Should I buy Stenocat?

[Amy Schneider]

I am an old version of Catalyst, and I am upgrading to different software.  I am intrigued by the cost of Stenocat, and I've tried to reach out to anyone who currently uses it, but no one has responded.  I have read older posts on here regarding issues with the audio and characters not matching up. I'm just reaching out for feedback whether Stenocat is good software or not.  The other one I'm considering is Eclipse, and I don't need feedback on that as 90 percent of my office is on that.  Thanks!

 

[Teresa Russ]

Amy, I really like StenoCAT.  They have excellent support.  They have a Facebook page as well.  
I've had it since 2006.  Any specific questions?

The issues you pointed out I never had.  It appears all the software programs have a clutch or two.

The folks at StenoCAT are great.

[Amy Schneider]

Teresa, Thanks for getting back to me.  The issues I was referring to were comments from a couple years ago.  I realize things change, but anyhooo ....

I haven't checked out Facebook, but I have been to their website, so thanks for letting me know that

Have you been on any other software?  And if you have, can you compare it?  I don't know if I have any specific questions since anything that's out there now is comletely different than what I have.  I'm the type of person that if it's not broke, don't fix it, lol!  So my software is 12 years old -- stop gasping, lol! 

Specific questions: Does it ever freeze?  The audio, is there ever static?  I read somewhere about using a foot pedal.  Is that necessary?  What brand/model laptop do you have?  Is it easy to hookup attys?

And I guess, give me your insight; what do you like about it?

Again, thanks for the help!

[Mary Ann Payonk]

I'm on Eclipse now, but I started out on StenoCAT.  It's close to my heart for that reason!  I never had the opportunity for audio sync, but the folks at StenoCAT, especially support, were always so wonderful and knowledgeable.  They never pushed off my questions by saying, oh, you'll have to contact the hardware company, or oh, we don't support that software.  They knew the answers and were willing to stick with me until the question was answered.  In fact, the first time I hooked up to realtime was like 1:20 a.m., that's like o'dark thirty, and it was while I was on StenoCAT.  Awesome.

M.A.

[Amy Schneider]

Thank you sooo much!!  I think I'm going to take a leap of faith and go for it.  They do have a 30-day money back guarantee, so what have I got to lose?  I'm extremely nervous about learning it.  Back in the day, I had eight hours training one on one.  From what I understand, I won't have that with Stenocat.  Can I ask, why did you switch to Eclipse?

Thanks again!

[Mary Ann Payonk]

Hi, Amy.  I switched to Eclipse because I'd set my goal as realtime.  All I heard was that Eclipse was SO dedicated to the realtime experience, you might say.  (I found out later, after I switched, indeed they are).  But the No. 1 reason I switched to Eclipse from StenoCAT was because in StenoCAT, writing realtime, you had to open two windows .... a realtime window and also an edit window.  I thought that was the silliest thing in the world, because Eclipse offered everything right in ONE window ... you open the window, you write, you see something you want to change, you just DO it, it changes it on that screen.  Add the PITA of having two screens?  No thanks.  I switched to Eclipse and it's been absolutely wonderful.  Anyone who's read comments from me knows I have issues with the company, Advantage Software, but as far as the actual CAT software, it's phenomenal, and I couldn't use anything else.

M.A.

[Kelli Combs (admin)]

I'm with Mary Ann.  Eclipse software is the only way to go.  Very sophisticated and intuitive.  I will say it's not the easiest system to learn, however.  Glad I did it, though, ten years ago and it's behind me now.  Never switch again. 

Whatever decision you make, make sure it's with a company that's going to be around for the long haul and not going anywhere because you need the tech support.  This job is stressful enough without having software issues and no one to help you.  Advantage Software gets back to you 24/7 and I like that.

[Roberta-Anne Schmitt]

I, too, switched from Stenocat to Eclipse and did not once regret my decision to do so.  My experience with SC is quite different than what's posted on here.   Their Customer Support tended to hire newbies who had very little to absolutely no knowledge of what problems I was dealing with, and if I didn't speak to the tech who was at SC since the time I started with them, I had very little luck.  Oh, there were a few that were okay but too many that weren't that made it very difficult to absolutely frustrating.  And as far as the RT goes, I had so many issues with SC and RT that I found it hard to comprehend that any reporters were doing RT using SC!!!!!

I had heard about Eclipse for years and years and after going to a seminar and asking around, the majority of the reporters I spoke to were on Eclipse and loved it - and now that I've been on it for about four to five years I totally understand why!!!!  The other thing with SC is their support is only open during business hours - well, they're in California and I'm in NY - so do the math on that one!!!  In my darkest hour of need I was all alone...Eclipse's support is 24/7.  That makes a HUGE difference!!!  I strongly suggest you consider Eclipse - you won't regret it!!!!  

[Martha R]

I have a colleague who has StenoCat and she does realtime and it hasn't been a problem.  It's not quite on the cutting edge as Eclipse and Case Catalyst but it's a good software, and quite a bit cheaper, I believe.

[Amy Schneider]

This is a thank you to those of you who have pointed out the differences.  I have decided to give SC a try.  They have a 30-day money-back guarantee, so for the cost I believe it's worth giving it a shot.  The support is a concern of mine since I haven't had anything new in 12 years, but after talking to people that use it currently, they have said how easy it is to learn, and they do have a users network that I'll probably be utilizing.  The two things that have stood out in my reasearch why people use it are, in their experience, customer support never gives up when there is a problem and how user-friendly the software really is.  I don't need all the bells and whistles.  I have heard from a couple other people of how it's not as sophisticated it is compared to Eclipse, but I DISLIKE INTENSELY Case, so I will NOT use them.  And as far as the cost, well, you're basically leasing the software, so you only pay $600 annually for the support contract, which includes new upgrades and tech support.  That's a HUGE cost-savings benefit for someone like me who works part-time.  Anyways, thanks again for all the feedback.  I'll let you know how I like it.