Olympus Digital Voice Recorder
DS-2400
Lawyers, physicians, students and the like can enjoy the advanced features of the compact DS-2400.
The features on this device are endless with a new central navigation pod, superb sound, a large backlit LCD, and great file management options with DSS Player software to help keep you organized. All these supply the professional performance you seek in an easy to use, sleek and stylish package.
* USB Mass Storage Device
* DS2 Recording Format
* File Management
SD Removable Media.
The supplied 2GB SD Card provides an ample amount of memory and the durability and reliability you need in a removable media card.
DS2 Recording.
Newly developed DSS Pro(DS2 format) with improved high-quality sound provides highly compressed file size and superior clarity. Supports USB 2.0 High-Speed which enables high speed file transfer to your computer.
Convenient File Creation.
End one dictation and begin the next with a simple press of the "New" button.
File Edit.
Take advantage of the ability to insert and overwrite on an existing recording file.
DSS Player Software.
Provides easy file management in your computer. Supports both Windows and Macintosh.
DS-2400 Features
*Included 2GB SD Card
Enjoy plenty of recording time with the included 2GB SD Card removable media.
*Voice Activated Variable Control
Never miss a beat with the voice activated Variable Control Voice Actuator feature that records audio as soon as it senses sound. It conserves memory and battery life, too.
*PC Link
Directly connect to a PC for fast file transfers with convenient PC Link capability.
*Backlit LCD
A full dot, backlit LCD provides for easy viewing, even in bright conditions, so you can easily watch your recording times, battery life status and more.
*DSS Format Recording
Save files in high-compression DSS format using the included DSS Player software.
*Easy File Management
Manage audio files in up to 5 customizable folders.
*Navigation Pod
New customizable navigation pod.
*Erase Button
Use the easily accessible "Erase" button to quickly erase single files or entire folders.
*Conference and Dictation Settings
Switch between "Conference" and "Dictation" settings.
*2 Recording Modes
Choose between SP and QP recording modes.
*New Button
Finish one dictation and begin the next with a push of the "new" button.
*Index Marks
Place index marks at specific points in passages for quick retrieval.
*Voice Recognition
Compatible with voice recognition software.
*32 Hours Battery Life
Enjoy efficient battery power: up to 32 hours provided by two AAA batteries.
*Portable
Compact and lightweight design for easy portability.
DS-2400 Package Contents
* DS-2400
* Instruction Manual
* 2 GB SD Card
* USB Cable
* DSS Player Software
* 2 AAA Batteries
Olympus Digital Voice Recorder DS-2400 Review
J. Sperrazza "eBusiness Evangelist" (Denver)
"Easy to use yet powerful pocket-sized voice recorder.
Summary:
The DS-2400 is one of Olympus' newest voice recorders optimized for dictation. It provides the ability to record conversations under a variety of conditions with excellent quality. Its intuitive controls make operation so simple that the 8 (2"x4") page Quick Start Guide is all you'll need to start recording and playing back conversations of all kinds. The included DSS Player software supports both Windows (2000, XP, and Vista - including Vista Ultimate 64-bit) and Macintosh (OS X 10.39 - 10.5.6).
Details:
I have owned a voice recorder once before, but it finally got lost, so it was time to do the research to find a replacement. A number of things impressed me, on paper, about the DS-2400
- Brand new model from Olympus (so a long life of support is expected)
- Compact model with all the features I wanted (built-in mono microphone and speaker; 3.5 mm min-jacks for connecting external mono or stereo mics and speakers) clear, easy to ready display and controls; save recordings as new files or append or insert recordings into existing files, multiple folders for storing files; long battery life [24 hours in QP mode, 30 hours in SP mode, 13 hours in playback mode]; settable recording quality; Voice activation; and dictation vs. conference modes)
- Uses removable storage (SD or SDHC cards, from 512 MB to 16 GB), and supports 77 hours of "Quality" (QP) recording in the included 1 GB card, or a whopping 157 hours 50 minutes of "Standard" (SP) recording
- Included DSS Player software supports the latest PCs and Macs
After purchase (and swift delivery from Amazon), I decided to give the DS-2400 a full test:
- Initial setup and use of the recorder was so easy I really didn't need to read the 8-page Quick Start Guide. The 62 page Instructions manual (with sections in English, French and Spanish) is really only needed as a reference.
- Voice quality is excellent. I am not using dictation transcribing software like Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Preferred or MacSpeech Dictate, but do understand that both of these products (which use the same "Dragon" engine) can be used to transcribe these files.
- The software installed and operated flawlessly on my two toughest test machines: a laptop running Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit with Service Pack 2 (Public Preview v. 113), and a Mac Pro running Mac OS X Server v. 10.5.6 (developer beta release). The software is visually and functionally equivalent on both platforms, with differences reflective of the underlying system. For example:
+ a reboot is required when installing on the PC, but not the Mac,
+ the Mac version can convert recordings only to AIFF files (but there are lots of free utilities available to convert from this to other formats), while the PC version can convert to WAV and WMA formats (with a variety of bits per second and Hz supported in each format)
- The DS2 format files used natively by the DS-2400 provide an amazing amount of compression without noticeable loss of quality. Here are some comparisons of file sizes for a 25 minute 35 second-long real-world speakerphone conversation I recorded in QP mode using a stereo microphone (Olympus ME51S):
+ DS2 (DSD Pro native) format @ 28 kbps, 16 khz, mono: 5,311 KB or 5.19 MB
+ WAV (PCM format @ 22.05 kHz, 16 bit, mono: 66,112 KB or 64.56 MB
+ WMA format @ 22.05 kHz, 16 kbps, mono: 3,136 KB or 3.06 MB (compared to DS2, there is a theoretical loss of quality in this format, but I couldn't hear it - I'll be storing my files in this format, to save space)
+ AIFF format (no options provided): 47,972 KB or 48.84 MB
The recorder can be used without a PC. Stand-alone, you can:
- Choose the language of the displays on the recorder (English, French, Spanish, German, Italian or Russian)
- Set date, time, and date & time format (used to date/time stamp recording files)
- Change the various modes of the recorder (LED display & contrast, backlighting, conference or dictation mode, Voice activation on or off, etc.)
- Create new recording files
- Record over, insert recordings, or append recordings to these files
- File recordings in one of 5 (A through E) default folders
- Rewind or fast-forward through files
- Play files back at normal or increased speed
You'll need your PC for some more refined actions:
- Change the name of the default folders to something meaningful to you (e.g., Personal, Work, Vendors, ...)
- Change the name of the "recorder" (added to the files along with the date/time stamp to something other than "DS-2400" (e.g., JOESPERRAZZA)
- Convert files from DS2 format to another, for input into a speech to text conversion program or for sharing with others
Caveats:
- Don't buy this if you're expecting to play MP3s - it is not designed for that
- Don't expect to record music - the recorder itself and the DS2 format are optimized to record and playback human speech:
+ QP mode: 16 kHz sampling frequency, 200 - 7,000 Hz frequency response
+ SP mode: 12 kHz sampling frequency, 200 - 5,000 Hz frequency response
(I'll be recording everything in QP mode, due to the incredible amount of information you can store on just 1 GB SD chip)
- The pictures are correct, and the title of this product is incorrect - it is SILVER, not BLACK.
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