Digital voice recorder

5S8Zh5

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Looking for a digital voice recorder, mostly for school lectures. I was looking at getting a Sony.

Questions.

If you have one, which model do you have and how's it working for your uses?

Anyone use Dragon Naturally Speaking software for transcripts?

If you have a recording that recorded say 10 minutes past the ending that you want. Can you edit the file to stop it shorter? Or do you need mp3 software to do this?
 

more_vampires

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I used to use it for combining audio files with VOB and AVI as part of an A/V editing hobby. I used to make "anime music videos." To "truncate" (aka shorten) an audio file is easy as cake.

When you first start using it, it isn't immediately obvious how flexible and powerful it is. I'm certain it does a ton of things I haven't even thought of yet.
 

StarHalo

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I have both my wife's Sony digital voice recorder and Dragon on an older PC - and despite an honor roll-filled college and university career, I've never used either.

The Sony can do some rudimentary "cropping" of your recordings without using a PC, and Dragon is surprisingly accurate, but as mentioned above, not only can all smartphones can now do voice recording, but voice-to-text is built in to the architecture of most phones (there's a microphone button on the on-screen keyboard I'm typing this on; I could just speak this post if I didn't have music on in the background.) You could in theory just leave a word processing program open with the mic on and watch your phone transcribe the lecture in real-time. But the catch to all this is that most professors frown on cellphones in the classroom, so you might be able to do it in some classes and some not.

My classroom tools of choice are a modest-sized spiral notebook and a mechanical pencil; the trick is to write as though you're using a pen, no erasing. Much faster to get notes this way, I had pencils that had several hundred hours of lecture time with completely unused erasers. Generally speaking, an instructor who wanders/goes off on tangents will be easier to take notes off of since the relevant data is less dense - the actual amount you're writing is less versus an instructor who wants to pack as much info into the time as possible.

The better use for a smartphone is as a camera to get images of the chalk/whiteboard.
 

more_vampires

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The better use for a smartphone is as a camera to get images of the chalk/whiteboard.

Now that, sir, is brilliant. I needed this idea almost 20 years ago.... but digital cameras were crap back then... oh well. Still a brilliant idea. Polaroid Instamatic, I guess. :)
 

Steve K

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..... You could in theory just leave a word processing program open with the mic on and watch your phone transcribe the lecture in real-time. But the catch to all this is that most professors frown on cellphones in the classroom, so you might be able to do it in some classes and some not.

My classroom tools of choice are a modest-sized spiral notebook and a mechanical pencil; the trick is to write as though you're using a pen, no erasing. Much faster to get notes this way, I had pencils that had several hundred hours of lecture time with completely unused erasers. Generally speaking, an instructor who wanders/goes off on tangents will be easier to take notes off of since the relevant data is less dense - the actual amount you're writing is less versus an instructor who wants to pack as much info into the time as possible.

The better use for a smartphone is as a camera to get images of the chalk/whiteboard.

it's been a couple of decades since my masters degree, so I hate to even think about the advantages of modern tech! I still love my mechanical pencils, and there are times when a pencil and a piece of paper are better tools for communication than any computer (at least when sketching out circuit ideas).

My phone is a cheap thing, so I got an iPod Touch to do all of the fun things that smart phones do, but without the expense. It works nicely for voice recording, and I've used it at a lecture by an aviation legend, Bob Hoover. It also makes a decent camera (not great, maybe not good, but decent). Very handy for getting pics of things in the engineering world. I've been taking pictures of whiteboards for many years at work... I love modern tech (sometimes).
 

StarHalo

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I still love my mechanical pencils, and there are times when a pencil and a piece of paper are better tools for communication than any computer (at least when sketching out circuit ideas).

The Bamboo app and a stylus makes sketches just as easily as pencil and paper, though your screen size determines the drawing space. And the iPhone 6 camera is very good, on par with point-and-shoot cameras from only a few years ago, though classroom boards are generally well-lit and nicely contrasted.

Edit: Oops, Bamboo is iPad only; I guess not many people sketch on an iPhone/iPod..
 
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turbodog

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Not looking for alternatives to a digital voice recorder, op questions still apply. ... :D

Yes. People forget to address the original question.

I use a sony icd-px312 daily, as a critical part of my job. It runs for about 2-4 weeks on a set of alkaline aaa. I would NOT use rechargeables. The alkalines at least give a little warning they are dying.

It has a usb port to extract the recordings. They are mp3 format. There is a slot for a micro-sd, but I've never had to use it. The included capacity is fine for hours and hours. Basically, it's the cheapest one that allows extracting via usb.

Voice quality is very good. It picks up faint sounds as well as talking directly into it. Background noise is not bad. I use it 99% while driving and have no problems with road noise.

There are some more features like folders and the ability to record 'markers' during a session, but I don't use any of that.

The record button is recessed. And it's difficult to delete recordings accidentally; have never lost one yet.

Time and date seem unaffected by battery changes.

You can continue to record with the 'low battery' notification on, but cannot delete recordings during this time. Weird.

I think you can 'split' a recording directly from the device itself, but am not 100% sure.

If you actually power the unit down the batteries will last a lot longer. I just leave the unit on all the time. If powered off/on, it takes a few seconds to boot up. I don't have that much time to waste... need it ready to go. To be clear, I leave it ON, but NOT recording.


Edit:

Apparently that unit is no longer available. Been replaced by newer one. Specs look the same.

ICD PX333

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BOXNSRY/?tag=cpf0b6-20
 
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5S8Zh5

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...I use a sony icd-px312 daily, as a critical part of my job. It runs for about 2-4 weeks on a set of alkaline aaa. I would NOT use rechargeables. The alkalines at least give a little warning they are dying.

Thanks td. Are there any lights that light up when recording?

I called and the PX333 is the latest, but the usb connection method is a male connector that ejects from the bottom, so when connecting to my pc tower, the weight of the unit (it's my understanding that it's very light) is on the usb.

eta: ^^ nvm about the px333 and build in usb, it has a cable connection (a plus). i was thinking about the UX533.
 
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turbodog

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Thanks td. Are there any lights that light up when recording?

I called and the PX333 is the latest, but the usb connection method is a male connector that ejects from the bottom, so when connecting to my pc tower, the weight of the unit (it's my understanding that it's very light) is on the usb.

eta: ^^ nvm about the px333 and build in usb, it has a cable connection (a plus). i was thinking about the UX533.

There is a micro, micro, micro size led on the top edge of the face. It's so light that it looks like a tiny dot of red paint. You can't see it from more than 5 feet away. It's recessed into a hole so you can only see it when facing the unit. You could lay it on a desk, point it at the lecturer, and nobody COULD or WOULD see the light. Red when recording. Flashing yellow when saving/ending a recording.

My connector requires a cable and had a standard miniusb plug. You could just an extension cable and lay the unit on your desk when pulling recordings out of it.

This one sets up as a standard mass-storage device. You can browse to it, copy selected files off, and disconnect. No software is needed.
 

turbodog

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If any are still reading...

I always have used the built-in speaker for listening to recordings. Today I found myself where I needed privacy to do so but could not find any. Used my iphone earbuds to listen and what a huge difference they made. It was unreal.

I could hear stuff on the recoding that I could not even hear in person when I made the recording.
 

sipster

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i use the Sony ICD-PX820, for meetings. it records in MP3 format, and downloads via USB.
 

5S8Zh5

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Got the Sony ICD PX333. Using a couple AAA white eneloops. Menu wasn't very difficult to figure out - turned off the audio beep when pressing buttons, turned off the red LED recording light. Comes with a USB to micro USB cord. There are some units with a built in USB so it's like hanging the entire unit's weight on the USB to computer connection (did not like that design). Tried a few test recordings, then recorded a movie at the theater and it came out perfect.

next to a AA:

AoAoCSZ.jpg
 
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