Transcribing a long recording: lecture, call, interview
An hour-long call, a ninety-minute lecture, an interview on a recorder — the kind of thing you would normally open a separate service for, upload a file and wait. Molnia takes those straight inside Telegram: one recording up to three hours, a file up to two gigabytes, and the text starts arriving before the processing is finished.
Why it is fast
A long recording is split into parts, the parts are processed in parallel, and the first one starts printing immediately — you can read while the rest is still being worked through. That is why the wait grows more slowly than the recording: five minutes come back in about a second, an hour in about half a minute.
The limits of one recording
Up to three hours and up to two gigabytes in a single file. The twenty-megabyte ceiling other bots trip over is a limit of the ordinary Bot API; Molnia fetches the file over a different transport, so it does not apply. Formats: Telegram voice messages, video notes, mp3, m4a, wav, ogg, mp4, and recordings forwarded from other chats.
What comes back for a long recording
By default, a summary: the key point on the first line, then topics as separate paragraphs. For an hour-long call that is the whole point — nobody reads an hour of verbatim transcript. If you need the exact wording, the full text opens with a button under the reply, and /mode changes what arrives by default.
How many minutes it uses
You are charged for the length of the recording, not the processing time: an hour-long lecture costs an hour of your allowance. 20 minutes a month are free; a subscription gives 1,000 minutes — about sixteen hours, comfortably a lecture a day. /status shows what is left.
What to do with the transcript next
The reply is a summary: the key point on the first line, topics as separate paragraphs. Underneath is a full-text button — the whole word-for-word transcript, for when you need a quote or an exact wording. /mode makes the verbatim text the default, and /status shows how many minutes are left.
Frequently asked
What is the longest recording the bot will take?
Three hours in one file. Anything longer has to be cut — but that is rare: three hours covers a lecture, a meeting and most interviews.
Is there a file size limit?
Two gigabytes. The 20 MB limit you meet in other bots is a ceiling of the ordinary Bot API. Molnia downloads the file over a different transport, so it is bounded by size alone, not by the transfer method.
How long does an hour-long recording take?
About half a minute, and the first parts arrive before the whole thing is done: the recording is processed in parallel chunks and the first chunk prints straight away.
Can I get a verbatim transcript instead of a summary?
Yes. Every reply has a full-text button underneath, and /mode changes what arrives by default.
How many minutes does an hour-long recording cost?
Sixty: what counts is the length of the recording, not the processing time. A subscription is 1,000 minutes a month — sixteen such recordings and change.