iDictate – Digital Voice Blog

6 Comments (+add yours?)

1. Peter Philipp
   Jun 21, 2010 @ 16:14:42

   We have a client (financial adviser) currently using an old analog dictaphone plus transcriber. Needs to move to the digital world.
   Needs to take notes in a meeting and maybe in the car after a client meeting as well as at his desk. These notes need to link with Dragon sw. What combination do you recommend?
   Or what questions do we need to answer first?
   Do you have a Melb. based rep or someone to talk to in order to make sure the business requirements are clearly understood before making a reommendation?
   Thanks,
   Peter 0417-546-509.

2. Dave
   Jun 21, 2010 @ 16:50:31

   Hello Peter

   Thanks for your comments. If your client is currently using analog tape dictaphones then they may need to look at the digital dictaphone options which are the lower end DS-2400 and the pro model DS-3400 and DS-5000 recorders all from Olympus. These recorders will make the transition for them to digital easier as they emulate the rewind/review capabilities of the older analog tape recorders.

   However, with a switch in mindset and the way you dictate the cheaper digital notetakers could also be used, eg models like the Olympus WS-560M or DM-450. It really depends on primary use of the recorder, ie will it be used 90% for taking notes and if so will the notes be recorded in one hit or over multiple recordings.

   All Olympus recorders can be used with Dragon NaturallySpeaking v10 Preferred version and above.

   I would be happy to give you a call to explain the nuances between the recorders and what might be best for your clients situation.

   Our office is located on the NSW Central Coast, just North of Sydney. We ship recorders all over the country daily and can support clients all over Australia who use both Windows and Mac machines with their voice recorders and transcription kits.

   Thanks

   Dave
   Dictate

3. Barbara Telfer
   Aug 18, 2011 @ 21:11:00

   Dear Dave, i work for Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and we are conducting a qualitative research study in north-west Mozambique, using focus group discussions (FGD) and in-depth interviews (IDI). it will be hard to cut out all ambient background noise in this rather chaotic semi-rural setting. we need to buy at least 2 digital notetakers/audio recorders that will provide good quality FGD/IDI data for transcription. ive been looking at your blog, and looking online at stockists in south africa (i think we cant find here in Mozambique) and im confused with the wide range of models etc. I would greatly appreciate it if you could recommend me some models of digital notetakers that would work best for out purpose; i understand from your blog that the cheapest ones are not appropriate for FGD, so if you can recommend any mid to top end price models (preferably not the most expensive), i would appreciate. i dont know if there would also be any corresponding transcription devices you could recomment as well, i cant work out if transcription devices only work for one voice dictaction devices or if there are transcription devices to use with digital notetakers dealign with multiple voices. i anxiously await your reply! thank you, barbara

4. Dave
   Aug 19, 2011 @ 10:08:18

   Hello Barbara

   Thanks for your comment and let me say straight away – I Love Your Work – MSF is an amazing organisation.

   I will email you directly with more in depth information. Basically the cheaper notetakers would be fine for IDI, for your FGD you would be better off with a higher range recorder, I would recommend the Olympus DM-3 to cover you for both. Background noise can always be an issue, Olympus do have noise cancelling mics and also an excellent zoom mic with a wind sock cover which would also help. Even a think sock over the recorder often helps (clean socks preferred )

   Dave
   Dictate Australia

5. Rich
   Feb 27, 2012 @ 07:32:05

   Hi, I have the DNS Home 11 version of DNS, (recently updated to 11.5), and I was wanting to get the least expensive upgrade version of DNS that will work with a digital recorder. That in itself is confusing when I go to their site and maybe you can tell me what version that would be.

   But what I’d really like to know is if the following product I found on Amazon will permit any version of DNS to work with a recorder:

   Sony Expandable 2GB Digital Voice Recorder with MP3 Capabilities and Dragon Naturally Speaking Software

   If you copied and pasted that into the Amazon search box you’ll find that the seller is not very clear as to what that software actually is used for. I know that it is NOT a version of DNS but software FOR a version of DNS.

   Perhaps you’re familiar with this item. Any idea wether or not it can make my version of DNS accept text from a recorder?
   Thanks, Rich

6. Dave
   Feb 27, 2012 @ 14:27:55

   Hello Rich

   Thanks for dropping by and for your comment. To use Dragon on Windows with a digital voice recorder you will need the Premium version, there are no upgrades from v11+ Home to Premium.

   The version you are seeing on Amazon is the Voice Recorder Edition. I am surprised to see that labelled as v11 as I thought there was only a v10 version. The recorder edition is essentially a cut down version of Dragon for Windows which will only take audio from a recorder – you will not be able to speak to your PC and dictate.

   If I was you I would bite the bullet and just grab the Premium edition of Dragon for Windows – this will give you the versatility to both speak to your PC and have it transcribe your spoken words AND can take a recording from a compatible digital voice recorder.

   Hope that helps.

   Dave
   Dictate Australia