Media Player

The SpeechMiner Media Player is used to play the audio of recorded interactions. It provides a range of interaction playback features that can help you quickly and easily find the parts of interactions that interest you, find information about interaction properties, view transcripts of interactions, add comments to interactions and view the comments of other users. To open the Media Player, click a Play button beside an interaction in an Interaction Grid or an event in an Event Grid.

The Media Player is displayed as a timeline with various controls and information surrounding it. The center of the timeline is an audio graph that visually indicates the level of sound in the interaction at any given moment, so you can skip over silence or find times when voices were raised. If interactions are recorded with two audio channels - for example, one for the agent and the other for the customer - the audio channels are color-coded to clearly identify who was speaking at any given moment in the interaction.

Detected Events, both linguist and non-linguistic, are indicated by icons above the audio graph. User comments are indicated by icons above the audio graph; the comments can be general or linked to specific times in the interaction. You can easily play interactions back from the moment that concerns you by clicking in the timeline at the time of interest.

Using the Media Player

The following sections describe how to use the Media Player.

Playing Back an Interaction

The Media Player opens above an Interaction or Event Grid when you select an interaction or event for playback. This section explains how to use the Media Player to play and manage the open interaction.


You can play a call from any point in the recording. Playback always begins from the location of the marker in the audio graph. When you open a call from an Interaction Grid, the marker is placed at the beginning of the call. When you open a call from an Event Grid, the marker is placed at the beginning of the Event. Playback begins automatically when the call is loaded.
The Media Player can playback, audio interactions, events and screen recordings. The following image and table represent all of the available playback controls.
Sm playbackcontrols.png
Number: Description: Available for:
1 Play or pause the interaction in the current location.
  • audio interactions
  • events
  • screen recordings
2 Play the next event.
  • audio interactions
  • events
  • screen recordings
3 Play the previous event.
  • audio interactions
  • events
  • screen recordings
4 Rewind the playback 5 seconds from the current location of the marker.
  • audio interactions
  • events
  • screen recordings
5 Play the next or previous interaction.
  • audio interactions
  • events
  • screen recordings
6 Click to increase the playback speed or to decrease the speed.

Note: This option is not available in all systems. When it is available,
the available speeds may vary. Typically, they are 1.00, 1.25, 1.50,
and 2.00.

  • audio interactions
  • events
  • screen recordings
7 Turn on/off the volume.
  • audio interactions
  • events
  • screen recordings
8 Select a volume level.
  • audio interactions
  • events
  • screen recordings
9 Show / Hide Screen Recording.
  • audio interactions
  • events
  • screen recordings
10 Change the screen's brightness.
  • audio interactions
  • events
  • screen recordings
11 Lock/Unlock playback with the scroll bar. When this option is turned off, you can scroll towards
the end of the call before the playback reaches the same location. Turn this option on if you
want the call to automatically scroll so that the part of the call that is currently being played
back is always visible. The scroll bar moves automatically to keep up with the playback.
  • audio interactions
  • events
  • screen recordings
12 Indicates the specific interaction ID and agent name.
  • audio interactions
  • events
  • screen recordings
13 More
  • audio interactions
  • screen recordings
14 Screen Recording Playback. In this area of the screen, you can view the selected screen
recording. A screen recording is a video of the agent's screen during the specific agent/customer interaction.
  • audio interactions
  • screen recordings
15 Return to search results list.
  • audio interactions
  • events
  • screen recordings
16 Full Screen view
  • audio interactions
  • screen recordings
17 The envelope (email) and paper (chat) icon appear in the location of the recording during
which an email was received or a chat conversation took place.
  • audio interactions
  • screen recordings

The following keyboard shortcuts can be used in the Media Player:
Keys to Press Result
Ctrl + Enter Toggles between Play and Pause
Ctrl + Alt + n Skips to the next call in the grid
Ctrl + Alt + p Skips to the previous call in the grid
Ctrl + Alt + t In an Event Grid, marks the current event as TP (True Positive)
Ctrl + Alt + f In an Event Grid, marks the current event as FP (False Positive)
Ctrl + Alt + s In an Event Grid, marks the current event as SFP (Sense False Positive)
Ctrl + Alt + c In an Event Grid, clears an Event rating

Important
Important.png TP, FP, and SFP ratings are assigned to Events during the auditing process (see Using an Event Grid).

Call audio and text may be filtered in your system to ensure confidential information cannot be accessed by users who do not have permission to do so. Different users may have different permissions in this regard, so certain parts of a call may be filtered out for some users but not others. Parts of a call that have been filtered out appear in the audio graph in gray rather than black. The text of the filtered parts is not included in the call Contents, and the Media Player skips these areas during playback. Filters can be implemented in the following ways:

  • Sensitive Topics—Some Topics may be defined in your system as Sensitive. (This attribute is assigned to Topics in the SMART application.) Only users with special permissions can hear the audio or see the text of Sensitive Topics.
  • Numbers—Numbers consisting of more than two digits may be filtered out of calls, in order to ensure unauthorized users do not have access to credit card numbers and other confidential information.
  • Comments-Only permission—Some users may only be able to access those parts of calls to which comments have been attached.
Important
Important.png For information about the filter rules in your system, consult your system administrator.

Some recording systems use two audio channels, one for the agent's side of a call and the other for the customer's side of the call. If your recording system does this, SpeechMiner color-codes the channels in the audio graph so that you can tell who is speaking at any given moment. Filtered audio content is still displayed in gray, so you may see as many as three different colors in the audio graph


Viewing Interaction Content

The Content panel can be used to view a transcript of the interaction that is open in the Media Player, as well as the Events that SpeechMiner detected in the interaction and comments that were added to the interaction by users. The panel is divided into two panes. The right pane contains the transcript of the conversation, with the Events marked, and the left pane contains a list of the Events that were found in the interaction. You can choose to display or hide the comments that users added to the interaction. If you choose to display them, they are listed in the left pane and also marked in their locations in the right pane. You can also adjust the size of the panels and the widths of the two panes.

Important
Important.png In Recording UI mode, the Content panel is blank because no recognition processing is performed.

In the transcript, the current playback location is indicated by a light-blue highlight, and the typeface of the text reflects how certain SpeechMiner is that it correctly transcribed the conversation: the darker the text, the higher its accuracy. If your system employs multiple audio channels, the speakers are identified in the transcript, and the text is color-coded to match the speakers.


You can open the Content panel when you want to see it, and close it when it does not interest you. To open or close the Content panel:

  • Click the Content icon Content panel.png.

When the Content panel is open, you can choose to display or hide the comments that users have attached to the call.
To display or hide the comments:

  • At the top of the Content panel, click Comments.

The locations of Events are indicated in the transcript by numbered Event icons. The numbers match the Event numbers that appear in the left pane. In either pane, you can see the text of a Topic Event by placing your mouse cursor on it. In the right pane, you can also see the name of the Event by placing your mouse cursor on the text of the Event. (The names of the Events are displayed with their icons in the left panel.) Events in the transcript are preceded by an auditing rating selector. If the Event has already been audited, the audit value is bolded, and the entire selector is color-coded, as follows:
Audit Value Description Color-coding
TP True Positive green
FP False Positive red
SFP Sense False Positive pink

For additional information, see Using an Event Grid.

If you have auditing permissions, you can select or modify the audit ratings of Events in the call transcript.

To select an audit value:

  • Click the value.

To clear the selected audit value:

  • Click Clear.

You can run a Related Words report for any word in the call transcript. To run a Related Words report for a word:

  1. Place your mouse cursor on the word. A pop-menu appears.
  2. Select Related Words. The Related Words report results are opened in a new window.
Important
Important.png For additional information about this type of report, see Finding Related Words.

Interaction Comments

Comments can be added to interactions either as global comments, which relate to the entire interaction, or time-linked comments, which relate to a particular time in the interaction.

Comments are indicated in the Media Player by Comment icons. In the player area, the icons appear below the audio graph (nos. 1, 2, and 3 in the figure below), and in the Content panel, they appear in the interaction transcript. The icons are color-coded to indicate whether the comments are positive (Smicon goodcomment.png), general (Smicon generalcomment.png), or negative (Smicon baddcomment.png). You can view the text of a comment by placing your mouse cursor on the icon. In addition, the text of each comment appears in the left pane of the Content panel along with the name of the user who inserted the comment. Global comments appear at the beginning of the interaction (nos. 1, 4, and 5 in the figure) and time-linked comments appear in their appropriate locations (nos. 2, 3, 6, and 7 in the figure).

If you cannot see the interaction comments in the Content panel, at the top of the left pane of the panel, click Comments. For additional information, see Viewing Interaction Content.


You can add global and time-linked comments to a call, and indicate whether the comments you add are positive, negative, or general. To add a comment to a call:

  1. Click Add Comment. The Add Comment box opens.
  2. If you want to add a time-linked comment, select the check box beside the Time field.
  3. Important
    Important.png The time in the Time field is automatically set to the time at the location of the cursor in the audio graph. Modify the time if you wish.
  4. In the text area below the Time field, type your comment.
  5. Select one of the following:
    Option Description
    Good Positive comment
    Neutral Neutral comment
    Bad Negative comment
  6. Click Add. The comment is added to the call.

You can modify the text and rating (Good, General, or Bad) of any comment you added to a call. If you have the required permissions, you can also modify other users' comments in this way. You cannot change a global comment into a time-linked comment, or vice-versa, and you cannot change the time of a time-linked comment. You also cannot delete a comment entirely. To edit a comment:

  1. In the Content panel, click Edit at the end of the comment. The Edit Comment box opens.
  2. Modify the text of the comment as required.
  3. Change the rating of the comment, if necessary.
  4. Click Update. The comment is modified.

Interaction Details

The Interaction Details panel Call attributes.png enables you to view interaction details. In addition, you can use it to assign manual Categories to the interaction.

The following information can be included in the interaction details:

  • Interaction processing time
  • Work groups
  • Agents
  • Metadata values
  • Manually assigned Categories
  • Automatically assigned Categories


To open or close the Interaction details:

  • Click the Interaction Details Call attributes.png button.

When the Interaction Details is open, you can assign manual Categories to the call that is open in the Media Player.
To assign a manual Category to a call:

  • In the Interaction Details, under Manual Categories, select the check box beside the Category.
To remove a manual Category from a call:
  • Clear the check box beside the Category.

Filling in Forms

You can fill in a form about the interaction that is opened in the Media Player. For example, you could fill in a form rating the agent's handling of the interaction, if a form of that type is in use in your system.

Only one form can be filled out by each user for each interaction. If you have already filled out a form, you can edit it if you wish. If you want to fill out a different form, you must first delete the first form.

Important
Important.png For information about creating forms, see Forms Manager.


If you have not yet filled in a form for the call, you can select the form to fill in and then fill it in. To fill in a new form:

  1. Click Form. The Select Form dialog box opens and displays a list of available forms.
  2. Click the form you want to fill out. The form opens in a new window.
  3. Fill in the form and then click Submit Changes. The values you chose are saved in the system.
  4. To close the form, click Close.

If you have already filled in a form for the call, it automatically opens when you click the Form button. You can edit or delete the form at this stage. If you want to fill out a different form, you must first delete this form. To edit a form:

  1. Click Form. The form opens in a new window.
  2. Modify the form as necessary, and then click Submit Changes. The changes are saved.
  3. To close the form, click Close.

You can delete a form you have already filled out as necessary. To delete a form:

  1. Click Form. The form opens in a new window.
  2. Click Delete. You are prompted to confirm that you want to delete the form.
  3. Click Yes. The form is deleted and the window closes.

More Options

The Media Player provides the following additional options for the interaction that is currently open in it:

  • Export: Save the interaction in a file.
  • Forward: Send other users a link to the interaction.
  • Add To: Add the interaction to a interaction list.
  • Delete From List: Remove the interaction from the current interaction list. (This option is only available if you opened the Media Player from an interaction list.)
  • Permalink: Create a Permalink to the interaction .
  • Similar Interactions: Find interactions that are similar to the interaction.
  • Reprocess Interactions: Run event analysis again on the interaction.

These options can be accessed from the More menu in the right corner of the Player.


If you want to save the call or send it to someone else, you can export it. Exporting the call creates a ZIP file that contains the following:

  • A CSV file containing information about the call. This file can be opened using a spreadsheet application such as Microsoft Excel.
  • A WAV file - a playable audio file of the call (optional)
To export the call:
  1. Click More and select Export. A dialog box opens and asks if you want to include the audio files with the export.
  2. Select Yes if you want to export the audio along with the CSV file, or No if you only want the CSV file.
  3. A dialog box opens and asks if you want to open or save the ZIP file.
  4. Select the desired option. If you select Open, the file opens in the application that is configured to open ZIP files on your computer. If you select Save, a Save As dialog box opens.
  5. If you selected Save, navigate to the folder in which you want to save the file, and then click Save. The file is saved in the selected location.

You can send a link to the call to other users in the system. The link is sent in a Call message that appears in the recipient's My Messages widget in the Views page. When the recipient clicks the message, a SpeechMiner Media Player opens above the widget and plays the call. If you wish, you can also send the recipient an e-mail notification with a link to the call. When the recipient clicks the link, the Media Player opens in a new browser tab or window and plays the call. If the recipient is not already logged into SpeechMiner, they are prompted to do so before the Media Player opens. To send a call link to another user:

  1. Select More and click Forward. A dialog box opens.
  2. Under Subject, modify the subject text if you wish.
  3. Under Please Select the Recipient, select the user you want to send the link to, in one of the following ways:
    • In the text field, type part of the name or username of the recipient. As you type, names and user names containing those letters are displayed in a dropdown list. Select the recipient from the list.
    • Click the ... button (Sm dropdown.png) beside the text field. In the dialog box, select the user from the list of users in the relevant workgroup.
  4. If you want to send a notification to the user's e-mail address as well as to their My Messages box, select Send Email Notification.
  5. Click Send. A Call message is sent to the recipient's My Messages box. If you chose to send the user an e-mail notification, it is also sent.

An interaction list is a list of calls that is saved for later use. SpeechMiner supports two types of interaction lists: global interaction lists and coaching-session interaction lists. You can see existing global interaction lists in the Calls page in the Interaction Lists tab, under interaction lists. Coaching-session interaction lists can only be viewed within the coaching session. For additional information about coaching sessions, see Coaching. You can add calls to an existing interaction list or a new list. You can select an existing interaction list from a list of global interaction lists or select a coaching-session interaction list from those that are attached to the Coaching session. If you wish, you can add a new Coaching session directly from the Interaction Grid, and then add calls to an interaction list that is attached to that session. To add the call to an interaction list:

  • From the More menu select Add To and then select one of the following:
To Select Result
Create a new Coaching session and a new coaching interaction list within that session and add the calls to the new interaction list. Coaching > New A New coaching session dialog box opens. Specify the name and other settings of the Coaching session, and then click Save. The dialog box closes, and a new Call-List dialog box opens.

In the text field, type a name for the interaction list, and then click OK. The Coaching session and interaction list are created, and the calls are added to the interaction list.

Create a new coaching interaction list within an existing Coaching session, and add the calls to the new interaction list. Coaching > [existing Coaching session] > New A Call-List dialog box opens. In the text field, type a name for the interaction list, and then click OK. The new coaching interaction list is created and attached to the Coaching session, and the calls are added to the interaction list.
Add the calls to an existing coaching interaction list that is attached to an existing Coaching session Coaching > [existing Coaching session] > [existing interaction list] The calls are added to the selected coaching interaction list.
Add the calls to a new interaction list. interaction list > New A Call-List dialog box opens. In the text field, type a name for the interaction list, and then click OK. The new interaction list is created and the calls are added to it.
Add the calls to an existing interaction list interaction list > [existing interaction list] The calls are added to the selected interaction list.

If you opened the current call from an interaction list, you can remove it from the interaction list using the Media Player. To delete the call from an interaction list:

  • From the More menu select Delete From List. The call is removed from the interaction list.

You can generate and save a Permalink to the call, which can later be used to open the call in the Media Player. To play the call, you need only open the link in a browser.

Important
Important.png For additional information, see Permalinks.

To create a Permalink to the current call:

  • from the More menu select Permalink. A Permalink dialog box opens and displays the Permalink.

You can search for calls that are similar to the current call in terms of their subject matter and the phrases they contain. When you do, a new window opens and displays a list of the calls that were found, arranged in order of how similar they are to the original call. The terms in the calls that the system identified as being similar to terms in the current call are highlighted in the list. Calls in the list can be played in the Media Player in the window. (For additional information about playing calls in the Media Player, see Playing Back a Call.) The maximum number of calls that can be included in the list is defined in your site's system variables.
To find similar calls:

  • From the More menu select Similar Calls. A new window opens and displays the list of calls.

You can run event analysis again on the call. The system may produce different results when you do this, if the definitions in SMART have been modified or call auditing has fine-tuned the speech analysis system since the call was originally processed.

Important
Important.png
  • For information about reprocessing batches of calls, see Reprocessing Calls and Managing Audits.
  • Reprocessing of calls is not available in Recording UI-mode or Analytics and Recording UI-mode systems.

To reprocess the call:

  • From the More menu select Reprocess Call.

Event Icons

Event icons (both linguistic and non-linguistic) indicate when events were detected. The numbered icons appear above the audio graph.
As shown in the following image, you can see details about the event by placing your mouse pointer over the event icon. Event icons and information also appear in the Content panel.

To jump to the event location in the interaction, click the player at the location of the event icon.

Event icon.png