Archive for the ‘Voice Recognition Software’ Category
Sunday, February 14th, 2010
MacSpeech Scribe just released by MacSpeech lets Mac users record their voice to a digital voice recorder and then have MacSpeech Scribe transcribe it for them. The only certified digital recording devices for MacSpeech Scribe are the iPhone, iPod Touch (2G+ plus a mic) and some of the Olympus digital voice recorders.
Two of the Olympus digital voice recorders certified for use with MacSpeech Scribe are the Olympus DS-3400 and DS-5000, both from the Professional series of digital dictaphones from Olympus, these are serious digital dictaphones. They both come with DSS Player Version 7 Plus for Mac which simplifies the task of getting the audio off the recorder. The software lets you also setup users on the recorder, set noise cancelation levels, playback and edit your recorded dictation and direct record using your digital dictaphone as a high quality mic.
Out of the box both the DS-3400 and DS-5000 will record in DSS Pro digital audio format, these files have a suffix of .ds2 – files of this format can not be loaded into MacSpeech Scribe so some file conversion needs to take place, this is where DSS Player Version 7 Plus can help. On a Mac it is not possible to set the DS-3400/DS-5000 to record in .aif format by default.
For file conversion you have two options. 1. you can manually convert each file 2. you can set DSS Player Plus to automatically convert audio every time your DS-3400/DS-5000 is connected. Both are very simple:
Manually Convert DS-3400/DS-5000 Audio To .aif Format
To manually convert .ds2 audio files to .aif on a Mac using DSS Player Version 7 Plus simply right-click on the .ds2 file you want to convert and select Convert to AIFF File, your converted file will be placed in the same download folder tray as the original file. If you want to save the .aif file to an alternative location simply highlight the audio file to be converted and click the Convert to AIFF File icon 
.
Automatically Convert DS-3400/DS-5000 Audio When The Recorder Is Docked
If you prefer to convert every audio file during download to your Mac when your digital dictaphone is connected then open the DSS Player Preferences and click the Download tab. Here you can tick “Convert to AIFF file during download” which will have the desired affect. Your .aif files will appear in the download tray folder configured and are then ready to be loaded into MacSpeech Scribe.
Posted in DS-3400, DS-5000 & DS-5000iD, Digital Dictation & Transcription, MacSpeech Scribe, Olympus, Software, Voice Recognition Software | No Comments »
Sunday, February 14th, 2010
At the recent MacWorld 2010 Expo in San Francisco, the place for companies developing technologies for the Apple Mac and iPhone to show off their ideas, MacSpeech announced the launch of their new software product MacSpeech Scribe.
MacSpeech Scribe will do what alot of existing MacSpeech Dictate customers have been asking for, transcribe from a digital recording of their voice. Now you no longer have to be in front of your MacBook or iMac to dictate audio to be transcribed. Using one of the certified MacSpeech Scribe digital voice recorders you can record your thoughts anywhere. Then at a time convenient to you have MacSpeech Scribe transcribe the audio for you.
This is similar concept to the Philips LFH0667 (formerly LFH0660/10) which was a cut down version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 for Windows which would only take audio from a digital recording.
MacSpeech Scribe is a stand alone product and is not an add-on to MacSpeech Dictate. If you already own MacSpeech Dictate and have created and trained a profile for your voice that profile can not be imported into MacSpeech Scribe, you will have to start from scratch with a new MacSpeech Scribe profile.
Only a small number of digital voice recorders have been certified by MacSpeech to work with MacSpeech Scribe. These are the iPhone, iPod Touch (2nd Gen up with a mic) and a few Olympus digital voice recorders. Of the Olympus recorders on the certified list only the DS-3400 and DS-5000 are currently available in Australia. MacSpeech Scribe can take audio in .aif, .aiff, .mp4, .m4a, .m4v and .wav format so in theory a huge number of other voice recorders will be compatible (although not certified). Remember, its all about the audio quality, so just because the $20 USB recorder you bought off eBay records in one of the supported audio formats the quality of that recording may leave you disappointed – stick with Olympus and you won’t go wrong.
MacSpeech Scribe is available now for download from the MacSpeech Australia store for $199. We hope to have a copy in the next few days and will blog a review of the setup, training and performance.
Posted in Digital Dictation & Transcription, MacSpeech Scribe, Software, Voice Recognition Software | 4 Comments »
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009
So, this year has been a big one for Olympus voice with a revamp of all their digital recorder range. Not content with being left behind Philips had a go back in April when they rolled out, finally, Mac compatible note takers with the DVT (Digital Voice Tracer) range comprising of the 660/860/880 models. This week Philips have done a rejig in this range and discontinued the young 660/860/880 recorders and replaced them with new model numbers although essentially they are the previous recorders upgraded. Philips have also added some innovative voice recorder packages, like a set aimed at reporters and a set aimed at writers who might want to attempt their own transcription.
So what has been discontinued and what are their replacement models:
- Philips DVT LFH0660 discontinued, replaced by DVT LFH0662 (2GB – RRP AU$189)
- Philips DVT LFH0860 discontinued, replaced by DVT LFH0862 (4GB – RRP AU$249)
- Philips DVT LFH0880 discontinued, replaced by DVT LFH0882 (4GB – RRP AU$279)
- Philips DVR DragonNaturallySpeaking Voice Recorder Edition LFH-660/10 discontinued, replaced by LFH0667 (RRP AU$259)
A common change across the range is an increase in memory, that makes sense with solid state memory continuing to grow in size and drop in price. Also added to all recorders are a visual record level indicator and the USB connection, as well as powering the unit, will now also charge a rechargeable battery.
Other notable changes include uncompressed PCM recording now available on the LFH0662. High Sensitivity mic added to the LFH0862 and LFH0882 with the new “Zoom” function.
As mentioned another innovative thing Philips have done is create some Digital Voice Tracer combination packs, new packs are:
- LFH0868 (RRP AU$279) – 862 Digital Voice Tracer with docking station.
- LFH0888 (RRP AU$339) – 882 Digital Voice Tracer with docking station.
- LFH0867 (RRP AU$369) – Writers Set. 862 Digital Voice Tracer with the media player USB hand control (LFH2370/00) which allows audio control with yours thumbs.
- LFH0885 (RRP AU$369) – Reporters Set. 882 Digital Voice Tracer with stereo lapel mic.
- LFH0895 (RRP AU$749) – Compact Meeting Recorder. I like this one, 882 Digital Voice Tracer with two of the best looking and good quality boundary mics available.
Expect to see these new models appearing around Australia from October.
Posted in Digital Dictation & Transcription, Digital Voice Recorders, Digital Voice Tracer, Dragon NaturallySpeaking, Philips, Voice Recognition Software | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 15th, 2009
MacSpeech Inc, the creators of MacSpeech Dictate voice recognition software for Mac powered by the Dragon speech recognition engine, today announced out of their headquarters in the US a new product in the MacSpeech Dictate range: MacSpeech Dictate International. The International version will ship with voice support for four languages, English (UK and US), French, Italian and German.
The surprise exclusion from the three new supported European languages (French, Italian and German) was Spanish, especially as the customer base for Spanish speakers would be huge. In their press release MacSpeech 
have acknowledged Spanish speakers, Andrew Taylor head of MacSpeech said “ .. we did not forget those who speak Spanish; when there is applicable news, rest assured we will announce it.” so read into that what you will, coming in the near future I would guess.
MacSpeech Dictate International is available now for purchase in the US and it is expected into Australia in a couple of weeks. It will be available as a stand alone package or for people who already own MacSpeech Dictate v1.5+ a cross grade licence will be available. For Australian English speakers you should still be looking at the standard MacSpeech Dictate v1.5+ version currently available as International will not support Australian English.
Click here for the full MacSpeech International press release.
Posted in Digital Dictation & Transcription, MacSpeech Dictate International, Software, Voice Recognition Software | No Comments »
