Travel Technology - Digital Voice Recorder?

I need to have something to record some interviews and possibly a few meetings as well. I found a previous thread on recorders, but it dealt with archival issues - I don't need to preserve the recordings, I just need to be able to transcribe select portions as accurately as possible. I haven't used a digital voice recorder, does anyone have any suggestions or comments on selecting one?

I want something that will pick up conversation from around a moderate-sized meeting room. But I don't want anything too big or obvious, I want the interviewees to be able to speak naturally - I still remember being involved in a couple of interviews some years back where there was a huge tape recorder plopped down on the table with a microphone directed at me - I don't think I spoke very naturally at all!

And I think there are still microcassette recorders around these days, is there any reason why this might be preferable to digital recorders? Neither one really costs a lot, so maybe I should just buy whatever is on sale????

Abby,

My wife uses a panasonic voice recorder that uses an XD card for storage. She's been very successful in using it with research projects, as well as school work. She has multiple mics for it, which works well when she's doing panel sessions, as well as a directional, that's good for noisy locations.

The nice thing about having it in digital is that my wife does a lot of collaborations with folks around the country. Having it in an electronic form allows her to attach sound clips to Word documents for distribution without any conversion required.

Now, if I could just stop her from stealing the XD card from my Fuji camera when she needs more space...

My wife uses a panasonic voice recorder that uses an XD card for storage.
I was looking at the Panasonic RR-US395, but it seems to be at the higher end of the price scale. Still it comes with software called Voice Editing Premium, which is described as:

"It also enables you to convert speech to text, text to speech and provides speech and text translation in up to 9 languages."

That sounds pretty cool, actually. Basically voice recognition software, I think. I hadn't realized that maybe I don't need to transcribe recordings, but that it can be done on the computer...???? Does your wife's model match this one, does hers have software like this, do you know? I am wondering how well it works (thinking of how bad OCR software used to be....)
Now, if I could just stop her from stealing the XD card from my Fuji camera when she needs more space...

All I can suggest is something like this site. (http://www.bizrate.com/memorycards/products__keyword--xd%20card.html)
:) :D

A]"It also enables you to convert speech to text, text to speech and provides speech and text translation in up to 9 languages."

My wife's does have the capability to do voice-to-text, but she doesn't use it. In practice, it's easier to transcribe it using the human ear vs. the dragon software, since the program tends to require training and doesn't work well with multiple voices and accents.

She does have the little foot pedal that allows her to control the playback like an old fashioned transcription machine.

Hi,

I use the Sony ICD-P330F digital recorder. It's good for mid sized meetings around 10 - 12 people. Can be connected directly to your laptop for file transfer.

See the Sony home page. There you can also compare to the micro cassette types

I've never been able to successfully use the automatic transcription - I usually record in too many different places and often with more than one voice. It could work well I think if you record longer passage of your own voice in good conditions and spend time training Dragon (or whatever other software).

Hi,

I use the Sony ICD-P330F digital recorder. It's good for mid sized meetings around 10 - 12 people. Can be connected directly to your laptop for file transfer.

See the Sony home page. There you can also compare to the micro cassette types
hey, Welcome to FlyerTalk, DK Flyer!! :) :-: :)

I will check the Sony site, as you suggest.

Hope you stick around and visit lots of the forums. There is lots and lots of information here and many incredible and resourceful people!

Also, I hear what you guys are saying about the software - I haven't used any voice recognition software for a long time and it sounds like the training issues still make it impractical for varied settings/people. Thanks!

Look at www.recorders.com

I just ordered a high-end Sony from them. Not the cheapest, but some good info and a real, live person took the order over the phone, explained stuff, etc.

Cheers,
Leo

Look at www.recorders.com
Thanks, Leo, that's a nice site with lots of good information!

THey're all about hte same go for the $$$$

When I'm traveling I often notice sounds. I had the idea after this last trip of recording the sounds of the crowd, the complex Starbucks order, the waves, ... and inserting links to the clips in the journal I keep, instead of pictures.

So I want a small digital recorder that is easy to transfer from it to my desktop in a form that I can insert into the journal htm file and place on my website and that is sensitive to near and far sounds.

I browsed the recorders.com website and all I know is I don't need Dragon Dictate and I don't want a combination camera/recorder. Ideas on high end should I go?

Would I need extra software to edit just parts or do I more or less cut and paste?

Someone told me I could record this way with an iPod but I don't see that feature on their website.

Sylvia, novice

I was caught out in a meeting and discovered my Nokia phone had a voice recorder feature. (Can't remember the model - I have a different one now.) The quality was surprisingly good. The only problem was the lack of memory - probably because it was pretty full of photos at the time - which meant I only got 30mins or so.

If you have a phone, you might want to check whether its up to the job. Could have to save carrying something else around.

Unobtrusive too. People are used to seeing phones on desks.

I have to say the Philips Mini MP3 player is astounding for audio quality and pickup with the built in mic and it is hard to beat for convenience
Philips MP3 Player (http://www.consumer.philips.com/consumer/catalog/tree/PORTABLE_ENTERTAINMENT_GR_US_CONSUMER/MP3_PLAYERS_CA_US_CONSUMER/product/SA1335_37_US_CONSUMER/catalog.jsp?language=en&country=US&catalogType=CONSUMER&proxybuster=JX4IMLWK4VII5J0RMRCSHP3HKFSESI5P)
I think it is GoGear SA1335 1GB
Recording size is such you can get hours of recordings on it and easy to trasnfer on and off and you can also use the device for playign MP3
We use it for recording all sorts of stuff and mostly the pickup is too sensetive!

I bought a Sony ICD U70 recorder, .dvf files which sound good and upload nicely via USB. But, all I can do with them is play them. I ordered an editor from Sony and twice they have sent the wrong thing, most recently Dragon Naturally Speaking, which as far as I can see only edits the files recorded using it. (There's no open file command that I can see.) What can I use and where do I get it to convert these .dvf files into something I can then edit and insert a second or two into a .htm page for others to read and hear, in the way I would insert an image?

I'm perplexed.

Sylvia

When I'm traveling I often notice sounds. I had the idea after this last trip of recording the sounds of the crowd, the complex Starbucks order, the waves, ... and inserting links to the clips in the journal I keep, instead of pictures.

So I want a small digital recorder that is easy to transfer from it to my desktop in a form that I can insert into the journal htm file and place on my website and that is sensitive to near and far sounds.

If you want a high-end, portable device, check out the Edirol R-09 (http://www.rolandus.com/products/productdetails.aspx?ObjectId=757&ParentId=114). I have exactly the same requirement and found the Edirol to be the perfect fit.

Edit to say, oops, didn't notice the post date :)

Edit to say try this (http://www.nch.com.au/switch/index.html) to bulk convert .dvf to a more open format.

http://www.rolandus.com/products/productdetails.aspx?ObjectId=757

Above is a good piece of equipment that will do what you want - and record the sound in a format that you can actually use elsewhere.

In that regard I would avoid the Olympus and Panasonic offerings. They will record your sound in some proprietary format that only their desktop applicataion can hear - bad move. You are basically DRM'ing your own recording against yourself. Avoid those things. They defeat the point of digital recording.

Also any Windows mobile smartphone or PDA phone is capable of running software that can record your sound as well, to MP3, Ogg vorbis or WAV format. These will be even more discreet, as they look no different than any other phone sitting on the table - but they is recording what you hear

In that regard I would avoid the Olympus and Panasonic offerings. They will record your sound in some proprietary format that only their desktop applicataion can hear - bad move. You are basically DRM'ing your own recording against yourself. Avoid those things. They defeat the point of digital recording.


It depends which Olympus. At work, we have lots of the WS-100 (http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/product.asp?product=1170) Olympus recorders. Those use straight Windows Media format files, and the recorder simply plugs into a USB port. They've worked very well for our purposes. They also appear on the list of approved recorders for Dragon Naturally Speaking. I haven't tried much of that yet; I do know they pick up sound really well.

Just make sure you do that research on what formats the device actually records your music in and whether you can acces them directly in drag and drop. Other wise you will find yourself with a nifty piece of hardware that is fatally crippled.