Formats
Supported media format guidance
In browser transcription, “supported format” really means “supported by the browser decoding stack plus the surrounding media tooling.” Practical compatibility matters more than a long marketing list.
Typical workflow expectation
Cowslator is most comfortable with common audio and video formats that browsers already handle well or that can be normalized through the local processing pipeline. If a file plays reliably in a modern browser, it is a good candidate for transcription.
Audio
Common formats such as WAV, MP3, M4A, and similar mainstream audio files are the usual starting point.
Video
Common browser-friendly video containers are suitable when the goal is extracting speech for transcription or subtitle work.
Folders
Batch workflows can process multiple files together when the browser permits directory selection and the runtime stays within memory limits.
When preprocessing helps
If source media is unusually large, oddly encoded, or part of a messy archive, it can help to normalize it before transcription. Creator workflows often benefit from extracting clean audio or trimming long captures into more manageable segments before the speech model runs.