Wow I love the way this device records and the clarity of the voice on playback. My biggest gripe is that it took me awhile to figure out all the features because the unit only comes with a warranty pamphlet in 21 languages and a quick start guide that is all pictures--some of which is not all that easy to understand. Lucky I knew to connect the USB cable to the recorder and use Windows file explorer to locate the 60 page English manual. However, those who are not so savvy might have a bit more trouble.Below are the PROS and CONS that I found with the DVT1000 unit, which appears to be the lower end unit of the DVT recording devices Philips offers.
PROS
The unit is incredibly light even with 2 AAA batteries inside.
The batteries and USB cable were included.
The recording sound is INCREDIBLE. I did not notice any difference between HQ (the high quality) and PCM (highest quality) sound. Therefore, I think anything above HQ is overkill not to mention it takes up more space and because the PCM is a WAV file instead of an MP3 file, I had to download it to play it back if it were attached to an email.
With the ClearVoice feature activated the playback sound is crisp and clear. In fact my cat cried several times during one of my recordings and when I played it back I couldn't tell whether he was crying real time or if it were coming from the playback. The depth of the sound was so real that I had to step away from the playback just to tell that the meow was not real-time.
-The LED display comes in 8 languages. The languages are English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Polish, and Chinese. I'll never understand why the warranty card is in 21 languages and the user guide is in 20 languages because both items are written in more languages (like Norwegian, Croatian, Danish, etc.) than the recorder even supports. To me writing a user guide in more languages than the device supports is like putting braille on the steering wheel of a car.
There's an alarm feature available.
There's a date and time feature that all recording files get stamped with.
Besides "on-demand" recording, the unit has a voice activated recording feature (meaning the unit starts recording when it hears a voice in the background) and a timer-based recording feature. With timer-based recording, a specific date and time can be set for a recording to begin. The voice activated recording feature took a bit getting use to because I had trouble understanding when the recording was paused and when it was not.
There's an index feature so that I was able to mark specific spots in my recording that I could quickly go back to; this is very nice because large sections can be skipped over during playback.
When connecting the device to the computer via USB cable, I was able to copy, move, save, delete, and attach the MP3 or WAV file to an email to be sent or saved anywhere.
There's 2 GB internal storage but the unit can take up to a 32BG microSD card where recordings can be saved; this provides for almost unlimited recording ability. However, the settings have to be changed to record to the external card and the card must be formatted in the unit first. I did not have such a card so I could not test this feature.
The keypad can be locked.
The recorder automatically shuts down after 5 minutes. There's also an option for a 15-minute shutoff if 5 minutes is too soon.
I was able to record from several feet away while in conversation mode. There are several MIC sensitivity modes (dictation, speech to text which is optimization for speech recognition software, conversation, and lecture mode).
There are several accessories that can be purchased separately, such as the phone pick-up microphone for recording phone calls, stereo headphones, meeting microphone, etc.
There are a few other features available, such as recording files can be split if they are too large, etc., etc.
The unit also comes with a one year limited warranty.
CONS
The picture quick start card was only partially understandable to me; lucky the LED and buttons are pretty standard so that I could get started without any sort of manual.
I had to connect the device to a computer to get to the English manual. A PDF of the manual can also be found on the Philips website.
Although I could erase my recordings by using Windows File Explorer, if I created another voice folder I wasn't able to access it. The index only allowed me to cycle through folders A, B, C, and D using the index button on the recorder. From reading the manual I got the impression I could create additional folders and access them, but I could only access them in Windows Explorer and was unable to save to the directories I created or access them from the recorder itself when it wasn't attached to the computer.
I did not pick up the conversations if I was more than 12 feet away when talking normally. The manual says that the DVT3000 DVT7000 can pick up conversations from 50 feet away so I suspect because this is the DVT1000 unit that it is limited in this regard. I guess one has to sit in front of the class if recording a lecture unless the meeting microphone is purchased.
Overall, this recorder WOW'd me with its recording clarity and playback. There are many uses for this including taping lectures, taping doctor's instructions during a medical visit that one is likely to forget, emailing personalized messages to friends and family in different time zones, etc. For instance, I'm going to use this to record periodic messages to an elderly friend in Hawaii who is in a different time zone and also to record how my car sounds when starting it. I just encountered intermittent starting problems so this unit is sensitive enough to capture any odd sounds my car makes so I can play it for the mechanic who currently can find nothing wrong with my car.
The recording quality itself is 5 stars but my frustration with understanding the manual and features which was written for all the recording devices made me lower this rating to 4 stars.
UPDATE January 4, 2013 I decided to purchase Lexar microSDHC 300x 32GB UHS-I Flash Memory Card LSDMI32GBBNL300R for this recorder and it works great. What is also good is that since the Lexmar comes with a reader, I can use the external memory card in my computer to copy other files to it in addition to using it in the recorder. When using it in this recorder, I found that I still only have access to 4 voice folders of A to D. Even if I add another folder to the Voice folder that holds the A, B, C, D subfolders, I still found no other folders accessible from the recorder. I had to insert the card all the way into the slot until it was flush with the unit, then I changed the recorder to access the external memory and formatted it using the menu. (Remember formatting only has to be done once.) When that was done, I was ready to record. I could then either remove the memory card from the unit by pressing it in and then releasing quickly until it popped out and use the reader that came with the Lexmar to connect to my computer or just connect the recorder to the computer without removing the card. If I connected the recorder without removing the card, what I noticed is that two drives will be shown--one called "PHILIPS" and one called "Removable Disk" which is actually the external card. I've attached a link to my review of the memory card in the comments as Amazon does not allow links in the review itself.
UPDATE January 9, 2013 I finally got through to customer support after two attempts to find out if other folders can be created besides the four folders of A, B, C, and D. It would be great if this could be done, but they told me no. So if one wants to create folders for a particular person or a particular school class, they can't. This is their condensed response in quotes. The full response is posted in the comments section of this review. --> "There is no way to make more folders using this device. It will only recognized folders A, B , C and D folders . So im afraid you will not be able to make any more folders. Kind regards Jan"
What I like:
--The tracker is small, so you can store it anywhere and easily carry it in your pocket (smaller than most smartphones)
--You can use the USB cable to store your digital recordings on your PC (Windows, Mac and Linux OS)
--You can record plenty of content (22 days worth of stereo recording, which are kept as MP3 files)
--The device easily picks up the sound of your voice and you can adjust volume control without a problem
--You can expand the memory if you need to using a micro SD card
--You can use a Mic or Headphones with the Voice Tracer
What I don't like:
--The owner's manual and Philips website are not much help with learning the advanced features of this product
--Archiving and accessing all of your MP3 files sounds like it should be easy, but see above note. You will have to play around with this product for some time to figure out all the funtionality
--I've heard other people's take on this, so it may depend on your use, but the battery life is not great
For the price, I would shop around some. I'm no expert with these devices, but I think if Philips made the product or its supporting documentation more intuitive, I would have gotten more out of this product earlier. I had to experiment with the device's functions and got frustrated initially. There are other devices at this price range and even cheaper that seem to have more customer support in mind.
I don't regret getting the Voice Tracer, I use it a lot and would have given it a better review if it were more intuitive, but I think some comparative shopping would be advisable.
Buy Philips DVT1000/00 2 GB Digital Voice Tracer with 2 Built-In Microphones Voice Recorder Now
I've used many digital voice recorders for the past seven years as a minister, recording my sermons in bush Alaska. I've used Sony and Olympus primarily and this is my first time using a Philips. My current and primary model is an Olympus that retails for just under $150, but this DVT1000/00 for under $50 provides an excellent value.It's sound quality for digital voice recording is excellent, whether you use the stereo microphone plugin or the built-in 2 mic system.
Even if you plug in a mono microphone it works pretty well, producing some excellent, dictation quality recordings, albeit only on one side.
It doesn't look like a unit you'd want to use for making any other kinds of audio recordings. I haven't tried it for recording live music, but based on what I've seen already with the directional mics, it doesn't look like it would do to well for that... but hey, it's a "Digital Voice Tracer" and NOT a recording studio.
THE ONLY MAJOR NEGATIVE WOULD BE FOR NEWBIES.... they might find that the instructions are not for those unfamiliar with digital recording devices. Sadly, one of the things that may keep the cost low on units like this is streamlining the instructions. Unfortunately, someone just venturing out to use something like this, must attempt to figure out what some of the symbols, abbreviations and nomenclature mean. Because of this, I almost gave it four stars instead of five, but I remembered that every unit that I've purchased over the years, inexpensive or expensive, it doesn't matter: that's what you have to deal with.
For the price, I definitely recommend this unit. For dictation, sermons, preaching, public speaking, etc., it is an excellent product.
For further economy, use the MP3 recording side for this unit and edit your work using a free Audacity download. You'll produce excellent quality recordings with that combination.This is just what I wanted, something to carry with me to instantly record things I needed to remember later...something to add to my shopping list or to-do list, names, appointments, recipes, web sites to reference, and many other things that I tend to forget before I can get to a piece of paper and pen. This goes everywhere with me now. It's easy to learn how it functions and the recordings are very clear. I specifically like the fact that there are folders you can place your recordings into. I can put my shopping reminders in one folder, my to-do reminders in another, appointments and other dates in another, etc.
The size is a perfect fit for my hand, so it's easy to operate. It's lightweight and fits right in my purse. My husband has decided to buy one too and plans to carry it in his shirt pocket when he has a long drive to make or is out shopping.
Being able to transfer the recordings over to my computer is great, because then I can use my speech-to-text software to transcribe my recordings. (Reminder: That only works for the voice you trained the software to recognize. I use Dragon Naturally Speaking) There was some clever designing that went into this little recorder.
Recommendation for the manufacturer: Put your instructions and demo on You Tube. It's a great little product. Nice size recorder that does a good job picking up voices. Haven't tried it in all situations so I'm not sure how it would do in a larger room or with more noise. Buttons are convenient and overall size is perfect for carrying in a pocket, purse, etc. Fairly light. Easy to operate. Screen is large enough to get an indication of time and overall operation.
Haven't used it long enough to discuss battery life well but so far it seems to hold up OK. The sound on its speaker is a bit tinny or soft but considering that it's built more for convenience it is more than adequate. I want to compare it to my Iphone recorder and a Sony recorder used at work to determine how it stacks up so I may come back and edit this review. But for a first time and short time user it's a nice produce and affordable.
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