this. Here is a guide:

1. Open the YouTube video you want to convert to text.

2. Click the 3-dot menu under the YouTube video player and select Open transcript.

3. The transcript will appear on the right side of the YouTube player. If it is multilingual, you need to select the language you want to use.

4. You can see the content is the same as the subtitle even with a timeline. You can use your mouse to select the transcript. If you don’t want to copy the timeline, you can click the 3-dot menu on the top-right side of the transcript and select Toggle timestamps to hide the timeline. After that, copy and paste the transcript to a text file and save it.

Use YouTube Transcript or Not

This method is your best choice if the transcript is short. You don’t need to download any third-party software by using this way. However, if the transcript is too long, you’d better use MiniTool uTube Downloader to directly download it. Besides, not all YouTube videos with subtitles have transcript enabled. If the transcript is unavailable, you need to use MiniTool uTube Downloader instead.

How to Convert a Speech to Text on YouTube Using Google Docs?

If the YouTube video has sound or speech but has no subtitle, you will be unable to use the above three methods to convert the YouTube video to text. But don’t worry. You can use special speech recognition software. You can just try Google Docs.

About Google Docs

Google Docs is an online word processor, which has many powerful features including Voice typing. That’s it. You can use the Voice typing feature to record all the speeches in the YouTube video.

To get a better text transcript effect, you need to make your computer directly listen to the audio coming from its speakers. After that, you can open Google Docs to start voice typing.

Step 1: Make Your Computer Listen to Its Speaker

1. Right-click the speaker icon in the taskbar and select Sounds.

2. Select Stereo Mix under the Recording tab and click Set Default.

However, if you can’t find Stereo Mix, you need to enable it first. Here is how to do this: How to Enable Realtek Stereo Mix Windows 10 for Sound Recording

Now, your computer will listen to the audio from the speaker.

Step 2: Convert Speech to Text Using Google Docs

1. Go to Google Docs in Chrome or another Chromium-based web browser because Voice typing is not working in non-Chromium browsers.

2. Click the Plus icon to create a new document.

3. Click Tools from the top menu and select Voice typing.

4. A microphone icon will show up on the right side of the document. First, you need to select the language you want to type. Then, you can click the microphone icon to start the voice typing.

5. Go to the YouTube video page and play the video. Google Docs begins to automatically type what it hears from the YouTube video.

6. When the video is finished, you can click the microphone icon again to stop the voice typing.

Use Google Docs or Not

If the target YouTube video has no subtitle, using Google Docs to make a voice typing will be your best choice. However, you can only record one YouTube video at a time. If the YouTube video is long in time, the voice typing process will also last long. The text typing result may not be perfect if the pronunciation is inaccurate or the speaking speed is too fast. You may need to manually proofread the text.

Bottom Line

These are the four methods to convert a YouTube video to text. If the YouTube video is embedded with a subtitle, the free YouTube video downloader, MiniTool uTube Downloader is your best choice. However, if the YouTube video has no subtitles, you can try Google Docs to convert a speech to text using the Voice typing feature. Just select a proper method according to the situation of the YouTube video you want to convert.

Should you have other related issues, you can let us know in the comments or contact us via [email protected]. If you have other good suggestions, you can also tell us.