Azure Account Setup for use with Liberty STT Facilities
Last Updated: October 2, 2026
Table of Contents
Overview
Liberty Speech-to-Text uses Microsoft Azure Speech Services to process recorded audio and generate speech-to-text results. Before Liberty Court Recorder or Post Recording Manager can connect to Azure, your organization must have an Azure account, an active subscription, and an Azure Speech resource.
This guide walks through the complete setup process, from creating or accessing an Azure account through configuring the Azure Speech service and entering the required credentials into Liberty software.
The instructions are written for organizations starting with a new Azure environment and assume that no existing Azure subscription or billing configuration is already in place. If your organization already uses Microsoft Azure, your Azure administrator may choose to use an existing subscription, Resource Group, or other established configuration instead.
By the end of this guide, you will have:
- An active Microsoft Azure subscription
- A Resource Group for the Liberty Speech-to-Text service
- An Azure Speech resource
- The API Key and Region required by Liberty software
- Instructions for configuring Speech-to-Text in Liberty Court Recorder
- Instructions for configuring Speech-to-Text in Post Recording Manager
- Optional instructions for configuring Azure Storage for Post Recording Manager
Important: Azure API keys and storage access keys should be treated as confidential credentials. Do not publish, email, or otherwise share these values except with authorized personnel responsible for configuring the Liberty system.
Before You Begin
You will need:
- A Microsoft account with access to Azure
- Permission to create Azure subscriptions and resources, or assistance from your organization's Azure administrator
- A valid payment method or existing Azure billing arrangement, if required by your organization
- Administrative access to the Liberty software being configured
NOTE: Speech-to-Text (STT) used within Liberty Court Recorder is processed in real time, whereas STT used within Post Recording Manager is processed using batch processing. These usage charges are established and billed directly by Microsoft and are separate from Liberty licensing. Please refer to the Microsoft Azure AI Speech pricing page for current Speech-to-Text pricing.
Recommended Azure Organization
For larger installations, we recommend structuring Azure resources so that Speech-to-Text usage can be more easily identified, managed, and reviewed.
A typical courthouse configuration would use:
- One Resource Group per courthouse
- One Azure Speech resource per courtroom
- A clear naming convention that identifies the courthouse and courtroom
- A separate Speech resource for a centrally installed Post Recording Manager, when applicable
For example:
Resource Groups
- Jean County Courthouse - Criminal
- Jean County Courthouse - Municipal
Speech Resources:
- JCC-Muni-CR-101
- JCC-Muni-CR-102
- JCC-Crim-CR-201
- JCC-Crim-CR-202
- JCC-PRM-Central
This structure makes it easier to review Azure usage and costs by resource rather than having every courtroom share a single Speech resource. Azure Cost Management can report costs at the resource and Resource Group level, and Microsoft also recommends consistent naming and tagging to improve cost allocation and tracking.
API Key Usage
Each Azure Speech resource provides two access keys.
For a courtroom Speech resource, we recommend:
- Using Key 1 in Liberty Court Recorder
- Reserving Key 2 as a backup or for key rotation
The second key should generally not be treated as a separate billing identity. Both keys belong to the same Azure Speech resource, so usage through either key is associated with that same resource.
For larger courthouses using a centrally installed Post Recording Manager, we recommend creating a separate Speech resource for PRM rather than sharing a courtroom's Speech resource. This provides a clearer separation between live courtroom transcription usage and centrally processed post-recording transcription.
Why This Structure Is Recommended
Using a separate Speech resource for each courtroom provides a cleaner administrative and billing structure. Instead of seeing all Speech-to-Text usage combined under a single shared resource, administrators can more easily determine which courtroom or processing service is responsible for the usage.
For organizations that need more detailed reporting, Azure Tags can also be added to resources. For example:
- Courthouse = Main
- Courtroom = 101
- Application = Liberty
- Purpose = SpeechToText
Azure supports using tags as business metadata for cost reporting and allocation. Microsoft specifically recommends tags and standardized naming conventions for tracking workloads and costs.
Microsoft Azure - Subscription Creation
Step 1
From the Microsoft Azure home page, locate Subscriptions under Azure services and click it.
Step 2
On the Subscriptions page, click + Add to create a new Azure subscription.
Step 3
On the Basics tab, enter a name for the subscription and select the appropriate Billing account, Billing profile, and Invoice section. Leave the Plan set to Microsoft Azure Plan, then click Next.
Step 4
On the Advanced tab, review the subscription directory, management group, and subscription owner. For a standard setup, the default selections may be left unchanged.
Step 5
The Budget tab is optional. If you do not want to configure an Azure spending alert at this time, leave the fields blank and click Next.
Step 6
The Tags tab is also optional. No tags are required for Liberty Speech-to-Text. Leave the fields blank and click Next.
Step 7
Review the subscription settings on the Review + create tab. Once validation is complete, click Create.
Microsoft Azure - Resource Group Creation
Step 8
After the subscription has been created, select Resource groups from the menu on the left side of the Azure portal.
Step 9
On the Resource groups page, click + Create.
Step 10
Select the Azure subscription you just created. Enter a name for the new Resource group, then select the Azure Region in which the resources will be hosted. For the example shown in this guide, East US is selected.
Step 11
Click Next to continue.
Step 12
Tags are optional for the Resource Group. Leave the tag fields blank unless your organization requires them, then click Next.
Step 13
Review the Resource Group settings and click Create.
Microsoft Azure - Speech Service / Resource Creation
Step 14
Once the Resource Group has been created, click the name of the new Resource Group to open it.
Step 15
From within the Resource Group, click + Create to add a new Azure resource.
Step 16
In the Azure Marketplace, enter speech in the search field. Select Azure services only to narrow the search results.
Step 17
Locate the Microsoft Speech service and click Create.
Step 18
On the Basics tab, configure the Speech service as follows:
- Select the Azure Subscription created earlier.
- Select the Resource group created earlier.
- Select the desired Region. The example in this guide uses East US.
- Enter a unique Name for the Speech resource.
- Select Standard S0 for the Pricing tier.
Step 19
Click Next.
Step 20
On the Network tab, select All networks, including the internet, can access this resource, then click Next.
Step 21
On the Identity tab, leave System assigned managed identity set to Off and do not add a user-assigned managed identity. Click Next.
Step 22
Tags are optional for the Speech resource. Leave the tag fields blank unless your organization requires them, then click Next.
Step 23
Review the Speech service configuration on the Review + create tab. Once Azure has validated the configuration, click Create.
Step 24
Azure will begin deploying the Speech resource. When the deployment is complete, click Go to resource.
Microsoft Azure - API Key and Region Access
Step 25
On the Speech resource page, locate the Keys and endpoint section. If necessary, click Show Keys.
Copy one of the available API keys — typically KEY 1 — and note the Location/Region displayed below it.
You will need both the API Key and Region when configuring Liberty Speech-to-Text.
Keep the API key secure.
Do not share it publicly or include it in screenshots or documentation.
Configuring Azure Speech-to-Text in Liberty Court Recorder
Once the Azure Speech resource has been created and you have copied the API Key and Region, enter those credentials into Liberty Court Recorder.
1. Open the Speech-to-Text settings
In Liberty Court Recorder, open Options, then select Speech to Text from the menu on the left.
2. Open the Azure account settings
On the Speech to Text page:
- Select Enable Speech to Text Service
- Click Account Settings...
3. Enter the Azure Speech credentials
In the Account Settings window:
- Enter the API Key copied from the Azure Speech resource.
- Select Region and enter the Azure region shown for the Speech resource, such as eastus.
- Click Test Connection to confirm Liberty Court Recorder can connect successfully.
- Click OK to save the settings.
You can then click Apply in the Options window to save the Speech-to-Text configuration.
NOTE: Speech-to-Text used within Liberty Court Recorder is processed in real time and is billed directly by Microsoft Azure based on usage. These usage charges are established and billed by Microsoft and are separate from Liberty licensing. Please refer to the Microsoft Azure AI Speech pricing page for current Speech-to-Text pricing.
Configuring Azure Speech-to-Text in Post Recording Manager
After selecting a Source folder for recordings that Post Recording Manager will scan for processing, and a Destination folder where completed files will be placed, configure the Speech-to-Text service.
1. Click Configure
In Post Recording Manager, under Conversion, click Configure...
2. Open the Azure account settings
In the Configure Conversion window:
- Select Use MS Azure Speech-to-text service
- Click Account Settings...
3. Enter the Azure Speech credentials
In the Account Settings window:
- Enter the API Key copied from the Azure Speech resource.
- Enter the Region shown in Azure, such as eastus.
- Click Test Connection to confirm that Post Recording Manager can connect successfully.
- Click OK to save the settings.
NOTE: Speech-to-Text used within Post Recording Manager is processed using batch processing and is billed directly by Microsoft Azure based on usage. These usage charges are established and billed by Microsoft and are separate from Liberty licensing. Please refer to the Microsoft Azure AI Speech pricing page for current batch Speech-to-Text pricing.
Optional: Azure Storage
Azure Storage can also be configured in Post Recording Manager by selecting Use Azure Storage and entering the associated storage account information. Azure Storage is optional, but may help expedite Speech-to-Text processing. Use of Azure Storage may result in additional Microsoft Azure charges separate from Speech-to-Text processing charges. Storage pricing varies based on factors such as capacity, transactions, redundancy, and region. Please refer to Microsoft Azure Storage pricing for current rates.