Nuance has quickly forged their authority on the Dictate brand of voice recognition software for Mac and with their first release Dragon Dictate 2.0 they have done an excellent job. But what now for the Legal and Medical edition still stuck at MacSpeech Dictate version 1.5 and the fairly new offshoot product MacSpeech Scribe currently at version 1.1, all of which are using the older Dragon speech recognition engine and not the new one included with Dragon Dictate.
I have some theories for these products which may or may not be correct so please don’t hold me to them. These are my best guesses and have not been confirmed or denied by Nuance, just my two cents worth.
MacSpeech Scribe in my view can go in ne of two directions. It can either be discontinued and the voice to text functionality built into a later Dragon Dictate update, much like Dragon NaturallySpeaking Premium or Professional for Windows. Or Nuance will embrace this as a separate product and continue to push it as a stand alone offering for transcribing only recorded audio. I have always been torn on MacSpeech Scribe, I have never understood why you would create a separate product for transcription of digitally recorded audio but that maybe because I have been so used to the functionality from the Windows side of the fence. As MacSpeech Scribe is still fairly new I have a feeling Nuance will continue with it and we will likely see a Dragon Scribe product appear in the very near future.
So what about the Medical and Legal version of MacSpeech Dictate, are we going to see an equivalent in Dragon Dictate? My personal view is that we are likely to see a Legal version for Dragon Dictate but maybe not the Medical version. From my understanding the Legal dictionary of terms is fairly standard and so can be quite easily built into a speech recognition dictionary. Wheres Medical with its large number of specialised area of understanding would be an unwieldily dictionary to maintain and build. For the Medical side of things I think we will see a third party put their hand up and claim an exclusive partnership with Nuance to provide and support that medical crowd.
So when can we see what I have theorised about above. Dragon Scribe I would think would be very close, if it is coming, and we would likely see this before the end of the year. Dragon Dictate Legal I would also see on the same time line, especially as we now have Dragon Dictate in the wild adding a more comprehensive legal dictionary can’t be that far behind.
Of course as soon as we get wind of any new voice recognition products from Nuance for the Mac or Windows we will post the info.
We are not ones for blowing our own trumpet but this week we are feeling well and truly chuffed with ourselves. Dictate Australia have just become certified Gold Dragon NaturallySpeaking resellers, this gives us bragging rights to call ourselves experts in the leading speech recognition software for the Windows world. Having studied and passed our exams we can proudly display the Nuance Gold Certified reseller logo on our website, blog, e-mail signature and on our T-shirts, in fact I may even get it tattooed on my arm! You can throw at us any Dragon NaturallySpeaking question and we will be able to answer it (and if we can’t, we have the contacts in Nuance Australia who can).
So why do we also call ourselves experts in Mac voice recognition. Well, we have been supporters of MacSpeech Dictate since version 1.0 first appeared a couple of years ago. We have seen this product grow since version 1.0 into the advanced voice recognition product for Mac that it is nowadays. We are also beta testers for MacSpeech, so we are always up to date with what’s new and what is coming in the next version. This is very exciting for us and sometimes a little hard to keep quiet on some of the new features and functions as we see them during testing.
We often hear from people in the Dictate Australia office who say “yes but is voice recognition any good nowadays?”, this commonly comes from people who tried Dragon NaturallySpeaking in the version 6, 7 or 8 days. We too tried voice recognition in the early days and found it hard going. The reason we moved back into voice recognition software was because of MacSpeech Dictate, we could see the advances that have been made and we wanted to give it another try. Now that MacSpeech is owned by Nuance an already excellent product can only get better, and will get better very quickly.
This blog post has been written using MacSpeech Dictate.
One of the three words being used to describe the new Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 from Nuance is Smarter. By Smarter I take it to mean that the voice recognition engine can not only learn from its mistakes (DNS11 will now learn from corrections you make) but also be contextually aware. By contextually aware I mean smart enough to know the difference between to and two, or their and there and they’re, the types of basic grammar we take for granted having all been through years of schooling and listening intently in English class. I don’t recall sitting next to a Dragon speech recognition engine in class so the software really is geting smarter. In this very brief video demo from the US arm of Nuance we hear someone dictate a short sentence with plenty of contextual curve balls, as you will see the context is handled perfectly by Dragon Naturally Speaking 11.
One of the improvements with Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11, the premium voice recognition software for the Windows world, is multiple matches in text. This, in my opinion, is something I don’t know how we did without before. When correcting, formatting or editing words Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 will now highlight all relevant multiple matches. For example, if you say “underline Australia” while dictating a document, for each match of the word Australia a number will appear in a small green box. You can then “Choose” the number matching the entry you require to be underlined or you can select all.
Above is a screen shot of multiple word selection in Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11. The green boxes highlighting the number or each word matched have been slightly increased in size to make them easier to view in this blog post. Multiple match text during formatting and editing, one of the new features in version 11 of Dragon NaturallySpeaking from Nuance. Below is a video example of multi text match in use, once we get a copy of Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 in the office we will produce and Australian video of this feature, until then we have to rely on our friends from the US
As we sit twiddling our thumbs waiting for Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 to arrive in Australia we are keen for any information on the latest and greatest version from Nuance. Here are some screen shots of DNS11 to whet your appetite.
Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 HOME and PREMIUM editions can be pre-ordered from Dictate Australia, will be available in Australia early September 2010.
Barely a year goes by without a major release for Dragon NaturallySpeaking, not surprising with the huge advances in technology being made especially in the voice recognition world. The latest version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking, the leading speech recognition software in the Windows world has now ticked over from version 10.1 to version 11. With the new release comes the usual claim of faster, more accurate and easier to use: exactly what is expected of any major upgrade. Also thrown into the mix is support for Microsoft’s latest Office 2010 along with much needed improvements to the UI which has been kicking around in its existing look and feel for some time, the UI improvements should make DNS11 even easier to navigate and use.
The product names for the NaturallySpeaking family have also had a revamp, gone are the Standard, Preferred and Professional editions, now we have Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 Home (was Standard), Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 Premium (was Preferred) and Professional which remains as is. These new versions will appear in Australia towards the end of August or early September, pre-orders are being taken now by most certified Dragon resellers, including us, Dictate Australia.
I currently own an older version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking, can I upgrade to Version 11?
This depends on the version of Dragon you currently own. If you currently run Dragon NaturallySpeaking Standard then you are out of luck. But, if you own version 9, 9.5, 10 or 10.1 Preferred or Professional then yes, you can get an upgrade package to version 11.
You can upgrade from Dragon NaturallySpeaking Preferred version 9, 9.5, 10, 10.1 to Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 Premium
You can upgrade from Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional version 9, 9.5, 10, 10.1 to Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 Professional
You can upgrade from Dragon NaturallySpeaking Preferred version 9, 9.5, 10, 10.1 to Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 Professional
What digital voice recorder comes with the Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 Premium Mobile edition?
Packaged in the Premium Mobile edition is the Philips Digital Voice Tracer (DVT) 662. This is a good little recorder which is both Mac and Windows compatible. It records in either .mp3 or .wav (PCM) audio formats and has 2Gb of built in memory. The 2Gb gives you 23 hours of .mp3 recording in the highest quality recording mode and just over 6 hours of recording in the high quality PCM .wav recording mode. This recorder is excellent for recording your voice notes for Dragon NaturallySpeaking but will also be good for recording interviews and small meetings.
What is the bluetooth headset in with the Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 Premium Wireless edition?
The wireless edition comes with the Plantronics Calisto bluetooth headset. This is the over-the-ear typical bluetooth style headpiece and gives you freedom from wires whilst dictating to your PC. Plantronics are leaders in the headset world.
I use a couple of PCs, one in the office and one at home is there a multi install licence for Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11?
Yes, with Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 Premium you have the choice of a standard single install licence, two install licence and five install licence packs.
How much does the new Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 cost?
To celebrate the launch of Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 in Australia, Nuance have a promotion which lasts until the end of September. I will write a new post with the pricing post-September when the information becomes available. The initial pricing is as follows:
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:
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.
## UPDATE 2012 ##Should you buy the Dragon NaturallySpeaking DVR Edition? Blog looks at the functionality of DVR compared to other Dragon NaturallySpeaking versions. Have a read if you are considering buying the Dragon Voice Recorder Edition.
## UPDATE 2011 ## This review was initially for the LFH0660/10 – this has been replaced in Australia in 2010 by the new model LFH0617/00. The software is the same, the recorder included in the pack is different. The Dragon NaturallySpeaking DVR (Digital Voice Recorder) Edition now contains the LFH0612 Philips digital voice tracer. The below review is still relevant, the software is setup and trained the same way with the new pack.
Released mid 2009 in Australia in a joint venture between Philips Dictation and Nuance was the Philips Dragon NaturallySpeaking Voice Recorder Edition (LFH0660/10) at an incredibly cheap price of RRP AU$259.00 incl. GST. At that price it certainly makes you sit up and pay attention, after all the package contains Dragon NaturallySpeaking v10 and a very competent Philips Digital VoiceTracer 660.
Not much to say about the Philips DVT 660, a great little recorder, perfect for single speaker audio. The 660 records in MP3 format and like all recorders has multiple recording modes (tip: always use the highest quality recording mode, SHQ on the DVT 660). This is a note taker not a dictaphone so you are not able to rewind/review your audio just simply record and stop, although you can pause during recordings. The recorder has 1Gb of in-built flash memory, can be powered by two AAA batteries or by USB and can record on the highest quality audio setting for 17.5 hours. More
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