Philips DVT3000/00 2 GB Digital Voice Tracer and Recorder

Amazon.com top 1000 reviewer, Jerry P. Danzig's thorough and exceptionally helpful product review posted on December 31, 2012 leaves little that I can add for those weighing the pro's and con's before purchasing the DVT3000/00 2 GB Digital Voice Tracer and Recorder.

There are a couple points that may eliminate the frustrations like those I experienced though. First, I recommend that you visit the product homepage, select the search option, enter DVT3000/00, then select the User Manual. Note that DVT3500/00 includes instuctions for this product. I say this because in my opinion, the user instructions that comes with this device are overly simplistic with pictorial rather than verbal instructions while the on-line 60 pages user manual is a must read to get the most out of this small but sophisticated electronic device. Second, upon receipt of this machine, after removing it from the package and inserting the rechargeable batteries, I recommend that you connect the recorder to your computer's USB port 2.5 hours to charge those batteries.

I have used many recorders over the years; however, this one is unlike any I have ever experienced. After reading the on-line instructions, the pictorial instructions that came with the device finally made sense. My blood pressure returned to normal after I figured out how to turn this recorder on--duh, the batteries needed the initial charge before the intuitive menu on the device would work.

With all of its bells and whistles, it may take a while to master this recorder's unique features; however, I can see how it would be especially useful to students, medical personnel and others needing accurate notes and documentation that are easily saved, indexed and retrieved. I think you will find that the results are worth the effort.

The Philips DVT3000 has a lot to offer--stereo MP3 recording and superior, 2 GB of built in memory and a Micro SD Memory Slot for up to 32 MB cards that provide vast recording space and batteries that record up to 48 hour before they need to be recharged--and at $60 you get a lot of bang for your buck!

Enjoy!

I really wanted to like this Philips Digital Voice Recorder. I mean, it's a nice-looking unit with stereo mikes for under sixty bucks. What's not to like?

Well, I'm sorry to say that in my experience, the feature most highly touted -the automatic recording mode suggested by the Voice Tracer name -does NOT work well at all. It's like having a point-and-shoot digital camera that keeps getting the exposure or focus wrong, ruining all your pictures.

There are several problems with this feature. First and foremost, it seems to make its adjustment only once, when you first engage the recording mode. As a result, if the recorder takes a non-representative sample of the audio to be recorded, you're stuck with improper settings for the length of the recording. That means voices will either be too soft to be heard clearly, or too loud, producing audible distortion on playback.

Second, while the recorder is making the adjustment -which takes a few seconds -it doesn't record anything. This means you are going to lose a few seconds of a recording.

Let's assume, for example, that you want to record a lecture. You must begin the automatic setting procedure when someone is speaking; you can't take a sample of the quiet room. If the speaker is someone introducing the main lecturer, you will lose a few seconds of that introduction. And if the lecturer speaks at a different volume than the person introducing him or her, the recording level will be off for the remainder of the lecture.

If there is no introduction, then you will lose a few seconds of the primary lecture. In either event, you lose.

Philips would have done better to incorporate Automatic Gain Control into this recorder -a standard recording-level-setting feature which has been around for years. At least that technology works on the fly, allowing instant level adjustments according to real-time conditions.

As far as I can determine, the DVT3000 has no such feature. You can, however, turn OFF the automatic setting function, "riding gain" -setting the recording level -manually. But that's like shooting with a manual camera instead of a point-and-shoot: you have to keep monitoring the recording level, which is distracting when you would prefer to focus your attention on the conversation or lecture being recorded.

So I have deducted a full two stars for this IMO fatal flaw.

Otherwise, the recorder works well if you set the recording level manually. You can also make adjustments allowing for your distance from the speaker being recorded -up to 50 feet away.

Other features include a wind filter, noise reduction to help eliminate background noise, timer and voice-activated recording, an alarm clock or appointment reminder function, WMA and MP3 music playback and equalization, and more.

The recorder offers a number of sampling rates, from PCM with no compression enabling 6 hours of recording, to LP that runs up to 1,140 hours. Unfortunately the instructions don't give the frequency responses of these various "speeds", just the sampling rates, from 44.1kHz for PCM to 16kHz for LP.

You can also plug in a microSD card for more recording capacity.

Two NiMH rechargeable AAA batteries are included (which can be charged in the recorder from your computer using the short USB cable provided), enabling battery life of up to 42 hours of recording using the internal memory or 16 hours using a memory card.

But the long and short of it is -if you are looking for a full-featured yet easy-to-use "point and record" digital voice recorder, I have concluded that this Philips Voice Tracer will NOT suit your needs.

PROS:

* Attractive design.

* Good value for the money.

* Stereo mikes built in.

* Ample built-in memory storage.

* Sufficient battery life.

* Rechargeable NiMH batteries included.

* Many useful features.

CONS:

* Automatic recording setting feature does NOT assure a good recording.

* NO automatic gain control to compensate for real-time conditions.

* Poor quality built-in speaker.

UPDATE: I just discovered today that the distortion I have been hearing may have been caused in large part by the not-so-great speaker in the recorder, not by the recording level being set incorrectly!

Today I had the opportunity to record a conversation with a young lady instructing me in a reporting procedure. I turned OFF the auto-level feature and instead set the recorder's sensitivity for "Conversation". When I listened to the recording later using the recorder's built-in speaker, distortion was quite prominent, and the recording levels often seemed to be "pegging the needles" as we used to say -maxing out. I feared the recording would prove unintelligible, until I transferred the audio file to my computer and ran it through my laptop's audio program and speakers. Ah -now I heard NO distortion.

So it is possible -I haven't yet had a chance to confirm this -that the auto-level-setting may work better than I had experienced (although it still interrupts the beginning of a recording, a real nuisance). What's more, the instruction manual says nothing about the recorder having "Automatic Gain Control" -real-time ongoing level calibration -so again I have my doubts about the true efficacy of the ALS feature. And clearly the recorder's built-in speaker is not up to the task of playing back an intelligible conversation at a reasonable volume.

Therefore I still feel that this Philips has some drawbacks that prevent me from giving it a double-thumbs-up.

Buy Philips DVT3000/00 2 GB Digital Voice Tracer and Recorder Now

I've wanted a portable recording device for some time now as it occurred to me that being able to speak impressions into a mic was a lot faster and more practical than attempting to dig for a pen and pencil, especially if one is trying to track their dreams (much less invasive when drowsy). The Philips DVT3000/00 2 GB Digital Voice Tracer and Recorder (whew!) fits the bill nicely. 2 GB is plenty of storage for my purposes and the unit is compact and lightweight enough that it's easy to tote unobtrusively yet large enough to find if I'm sleepily groping. Playback quality is excellent and the display is quite easy to read. Unlike the cheapskates at Panasonic, Philips is considerate enough to include batteries; my only complaint is that there's not much in the way of hard-copy documentation (a truly deplorable state of affairs in general of late). Other than that, I'm quite happy with it.

These digital recorders are a vast improvement over their cassette-recording predecessors, even if they're somewhat larger. But hey, cellular phones have gotten larger over the last few years as well--a big improvement over the tiny little gadgets that we thought were such hot stuff. My needs are light, so I'm hoping my recorder will last for some time. I'll update periodically.

Read Best Reviews of Philips DVT3000/00 2 GB Digital Voice Tracer and Recorder Here

This unit is light-weight with easy-to-use controls and functionality. Digitally record individual MP3 sound bytes which you can download and save, or edit, on your computer. This unit has and AutoAdjust recording feature which helps adjust the sound parameters automatically to the recording environment. As a result, the sound quality is excellent and the portability of this little device makes it an excellent choice.

Approximate dimensions are: 4.5" x 1.75" x .75"

Weight (with batteries) is: 2.2" oz.

Approx. 1" x 1" digital display

There is a spot where you can insert a micro SD card for expandable memory.

A few things worth noting:

-The batteries which come with this device will need to be inserted into the device and then charged before using.

-This unit has a fold out stand on the backside so you can position it towards the source of sound you wish to record.

-There are a number of optional accessories which you may also purchase for use with this device: Telephone Pickup, Plug-in Microphone, Tie-clip Microphone, Transcription set.

-Recordings are stored by date and time so you can easily find the sound byte you are looking for. Digital display allows you to search for a particular recording by date and time.

-Fast forward, pause and rewind buttons help you navigate through your recordings. An erase button lets you delete a file directly from the device (two second hold followed by confirm delete on separate button to ensure you won't accidentally delete a file).

-2GB built in memory. (Additional memory available by adding SD Card.)

It would be hard to beat this recording device for features, quality and price.

Want Philips DVT3000/00 2 GB Digital Voice Tracer and Recorder Discount?

Summary: This handheld recorder is complicated, but if you're willing to spend some time downloading and reading the manual, it does a lot of things and does them well. Recommended for recording class notes, music practice, or similar uses, especially if you plan to transfer your recordings to a computer.

This is a lot of recorder for a reasonable price. The built-in mike doesn't do stereo, of course, but includes features such as "zoom" or external noise reduction. I didn't notice a huge change, but I will keep playing with it and see. You can also plug in an external stereo mike if you want to do stereo recordings.

There are a ton of features, including on-unit editing, the ability to record .wav or mp3 files, to play files downloaded from your computer, and transferring files to the computer is a simple matter of plugging the unit in to your usb port and mounting it as a drive. (In a somewhat shiftier feature, you can enable "quiet mode" recording, which will allow you to record without the unit appearing to be on.)

I also appreciate the DVT3000's flexibility. It will take microSD cards of up to 32 MB to expand its 2 GB of built in memory, and it comes with two rechargeable AAA batteries, which is the best of all worlds battery-wise. The recorder can recharge its own batteries, but it's also easy to pack spares in case the existing batteries start running low.

The only real down side is that the recorder is pretty complicated, and that you need to download the manual from the Philips site to really get the most out of it. Assuming that doesn't scare you, highly recommended.

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