iDictate – Digital Voice Blog

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years of use to replace their digital note taker or dictaphone only to find that their old model voice recorder has been replaced by a newer model.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. More

The legal and medical industries have to be one of the biggest demographics for the use of voice recording technology and they have been for years. Doctors and consultants use dictaphones to dictate medical patient notes and letters. Lawyers use voice recorders to dictate legal case notes.

Traditionally your standard medical or legal practice would consist of an analogue tape dictaphone used by the person dictating. They would record their dictation on tapes which are then handed to the typing pool for the transcriptionists to transcribe using a tape transcription machine, foot pedal and headset. Not much has changed now that things are digital. The dictator still requires a device to dictate into, the typist still requires audio to listen to and transcribe. The fundamental difference is we now use digital recordings instead of taped recordings for dictation and transcription and our computers to act as the transcription kit.

How are digital dictaphones better than tape dictaphones? More

Download sample .dss and .ds2 audio files at the end of this blog post …

#UPDATE# As of Express Scribe version 5.30+, the Windows version can now 

play .ds2 files from Olympus and Philips - click here for more details

This is a hot topic in the transcription world currently. The new DSS Pro (.ds2) audio format now in use by default on all the Olympus digital dictaphones: DS-2400, DS-3400, DS-5000 and DS-5000iD. It is a hot topic for a couple of reasons, often a transcriber can not play the new .ds2 audio files because:

1. Transcriptionist has an older Olympus transcription kit (AS-2300 or AS-4000)
2. Transcriptionist uses free Express Scribe software

There are a number of ways to get around this glitch and the options depend on what you have already and what operating system you use. I will try to cover all possible solutions, if I miss one please let me know and I will update this post. What I will say right from the outset is that these solutions are work arounds for typists who choose not to stay up-to-date with the latest software. By purchasing an Olympus AS-5000 transcription kit (or just the DSS Player Pro transcription module software AS-5002 if you already own an RS-28 Olympus foot pedal) all these issues will go away. The latest DSS Player Pro transcription module is fully compatible with the DSS Pro (.ds2) audio files.

So let me try and cover all options for those who do not have the latest DSS Player Pro transcription module. More

Olympus Voice Australia have completed their revamp of the digital dictaphone voice recorder range by today announcing the launch of the new Windows and Mac compatible Olympus DS-2400. This sees the demise of the last hanger on in their digital dictaphone line, the DS-2300 which is now now longer available in Australia.

Unusually the DS-2400 is not black, like the other two digital dictaphones released earlier this year (the DS-5000 and DS-3400) but is does support the new DSS Pro digital audio format (which creates .ds2 audio files) which Olympus are going for in a big way.

The Olympus DS-2400 is the cheapest in the digital dictaphone range so you lose the snazzy cradle and the battery life needs to be monitored and maintained by the user. But the for people converting from analogue tape dictaphones or replacing an ageing DS-2300 you will be very happy with the DS-2400.

Rewind and review of your notes is simple using the metal rocker switch on the side. Audio can also be inserted and edited on the recorder itself. Please note though that the DS-2400 only records in .ds2 audio format. This is fine if your in house typist has an AS-2400 (not yet available in Australia) or AS-5000 transcription kit or if you outsource your transcription to one of Australia’s larger transcription businesses like our sister company The Transcription People. However smaller transcription services may have issues with the .ds2 audio format so check with them first. It is NOT possible to convert the DSS Pro (.ds2) audio to DSS Classic (.dss) files using the included DSS Player Standard (Windows) and DSS Player (Mac) for the DS-2400. The convert .ds2 to .dss and/or .wma feature is only available with the dictation module that comes with the DS-3300 and DS-5000 models.  To be honest the last thing you should be doing is converting your audio files before your send them away for transcription.

For people who are looking to replace an older DS-2300 digital voice recorder with a DS-2400 and who already have an AS-2300 transcription kit in the office all is not lost. The software with the DS-2400 will allow you to upgrade one AS-2300 kit to an AS-2400 kit for free, keeping your transcription kit compatible with older recorders and the new DS-2400. There are a couple of very important steps while doing this, please email us for advice if you plan to do this: sales@dictate.com.au

Click here for the Olympus FAQ page for the DS-2400