The cheapest record is the one you only pay for once
A digitally recorded deposition still has to become a usable transcript. In California that means a Certified Shorthand Reporter transcribes it before it carries the same trial treatment as a stenographic record (CCP 2025.340(m)). In Georgia, depositions taken in the state must be before a certified court reporter since HB 1208. Paying for the recording and then paying again for the transcript is the most common way a "cheaper" method costs more.
Practices vary more than the brochure suggests
Working digital reporters describe doing the unglamorous parts conscientiously: marking speakers, stopping for repeats, demanding verbal answers instead of nods, and checking names, spellings, and addresses at the end of the session. That is also the point — with digital coverage, those disciplines live entirely in the individual reporter's habits. There is no keystroke record to fall back on when a name is unclear, only the audio and whoever was listening.
The failure mode counsel actually feels
When a digital transcript goes wrong, it goes wrong quietly: an unattributed answer, a paraphrase where the witness hedged, a technical term the audio blurred. None of it announces itself the way a reporter interrupting for clarification does. Practitioner threads keep returning to the same theme — readbacks are difficult, corrections are heavy, and the transcript that arrives needs more errata than anyone budgeted.
AI output is a draft until a human owns it
Reports keep surfacing of AI-generated errors reaching official transcripts — including an account of a judge calling out a filing. The lesson is not that speech technology is useless; rough drafts built on it are genuinely useful for same-day preparation. The lesson is that certification means a person stands behind every word. Our rough drafts say "uncertified" on every page for exactly this reason.
The question to ask at booking
Not "steno or digital" in the abstract, but: who is the officer, what credential do they hold in this state, and what happens to admissibility if the answer is nobody certified? You should hear a name, a number, and a statute. If you hear a price instead, keep shopping. Request an itemized quote and the modality is stated in writing before the date.