iDictate – Digital Voice Blog

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

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Digital voice recorders are split into two distinct types, digital dictaphones and digital notetakers, both have fairly specific uses. In this blog post I will try and explain the difference so you will know which type of voice recorder to lean towards, should you ever need to record voice. If you are still not sure please call or email and get some advice, often people buy a voice recorder without fully researching a product only to find that the recorder they buy does not have the functions they thought they wanted or needed.

Slider Switch On The Olympus DS-5000 Digital Dictaphone

So here I will try to clear up some of the confusion between the two digital voice recorder types and will attempt to explain what each is commonly used for. Generally speaking the functionality of the recorders includes:

Digital Notetaker

• Typically used to record multiple speaker audio: lectures, interviews, meetings, focus groups etc.
• Audio is usually recorded in one take or with few interruptions.
• High quality mic is required to pickup all the speakers.

Digital Dictaphone

• Typically for single speaker audio – just one person dictating.
• Typically used for recording letters or short notes.
• For people who are interupted alot during their dictation session.
• Includes rewind/review functionality emulating the old analogue tape dictaphones.

Above are just a few generalisations about to two recorder types. Here at Dictate Australia we tend to find that the digital dictaphones usually go to people who are converting from analogue tape dictaphones and are usually in the medical or legal industry. Digital dictaphones have a rewind/review function, this allows the recorder to emualte the old analogue tape systems. The rewind/review function is typically activated using a slider switch, the image to the left is the slider on the Olympus DS-5000 digital dictaphone. The user can stop and start recording at will and the key point here is that when recording is re-started they are able to “rewind” the digital audio a little, hear what was said last and then continue recording from that point onward, much like a tape. When they have completed their dictation they press a button and one distinct audio file is created. Digital dictaphones tend to utilise the DSS (Digital Speech Standard) audio format which results in very small digital audio files (.ds2 or .dss), making them easy to transfer across the internet via email.

With a digital notetaker, these are generally used to record an audio session, typically lectures, interviews, sound bites, meetings and focus groups. Although alot of people do use these for single speaker notes also. These types of voice recorders are very simple to use, press a button to start recording, press another button to stop recording. This then produces a single digital audio file. It is possible with most notetaker models to pause/resume recording however unlike the digital dictaphones you can NOT rewind/review audio and then continue recording.  Digital notetakers tend to record in more proprietry audio formats like .WMA (Windows Media Audio) as well as the more common .MP3 (MPEG-3 layer) format. Many can now also record very high quality PCM .WAV files. Because of the high quality of the audio the file sizes tend to be much larger than those produced by the dictaphones. Add this to the fact the a meeting/interiew/focus group could go on for hours the files recorded would be too large to email.

Moving large files around the internet is common practice, most good transcription companies, like The Transcription People, have their own secure webservers for client audio files. You can also use free or cheap services like Dropbox to move files around.

Digital notetakers tend to have excellent all round audio pickup as they are designed for multi speaker recording. Conversly, the digital dictaphones tend to be poor when used in meetings situations. We have seen that in the past with the Olympus DS-4000 dictaphone, when used in a one on one interview the audio pickup was very poor. Olympus have rectified this in the newer DS-5000 model which as a top of the range professional recorder can easily cope with a large number of multiple speakers aswell as being probably the best digital dictaphone around for single speaker notes and letters.