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Change how the start time of a conversation is displayed

Allen Lai
  • Updated

Note: This feature is only available with the Otter Business plan.

By default, conversations display a start time of 00:00 (mm:ss) and timestamps to divide it into sections, based on a pause in speech or change in speaker. However, you may want to use the time of day (e.g. 12:45:15) as the start time to sync with the video source and offset the timestamps accordingly.

Change the start time to the time of day

Adjust the start time for new conversations recorded using Otter or Zoom and file imports to the time of day. This change will be applied to all users within the Otter Business account.

  1. Sign in to Otter.
  2. Click your name in the top left.
  3. Click Team Admin or My Team.
  4. Click the Settings & Security tab.
  5. Next to Display Timecodes, click the switch to turn timecode on. 

Things to note

  • Only new conversations that you record using Otter or Zoom and file imports will use the time of day as the start time. Existing conversations and conversations shared with you will not be affected and will continue to display a start time of 00:00. However, you can manually change a conversation start time.
  • By default, the time of day is in Pacific Time and uses the 24-hour time format (hh:mm:ss). To use a different timezone, contact support for assistance.
  • If you turn off timecode, the start time for existing conversations will not be affected or reverted.
  • When using the integration with Zoom (Otter Live Notes), the start time is based on when the meeting starts. If you allow participants to join the Zoom meeting before the host, the start time will be based on when the host or first participant joins the meeting.

    To use the timezone of the Zoom meeting (beta), contact support for assistance.

Manually change a conversation start time

  1. Sign in to Otter.
  2. Click the menu in the top left and click My Conversations.
  3. Click the conversation you want to change the start time for.
  4. Clickmore_horiz-black-24dp.svgand then click Change start time.
  5. Enter a new start time in the hh:mm:ss format and click Apply.
  6. The start time and subsequent timestamps will adjust to the new start time.

Note: If the initial timestamp differs from the start time you entered, it may because there was no spoken audio until the initial timestamp.

Import an audio file with an embedded start time

Using a media encoder or editing software, embed the start time to an MP3 file within any ID3 tag field using the format TC=hh:mm:ss:frames. For example, TC=12:45:15:29.

When you import the audio file to Otter, the embedded start time will be used as the start time.

Timecode.png

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