In my last blog post I talked about some new innovative technology that Olympus have built into to their new range of WS series digital voice recorders which was announced in early January 2012 and on display on the Olympus stand at CES 2012 in San Francisco.

In this post we will look a little closer at the new three digital voice recorders (WS-811, WS-812 and WS-813), see how they are different from the models they will replace (WS-650S/WS-750M/WS-760M) and speculate on when we might see these in Australia. Gone finally is the trailing letter on the model of the recorders that we have seen for so many years where S used to denote Stereo and M was for music, now simply the series, WS, and the model number.

New Olympus WS Series Digital Voice Recorders

• Olympus WS-811 – 2Gb
• Olympus WS-812 – 4Gb
• Olympus WS-813 - 8Gb

New Look

As is usual with a product range revamp we tend to see the same things improve. Firstly we have a new more modern look, the rounded edges, new look grills over the improved microphones. Olympus have done some work with the mics and are high sensitivity low noise, directional mics with a  high signal-to-noise ratio which ensures clear crisp and pure recording. We also see enlarged stop and record buttons for ease of use, not much of a big deal you may think but these recorders are really quite small so anything that helps locate the buttons you need quickly adds to the use experience.

PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) – Uncompressed WAV

Surprisingly we still don’t see PCM recording across the entire WS range, with only the WS-812 and WS-813 affording that luxury which for those of you not aware PCM recordings are equal to CD quality recordings (using the 44.1k/16bit PCM mode to uncompressed WAV). Don’t be swayed, the high quality MP3 and WMA recording modes on all three are still stunningly clear and you would need the hearing of a bat to tell the difference.

MicroSD Slot

Nice to see a microSD slot on each recorder allowing the already large in-built memory to be expanded. Remember these little devices also double as portable storage so not only can you record and keep your audio on them but any digital file – much like a memory stick.

Plug And Play – No Software Required – Mac Compatible

This is nothing new, for a fair few years now Olympus have been Mac compatible and for ease of use you require no software to access the audio, or any other files, you store on your WS series recorder. Simply walk up to any computer, Mac or PC, USB connect and the stored data is available. The USB connector is built into the recorder and slides out from the bottom when needed from just below the speaker grill. All three recorders can also double as an MP3 music player, pop in the supplied earbuds or your own headphones and listen to your music.

Only On The WS-812 and WS-813 …

The WS-811 has been by-passed with some features that will be key to a few like manual recording levels, all three recorders also have auto record levels. Voice playback feature which skips the silent parts of your recording during playback and only plays the recorded voices. Voice balancer technology boosts quieter voices and reduces loud voices to attempt a level range of spoken audio volume. A calendar search function has also been introduced to help you find audio on the a little easier (if you know the date they were recorded). Files can be moved between folders on the device.

When Will They Be Available In Australia?

Yes we are keen to get ahold of these little beauties too, I for one am looking forward to playing with the new voice playback and voice balancer features and putting them through some tests ready for a review. The rumour on the street is that the new WS series recorders will be available in Australia towards the end of March. No confirmation on price in AU (prices in Europe have been published) but I would expect them to come in around the same price as the current WS series range if not a little cheaper, just to put a bit more pressure on the competition.

January is not only the time of year where you and I make resolutions doomed to fail in the first week but more importantly the time of the year where the worlds gadget companies and technology press converge at CES to show the world their latest and greatest for the future and the upcoming year. Olympus is just another name in the crowd at CES showcasing new digital voice recorders and some interesting additions to the feature set of a digital voice recorder.

Voice Changer

I know what you are thinking, this is a fun feature that can change your voice to that of a Dalek, chipmunk or perhaps how you sound after sucking helium. Unfortunatly Olympus are far too serious a company for that feature, it is more focussed around the ability to change the pitch of a recorded voice during playback on the digital voice recorder. Tweaking the pitch of a voice can help make it clearer to hear and therefore understand.

Voice Playback

This is great little feature, on playback of your recorded audio only the voice segments are played back. Silences between conversations are skipped helping you concentrate on what was said rather than awkard or long pauses between the conversation. This will vastly speed up recapping your audio and will be especially noticeable on longer recordings of interviews, meetings or your personal digital audio notes or ramblings.

Voice Balancer

Something that has plagued transcriptionists for years is now about to get much much better. With voice balancer louder recorded voices are toned down whereas as quieter voices are toned up, hence balancing the voices to a more manageable and consistent audio level.

All of the above features were announced by Olympus in a press release at the beginning of January 2012 and will be found in two (WS-812 and WS-813, not WS-811) of the three new WS series recorders released in the US and show cased at CES 2012. More on the new WS series in a separate blog coming soon.

Olympus voice are an innovative bunch, they don’t tend to sit on their hands doing not a lot, they keep refining and evolving their range of digital voice recorders. It is not uncommon to see digital voice recorder models come and go in the space of a single year. As such we often find customers coming back after years of use to replace their digital note taker or dictaphone only to find that their old model voice recorder has been replaced by a newer model.

In an attempt to make finding the current equivalent voice recorder to replace your old trusty Olympus digital voice recorder a little easier I have compiled a list of old models and their latest equivalents. This list covers PCM music recorders, interview/meeting/focus group recorders, budget recorders, the Pro range of digital dictaphones and finally Olympus digital transcription kits.

Olympus WS Series Digital Note Takers

The latest range of WS Series digital voice recorders from Olympus are:

• Olympus WS-811 – 2Gb – WMA, MP3 recording
• Olympus WS-812 – 4Gb – PCM WAV, WMA, MP3 recording
• Olympus WS-813 – 8Gb – PCM WAV, WMA, MP3 recording

These three replace the following list of WS series recorders:

• Olympus WS-100
• Olympus WS-110S
• Olympus WS-200S
• Olympus WS-210S
• Olympus WS-300M
• Olympus WS-310M
• Olympus WS-311M
• Olympus WS-320M
• Olympus WS-321M
• Olympus WS-331M
• Olympus WS-450S
• Olympus WS-550M
• Olympus WS-560M
• Olympus WS-650S
• Olympus WS-750M
• Olympus WS-760M

Olympus VN Series Basic Digital Notetakers

• Olympus VN-2100PC discontinued, equivalent Olympus VN-8500PC or VN-8600PC
• Olympus VN-3100PC discontinued, equivalent Olympus VN-8500PC or VN-8600PC
• Olympus VN-3500PC discontinued, equivalent Olympus VN-8500PC or VN-8600PC
• Olympus VN-5500PC discontinued, equivalent Olympus VN-8500PC or VN-8600PC
• Olympus VN-6800PC discontinued, equivalent Olympus VN-8500PC or VN-8600PC
• Olympus VN-8500PC discontinued, equivalent Olympus VN-711PC
• Olympus VN-8600PC discontinued, equivalent Olympus VN-712PC

Olympus DP Series Basic Digital Notetaker

• Olympus DP-20 discontinued, equivalent Olympus DP-211

Olympus DM Series Digital Meeting Recorders

• Olympus DM-450 discontinued, equivalent Olympus DM-3
• Olympus DM-550 discontinued, equivalent Olympus DM-5

Olympus DS Series Digital Meeting Recorders

• Olympus DS-30 discontinued, equivalent Olympus DM-3
• Olympus DS-40 discontinued, equivalent Olympus DM-3
• Olympus DS-50 discontinued, equivalent Olympus DM-3
• Olympus DS-55 discontinued, equivalent Olympus DM-3
• Olympus DS-65 discontinued, equivalent Olympus DM-3

Olympus DS Series Digital Dictaphones

• Olympus DS-2200 discontinued, equivalent Olympus DS-2400
• Olympus DS-2300 discontinued, equivalent Olympus DS-2400
• Olympus DS-3300 discontinued, equivalent Olympus DS-3400
• Olympus DS-4000 discontinued, equivalent Olympus DS-5000 or DS-5000iD

Olympus LS Series Digital PCM Music Recorders

• Olympus LS-10 discontinued, equivalent Olympus LS-3
• Olympus LS-11 discontinued, equivalent Olympus LS-3

Olympus Digital Transcription Kits

• Olympus AS-2300 discontinued, equivalent AS-2400
• Olympus AS-4000 discontinued, equivalent AS-5000

If your older model Olympus digital voice recorder is not on the list please leave a comment with the model number and I will add it.

The official change from firmware version 1.20 to 1.30 details:

• Start DAISY file playback from previously stopped position. (DM-5 only)
• Improved DAISY bookmark function: The bookmark is at the exact position where it is set by the user. (DM-5 only)

For details on how to update the firmware on your DM-3/DM-5 please refer to our earlier blog post:

Mac & Windows – Olympus DM-3 / DM-5 Firmware Update – How To

A couple of customers recently have had some minor issues using their Olympus DS-5000/DS-5000iD/DS-3400 digital dictaphone on their Mac running Lion (OS X 10.7). The problem experienced was that the device was not automatically recognised by the software when the digital voice recorder was docked or the USB cable attached.

The problem seemed to stem from release 7.2.6 of the Olympus DSS Player Plus software which was built and shipped pre the Lion release. Olympus have now released a patch to version 7.2.8 which makes DSS Player Pro for Mac now fully Lion compatible.

The patch can be downloaded from Olympus directly – click here to download the latest Olympus Voice software updates and patches

No, is the short answer. Voice or speech recognition software will only successfully work with one spoken voice and that spoken voice, for best results, needs to have trained the software to understand their voice and style of speaking known as creating a voice profile. Most people who use voice recognition software typically pop on a headset and mic and chat away to their Windows PC or Mac and watch as their voice is magically (or using the Dragon voice recognition engine if you don’t believe in magic) converted to text.

Voice recognition is currently going through a spike in popularity, especially since the release of the iPhone 4S running iOS5 with Siri, which has raised awareness of just how good voice recognition technology has evolved over the last couple of years, Nuance being the company leading the way in this technology on Mac, Windows and now inside iOS5 working closely with Apple.

Because of this everyone now has an iPhone which is capable of recording audio and most who need to capture important meetings or interviews also have a high quality digital voice recorder. Dragon NaturallySpeaking Premium and Professional edition on Windows and MacSpeech Scribe on the Mac can take recorded audio and transcribe it, that is only for that single trained person who is speaking. So it is understandable that the leap is often made that if it can transcribe one voice it can transcribe many, not so. The technology is not there yet and in my opinion won’t be for quite some time.

Nuance on their website cleverly have a couple of pages dedicated to Transcribing Interviews or Transcribing Lectures using a technique called voice writing or parroting. The idea is simple, you record your interview, meeting, lecture or whatever it is that has multiple voices or a single voice that you can not get trained in Dragon (possibly the voice of someone making a speech or presenting at a conference). Then when you are sitting in front of your Windows PC or Mac (in this case running Dragon Dictate, not MacSpeech Scribe) you listen to your recorded audio and you speak what you hear. Therefore it is your trained voice that Dragon hears as you are repeatings other peoples words from your recording. Sounds simple doesn’t it – it isn’t, I have tried it a few times and have become extremely frustrated. You may find that the voice you are listening to is too fast for you to remember and repeat back which means you are constantly stopping and rewinding the audio, which on an iPhone app or basic digital voice recorder is not always that easy. You will likely often have to stop the audio to correct mistakes made by Dragon, maybe when unfamiliar names or terms are used which have not been trained into your user profile. It will work but it does take a lot of concentration and a large amount of practice, you can give it a try just search YouTube for a boardroom meeting and see if you can repeat what you hear while wearing a headset and mic.

So what are your practical options for transcribing audio or video of meetings and interviews or in fact any audio that you need turned from voice to text?

Option 1 – Type The Audio Yourself

You could transcribe the audio yourself using some specialised transcription software to help you, transcription is the process of typing what you hear. When I say help it won’t actually do the work of typing it for you but it will assist greatly with the audio playback. For example if you are a slow typist you could slow the speed of audio playback down to match your typing speed or conversly also speed up the audio if your fingers are a blur when you type. Using transcription software you can also easily rewind the audio, again set up to match your typing ability so you could either rewind back half a second or if you are a poor typist like me rewind the audio back up to 5 seconds. The biggest benefit of using transcription software is that audio can be controlled from inside the word processor that you are typing in. By that I mean using a USB connected foot pedal or pre-defined keys on your keyboard you can stop/play/rewind the audio without leaving the document that you are typing. This is a huge time saver, often people try to transcribe using Windows Media Player or Quicktime for their audio playback and they have to constantly switch between they document to the audio player to stop/rewind/play and then back to the document which adds a considerable amount of time to the whole transcribing process.

Pros Of Doing It Yourself

• Cost, from the point of view that you are not paying someone else to do the work.
• Cost, from the point of view that transcription software is free or relatively cheap depending on what you buy.

Cons Of Doing It Yourself

• It is hard work and not as easy as it sounds.
• Transcription typing does take a long time even if you are experienced.

Just as an indication of how long transcription takes, a good quality one hour audio file of an interview between two people would take an experienced transcription typist around 2-3 hours to transcribe. If you are not experienced expect that to rise to 4-5 hours and without the help of transcription software even longer.

Transcription Software

• Express Scribe from NCH Software – $FREE
• Express Scribe Pro from NCH Software – approx. AU$40 – Click Here To Buy Express Scribe PRO – Plays .dss .ds2 .dct .dvf .avi .mov .wmv audio and video files.
• Olympus AS-2400 Digital Transcription Kit – Includes software, headset and USB foot pedal – RRP AU$425 but usually it sells online for less. Windows & Mac compatible.

Option 2 – Outsource To A Professional Transcription Service

If you need your audio transcribed quickly and accurately then this option is for you. Just Google transcription service and see how many businesses are listed both organically and in the paid Google ads. Transcription has become a boom business over the last few years and that makes total sense. With the availability and high quality of digital voice recorders and iPhone apps just about everyone is recording their meetings, interviews, podcasts, vodcasts, focus groups, lectures, letters, assessments the list goes on. It is great to have a record of your meeting and the like stored digitally which can be easily shared within your business on your intranet or with the world on the internet but more often than not a written transcript is also required for offline reading, compliance or for public record. There are all kinds of reasons audio and video is transcribed into text these days.

This is where a professional transcription service can come in to help you. Simply send them your digital audio or video via the internet and they can set to work using their team of experienced transcription typists to convert your voice to text. Here is a security tip, always make sure that the transcription service you use has their own secure file server and that the data you send them is encrypted either using FTPS (not FTP) or HTTPS (not HTTP) – this is important for two reasons. 1. your audio/video is encrypted as it travels across the internet from you to their servers. 2. by ensuring they run their own secure server they will have full control and access over what happens on that server. Many transcription services use third party providers like SendThisFile.com and they nor you have any control over your data on that third parties servers. Ask any transcription service that you approach about their security and file transfer mechanisms. Many still use FTP and not FTPS, transferring files across FTP alone does not encrypt the file contents, be it audio, video or worse still your transcribed documents.

Any good professional transcription service will turn your audio around quickly and the final transcript will very accurate. Typically there are two phases to the transcription process; phase 1 is the transcription typist who listens and types your audio/video to text. Phase 2 is a quality assurance phase, a proofreader will listen to your audio and proof against what has been transcribed. This double verifies the typists work and the document can be formatted to your specific requirements. Obviously we recommend The Transcription People, not just because this is our sister company but because they are leaders in the transcription industry in Australia who service clients not only from Australia but also the US and Europe

As audio and video for transcription is mainly digital you can utilise the services of a transcription company anywhere in the world, you may want to do this for cost benefit reasons but more often than not to take advantage of time zones. Many UK and US businesses will use the services of Australian based transcription companies for just this reason as Australia tends to work their business day as Europe and the US sleep.

Pros

• Speed, this is a transcription services core business. Reputable companies will turn around audio and video very quickly.
• Accuracy, again as a core business this is how transcription services are rated from a customers point of view. A good transcription firm will always produce high quality accurate transcriptions because of the two phase approach.
• Ability to adapt, regardless of how much audio or video you send you should always expect the same fast, accurate turn around of transcripts.
• You don’t have to do it so you can focus your time on more productive work.

Cons

• Cost is the only con, you are paying for a service so compared to you doing it yourself there will be a cost involved. Obviously the larger more reputable transcription companies will have different rates from the work from home type of micro transcription service.

So there you have it ! Reasons why Dragon NaturallySpeaking for Windows or MacSpeech Scribe for Apple Mac are not good for transcribing meetings or interviews and the options you have open to you to convert recorded audio or video into text.

We are just talking about Pro Olympus digital dictation products here, these are the DS series digital dictation recorders (DS-5000/DS-3400/DS-2400) and their corresponding Olympus transcription kits (AS-5000/AS-2400). The Pro recorders can only be sold by selected Olympus Imaging resellers in Australia. These Pro resellers should be displaying the Olympus Pro Dictation logo (eyes left) to let you know they are authorised resellers, but being the internet those logos can easily be copied (more on copying images later in this post, you will want to read on, it’s a great story).

The Olympus Voice Pro Dictation resellers are not randomly picked, we all have to meet strict criteria to become a Pro reseller. We have all been involved with Olympus for a number of years and we all have been through training with Olympus. Not only that, we all have our own dedicated Olympus rep who we can and do call on regularly. They are there to help us and you with any questions, advice, news, special pricing on large or special orders and with any warranty claims. Olympus Voice are part of Olympus Imaging and have a dedicated voice team out of their office in Ryde, Sydney.

So lets talk about pricing. As Pro resellers we only buy from Olympus Imaging Australia who set the RRP (recommended retail price) of the Pro series recorders and the price at which we buy them from Olympus. It is then upto the reseller to determine the price at which they want to sell which is obviously somewhere in between. This is why you will see pricing from the Pro resellers all around a similar  price point. To make it easier for you I have listed the official Olympus Voice Pro Resellers in Australia at the bottom of this post.

When you see an Olympus DS-5000 top of the range digital dictaphone selling on some Australian websites for $100+ less than most other reseller sites you may be thinking wow what a bargain but those of you who are online savvy will also be thinking why? Well if the company is not a Pro reseller then they will not be buying their recorders from Australia, only Olympus Imaging have the rights to sell them in Australia. So they will be imported, usually from the US where the strong Australian dollar makes US purchases more attractive. Being overseas models they will not be covered by the Australian warranty, so any issues you may have with your recorder can not go back to Olympus in Australia. This is where many issues can arise, a recorder with no warranty will be expensive for the person selling to replace and you may not get the service or replacement you expect.

One none Pro reseller here in Australia was bought to my attention recently, they were selling the DS-5000 very cheaply which rang some alarm bells. A close look showed that they had copied word for word my description of various Pro range recorders. Not only that but they had thought it appropriate to also use my images on their website. Sure, copying of images happens all the time on the internet, just because I created the image doesn’t mean I have exclusive rights to it when it is public on the internet. But in this case, as they had copied my website code, they were pulling the images from my own server – that is really taking liberties. So, a quick tweek to the image and that website is now proudly displaying my phone number on their website

We all like a bargain but when you are spending big on state of the art digital dictation solutions I personally think it is worth spending that little bit extra to get in country support from the company who actually makes the products and their nominated Pro dealers. Get to know your Olympus Pro reseller, we all have our own niches and specialities – Dictate Australia are well known for knowing Mac as well as Windows; we provide digital dictation and voice recorders, transcription solutions and voice recognition for both platforms. We have customers all over the country and can support any installation remotely but more importantly we are always at the end of the phone for a chat and for advice.

As of October 2011 there are 32 Pro resellers in Australia of which of course we, Dictate Australia, are one of them. The list of Pro resellers rarely changes but if you are not sure please call Olympus on 1300 659 678 and confirm. The Pro resellers are currently:

• Dictate Australia Pty Ltd
• Stuart & Dunn Office Choice
• Lanier Voice
• Pc Dictation
• Dictation World
• Business Machinery Rentals
• Abc Dictation / J.d.wilmot
• Prime Office National
• Global Transcription Services
• Sharp  Electronics
• Voice Recognition
• Biztech
• Voice X Communications
• Raltone International
• Lanier Voice
• Diversified Dictation Syst.
• Dictation Solutions
• Nts Transcriptions
• Biztech It
• Norac
• Lanier Voice
• Dictating City Centre
• Business Machinery Rentals
• Pdt Digital
• Ds Office
• Copia Business Machines
• Dictafix
• Talk Solutions
• Contact Office Technology
• Abacus
• Phil Hughes Office Solutions
• Bistec

The latest music digital recorder from Olympus is now available in Australia, the Olympus LS-3 comes hot on the heels of the demise of its predecessors the LS-10 and LS-11 and puts its hand up as the sole recorder in the current Olympus Australia range aimed at recording music.

So what makes the LS-3 different to any other recorder in the Olympus range? Well all the other Olympus recorders are designed to record spoken audio which generally has a constant and narrow range of audio volume. Large fluctuations in volume, very quiet to very loud are not coped with well with standard voice recorders, this is where the LS-3 steps in. Not only that but the new Tresmic 3 mic system nestled under the LS-3 mic grill is designed to pick up a more natural, closer to reality audio.

Audio levels on the LS-3 can be controlled automatically or if you prefer manually. When setting levels manually a built-in limiter will suppress any sound distortion.

The neatest feature of the LS-3 though has to be the pre-record function. Advertised to let you “Never Miss A Beat” this handy featured when turned on will hold a 2 second audio buffer, so as soon as you hit record the previous two seconds of audio has already been recorded and now included in the audio recording.

Key features of the LS-3 are:

• Records in Linear PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) WAV, MP3 or WMA audio formats
• 3 Tresmic Mics, center mic can be turned on or off to give a frequency response of 20Hz-20kHz (Center mic ON) or 70Hz-20kHz (Center mic OFF)
• 4Gb of built-in flash memory with an additional microSD card slot for expansion upto 32Gb
• Mac & Windows compatible

Released in Australia in August 2011 for RRP $299 incl. GST, the LS-3 sets a new standard in music and nature sound recording.

NCH Software recently outed a new release of the worlds most popular free transcription software for Windows, Express Scribe, which is finally compatible with DSS Pro audio file formats, better known as .ds2 files. Not only that but NCH claims that Express Scribe is compatible with both Phillips DSS Pro and Olympus DSS Pro audio files (yes there is a difference even though DSS Pro is supposed to be a standard).

From Olympus the DSS Pro (.ds2) audio files are created on their Pro range of digital dictaphones (DS-5000, DS-3400 and DS-2400) and has caused some issues for many small outsource transcription businesses who were aggrieved to actually spend money and buy the appropriate software to either play or convert these audio files to load into pre version 5.30 Express Scribe. How to convert .ds2 audio files to play in Express Scribe has been covered in an earlier blog post of ours (one of our most popular posts) – click here

Great move by NCH although it did take some time to get there, the rejoicing from the transcription world will be huge. Easily one of the best if not the best transcription software out there, Express Scribe continues to dominate the transcription world and rightly so. Come on NCH, let us pay for this software

As yet .ds2 can only be played by Express Scribe on Windows. The Mac version (as of version 5.32) remains without .ds2 support.

Click here to keep an eye on Express Scribe versions – both Mac and Windows

Click here to download a sample Olympus .ds2 audio file to test your Express Scribe

If you check in on our blog often you would have noticed us drooling of the amazing Olympus LS-20M a few months back, in case you missed it here is the link – please note the massive close up picture of the LS-20M just to ram home how cool this little device is.

Well in the latest pricing released to all Olympus Australia resellers today you could almost hear the shouts of “yippee” across the country as we rubbed our eyes in disbelief, the LS-20M is now available in Australia (or will be in the next week or two).

Sure, we all have HD video recorders nowadays, on our iPhone, our Flip camera and even on our point-and-shoot or DSLR cameras. So what makes this recorder anydifferent? Well, if you have used some or all of the above devices then one thing you would have noticed, great video quality, shocking audio quality. This is where the LS-20M stands out; using the experience of Olympus imaging for the video and the market leading audio capabilities of the Voice arm Olympus have come up with this powerful little package.

Keeping in vogue with recent trends of filtering your shots, seen in the massively popular Instagr.am app on the iPhone (follow me on Instagr.am @australia) and in the ever so popular PEN range of Olympus Imaging cameras, filters are a part of the LS-20M bundle of fun.

Unusually with the LS-20M Olympus have stepped away from the on-board flash memory + SD/SDHC card combo, the LS-20M has no on-board flash memory at all and relies solely on the SD/SDHC card slot. Click here for the US specs for the LS-20M.

What I can tell you is that the RRP for the LS-20M is $449 incl. GST.

We get alot of hits on our blog from all over the world. Many hits are people searching for answers to specific questions. So we thought we would start a post and update as we go with questions we see pop up from day to day. This post will get longer over time so make good use of your browsers search function (here’s a tip, click Ctrl-f):

Do you have a question you would like answered? Leave a comment and we may include it in the list.

Q: Can you convert a .ds2 file to .dss?

A: Yes you can. But why would you is a question we would ask back. I would understand converting an MP3 or WMA file to a dss file format as the file size would be greatly reduced, but .ds2 to .dss no point.

Q: What is the best mic for use with Dragon Dictate for Mac

A: The answer to this one depends on the kind of microphone you prefer. Dragon Dictate for Mac in Australia is bundled with a choice of several mic options (click here for a run down of them all). These are all excellent mics so it is really down to personal choice. If you like a headset then there are a couple of options, if you prefer just a mic then there is an option for that and if you prefer wireless again there are a couple of choice. Soon I am sure dictation wirelessly through your iPhone/iPad will be available I am sure as this has just been released for Dragon NaturallySpeaking on Windows.

Q: Can I use the Olympus DS-5000 with my Olympus AS-4000 transcription kit.

A: Yes you can. BUT, and there is always a but, not straight out of the box. The AS-4000 kit will only work with standard .dss audio files, out of the box the DS-5000 records in .ds2 or DSS Pro audio format which is not compatible with the AS-4000. With the DSS Player Pro v5 Dictation Module software installed on a Windows PC (it comes with the DS-5000) you can set the default record mode of the DS-5000 to what is called Classic Mode (click here for a video demo how to do this). By setting Classic Mode your DS-5000 will record .dss audio files and will then be compatible with your AS-4000 transcription kit. More info here from an earlier blog post.

Q: Free transcription software for ds2 file.

A: OK, this search term or a variant of it appears every day in my Google analytics and I have to be honest it annoys me. If you are searching for free software to transcribe .ds2 audio files that indicates to me that you are likely doing this as a service to someone, i.e. you are running a business. At some point while running a business you will have to spend some money to support your business activities. After all most transcriptionists have it good, the most popular transcription software (Express Scribe) is free, you can even use it without a foot pedal thus saving you even more money. Now if you are receiving .ds2 files from your clients do them and yourself a favour, buy the software to let you play or convert these audio files. My tip, if you are watching the pennies, buy the Olympus DSS Player Pro v5 Dictation Module software, this will let you convert an Olympus .ds2 into .dss (classic) or WMA (or AIFF if you are on a Mac) and therefore will work with your free transcription software.

Q: Which digital voice recorders are compatible with Dragon Dictate for Mac.

A: This is an easy one to answer, none. Dragon Dictate for Mac can not take audio from a digital voice recorder, unlike its Windows cousin, Dragon NaturallySpeaking which can take audio in the Premium and Pro versions. Currently a seperate product called MacSpeech Scribe will take audio from a recorder and transcribe it using the Dragon speech recognition engine. I expect this to change at some point in the future and be part of Dragon Dictate but as of now it can only be done with MacSpeech Scribe.

The DM series recorders in Australia are now manned by the Olympus DM-3 and the Olympus DM-5 digital voice recorders since the launch of the DM3 in early July 2011. To look at them you would be hard pressed to tell the difference other than the Olympus DM3 is silver and the Olympus DM5 is black.

So what is the difference between the two? Here is a summary:

Memory:

• DM-3 has 4Gb of on-board memory, expandable via the microSD slot (512mb to 16Gb cards)
• DM-5 has 8Gb of on-board memory, expandable via the microSD slot (512mb to 16Gb cards)

Maximum Recording Time (using in-built memory only):

I only list the highest quality audio recording modes as these give the best quality sound and audio pickup. If you choose lower quality recording modes the maximum recording times will be greater than I have listed. I recommend using the highest quality audio recording modes.

Olympus DM-3 (RRP $349 incl. GST in Australia)

• 25hrs 30mins on the highest bit-rate MP3 format (320kbps)
• 5hrs 15mins on the 48kHz linear PCM uncompressed WAV format
• 62hrs 30mins on the highest quality WMA (Windows Media Audio) format

Olympus DM-5 (RRP $499 incl. GST in Australia)

• 53hrs on the highest bit-rate MP3 format (320kbps)
• 11hrs 5mins on the 48kHz linear PCM uncompressed WAV format
• 130hrs on the highest quality WMA (Windows Media Audio) format

Text To Speech (DM5 Only):

Only the DM-5 is capable of reading aloud a textfile, this feature is not available on the DM-3. Text to speech is a functional typically used by people who are vision impaired or have reading disabilities.

DAISY Books (DM5 Only):

Only the DM-5 is capable of playing DAISY (Digital Accessible Information System) books. DAISY books were intended to replace audio tapes for digital devices and have the ability to read-aloud books while also highlighting text and displaying images. DAISY books are typically used by people who are vision impaired or have reading disabilities.

Voice Recognition (DM5 Only):

Only the DM-5 is capable of processing voice recognition commands to control the digital voice recorder. Voice recognition allows complicated key inputs using voice alone, for example to set the date and time or setting up timer record. Voice recognition only controls the Olympus DM-5 functions is does not take your spoken words and transcribe them. Voice recognition is typically used by people who are vision impaired or have reading disabilities.

Viewing Images (DM-5 Only):

Only the Olympus DM5 has the ability to store and display images imported from a digital camera. The images can be displayed on the DM-5′s large lcd colour screen.

So there you have it. As you can see the Olympus DM-5 is really aimed at people who are vision impaired and give them a user friendly digital voice recording device. Both will record exactly the same audio quality files, the main difference being the size of the memory in each which in turn effects the maximum recording times which I have listed above. If you are not vision impaired the only reason I would see someone opting for an Olympus DM-5 over a DM3 would be if they are planning on being away from a computer for a large amount of time gathering audio that would exceed the in-built memory plus an addition microSD card’s worth of memory. That is alot of audio.

Both the Olympus DM-3 and the Olympus DM-5 are available in Australia from us, Dictate Australia. We are an Olympus Imaging Australia Gold partner. Any questions about these or any recorders please comment here or contact is through our website – www.dictate.com.au

A new firmware update is available for the Olympus DM-3 and DM-5 digital voice/meeting/interview recorders, version 1.20

New in this firmware release is:

1. Support the functions of USB microphone or Speaker.
2. Supports the function to register the voice keywords for the schedule.
3. Supports the function to register the voice memos for the schedule.
4. Supports the playback for audio files from the schedule list display.
5. Improve the volume setting when the text file is spoken out.
6. Supports to directly connect the device to CD drive and import DAISY contents from CD (Only for DM-5)

Both the Olympus DM-3 and DM-5 can be updated on either a Windows or a Mac, to find out how please review our earlier blog post by clicking the link below:

How to firmware update your Olympus DM-3 / DM-5 on Windows or Mac

The latest Olympus digital voice recorders come with the ability to update their firmware as and when Olympus release new updates. The firmware is essentially the operating system that runs your digital voice recorder so it is a good idea to always stay up-to-date with any new firmware releases, much as you do with your Mac when new OS X operating system releases are made and on Windows with security patches and fixes. Firmware updates will improve the usability of your recorder, fix any minor bugs and often add more features or improve usability.

To check your current firmware version on your Olympus DM-3 or Olympus DM-5 digital voice recorder navigate the menus:

Preferences -> System Menu -> System Info

Your current loaded firmware version will then be displayed along with your recorder model and serial number.

To upgrade the firmware on your Olympus DM-3 or DM-5 digital meeting recorder on a Mac or Windows PC you will need:

• Obviously your Olympus DM-3 / DM-5
• The DM-3 / DM-5 USB Cable
• If on Mac – OS X 10.4.11 or higher
• If on Windows – XP, Vista or 7

I recommend that you either fully charge your DM-3 / DM-5 prior to upgrading the firmware or better still use the AC mains power adapter (not Mac/PC powered USB). If the firmware upgrade fails your recorder may be left unusable, this will often occur if the recorder battery is low and powers down during upgrade.

Next you will need to determine if your current firmware version is older than what is currently available. You can do this by either regularly checking the relevant Olympus firmware website for your operating system (links below) or better still keep an eye on our blog as we will announce firmware updates as and when they occur:

Click here for the latest Olympus DM-3 or DM-5 firmware for Mac

Click here for the latest Olympus DM-3 or DM-5 firmware for Windows

The above links will give you all the detail you will need to update the firmware on your recorder.

STEP BY STEP GUIDE – DM3/DM5 FIRMWARE UPGRADE ON MAC

The steps for upgrading the firmware on a Mac are the same as on Windows, the walk through splash screens are exactly the same (see Windows upgrade steps below). The only difference I noted was that when I ran the .dmg installer it forced my to reboot my Mac prior to automatically launching the DM-3/DM-5 firmware upgrade. I left my digital recorder USB connected during this reboot.

STEP BY STEP GUIDE – DM3/DM5 FIRMWARE UPGRADE ON WINDOWS

So once you have downloaded the firmware upgrade for Windows from the above Olympus link, simply double click and the firmware updater will walk you through the process. It is very simple and only takes around 4 minutes to complete the firmware upgrade.

Step 1.

Confirms that the software you are running is a DM-X (Dm3 or DM5) firmware updater and requests you USB connect (PC not AC) your Olympus DM-3 or DM-5 digital voice recorder.

Step 2.

Your Olympus DM-3 or DM-5 will be detected and this is confirmed in this next splash box. Here you can check your current firmware version against the firmware version available and downloaded. If they are different then you can continue.

Step 3.

Firmware update phase 1 begins. PLEASE NOTE there are two phases of firware update so please be patient and read carefully every splash screen instructions.

Step 4.

Firmware (phase 1) is copied to the Olympus DM3/DM5 and is updating the digital voice recorder.

Step 5.

The next phase of firmware update is about to begin. Do not pull out your recorder from the USB yet.

Step 6.

This confirms that the new version of the firmware is now residing on the Olympus DM-3/DM-5 and is ready to be installed.

Step 7.

Wait while the firware unpacks on the DM3/DM5.

Step 8.

Firmware is installing.

Step 9.

That’s it! Your Olympus DM3 / DM5 has been flashed with the new firmware.

This will be a day of mixed emotions for me, as I have stated before in my ramblings the DM-450 was easily my favourite recorders ever. Ease of use, audio quality, speed of startup, feature packed and of course a great looking recorder made this an awesome recorder, sadly replaced along with the DM-550 (its bigger, beefier, PCM brother) by the DM-3. The DM-3 will join the already available DM-5 as the sole representatives of the DM range in Australia.

We hope to get our first DM-3 early next week and will follow that up with some testing and a full blog review and some up close pictures for your viewing and reading pleasure.

So long DM-450, my friend !

That’s a huge picture to make a huge statement, which is exactly what this lovely device is set to do …

Looking a bit like a macho LS-10 or LS-11 the LS-20M is set to take the HD video world by storm. Another smart move by an innovative Olympus saw the innevitable, merge their superb camera technology with their market leading audio recording technology to come up with a little package to appeal to a wide range of users. I can see journalists loving this one along with families looking for an easy way to record high quality memories.

Taking a lead from many of the smart phone imaging apps the LS-20M will come with “Magic Movie” effects, four of them, which can be applied on the LS-20M itself to add some creativity to your movies. The four effects are:

• Rock — create your own rock video! Step on stage with the classic Rock Magic Movie setting, featuring saturated black images and bright, bold background colours;
• Sketch – the Sketch Magic Movie setting turns your video into a living and breathing pencil drawing, reminiscent of some popular 80’s videos. Sketch adds an artistic feel and poetic flavor to your recordings;
• Pinhole –the Pinhole Magic Movie setting allows users to record video with soft, darkened outside edges – enhancing the subject in the center of the video. Pinhole is great for setting a mood to tie in with the melody or focus of your recorded sound;
• Pop — The Pop Magic Movie setting super-saturates colours to create a brighter, more vivid video recording. Turn your world into a work of pop art!

The LS-20M will shoot through a 4.1mm (16:9 at 49mm, 4:3 at 59mm) auto focus lens with 4x digital zoom and can be seen on a crisp 2inch colour LCD screen. The video screen remain uncluttered as audio info is shown on a seperate 1.46inc LCD display just below, leaving you to glance between video or audio settings while shooting.

Here comes the good bit, the audio. The LS-20M records PCM uncompressed WAV audio, which to you and me is really high quality audio (often referred to as better than CD quality) with the option of auto or manual levels. Some common features from the Olympus digital voice recorder range are also included like a low-cut filter, voice activation (start recording when it hears a noise) and even timer record, so you can head off to work and record the dog asleep on the lounge for the rest of the day.

On the bottom of the unit is a USB for data transfer and charging if the lithium-ion battery via your PC or Mac connection and also a HDMI port for playback on your huge plasma or LCD TV.

The LS-20M will hit the shelves in the US in June 2011 and will be priced at US$299. No answer from Olympus Imaging Australia when it will be in Australia or for how much but as soon as we hear we will post an update.

Click here for the Olympus US LS-20 Press Release

Olympus have just announced that the Olympus DM-3 digital voice recorder will soon be available in Australia (mid 2011) and will replace the hugely popular DM-450 and DM-550 recorders.

The DM-450 has to be my all time favourite Olympus recorder and I use my demo DM-450 all the time so I will be sad to see the end of the DM-450 and DM-550. But, the DM-3 will join the bigger beefier DM-5 which has been out in Australia for a while taking over as the sole representatives of the DM series recorders down under.

So what does the DM-3 have?

Well 4Gb of in-built memory which gives oodles of recording time, but if you can talk the hind legs off a donkey there is an expansion slot to add even more memory and hence recording time (if 24.5 continuous hours of high quality 320 kbps MP3 recording is not enough). Remember these recorders are USB 2 devices and can be used for file/photo/video storage also.

BIG colour display, just like the DM-5 the DM-3 has the stunningly gorgeous large colour screen so easy to see what is going on. The record level meters in particular look fantastic on this display.

Like all Olympus recorders it’s both Mac and PC compatible and comes with Olympus Euphony software to edit your audio.

Expected to arrive in June 2011 price to be advised as and when we know. If you want to grab a DM-450 or DM-550 buy one now before they disappear.

I know fancy title for what is essentially a giveaway if you buy a bundle of the best digital dictaphone and transcription kit on the market the Olympus DS-5000 digital dictaphone (or DS-5000iD) and AS-5000 digital transcrpition kit. And why not, its alot of money to buy this gear so you should be rewarded and thats exactly what Olympus are prepared to do by giving away … drum roll please … a 14 mega pixel Olympus FE4030 digital camera.

In yet another move to send the competition scrambling for ideas the partnership between Olympus Voice and Olympus Imaging is cemented with this deal. To qualify all you need do is buy one DS-5000 and one AS-5000 in one transaction, that’s it. Oh and of course make sure you are buying from an Olympus Pro dealer in Australia who is participating in this promo, please check first though to make sure they have the camera stock so as not to be disappointed. At the time of writing, we Dictate Australia, have quite a few cameras to give away with 5000 bundles. No need to buy online we can invoice you.

The Olympus FE4030 is a stunning little point and shoot from Olympus, with a 14 megapixel sensor and powerful 4x optical zoom lens with 26mm wide angle, you’ll get your great shot every time. Get creative with the FE 4030′s selection of Magic Filters.  With Pop, Pinhole, Sketch and Fisheye effects, transform your photos into works of art, all at the touch of a button.  And when its time to upload your shots to your computer, you’ll be charging the battery at the same time, with USB and In-camera charging! I love the filters they can transform ordinary photos into works of art.

This seems to be a minor bug fix release with the following issues addressed:

System Focus on Notification

The notify dialogue box was causing some angst while transcribing as when it popped up it took focus away from the document being transcribed and interupt the typists flow. In this release focus is not taken away to the pop up dialogue box.

Do Not Display The Main Windows – Dictation Module / Workflow

When this option is selected in this release Device Detector 4 will launch the Dictation Module on device connection.

System Admins Can Now Show/Hide Options In Dictation / Transcription Module

Administrators can now choose to show/hide options in both the dictation module or transcription module. This is a very handy feature as it should take away from the user the ability to “play” with some of their settings which may cause issues with their normal way of working.

Click Here To Download The Full R5.0.12 Release Notes In PDF Format

All the full change details can be found in the official Olympus release notes and are shown below in full:

Changes

R5.0.12

1. 1. System focus on Notification dialogWhen the Notification Dialog popped up the system forcibly focused on this.
   This was causing issues when Transcribing as the system focus was being taken away from word processing programs and would interrupt the transcriptionist.
   In R5.0.12, the dialog no longer takes focus. In addition, the dialog will now appear in the corner of the screen.

    

2. 2. When the “Do not display the main window” option is selected in [Workflow] on your Dictation Module, the Device Detector 4 will now forcibly launch the Dictation Module when a device is connected.
   The reason for this is because any files on connected devices will not be downloaded unless Dictation Module is launched.

    

3. 3. In the System Configuration Program, administrators are now able to change the show/hide some options from users in the Dictation / Transcription Modules.
   For example: When an administrator hides [Workflow] option from System Configuration Program, the user will no longer be able see all options in [Workflow] window within Dictation / Transcription Module.

    

Note

When DSS Player Pro is installed to a client via an Active Directory, etc., in silent mode, make sure to install .NET Framework 2.0 stored in the Redist folder before installing DSS Player Pro.
Please copy LICENSE.DAT to the distributed package when silent installation occurs.
For obtaining the LICENSE.DAT, please contact your dealer or distributor.

Like everyone around the world I watched in dismay as the events in Japan started to unfold. For me it started with twitter, a sudden surge of tweets about an earthquake. With recent events in New Zealand with their destructive earthquake in and around Christchurch still fresh the Japan earthquake tweets caught my attention more than normal. Worse was to come with the confirmation of a tsunami, we all know what happened next.

The amateur video footage of that tsunami will live with us as a frightening reminder of how feeble mankind is in the face of mother nature. I have spent hours watching the news for updates, clinging to hope of some miracle stories of survivors yet inundated with incredible scenes of cars, boats and houses flattened, fighting the thought that yes there are people in there. Now with the rest of the world we watch as the Fukushima reactor does its best to meltdown and the brave few who battle the radiation, fire and threat of explosion. Sitting here in Sydney writing this, we really do not know how lucky we are.

All I can say is that the thoughts of the world are with our friends in Japan. Our governments are doing all they can to help but the average person in the street, what can we do? Sure there is the usual disaster funds but this time donating cash just does not feel like enough. People in Tokyo and in the North are already, i’m sure, starting to stress about food, water and fuel. Shops that are usually full of convenience are empty or running out. Fuel supplies are not getting out, petrol stations are running out, a comment I recently heard on a news bulletin was “refugees in their own country” – what an incredible thought. Cash donations in this situation are not enough. But what can we do? I have already suggested to one large corporate that I have regular dealings with that maybe a staff donation of sealed bottled water would be a good start. Food and especially water will be key for Japan in the short term, lets get some together and shipped over.

Our major supplier for Dictate Australia, Olympus Imaging, obviously has close ties with Japan with the Olympus head office located there. In recent months senior management from Olympus Japan have been in Sydney for meetings with the Olympus Imaging and voice departments. On the day of the earthquake a couple of Olympus employees from Australia were in Tokyo when the earthquake struck, an extremely frightening experience for them, they are now back in Australia. I, on behalf of Dictate Australia, have offered any help that we can practically provide to Olympus Japan, not sure what a small business like us can do but if there is anything the offer has been made. Fortunately I have heard that the Olympus staff in Japan are all safe, although I am sure that can not be said for some of their family and friends who likely lived in the tsunami and quake affected areas of the North.

Be strong Japan.  強い日本をください

You can donate to assist the people of Japan via the Australian Red Cross via the following links:

Click for the Red Cross Japan Appeal Website

Click for Red Cross Australia on Facebook

Click for Red Cross Australia on Twitter