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Topic: best digital voice recorder?
| Author | Message |
| paula_vergara | Posted – 7/25/2007 5:02:55 PM | show profile Hi, Can anyone recommend a digital voice recorder that is compatible with Mac OS X, and can convert/download audio files in both audio and text format? Thanks. |
| writesonwater | Posted – 7/26/2007 12:28:57 AM | show profile I didn't realize there's one that does both audio and text format. I just have an Olympus and also a thumb drive for storing files. |
| WinonaWriter | Posted – 7/26/2007 11:27:25 AM | show profile I haven't thoroughly researched it, but I think the ones that download into a text file operate using "voice recognition." I think generally with those, you have to read a standard text into the software so that the software recognizes your pattern of speech. So I'm not sure it would work for an interview tape where it's you and someone else talking. If I'm wrong, somebody please correct me, because I'd love to be able to plug in my interview recordings and have the computer transcribe it for me! |
| paula_vergara | Posted – 7/26/2007 2:28:28 PM | show profile This one would work for PC, but not Mac: http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-RR-US395S-Digital-Recorder-Terminal/dp/B000F3NIZQ I'm not sure about the voice recognitions stuff - I'll look into this. |
| womaninbooks | Posted – 7/26/2007 3:25:25 PM | show profile transom.org does reviews of all the voice recorders on the market; they're looking at tools specifically for radio journalists but give a good breakdown of what's out there. |
| Nikongirl | Posted – 7/26/2007 3:29:48 PM | show profile Olympus digital voice recorder DS-330 I love my Olympus digital voice recorder DS-330. There are A-E storage files with subfiles, allowing for many hours of recording time. Silly me, I still haven't downloaded the software to download to my computer as I usually just transcribe notes with an earset. So I can't tell you more on how well it does with computer transcribing. It's very small and picks up well in aninterview without having to shove it into someone's mouth. |
| WinonaWriter | Posted – 7/26/2007 10:25:42 PM | show profile OK, so I just went out and bought the Olympus VN-3100PC tonight. I've been using a microcassette all along...and WOW, the sound quality is so, so much better with a digital! I love it. Plus it's so small and lightweight! It comes with PC software so I can download the audio files -- but only in audio, not text. I'm OK with that because I'm used to transcribing on my own. But still would like to know if someone knows how I can get the computer to transcribe for me! This one also has five folders with subfolders, and the ability to "index" so that you can mark important points in the recording. |
| WinonaWriter | Posted – 7/26/2007 10:27:26 PM | show profile OK, so I just went out and bought the Olympus VN-3100PC tonight. I've been using a microcassette all along...and WOW, the sound quality is so, so much better with a digital! I love it. Plus it's so small and lightweight! It comes with PC software so I can download the audio files -- but only in audio, not text. I'm OK with that because I'm used to transcribing on my own. But still would like to know if someone knows how I can get the computer to transcribe for me! This one also has five folders with subfolders, and the ability to "index" so that you can mark important points in the recording. |
| chucho | Posted – 7/27/2007 4:58:01 AM | show profile Olympus WS-320M, or any other Olympus model that has the USB connector built into the unit. In the WS-320M, which runs a fairly long time on one AAA battery, splits in the middle to reveal a USB key so you don't need a cable to download the audio files to your PC via a USB port. Sound quality is superb -- about 30 hours worth of recording time (1 giga, way more than enough -- more recording time than battery time: recording drains batteries faster than playback). Very easy to use.About $120 two years ago, maybe less now. There's nothing I have found like you describe -- a recording device that downloads corresponding text. That sounds like a really awesome tool yet to be made. However, Dragon Naturally Speaking Professional 9 is probably the closet thing. (It's about $150) However keep in mind most voice transcription software is designed to transcribe stuff you speak into your PC. I have not tested the software for transcribing recorded interviews, although the "Professional" version of Dragon says it doe transcribe digital recordings (though it's not clear if this is means a recording you make of your voice in a quiet room that you set to transcribe form an audio file at a later time, or if this means you can transcribe an interview with a subject that has a thick foreign accent or there's lot of background noise in the recording. In any case, everyone basically seems to agree that Dragon Pro 9 is the best thing out there and the closest thing to that holy grail reporters are alway looking for -- something that automates the transcription of audio recorded material. I would venture to guess, however, that even a the best digital recorder and a the best voice transcription software isn't going to be sufficient for most needs in this regard. (IE, it will only work well if your subject speaks clearly in that Midwestern Tom Brokaw accent with virtually no background noise to confuse the voice-recognition software.) |
| chucho | Posted – 7/27/2007 5:14:15 AM | show profile PS - The Olympus works on Windows and Mac, but that's the case with most if not all recorders. Do not buy a digital recorder that is not "plug and play". Avoid anything that comes with software that is necessary to use the gadget -- I've never seen one like that, although you should note that some high end recorders ($500+) come with CD software, but you don't actually need to install the software to use the equipment -- it's like the disc that comes with your digital camera (unnecessary software). So yes: both platforms, plug and play. |
| timakimoff | Posted – 7/27/2007 1:59:10 PM | show profile | email poster Why not try the iPod? You can attach a 16-bit recorder to your iPod or iPod nano. With some space on your iPod dedicated for recording, say at least four gigs, you can gather hours of high-end audio, save it to iTunes and then transfer it to Audacity or some other such program where you can edit it and convert it to an mp3. I use mine every day. |
| chucho | Posted – 7/28/2007 8:25:54 AM | show profile That's an good alternative for those that have iPods, but I generally avoid anything that's not plug and play (stick it into any computer regardless of what software it uses and you can access your file and play it)-- the iPod is inextricably linked to iTunes, and then you have to convert the tracks because I don't think the iPod record directly to MP3 or (if you want the best sound quality) WAV, does it? The Olympus records in various bitrates on the more universal WAV and MP3 formats that don't require you to convert tracks. This isn't a problem for Mac people who are either themselves inextricably linked to iTunes (don't use anything else, don't want to, expect everyone else -- to whom they might send audio tracks -- to do the same) or who are used to having to convert tracks to the more universal MP3 format (therefore they don't conceive the inconvenience of being dependent on software to even access the device and having to convert tracks). |
| paula_vergara | Posted – 8/1/2007 12:33:32 PM | show profile I've learnd that the Olympus DS-2 and DS-2300 models are Mac compatible. |
| inkblot | Posted – 8/1/2007 1:32:53 PM | show profile what software do you use? I have an Olympus recorder, but I was wondering how to transfer the voice files (I think they are mp3) onto my computer. Someone in an above post mentioned downloading software for it. What software is it? |
| WinonaWriter | Posted – 8/1/2007 1:56:16 PM | show profile The Olympus recorder I bought was one of the "PC" versions, and it came with a CD for the software. Easy. The software itself is called Digital Wave. I believe they come in as WAV files. Can't convert them to text. But it's nice to have my recorded interviews stored in two places--on my PC and on my recorder--just in case. I can delete the files from either or both when I'm ready to. Haven't tried transcribing and going back and forth from the PC file to Word yet. But I'll be doing that this week, so I'll let you know how it goes. : ) |
