After taking a deposition, the video of a witness can be synchronized with the text so that the text and video are always in alignment. Until recently, the downside to video depositions was the time it took to review each deposition for the excerpts that you wanted since you literally had to sit through the entire deposition as it played on a VCR.

Now, as the deposition or trial proceedings are recorded by the court reporter on videotape, a Computer Aided Transcription (CAT) system synchronizes the words with the video. After the deposition, an attorney can simply search for a relevant name, date, or phrase in a video via a computer, and the computer will automatically go to the section of the video where the words were spoken. Thus, an attorney or judge can immediately retrieve both the text and video portions of the testimony for review. Then, certain excerpts of the video can be arranged for an opening statement, etc.

Approximate processing fees for converting video depositions to a digital format with storage on a DVD or CD-ROM.