Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Very pleased with product.It's used to record conversations and take notes for writing and archiving, transcribing voice notes, as well as listening to what was just said to help focus discussion.I needed this to be very usable by a non-techy type who gets frustrated with the stupidity of most user-interface design.
Bought this product because the others I looked at (and returned) either were so small you'd lose them, so flimsy they'd break if accidentally dropped, the interface was waay arcane, or the built-in speaker was junk, there wasn't much capacity, they tried to do too much, or they were just a pain or impossible to use with the Mac.
This unit answers most of my problems.
The built-in speaker is very clear and understandable, it's a decent size, relatively sturdy (but still plastic), the buttons are large enough and the interface for the most common functions is reasonably straight-forward to understand (however for some of the more arcane ones it's not at all obvious - but it works for me because I don't need those things).It's also a radio, but I've never used that and doubt I ever will.It does act as an MP3 player, in that you can download 99 of your tunes to a music folder - but you've got to have your own separate index as to what the tunes are, because all you'll see on the screen is #1, #2, #3 etc - not the name of the tune.You can use it as a flash drive if you need to, and file names that aren't in the formexpected just won't show up on the index list.
It only takes about 1 second to start up to recording from a fully off state - which I really appreciate.With 4G of recording space, there's plenty of room.
Records in native MP3, 6 levels of quality, from low-fi mono to PCM CD quality (6 hours of this).The SP mode is what I usually use and it will hold a bit more than 170 hours, which is more than enough and the quality is good for voice.The microphones are sufficiently (but not overly) sensitive, and can vary from omni-directional to very directional - a nice feature if you're trying to record in a noisy environment or a speaker from a distance.The voice-activated recording has 2 levels of sensitivity - I've only used one, but that works very well.
Other useful features include appending to the end of a file or overwriting a file starting from a given spot. I'd really like it if I could insert into a file, but one can't. It can playback at a faster or slower than normal speed (either 1.5 or 2x, I can't remember now) which is nice for speeding through junk.And you can set index markers and jump between them, which is a nice feature, but it makes playback navigation somewhat tricky at times.It will power itself off if left on "pause" or stop for 15 minutes. There's a lot of other things, like recording from the radio, which I just don't use so can't comment on.
Full plug and play USB interface, so just plugs right into my Mac, which I need. A downside here is that it requires a special cable which is separate from the device, so you'd better not lose it.It will also draw power to function from USB as well as recharge the 2AAA batteries in about 3 hours.
It only gets 4 stars because of the separate cable and the FF/REW functions for playback are pretty touchy and do require real care in navigating - it's taken me a while to get the knack.For transcribing it's best to download it and do it from your computer.The problem with that is that you'll lose the ability to hear and jump between the index markers.
Overall, probably the best mid-price unit available.I don't understand why they haven't gotten more exposure - perhaps because it's mostly a European brand?I had a couple of technical questions about the batteries used and their customer support answered me quickly and sufficiently, which is a bonus.
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Philips LFH0882/00 Digital Voice Tracer 0882Product Description: PC + MAC Compatible: Digital Voice Tracer 882 - perfect for every recording need. Featuring 4 GB flash memory, the Philips Digital Voice Tracer 882 records up to 573 hours of data in 3 common MP3 mono formats (SP, LP, SLP) and 3 stereo formats (SHQ, HQ, PCM-CD quality). Unlike alternatives, this allows for a higher sampling rate and clearer recordings. Files are organized in 4 folders (99 files/folder) for easy retrieval and can be downloaded to PC via high speed USB 2.0. The USB can even power the device during long recordings without draining the battery. With MP3/WMA music playback, FM radio tuner and customizable equalizer, you can also play your favorite tunes. Functioning as a USB mass storage device, any type of file can be conveniently stored and shared on the device.Features clean buttons for ease of use and the largest display in the market to view all relevant information at a glance. The adjustable microphone sensitivity is perfect for both foreground and background recording and the large front speaker (30 mm) reproduces stunning quality playback. The voice activated recording option, automatically records only when sound is detected, and the index mark feature lets you mark a particular point in a recording or playback for easy retrieval. Recording monitor can be used to listen to the recording through headphones to ensure adequate record level. Other features include the ability to insert the date/time within file and the timer recording feature programs recordings in advance. File split/auto divide feature splits recordings into separate files making them much easier to find, edit and archive. The alarm feature schedules voice alarms to remind you of important meetings or events. Other features include slow and fast playback, LED record/playback, battery, and end of memory indicators. Includes an external stereo lapel microphone, stereo earphones, neck strap, USB cable, two rechargeable batteries "AAA" and user manual.
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