My wife had a nice little voice recorder that she used to record lectures when she would attend classes. It served her pretty well for quite a few years, but it has nothing on this little device. First and foremost, the device can record up to almost 2 days with the internal memory. The time it gives is literally something over 46 hours at default quality. If by some chance you need more, you can easily upgraded with a cheap micro-SD card to expand up to 32 gigs. I haven't left it running for that long straight, but I can tell the battery life on 2 AAA batteries is quite good. I've been using it off and on for a week and I'm still on full bars.The recorder is extremely lightweight. You can put it in a shirt pocket and it's not like you'll forget it's there, but it won't be so heavy it's irritating. Set to "lecture mode" it can record a meeting pretty well even from inside an open shirt pocket, but please check applicable laws or you could be guilty of wiretapping if people don't know you're recording; I'm not joking. The display is crisp and clean and I had no trouble making out the info on the screen. Volume is extremely easy to control. The menu items are quite easy to get to. I'll get into features more in a moment, but if you're like me you're most interested in the advertised automated conversion of recordings to text.
One of the selling points for the device is that it can use Dragon NaturallySpeaking, which is one of the premier voice-recognition software programs out there, to transcribe the recordings you've made into a text file or word document. Something you should know about Dragon, even though it's probably the best software out-of-the-box, it is nowhere near perfect. The full version of Dragon is usually over $100, so don't expect to be getting full program along with this device. What you will be getting is simply the transcription module. I'm dictating this entire review using the full version of Dragon 11 and I have to make frequent corrections to make sure it doesn't interpret my speech as something odd. In order to show you what you can expect from transcription using the recorder I did the next portion of the review entirely using the recorder and then transcribing it with Dragon. I spoke slowly and clearly, but made no edits of any kind to what you see below. It should give you an idea how to set your expectations.
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The portion of the review about the voice recognition software on the computer I thought it be a good idea to let the voice recognition software write this part of the review so I'm running it through the recorder and him and ran it into the computer and we will be seeing here is exactly how it comes out of Dragon just a note Dragon 11 is the one that comes along with this record it's a stripped-down version of Dragon 11 which only does the recognition portion if you want to paint the hundred or hundred and $50 price you can get one that does the actual text-to-speech on the computer where you can talk and you do not have recorder of some kind that into it they also have Dragon 12 which is out now it's more or less the same program and schedule little bit more to it as usually get with an upgrade overall it's a 11 is just fine for anything you need
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As you can see, it leaves a bit to be desired, however this is a failing of Dragon not the recorder. I do not say this to be critical of Dragon, but just to be realistic. Converting anybody's random voice is into text is one of the toughest tasks that you can ask of a program. The fact it gets as close as it does is pretty amazing. Just don't expect perfection. If you wanted to record using some of Dragon's commands, you should be able to add punctuation, line spacing, etc. when it outputs to text.
Here are some of the specs I promised about the recorder.
* Stereo recording in MP3 format for excellent sound quality
* Zoom microphone feature for recording at distances of up to 15 meters / 50 feet
* ClearVoice for clear and natural reproduction of speech
* Voice-activated recording mode without pressing buttons (hands-free operation)
* Pre-recording feature, to avoid missing a single word
* Recording and power supply via a USB port for unlimited recordings
* Slot for microSD card for extra storage
* Highlight important parts of your recording using index marks
Organizing your recordings is usually one of the biggest problems you have with a device like this. The more you can record, the harder it is to find your recordings later. The Voice Tracer gives you several folders you can store things into that helps. One neat feature, when you're changing the various folders with the index the beep is different for each folder. It makes it easier to figure out what you're doing without looking so closely. You can also attach a normal computer headset (two jacks, not USB) to it or use an external microphone if you have a better than the one built in; both take standard 3.5mm jacks like a MP3 player uses not the 2.5mm jack many cellphone headsets use. Sorry, virtually no chance of using any cellphone headset with the recorder.
The recorder comes with minimal documentation included in the package. I've read that there's a manual included internally, but I formatted before I saw it. However, the Philips website makes it very easy to get a copy from there as well as a new firmware update. The update I did right after I received it was less than a 4 MB download, though you'll need over 50 MB free on the recorder. What you do, if you want to skip the instructions, is just get the file from their site, plug in the recorder, extract the file to the root directory (i.e. not inside any folders on the device) and then unplug it from the computer. Maybe takes a couple of minutes total and you get a few minor bug fixes, though nothing major stood out. In general, if you have a phone, mp3 player, router, etc. and it's working fine and the firmware doesn't promise some benefit you need, then I advise against updates. They often introduce slow down or more problems than they fix. Users of iPhones may know what I'm talking about. I had zero problems performing the update or using the recorder afterwards, but also noticed no benefit either.
I only have minimal complaints about this product. The first is that when you press the play button after you just recorded something you'll only play the last 2 seconds of recording. You'll have to press the back button to go to the beginning of the recording and then press play. The other minor annoyance is that the cord that comes with the device is extremely short. It's less than 6 inches long. It can make it very hard to attach the recorder to a desktop USB port. However the cord seems to be a standard micro USB cord so you should be able to replace it with something longer easily enough. That's the same type of connection the Kindle third-generation with keyboard uses. Possibly all the Kindles, I don't know beyond that particular model.
I really love this little device. I think it will be great use to me in my job and allow me to take better notes. Highly recommend.
Update 02/13/13
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I got to test out how long the batteries last this week. I recorded in the neighborhood of 11 hours and the indicator showed 2 of 4 bars remaining. I don't know how much of bar two was actually left, but a single set of batteries should easily get you through an all day meeting/class. You can record indefinitely if you leave it plugged into your laptop via USB cord. Just plug it into the computer and it goes into USB mode, then turn on the power switch like you'd normally do and it runs off the computer's power. You can even use it that way without batteries. Very cool.
I spent several hours going over the manual online and working with the device and still found it difficult to figure out. I did not feel the online directions were very clear and I think directions should have been included with the device.
On the positive side it is lightweight and the recording sounds crisp and clear. But it will be more hours before I can figure out how to get it to work online to transcribe my words and how to make files etc. I really think it could be more user friendly. Having used a recorder for focus groups, I looked forward to the Philips DVT1500/00 2 GB Digital Voice Tracer, using Dragon Naturally Speaking. What I overlooked was the fact that the device's limitations are such that, the only voice it will (usually) accurately record and transcribe is your own. It will record all that it hears but, it must be trained to your voice and speech pattern to be able to transcribe. So, don't expect it to transcribe the voices of others.
Opening the package and expecting to immediately use it won't happen. You must read the manual (very tiny print) and would probably profit from downloading a more readable version. You must read aloud (into the mic) the text provided (for best adaptation to your voice)any number of times. Reading aloud other text also will help the device to acclimate to your voice and speech patterns. Start-up training can go beyond an hour or more. The more time you invest in this initial period, the greater the accuracy in transcription. Like many things in life, the more you put into something, the more you get out of it. I am frankly amazed by this little recorder. I'm still learning. It's well worth your time to read the manual and you really must to properly accesss the myriad features available. But it's intuitive enough that you should be able to do straight voice recording and playback right out of the package (but read the manual!). This device has so many features it's hard to describe briefly . . . .
Huge 2GB of internal memory (literally days of recording time). Plug in inexpensive microSD card for another 32GB!
Excellent clear voice recording including a zoom mic feature to target the recorded source at extra range. Equally clear playback. Stereo recording capable.
Voice recognition voice-to-text capable using the Dragon NaturallySpeaking program. Not perfect and no punctuation, but is an advanced technology and certainly acceptable to provide an editable text to work off of.
Compact (enough) and remarkably lightweight.
Great battery life on 2 AAA cells . . . DAYS of record time, to match the internal memory capacity. And I really prefer these common inexpensive AAA sources, as compared to rechargables and the associated short-life, difficult/expensive replacement, and the recharging inconveniences. Can also be powered via USB.
Speaking of USB hookup . . . there is direct online support from Philips, including online updates and user info (recommended).
Voice activated capable, hands free, including a pre-record feature to avoid missing first words.
Super little unit. As part of my participation in the Amazon Vines program I received this product for review.
I already have Dragon 11.5 installed on my PC (will soon be upgrading to 12) and did not need to install the included software. My Windows 7 desktop recognized and installed the drivers for the Phillips recorder with no problem. Dragon imported the audio files and brought them up in Dragonpad. As I worked with it, the transcription quality got a bit better as the software got used to my voice. The intitial ones need quite a bit of editing before it was usable.
As an author, I've found that I'm better when working with the Dragon software on my computer rather than dictating and uploading it to the software. The voice recorder does work well if I am trying to do a scene with lots of dialogue where I can simulate the conversation between the characters. I will continue to work with the product and become more adept at dictation/transcription.
If you are good at dictation or want to become better at it, this is a solid product to work with.
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