Fix Slow Transcription on Windows (GPU Settings)
If transcription is extremely slow or shows "No speech recognized" on Windows, Hedy may be using your integrated graphics instead of your dedicated GPU.
Symptoms
Transcription takes minutes instead of seconds
"No speech recognized" appears even when speaking clearly
The app freezes or becomes unresponsive during recording
Session processing takes 10+ minutes to complete
Why This Happens
Hedy uses your graphics card (GPU) to run the Whisper speech recognition model. On computers with both integrated graphics (like Intel UHD Graphics 630) and a dedicated GPU (like NVIDIA GeForce RTX), Windows may default to the slower integrated graphics. This dramatically slows down transcription.
Solution: Windows Graphics Settings
Open Graphics Settings: Press Win + I to open Settings, then go to System → Display → Graphics (scroll down). Alternatively, search for "Graphics settings" in the Start menu.
Add Hedy: Under "Add an app", select Desktop app from the dropdown, then click Browse. Navigate to Hedy's installation folder, select Hedy.exe, and click Add. Common locations are:
• C:\Users\[YourUsername]\AppData\Local\Programs\Heddy\Hedy.exe
• C:\Users\[YourUsername]\AppData\Local\hedy\hedy.exe
• C:\Program Files\Hedy\hedy.exeSet to High Performance: Click on Hedy in the list, then click "Options". Select High performance (this forces the NVIDIA or AMD GPU). Click "Save".
Restart Hedy: Close Hedy completely and reopen it.
How to Find Hedy's Location
If you're unsure where Hedy is installed:
Right-click the Hedy shortcut on your desktop
Select "Properties"
Look at the "Target" field - this shows the full path to Hedy.exe
Alternative: NVIDIA Control Panel
If Windows Graphics Settings doesn't work, try the NVIDIA Control Panel:
Right-click on your desktop and select NVIDIA Control Panel
Go to Manage 3D Settings → Program Settings
Click "Add" and select Hedy
Set "Preferred graphics processor" to High-performance NVIDIA processor
Click "Apply" and restart Hedy
How to Completely Close Hedy
If Hedy doesn't restart properly after changing GPU settings:
Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager
Find "Hedy" in the list of processes
Click "End task"
Reopen Hedy from your desktop or Start menu
Verify It's Working
After changing the GPU setting:
Start a new session and speak normally
Transcription should appear within 2-5 seconds
The "Transcribing..." indicator should process quickly
Tip: Modern NVIDIA GPUs (like the RTX 3070 with 8GB VRAM) have more than enough power for even Hedy's large Whisper model. If transcription is still slow after these steps, please contact support.