Digital voice recorder that works with the Mac

>There are a lot of digital voice recorders out there with USB
>interfaces, but I am having a hard time finding ones that have
>software and/or drivers that allow you to ingest these files into a
>Mac. I am hoping that TidBITS Talk readers can make some (urgently
>needed) recommendations on student-grade (not professional-grade)
>digital voice recorder products that are Mac friendly.

I'm very happy with the xtrememac micromemo.

Looks great too.

<http://www.xtrememac.com/audio/earphones_recorders/micromemo_nano_2g/index.php>

On or about 1/1/08 8:22 AM, thus spake Steve Davidson:

> There are a lot of digital voice recorders out there with USB
> interfaces, but I am having a hard time finding ones that have
> software and/or drivers that allow you to ingest these files into a
> Mac.

The Zoom H2 works fine. But you don't need "software and/or drivers"; just
pop out the standard SD card from the device and pop it into a USB SD card
reader ($7 at Fry's). In the same way, I never connect my digital camera to
my computer: I let the SD card do the walking. m.

I purchased an Olympus DS2 for work and have been very pleased. It is reasonably priced, yet works extremely well.

It comes with Mac-compatible software.

---Tim Archer

>There are a lot of digital voice recorders out there with USB
>interfaces, but I am having a hard time finding ones that have
>software and/or drivers that allow you to ingest these files into a
>Mac. I am hoping that TidBITS Talk readers can make some (urgently
>needed) recommendations on student-grade (not professional-grade)
>digital voice recorder products that are Mac friendly.

I've post this before and it remains my answer today: Use an iPod.

Most iPods can record audio in, given the right attachment. I use
this when I am doing interviews for my various projects. There are
two basic types, one for 3G & 4G iPods and a newer set of models for
5G (video) and iPod Classic models. The ones that work with recent
iPod models also works with 2G & 3G Nanos.

Unfortunately, the mini and the first generation of the nano (i.e.
the ones with the plastic case) cannot record. Shuffle cannot
record, either.

Belkin has a line called TuneTalk. XtremeMac has MicroMemo. Griffin
has iTalk. Make sure that you get the right one for the student's
iPod. (Surely, every student in the world has an iPod by now, right?)

For less than $20, you can get a micromemo.
<http://www.geekbro.com/index.cfm/hurl/page=product/itemid=721518?source=GoogleBase>

If you have a 2G nano (the previous model), you can even get one
sized for that particular model for like $15.00.
<http://www.espotdeals.com/Shop/Control/Product/fp/SFV/31824/vpid/4401904/vpcsid/0/rid/123267>


--
=Alex Hoffman
Leadership, Policy & Politics
Teachers College, Columbia University

On 1/2/2008 1:48 AM, "Alexander Hoffman" wrote:
>> There are a lot of digital voice recorders out there with USB
>> interfaces, but I am having a hard time finding ones that have
>> software and/or drivers that allow you to ingest these files into a
>> Mac. I am hoping that TidBITS Talk readers can make some (urgently
>> needed) recommendations on student-grade (not professional-grade)
>> digital voice recorder products that are Mac friendly.
>
> I've post this before and it remains my answer today: Use an iPod.
>
> Most iPods can record audio in, given the right attachment. I use
> this when I am doing interviews for my various projects. There are
> two basic types, one for 3G & 4G iPods and a newer set of models for
> 5G (video) and iPod Classic models. The ones that work with recent
> iPod models also works with 2G & 3G Nanos.

That's a good recommendation assuming you're either recording for short
times or you have an external power supply. Unfortunately, in my testing,
recording audio to an iPod sucks the iPod's battery very quickly, especially
if you're using a hard-drive-based iPod. My wife regularly records long
interviews, or series of short interviews, and an iPod hasn't been workable
for her.

After researching a few compact recorders, I bought her the Olympus WS-300M
($75) for Christmas. We haven't tested it yet, but it claims to record up to
68 hours of speech on its internal memory and records for 15 hours per
charge. It's Mac-compatible -- you just connect it to a USB port and copy
the audio files over -- although with one hitch: it records to WMA, so
you'll need something like EasyWMA to batch-convert the WMA files after
copying them to your Mac.

<http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BJ1UAE/>
<http://www.easywma.com/>

Whichever route you go -- iPod or dedicated recorder -- check out Transcriva
for transcribing the audio files.

<http://www.bartastechnologies.com/products/transcriva/>

At 4:30 AM -0800 1/3/08, Dan Frakes wrote:
> > Most iPods can record audio in, given the right attachment. I use
>> this when I am doing interviews for my various projects. There are
>> two basic types, one for 3G & 4G iPods and a newer set of models for
>> 5G (video) and iPod Classic models. The ones that work with recent
>> iPod models also works with 2G & 3G Nanos.
>
>That's a good recommendation assuming you're either recording for short
>times or you have an external power supply. Unfortunately, in my testing,
>recording audio to an iPod sucks the iPod's battery very quickly, especially
>if you're using a hard-drive-based iPod. My wife regularly records long
>interviews, or series of short interviews, and an iPod hasn't been workable
>for her.

Current iPods can record in both a high quality and a lower quality setting.

The higher quality setting sucks power much more quickly, and the
lower quality setting is more than adequate for spoken voices, as in
an interview. I've gotten at least 5 hours without charging.

However, if this is an important consideration for you, Belkin's
TuneTalk Stereo has a USB port. Obviously, any third party USB power
extender could then be added, when needed. (e.g.
<http://www.apc.com/products/family/index.cfm?id=314>)

--
=Alex Hoffman
Leadership, Policy & Politics
Teachers College, Columbia University

I purchased the Olympus 310M - 512 MB at Amazon awhile back for around
$99.00. It uses 1 AAA battery. I use QuickTime pro to import/export into
various formats that play in iTunes.

I love it now that I've scotch taped the battery cover to the unit.

EasyWMA looks like it may be faster and result in smaller files, thanks.

karen

I recommend the Olympus DS-30, 40 or 50. They cost a bit more, but the quality is *very* good compared to other digital voice recorders that I have tested. I also recommend the Olympus ME-15 microphone if you want a tie-clip mic. (The Sony ECM-C10 has the same excellent sound quality, with *far* superior design, but it is discontinued. If you can find it, buy it.)

Again, it records in WMA, but that can be overcome as explained above. Or, I use the Flip4Mac Quicktime plugin for free, easy listening to the files. For my needs, I don't require conversion at all.

As for access, just plug the USB cable into your computer and it shows up like a flash drive. Easy as cake.

Just a reminder that many digital cameras have integrated audio recording functions, so you may already have a voice recorder and not know it. For example, I find that my Casio EXILIM EX-Z50 has a perfectly adequate voice recorder in it. Records to mono WAV (lo rez, so compact), and is good for hours of continuous recording. Just pop the SD card into a reader for transfer (iPhoto will not import audio-only recordings).

Read your reply about the a Digital voice recorder that works with the Mac. Do you know of any other DR's (compatible w/ mac) which less pricey?

The idea of using digital camera is an excellent one. I have myself been on the search for a digital voice recorder for use with my MacBook, but the options are pretty much limited: its either expensive upscale recorders like Zoom or cheaper - but risky - options like XtremeMac's MicroMemo...(have you noticed all the latest reviews on the apple site about the MicroMemo are all pretty much negative?)

And then I realized that my Casio Exilim S770 has pretty excellent voice recording functions. All I need to do is use a high capacity SD card....2GB works just fine. I then use Flip4Mac to use the audio files. Flip4Mac handles WAV and WMV files very well.

Great idea, Fred128!