Dragon will only transcribe your voice, trained using the sample scripts that you are seeing in this post – this is for the DVR (digital voice recorder) edition. You are correct that it will not work with you recording your various professors and using that to play into Dragon. The DVR edition is an older version of Dragon – look now for Dragon NaturallySpeaking version 11.5 which comes in Home, Premium or Pro editions. If you want to use Dragon as a tool to help you write essays or thesis then Home or Premium would be the editions for you.

I hope that helps.

Dave
Dictate Australia

Thanks for your comment.

Essentially yes you are correct – a notetaker is typically used for recording something with a defined start time and defined end time without stopping and starting – like a meeting or interview. A digital dictaphone replaces the old style tape recorders so you can stop and start recording your dictation, you can rewind and hear what you last said and then continue recording and with digital you can erase sections of audio and insert sections of audio. Dictatphones are typically used by one person dictating although the latest Olympus dictaphones can also record small meetings.

Here is link to an older blog post I wrote explaining the difference between a notetaker and a dictaphone.

You will notice that the digital dictaphones are alot more expensive than the digital notetakers.

Here is a link to one of my blog posts detailing the differences between the Olympus digital dictaphones.

I hope that helps.

Thanks

Dave
Dictate Australia

I currently have a philips LFH0662, but I have noticed that if I make a mistake or think of better wording I can’t go back and amend what I have already recorded.

Can someone recommended a product that is able to do this? Or do most digital dictation machines do this?

Kind regards

Dave

Well your problem is your recorder, without the recorder you are unable to record your voice and pass the recorded audio to Dragon DVR edition. Maybe check the batteries for charge and also that they are in the correct way around. If the recorder has a hold switch make sure that is off.

Dragon will work with audio files recorded on other recorders. Essentially if you can record high quality/low background noise in the formats compatible with Dragon you will still be able to use the software. Compatible formats are .WAV, .MP3 and .WMA from memory.

Also – you should really be looking at the latest edition of Dragon which is 11.5 and in particular the Premium Edition which will let you both talk directly to Dragon via a microphone or you can play recordings of your voice into Dragon.

Hope that helps.

Dave
Dictate Australia

Thank you so much for taking the time to write and express your thoughts. I am glad you are pleased and that we could have helped you out.

Thanks again

Dave
Dictate Australia

Regard

Noelene

You can find the mic over on our old website (we are currently in transition to the new site).

Generally we do not price match against non Olympus Australia Pro resellers as typically these are imports or reconditioned recorders with no Olympus AU warranty – click here for a previous post on why such a large price difference on recorders in Australia.

Email me directly and we will see what we can do for you – dave@dictate.com.au

Thanks

Dave
Dictate

Yes that mic would also help, essentially any mic that can cut background noise and grab good clear recording of your diction will help. I just check the the Nuance compatibility index for the WS-750M and without a mic it gets a 4 out of 4 rating which is still very good.

As for the price swing, you will probably find the really cheap Dragon have come from overseas and are imported. My company is a Gold Certified Nuance Australia dealership, we can only source our software from Australia so our pricing will be similar to other Aussie dealers. There is always a risk that the licence key with the cheaper versions is already used or ties to another country, which will make things difficulty if and when you need support. A good indicator for price is OfficeWorks – they sell Dragon at RRP so anyone who sells around that price would likely be a legit Australian reseller.

Hope thats helps.

Dave
Dictate Australia

Thanks for your comment and for dropping by.

First of all, do not get Dragon Home. This edition can not take audio from a recording of your voice, you will need to step upto Dragon Premium for this functionality.

Yes the WS-750M is an excellent recorder. The key when recording for Dragon is minimal to no background noise and clear diction. I would recommend you also grab a noise cancelling mic to go with your Olympus – like the Olympus ME-12.

I hope that helps.

Dave
Dictate Australia

Regards
Noelene

Thanks for your comment. I can’t comment on return policy for Canada as it is likely different to here in Australia. Do you really need the speaker though? As long as the recorder is recording just play back the audio through your PC, you will have to transfer the file to your PC anyway for Dragon to process.

Yes the 660 will also work with DNS.

Thanks

Dave
Dictate Australia

I’m Canadian – I purchase Dragon naturally Speaking 11 (or is it 11.5) yesterday with the LFH0612 Phillips voice Tracer recorder — which no matter what amount of truouble-shooting I do, this Phillips recorder will not emit any sound through its speakers (headphones not in, volume turned up, hold button not on, etc). What is their return policy at nuance? Or tech support? I only need the recorder swapped out or the speaker repaired. Or am i just better off using a different one? I have a voice tracer 660 in my posession. Will it work with DNS 11?

Thanks!

Amanda

Thank you for your comments. Yes I suggest Olympus over Philips because they are better, of course this is my opinion, but I do believe them to be an excellent quality recorder, with Windows and Mac support and an excellent Olympus support network here in Australia from their head office in Ryde, Sydney.

Just about every Olympus recorder will work with Dragon NaturallySpeaking, starting with the WS series recorder and up. How you will talk to your recorder will decide if you should go with a notetaker style recorder (WS & DM series) or a digital dictaphone (DS series). The notetakers are cheaper but are really designed for recording meetings so their audio quality is excellent but they lack the rewind/review functionality of the dictaphones. Dictaphones are designed for one person talking and therefore great for Dragon but are very expensive.

Notetakers can be used effectively with Dragon but you will need to think about your dictation before you start talking. If you need a break while dictating you can pause the recording to gather your thoughts. You can not go back, hear what you said and then continue recording – only the dictaphones have this functionality.

So have a think about your style and which way you should head with a recorder. I tend to steer most towards a notetaker, if I had to choose I would go a WS-750M, then if they love it then have saved a few hundred dollars. If they hate it they have only spent under $200 and have an excellent meeting/interview/conference recorder that I am sure won’t go to waste.

I hope that helps.

Dave
Dictate Australia

Thanks for dropping by and for your questions. To be honest you would be better to avoid the Dragon DVR version, that was back in the v10 days, we are now up to v11.5 for NaturallySpeaking and the benefits of having the Premium versions outway looking at the DVR edition – from both a cost and usability point.

By going DNS 11 Premium you will be able to use a headset/mic to dictate directly to your PC and a voice recorder. You may find some users prefer to dictate direct, some may prefer to continue with their voice recorder, at least you have that option.

Once the audio is run through DNS you will have the ability to proof and apply changes to the profile so that the profile learns. The software can not be installed on multiple computers, you will need a licence for each install. But a single install can have multiple profiles.

Now before you jump in you need to work out the version you really need. Both the Premium and Pro can take audio from recorders (and spoken voice). Only the Pro version will let you move around a profile, meaning it can be initially trained by the dictator and then shared with the secretary who then applies audio/proofing to the profile and can send back the profile to the dictator. With the Premium version, the dictator will need to train the profile on the secretaries computer and leave the profile there.

If you need more info on this please email me directly and I can send you the relavent documentation so that you can weigh up the pros and cons.

Thanks

Dave
Dictate Australia

dave@dictate.com.au