Philips Voice Tracer DVT5000 Digital Recorder is one handy versatile gadget.
If recording is a passion or at least a necessity, this lightweight device does an ok job recording voice, music, and even the FM radio.
The packaging Philips uses is all plastic, something I'm not fond of, especially plastic that is labeled as PET for recycling (PET is not recyclable in most areas). Maybe in the future Philips might make a package out of cardboard with an easily recyclable pulp tray. I also found the plastic package hard to open, and hard to get the recorder out of the tiny plastic tray it came in. Another problem I increasingly have with Philips is their highly confusing Quick Start Guides. Lately, Philips has been making one guide for worldwide use, just using Hieroglyphic like diagrams instead of writing guides for various international regions. For this device, these diagrams are difficult to decipher and Philips should really evaluate whether ordinary people understand them. Luckily, there is a full user manual included as a PDF file on the device to help. In order to see it though, you must connect the Voice Tracer DVT5000 to a computer using the shortest mini USB to USB cable I've ever seen, then navigate to the "Manual" folder. The recorder comes with rechargeable batteries that charge off of the USB, but can also be plugged in to an AC outlet using a mobile phone USB adapter (or any other) which is not included. The batteries seem to last quite a while between charging. Philips claims 42 hours in the manual, and if for some reason you forgot to charge the batteries, standard alkaline AAA's can be used in their place. Phillips also includes a set of standard earbuds, with multiple tips for maximum comfort, as well as a neoprene carry/ storage case.
Functionally, the Philips Voice Tracer DVT5000 is great. It feels good in your hand, The buttons are within thumb's reach, and the display is bright and fairly intuitive. There is an LED at the top in the center that changes color depending on the mode it is in such as red for record, green for playback, and yellow for data transfer, when hooked up to a computer. Unfortunately I find that the backlight on the display does not stay on long enough, and there is no way adjust this in the menu settings, the only other adjustment was to turn it off all together. The display is very informative. During recording or playback there are level meters that move to the recorded sound, while a bar moves across the bottom indicating the amount of space left on the device while recording, and the amount of time remaining of a track during playback. This is quite similar to what you would see on any media player like an ipod or on a computer. There is 4 GB of internal memory on the Voice Tracer 5000 which allows for varying recording time depending on the recording quality setting. There is also a slot to add a micro SD card for up to 32GB more memory if needed. The are five recording quality settings on the device 8, 64, 96 and 192 kbit/s in compressed mp3 format, or CD Quality 1.411 kbit/second WAV format. The Voice Tracer lacks a 256 kbit/second or 320 kbit/second mp3 (which is the current quality standard for most music download sites). Those who wish to mainly record music may opt to choose a different device that has higher quality mp3 bit rates. In my opinion, this is important because the highest quality WAV format only allows for 6 hours of recording using the built in memory, while mp3 format provides much more time at a slight quality loss. For example, the 192 kbit/sec setting on the Voice Tracer allows for 48 hours of recording time, that's 8 times the amount of the uncompressed format. Adding a memory card would help, but that's something else that needs to be bought, adding to the ultimate expense of the device.
For recording there are variety of settings to adjust the three built in microphones for various tasks such as "Conversation", "Lecture", "Long Distance", "Dictate", "Speech Recognition", "Auto Zoom", and a manual sensitivity level. Philips' description for each of these settings is rather vague. Basically, "Dictation" and "Conversation" are used for closer proximity recording, While the other settings are used for more distant sources providing noise cancellation using the left and right mics, while focusing on the center one.
There is also a wind filter to cancel out noise associated with wind gusts, and also a noise reduction filter, which supposedly reduces crowd noise or train or car background noises. The index key can make reference points while recording, allowing the ability to find a particular point of the recording easier during playback. It will certainly take a lot of trial and error to figure out what settings and what filters to apply in each particular recording scenario.
Pre-record mode, which allows the user to basically record the last five seconds of sound without the record button being depressed, then if pressed, it will commit the sound to a recording is kind of like a time delay. If something important was said, it's like getting a second chance. There is also voice activated recording, and a timer mode, which allows the user to pre-set a date and time to record, as well as the source microphone, FM radio, or external source. This could be good for reconnaissance or recording your favorite radio program.
For playback, there are also a couple of settings to make sure the recording comes through loud and clear. For voice playback, the Philips DVT5000 has a ClearVoice setting, which boosts voice frequencies, there is also a three position equalizer setting for music Pop, Jazz, or Classical which are best suited for music. It is also possible to speed up or slow down the recording for better understanding of speech, although this setting is not variable, it still helps. The built in speaker is remarkably loud for it's size, unlike the Tascam recorders, which are basically non-functional. The recording quality is good, although I did notice a slight background hum even if the source was close to the mic. I find that unacceptable at this price point. I also sensed a bit of an exaggerated sound, not a pure recording. I did not have an external mic to plug into the device to see how it sounds using a different source, but the Voice Tracer DVT5000 does have that capability.
Transferring the recorded files to the computer is a snap, once the USB cable is plugged into computer, the device shows up like an external drive called "Philips". From there you transfer any of the files to you computer by dragging them, they are just like any other mp3 or wave file on your system and can be renamed, copied, moved, etc., even put on an mp3 player. The recorded files on the Voice Tracer 5000 are placed in the "VOICE" folder, then in either A, B, C, or D subfolders, which you select at the time of the recording. These folders cannot be renamed, if they are, the recordings within them cannot be accessed on the recorder, however can be seen by the computer, so they are not lost. The file names are automatically generated by the device based on the date and time of the recording. This file name cannot be changed on the computer, if you still want the device to see it, unless it is put back into the "MUSIC" folder. I found this to be quite annoying. Every file then has to be a bunch of numbers, and unless you can memorize the date and time of every recording there if no other reference to what it contains.
Overall, I found the sound quality of the Philips Voice Tracer 5000 average, and I would not recommend it for music recording. The Tascam DR-05 Portable Digital Recorder beats it hands down for about the same price with many more features. There is just something about the clarity of Tascam vs. the Philips that makes me wonder why they sound so different.
PROS:
Comes with Rechargeable AA Batteries which last 42 hours
Batteries recharge via USB cable
Built In FM radio
Can record off of built in radio
Includes Neoprene Case & Standard earbuds
Intuitive Controls
Informative Display
Built In 4 GB memory provides 47 hrs recording time @ 192 kbit/sec sample rate
Micro SD slot for added capacity
Multiple recording settings
Auto or manual level control
Built in speaker works well
Can record from external Source
Small & Compact
CONS:
Highest mp3 sample bit rate is 192 kbit/sec not the best for music recording
Bad Quick Start Guide
No threads to mount on tripod
Shortest USB cable ever
Background hum on recordings
Frustrating packaging
Full manual PDF on device
Confusing Recording Settings
Cannot Rename Files
Mics pick up a lot of noise from case and controls when handling the device
I can compare the DVT5000 to Olympus and Tascam digital recorders I recently owned. While the audio quality of the TASCAM DR-40 4-Track Portable Digital Recorder is superior to that of the DVT5000, the audio quality of the DVT5000 compares well. And the sound quality of the DVT5000 is far superior to that of the Olympus WS-400S Digital Recorder. I assume that the excellent sound quality of the DVT5000 is primarily due to its microphones, which are apparently of good quality, several significant steps up from the quality of the mics typically found in many devices capable of digitally recording sound.
I also find the DVT5000 considerably easier to use than the Olympus and the Tascam. Operating the DVT5000 is fairly simple and I was able to do most of the things I wanted to do with it intuitively (without consulting the PDF manual).
If someone told me they needed a digital recorder for recording lectures and meetings and the like, I would not hesitate to recommend the DVT5000. I would also recommend it for casually recording live music to someone who wants a budget priced recorder for such purposes capable of delivering better-than-average audio quality. It can record in lossless WAV format.
The DVT5000 comes with in-ear headphones that sound pretty good for what they are (better than most of the in-ear monitors I've heard that come with some electronic devices and as good as in-ear monitors I've used in the $20-$30 price range). The included earphones come with three sets of rubber ear tips in small, medium and large sizes. It also has a built-in speaker that is useful for checking recordings and for listening to spoken word recordings but little else as the sound quality is as poor as one might expect from such a tiny speaker.
It also comes with a protective case that the recorder slides into while leaving access to the audio-in and -out jacks (for an external microphone and headphones/earphones; an external mic is not included).
And it comes with two AAA size Ni-MH batteries which can be recharged in the DVT5000 by using the included micro-USB USB cable (by connecting it to a computer or USB wall jack).
The DVT5000 has a built-in FM tuner that enables one to listen to FM radio with the earphones (which must be used when listening to FM as the earphones cable functions as the antenna). In my experience, manually tuning stations is too difficult to make it worth the bother but it is easy to automatically find stations and deleted unwanted ones.
The metal grills over the mics is a nice feature that gives the DVT5000 a more rugged feel than it might otherwise have (e.g., were the mics protected only by plastic). The fold-out stand is also a nice feature. With 4GB of built-in memory and a micro SD memory card slot, there is more memory than most people should ever need (a memory card is not included).
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The Philips DVT5000 Voice Recorder was easy for me to get up and running within minutes of opening the package, without consulting the small pamphlet of instructions or looking up the online user manual. The hardest thing for me to figure out was that I needed to hold down the On/Off switch for a couple of seconds for it to be acknowledged... and everything after that was amazingly easy to accomplish.
Thanks to a "Menu" button, all the types of things one might wish to do show up on the screen with tidy drop down menus that can be scrolled through as one might operate an MP3 player. The record buttons are easy to find and work, and I enjoy watching the recorder take initial readings to automatically prepare to record in whatever environment it finds itself in. There are many more options than I've yet managed to try out for features such as using voice activation or a timer setting to record... and surprisingly this recorder also operates as a radio! The earphones that come with the device act as the antenna, and the voice recorder will, if desired, search through all available FM stations, making it easy to find and listen to the radio wherever you may be.
I am extremely impressed that this recorder is capable of recording several days worth of material. I can imagine that this feature could come in quite handy on business trips or during conferences or lectures.
I like the way it's easy to transfer the MP3 voice recording files to my computer, where I can rename them if desired. It's easy to copy and/or delete files from the Voice Recorder while it's plugged into the computer... and I found it easy to delete files directly from the Voice Recorder as well.
I tested this Voice Recorder out in a large room with lots of extraneous noise and many people taking turns to talk, and it performed amazingly well. The sound quality and clarity was remarkable considering no special efforts were made on my part to aim the recorder toward the back of the room.
I love how the Philips DVT5000 Recorder is so very well designed. Not only does it fit perfectly in my hand and pocket, but it also comes with an ergonomic protective padded sleeve that is a joy to keep it in. This is one of those rare electronic devices one can fall in love with at first sight and immediately find oneself dreaming of new ways to put it into use. Very highly recommended!
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I chose this device for essentially two reasons: one, it was free from the Vine Program, and two, to record myself playing guitar. I have previously used the old school cassette recorders but they obviously have some compatibility issues here in 2013.
One big advantage of this device is the USB connectivity. I can record myself (using voice activation, which is quite helpful) and then download it to iTunes or wherever and have digital reproductions. For an amateur like me who has tried a music recording software program for my computer that demanded far too many other elements to work at maximum efficiency, this is an ideal product for me.
The second big advantage, albeit somewhat limited, is the MP3 capability of this device. There are four folders for storage with the capacity of up to 396 files (99 each) and adding files is a simple drag and drop. The downside for playback is that the unit runs on batteries or could be played while charging using an USB port, so unless your vehicle has a USB port, you might not be able to play music for very long. In other words, this device wouldn't be a good alternative to an MP3 player.
At roughly $100 retail, I'm not sure how valuable this would be. As I mentioned, mine was free so that issue is irrelevant, but for the potential consumer, you might want to ask yourself what this would be used for. I believe its primary function is for recording lectures or meetings or other events. The recording device is set up for maximum vocal clarity and might be quite useful in the legal field or for a reporter or a student.
The device only came with very basic instructions, but I was able to ascertain a 21 page manual from Philips online, but unfortunately Amazon policy prohibits me from including the link in this review. It was easy enough to locate, however.
Final verdict: for what it does, it's very good. It's easy to use, compact, comes with a USB adapter and headphones as well as a soft pouch for storage, and for my limited needs, it is an ideal product. I have no market comparison to say with any certainty that it's a good value, but perhaps you might be better educated on it than me. Good luck.
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While not a student, who might have cause to record lectures, or a businessman needing a dictation device, I am a songwriter who sometimes needs to 'jot' down musical ideas at the drop of a hat. Therefore I was somewhat intrigued as to how well this unit would work as a music recorder. In the week between Christmas and New Year, I was scheduled to do some live recording and took this device with me. In between takes, I set it up and with a simple push of the button recorded a song in mp3 mode. The results were surprisingly good so good in fact that I have included the track in the project!. I am certain that this recorder will do everything as advertized but it appears to be able to handle much more. I plan to have it close at hand when inspiration strikes.
THe basic unit has excellent built in memory and comes with rechargeable batteries , USB connection and headphones as well as a protective case. It is small, light and pocket-sized. Price is reasonable. I would heartily recommend this.
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Overall: pretty compact, easy to use, good voice quality, good recording quality.
