How to use Cymo Note to interpret a meeting

Updated on March 5, 2023

Hi there, fellow interpreter! We are glad you have decided to let Cymo Note assist your interpretation and help you harness the power of technology and step up your career.

This article explains how to set up your audio routing for your online and on-site meetings, so that you can use Cymo Note when you are interpreting consecutively or simultaneously.

Before we begin, please note that as physical cables are necessary in onsite meetings, investing in a set of the recommended cables, and learning how to connect them to your personal devices will be worthwhile in the long run.

Getting started
Remote Meetings
Onsite Meetings
Hybrid Meetings
Good to know

Start with what you have

Your connection method depends on the hardware you have. Please choose your setup listed as follows:

  • I prefer a software solution (Mac/PC).

  • I prefer a hardware solution

    1. I use a microphone-headphone integrated USB/Type-C headset (Mac/PC).
    2. I use a standalone microphone and separate headphones (Mac/PC).
    3. I use a regular smartphone headset (Mac/PC).

Scenarios

As you may have noticed in the Cymo Note app, it allows you to choose your audio input source freely in the Settings page, which opens up many possibilities of using Cymo Note in various consecutive and simultaneous interpretation scenarios, including:

Materials you need

If you choose to go with a hardware approach mentioned below, here is a recommended set of cables reusable in various scenarios. You may need additional adapters depending on your personal computer/mobile device.

Please read the Hardware recommendations and important notes section before making a purchase.

Remote meetings

If you are interpreting on a remote platform, such as Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, Tencent Meeting, or any RSI platform, an important idea to remember is the sound coming out of your computer needs to be routed to your headphones AND the device running Cymo Note. In other words, both you and Cymo Note need to hear the sound from the online meeting room, while your microphone should only transmit your voice to the meeting room and not to Cymo Note.

We are calling this process of splitting the audio signal coming out of your virtual meeting room "channel splitting" in this article. We will explain how this can be achieved through a hardware or software approach.

Using a single computer for your remote meeting and Cymo Note

If you want to use Cymo Note on your working computer (the computer you use to offer interpretation service), the key to have the correct audio routing is this:

Main Idea: allow Cymo Note to recognize computer internal audio (the sound from your remote meeting platform).

Here is how to do it on different devices:

Macs (Macbooks, Mac Mini, iMacs)

Software approach for Macs

Recommended soluion 1: Cymo Audio Driver (Free).

1. Download and install Cymo Audio Driver.

2. Setup Multi-output Device in Audio MIDI Setup.

3. Select Multi-output Device as system audio output.

4. Select Cymo Virtual Cable 2ch as the input Device in Cymo Note.

5. Open Cymo Volume Controller if you want to adjust system audio volume.

Click Here to download and learn more.

NOTE:

When installing, Mac OS may show security prompts, you can refer to Apple's instruction on Safely open apps on your Mac to complete installation.

Soluion 2: Loopback (Paid with free trial).

1. Download and install Lookback.

2. Buy and activate (or there will be a 20 minute limit).

3. Add a device (you may want to rename it).

4. Select Pass-Thru in Sources.

5. Add Cymo Virtual Cable and your headphones in Monitors.

6. Select the device you created as the speaker device in your meeting software.

Setting up Cymo Note

Once you've installed Cymo Audio Driver or other virtual cable software, you will see your virtual audio input device in Cymo Note's audio input source menu when you hover over the microphone icon.

The video below shows how you can setup Cymo Note as an interpretation assistant alongside the popular meeting platfrom Zoom on the Mac computer.

Please note that this wiring setup also supports Cymo Engine. You only need select CymoVirtualCable from the audio source dropdown on top of Cymo Note and the rest of the setup is the same.

Hardware approach for Macs (using physical cables)

MAC CASE 1

If you are using these microphones:

  • USB standalone microphone (recommended)
  • Laptop microphone

You will need the recommended set of cables, i.e. a TRS splitter, a TRS audio cable, and a USB adapter.

  1. Plug the male jack of a TRS splitter into your computer's speaker output port.
  2. Plug your headphone jack into either one of the TRS splitter's female ports to listen.
  3. Connect the other female port of the TRS splitter with a TRS audio cable.
  4. Plug the other end of the TRS audio cable into the microphone port of a USB adapter.
  5. Insert the USB adapter back to your computer's USB port.
  6. In the Cymo Note Settings page, choose the USB adapter as the audio input source. (Refresh your device list if needed).
  7. Check and make sure your headphones and microphone are working correctly in your video conferencing software.

You're all set! You can also read Learn the science section if you are interested.

MAC CASE 2

If you are using these microphones:

  • A headset with a microphone.
  • A standalone 3.5mm jack microphone separate from headphone.
NOTE:

If your computer only has one integrated audio port, you will need to plug in an extra TRRS splitter. As shown on the image.

You will need the recommended set of cables, i.e. a TRS splitter, a TRS audio cable, and a USB adapter.

  1. Before the step 1 above, plug in the TRRS splitter first into your computer's audio port.
  2. Then plug the male jack of a TRS splitter into the TRRS splitter's headphone port.
  3. Follow the rest of the steps as described in CASE 1 above.

You can also refer to Connect to an SI console as they share the same logic. The required cables are the same. The only difference is that the sound is coming out from the interpreter's console instead of your computer. It is very easy to set up and can avoid the disadvantages of the software approach.

You're all set! You can also read Learn the science section if you are interested.

Windows PC

Software approach

PC CASE 1 (using "computer audio" directly in the windows app)

On a Windows PC, you can directly use the Cymo Note PC client app for remote meetings. The video below shows you how to download, install, and setup Cymo Note on your PC.

In the Cymo Note Windows PC client, you can choose "Computer Audio" directly in the "Audio source" menu at the bottom left corner of the app.

NOTE:

This method is not supported in the web version of Cymo Note. If you want to use Cymo Engine in a browser, please refer to the software solutions below.

PC CASE 2 (Realtek Soundcard with 3.5mm jack headphones, supports Cymo Engine)

  • If your PC is using a Realtek sound card, and you are using headphones with a 3.5mm audio jack(s).

  1. Go to Windows Start Menu > PC Setting > System > Sound > Sound control panel.
    (Or press Windows Key + R, input "mmsys.cpl sounds" then press Enter.)
  2. In the Playback tab, select Speakers (Realtek Audio) as your default playback device. You will need to select this device as your audio output device on your meeting platform as well.
  3. Go to the Recording tab, right click on the empty space and select Show Disabled Devices, then right click and enable Stereo Mix (Realtek Audio)
  4. Double check if you have selected your microphone as your default device. You can also choose your microphone on your meeting platform.
  5. In Cymo Note, select Stereo Mix (Realtek Audio) in the audio source dropdown menu. You should be able to recognize computer audio now!

PC CASE 3 (Advanced, supports Cymo Engine)

  • This solution requires additional software VB-Cable (free) and Audio Repeater Pro (paid with free trial).

    The main idea is to send your computer audio to your headphones, then replicate this audio channel and send it to a virtual cable for speech recognition.

    NOTE:

    The free version of Audio Repeater Pro has periodic silence. You can try it out first and make sure it works before you make a purchase.

    Here is the solution.

    1. Download VB-Cable and Audio Repeater Proand install them. (You need to right click VB-Cable installer > Run as administrator to install it properly.)
    2. Restart your computer.
    3. Select your personal headphones as your computer audio output device.
    4. Open Audio Repeater Pro.
      Select your personal headphones (speakers) as Input Device (Wave in).
      Select Cable Input (VB-Audio Virtual Cable) as Output Device (Wave out).
    5. Click "Start" to send audio into the vitrual cable.
    6. In Cymo Note, select Cable Output (VB-Audio Virtual Cable) in the audio source dropdown menu. You should be able to recognize computer audio now!
    7. The microphone setup is unaffected using this method.

    There are several other software that do the same job but are more advanced and complex. If you are interested, you may also want to check out VAC Audio Repeater (Free) and VB-Audio Voicemeeter (Free donationware) .

Hardware approach on a PC (using physical cables).

PC CASE 1:

If you are using these microphones:

  • standalone microphone (recommended)
  • microphone

You will need the recommended set of cables, i.e. a TRS splitter, a TRS audio cable, and a USB adapter.

  1. Plug the male jack of a TRS splitter into your computer's speaker output port.
  2. Plug your headphone jack into either one of the TRS splitter's female ports to listen.
  3. Connect the other female port of the TRS splitter with a TRS audio cable.
  4. Plug the other end of the TRS audio cable into the microphone port of a USB adapter.
  5. Insert the USB adapter back to your computer's USB port.
  6. Choose the USB adapter as the audio input source in the Cymo Note Settings Page. (Refresh your device list if needed).
  7. Make sure your headphones and microphone are working in your video conferencing software.

You're all set! You can also read Learn the science section if you are interested.

PC CASE 2:

If you are using these microphones:

  • headset with a microphone.
  • standalone 3.5mm jack microphone separate from headphone.

You will need the recommended set of cables, i.e. a TRS splitter, a TRS audio cable, and a USB adapter.

NOTE:

If your computer only has one integrated audio port, you will need to plug in an extra TRRS splitter. As shown on the image.

  1. Plug in the TRRS splitter first into your computer's audio port.
  2. Plug the male jack of a TRS splitter into the TRRS splitter's headphone port.
  3. Follow the rest of the steps as described above.
  4. Make sure your computer still picks up your voice from your microphone through the TRRS splitter's microphone port.

You're all set! You can also read Learn the science section if you are interested.

Using Cymo Note on a second device

If you want to have a remote meeting on your main computer and use Cymo Note on a second device, such as an iPad, an Android tablet, a PC or a Mac, it can also be achieved.

In fact, this is a great way to make use of all Cymo Note's features. In this way, you can use your main computer to focus on your virtual meeting, giving it all the computing power it needs to ensure quality and experience, and make good use of your touch screen device for awesome features such as handwriting that Cymo Note provides.

You will need the recommended set of cables, i.e. a TRS splitter, a TRS audio cable, and a USB adapter.

  1. Use Computer A as the main computer.
  2. Plug the male jack of a TRS splitter into the computer A's speaker output port.

    3. (Depending on your computer's audio ports and your microphone jack type, you may need to plug in an extra TRRS splitter first, to make sure Computer A still picks up your voice from your microphone through the TRRS microphone port. Please read the hardware approach for your specific OS.)

  3. Plug your headphone jack into one of the TRS splitters female ports to listen.
  4. Connect the other female port with a TRS audio cable.
  5. Plug the other end of the TRS audio cable into the microphone port of a USB adapter.
  6. Insert the USB adapter to your device B's USB port.

    7. (if you are using an iPhone/iPad/Android device to run Cymo Note, you may need an additional connector to link the USB adapter to your device's unique port, such as lightning/Type-C ports commonly found on newer generation Apple devices or Type-C/micro USB for Android tablets.)

  7. On Device B, in the Cymo Note Settings page, choose the USB adapter as the audio input source. (Refresh your device list if needed).
  8. Make sure your headphones and microphone are working on computer A.

You're all set! You can also read Learn the science section if you are interested.

Onsite meetings

If you are performing simultaneous interpretation working in a booth, you will need to connect your laptop with the simultaneous interpreting console to make Cymo Note work.

Connecting Cymo Note to a simultaneous interpretation console (e.g. bosch interpretation system)

The key of using physical cables to send the sound from the interpreter's console into a laptop or mobile device running Cymo Note is to have the right USB adapter with a media chip. It is the most stable method and is compatible with most of the devices including Mac/PC, android/iOS devices, meaning you can even use your iPhone with the SI console.

NOTE:

Onsite meetings must use the hardware approach.

MAC CASE

You will need the recommended set of cables, i.e. a TRS splitter, a TRS audio cable, and a USB adapter.

  1. Unplug the headphone from the interpreter's console (e.g. the audio port on the left of the Bosch console).
  2. Plug the male jack of a TRS splitter into the interpreter's console .
  3. Plug your headphone jack into one of the TRS splitters female ports to listen.
  4. Connect the other female port of the TRS splitter with a TRS audio cable.
  5. Plug the other end of the TRS audio cable into the microphone port of a USB adapter.
  6. Plug the USB adapter into your laptop's USB port.

    7. (if you are using an iPhone or an earlier generation iPad to run Cymo Note, you may need another USB to lightning adapter.)

  7. In the Cymo Note Settings page, choose the USB adapter as the audio input source. (Refresh your device list if needed).
  8. Make sure your headphones are working.

PC, Android, and iOS Cases

For Windows PC, android and iOS devices, you only need make sure the USB adapter in the connection method above fits your device. If it does not, you can also use a connector adapter as well, such as a Type-C female to lightning adapter. The connection steps are the same as described above.

This recommended USB adapter method has the following benefits:

  1. method puts the analog signal first and prevents the digital process from messing with your listening, which means no matter what happens to your cables and devices, you will still have a stable audio connection to hear what is coming out from the console.
  2. you are having a physical splitter for channel splitting, you can make sure what you hear is what you see, and monitor what actually goes into Cymo Note.
  3. very same set of cables can also be reused in other scenarios, meaning it saves you the cost of buying unnecessary cables.
  4. name of the USB device usually will stand out in the audio device list and can therefore avoid confusion in your system sound preferences. This is a blessing if you need to wrap your head around multiple software, multiple input/output devices while multitasking in a hybrid meeting.

Consecutive interpretation using a smartphone or a tablet with a microphone.

This scenario does not require any additional hardware or software. You can simply open Cymo Note and start using it on your mobile device. It will use the default microphone automatically.

Please note that bringing your mobile device closer to the speaker might improve the speech recognition quality.

Hybrid meetings

A hybrid meeting is when you are interpreting in a physical booth in an on-site meeting, which is also streaming live to an online video conferencing platform.

You can follow the on-site meeting setup, or use Cymo Note to recognize the online meeting.

For the hardware approach, as you do not need to speak to or listen to your laptop, you will only need a TRS audio cable, and a USB adapter.

If you do not have any cables with you in a hybrid meeting, you can still use the software approach Mac/PC.

  1. Join the meeting on your computer.
  2. Set up your audio connection following a hardware/software approach above.
  3. the Cymo Note settings page, choose the correct audio input source.
  4. make sure there is no sound coming out from your computer inside your booth.
NOTE:

Muting the sound of your computer may also mute the audio input for speech recognition. The correct way is sending the sound from the meeting room into the correct channel, so that it keeps the speech recognition alive and does not generate any noise in the physical booth.


Making sure your laptop is silent is crucial because if the sound from the meeting room online goes into the interpretation console's microphone, it will disturb the audience and sometimes may even form a feedback loop and generate echoes.


Learn the science

There are many ways to make a successful connection. Here are a few things to understand why some connection methods work and some don't.

First, we need to know that 3.5mm jack cables are designed to handle analog signals. For example, an interpreter's console uses it this type of jack to transmit analog signals to your headphones.

What we are trying to do is to take the signal from an analog source, and feed it through an audio input (as a "microphone") to your smart devices. In this way, your smart devices can pick up the signal successfully to run the speech-to-text recognition.

However, only a limited number of smart devices accept analog signal input. Many mobile devices, especially, are not designed to handle analog input directly and may run into errors. If you plug a 3.5mm jack into a mobile device, the device cannot tell if it's a pair of headphones, a microphone, or a headset with a microphone, and may send signals out, rather than taking signals in. For example, if you want to transmit audio from one Macbook to another, if you use a TRS 3.5mm audio cable to connect two Macbooks, they will only show that headphones are plugged in, and will not receive any signals because no external microphone is detected. In some cases, if you use 3.5mm audio cables to connect Apple devices, they may even bring up "Hey, Siri" and interrupt the interpretation workflow.

So how does a smart device knows what is plugged in? A common method is to detect the circuitry resistance between different poles (the gold plated rings) on an audio jack to infer what is plugged in. That's why plugging a TRS or TRRS audio jack at different depths, or even different speeds into a smart device, may lead to different results. So this method of using only analog cables to connect is unreliable and limited to a number of special cases.

However, the good news is that most smart devices accept digital signal input through a variety of modern ports, such as the USB/Type-C port on a Mac/PC, the lightning port on the iPhones or iPads, or a micro USB/Type-C port on an Android device.

That is why an analog to digital conversion process is necessary and why we recommend using an external sound card (USB adapter) to handle this process. It also explains why some adapters without a media chip will not work.

On some computers, there is also a line-in/sound-in 3.5mm audio port on the sound card, which is designed to handle the analog-digital conversion. The difference between line-in and a mic-in is that line-in can handle strong currents whereas a mic-in can handle very low currents. We will save the discussion on volume (loudness), currents, and resistance here, which is another science in itself.

After learning why and how it works, you should be able to inject any analog signal sources into any smart device of your choice, such as another phone or computer, or even an Mp3 player or a CD player.

Hardware recommendations and important notes

Buying the right hardware is crucial to successful audio routing. If the cables are correct, the sound will be picked up by your device and will be used by Cymo Note.

We recommend reading this section carefully, and picture how you will connect them with your devices before you make a purchase. Also make sure you test them well before using them in your meeting.

It is important to know that there are different types of 3.5mm audio jacks, e.g. TRS and TRRS. Please make sure the cables you buy are using the correct type of audio jacks.

TS, TRS and TRRS Cable Explained | We DJStore

TRS: 3 poles (tip, ring, sleeve).

TRRS: 4 poles (tip, ring, ring, sleeve).


3.5mm TRS Splitter

Online search keywords:

TRS Male to 2 Ports, 3 Poles, 3.5mm, Audio Stereo, Male to Female Dual

What it looks like:

It has 3 metal poles on the 3.5mm male jack. It does not have any microphone icon. It sometimes has two headphone icons on both of the female ports.

Product examples:

LIFEMUSIC White Dual Audio Line Headset Jack Earphone Splitter One In Two Couples Lovers Adapter Portable Media Cable Phone Converter Price in India - Buy LIFEMUSIC White Dual Audio Line Headset Jack

What's it for:

This cable is used to split the audio output (the sound coming from the meeting room) into two channels, one for your listening on your headphone, and one for going in the device for Cymo Note speech recognition.


USB Adapter (sound card adapter)

Online search keywords:

External Sound Card, Audio Adapter, USB, Type-C, Converter, Hi-Res, Hi-Fi

What it looks like: It has a USB/Type-C connector, two or three 3.5mm ports, one of the ports has a microphone icon on it. The product description must include keywords such as sound card or media chip.

Product examples:

Auswaur USB Type C External Stereo Sound Card Audio Adapter with 3.5mm Headphone Jack and Microphone Jack for Windows, Ma...

What's it for:

this adapter is used to convert analog signals into digital, and works as a USB microphone device to feed the audio signal to Cymo Note.

NOTE:

This is different from a general USB/Type-C to Audio Adapter, which looks very similar but will not work because they do not have a chip inside and cannot complete analog-to-digital conversion. Please make sure this adapter can be plugged into the device running Cymo Note correctly.


There are mainly two types of connector on this product: USB-A, and USB C.

If the connector on this product does not fit your device, you will need one of the following connector adapters to connect. Also, make sure the connector adapter supports digital data transfer, as some of them are only for charging.

  • Android device: USB to micro USB adapter, USB to Type-C, Type-C to micro USB
  • iPhone and iPad: USB to lightning, or Type-C to lightning.
  • Others: USB to Type-C, Type-C to USB.

If you use this USB Adapter while charging your macbook/laptop, there is a possibility that the charger may have electromagnetic interference with the USB Adapter since there is an analog process. Such electromagnetic interference may affect the quality of speech-to-text recognition, sometimes to the degree that the ASR results become choppy and incoherent.


To avoid this, plan your battery use well and make sure your macbook/laptop is well charged before the meeting, or charge your laptop when you are not using the speech recognition (e.g., during tea breaks or when you have a speech script and do not need speech recognition). You can also learn about the software approach to see if it works in your meeting scenario.

3.5mm TRS Audio Cable

Online search keywords:

TRS Audio Cable, Male to Male, 3 poles, 3.5mm, Audio Stereo, Stereo Extension

What it looks like:

It has 3 metal poles on both of the male jacks. Usually it doesn't have any icons labeled on the jacks.

Product examples:

valonic Short Audio Cable | 7 inch | 3,5mm | AUX Cord for car, TV or Phone | Male to Male | BlackRode SC2 – Thomann Elláda

What's it for:

This cable is for transmitting analog audio signal.

3.5mm TRRS Splitter (for computers with only one audio port)

This is only needed if your device has only one 3.5mm audio port (microphone and headphone integrated) and you need to use a 3.5mm microphone in a remote scenario.

Online search keywords:

TRRS Male to 2 Ports, 4 poles, 3.5mm, Audio Stereo, Male to Female Dual

What it looks like:

It has 4 metal poles on the male jack, a microphone icon on one of the female ports, and a headphone icon on the other one.

Product examples:

TRRS Headphone Splitter 3.5mm Jack 4-Pole Male to Dual Female Headset AdapterHeadset Splitter Adapter, Strong Nylon Braided 4 Pole TRRS Male to 2 Female Headphone Splitter Mic and Audio Y Cable for Gaming Headset to Xbox. | Better Homes & Gardens

What's it for:

This is for PC/Macbook with only one audio port for sound output and microphone input. It can be used to isolate the sound output for channel splitting, and at the same time connect your PC/Macbook with a 3.5mm microphone.

NOTE:

If your computer has two separate ports for speaker and microphone, or if you are using a USB headphone/microphone for the remote meeting platform, you won't need this cable.

Other factors to consider:

When you purchase the hardware, you may want to pay attention to:

  • Cable length
NOTE:

If you want to use the hardware approach in a remote meeting on one computer, you may want to check and make sure your cables are long enough to go from the Type-C/USB side of your laptop to the other audio port side.

If you work in a physical booth, you may want to have enough cable length to move your laptop around comfortably when it is connected with the interpreter's console.

  • Durability
  • Portability
  • Jack angle
  • Compatible scenarios
  • Compatible devices
  • Material
  • Brand
  • Volume / Resistance (advanced)
  • Fidelity (Hi-Res, HiFi, advanced)
  • Electromagnetic interference(advanced)
  • Radio frequency interference (advanced)

We hope you find our explanation and recommendations useful, understand how the hardware and software work, and buy the right hardware or software for your work.

If you have any questions, suggestions, recommendations, or feedback regarding this article, feel free to reach out to info@cymo.io.

Disclaimers

This article aims to help all interpreters, from hardware novices to the tech-savvy, to address the issue of audio routing. The hardware method in this article aims to supply a universal solution which works in most interpretation scenarios, on most smart devices in the market, and with as few cables/adapters as possible. With a bit of creativity, there are many other ways to set up your audio routing that may work better for your unique setup.

There may be concerns over digital-analog conversion introducing delays, interferences, and attenuation, which will affect the speech-to-text recognition quality. While technically correct, such delays, interferences, and attenuation can be kept to an imperceptible level with good quality cables.

This article is not sponsored by any hardware brands or manufacturers. As Cymo is a software solution provider, we do not make any guarantee about the quality of any hardware brands and products, including but not limited to the ones that appear in this article, and will not be held liable for any hardware quality and/or connection issues.

This article is made possible with an enormous amount of R&D and testing efforts by the Cymo Team. If you want to share it, please use a hyperlink to link to this page. All rights reserved.