To Begin the Discussion on Digital Dictation

The best place, I suppose, would be to share what is driving so much of the increased business at American Dictation these days.

We're getting lots of calls now from professionals - primarily lawyers - who are at wit's end with their tape dictation systems. Tapes are breaking and they're having trouble getting repairs or replacements for their recorders.

We sell few tape systems at American Dictation installing mainly digital dictation equipment. It's easy to understand why:

1. Tapes break. There's nothing quite as frustrating when a tape breaks after dictating a long document, either for the dictator or the transcriptionist. There's no easy way of repairing or resurrecting the dictation. Digital voice files remain in tact. Yes, they can be deleted, but if configured correctly, most professional systems provide for redundancy and back-ups - instantly!
2. Tapes lose quality. Over time, magnetic tape loses quality due to wear and tear, and magnetic artifacts left over from previous use. Digital files can be copied over and over and over and never lose their original quality.
3. Tapes are a hassle to manage. After a dictation, the author must make sure the dictation gets to the transcriptionist, and after transcribing, is either cataloged or erased for re-use. Digital voice files can be easily moved, copied or stored on computers, CD's or other electronic storage media.
4. Taped dictations are hard to prioritize. If an author dictates 7 letters, then decides that letter #5 needs to go out first, it is difficult for the transcriptionist to quickly find #5 on a continual tape. Most digital dictation authors create a new voice file for each dictation. If #5 is a "high priority" file, then the dictator can electronically "mark" the file and the transcriptionist can immediately identify and transcribe that document.
5. Tape equipment is expensive to maintain. Most tape system providers sell expensive maintenance contracts because tape machines require service. Capstans, motors and other moving parts need repeat cleaning. Tape machines also use up batteries quickly. Digital dictation machines have no moving parts (other than buttons), and - at least with American Dictation - no maintenance contracts are necessary (what are we going to do, send you a nice cloth to wipe off the recorder?). Many digital dictation machines - particularly the professional models - provide for in-unit battery recharging.

There are other important reasons as well to "go digital." With digital systems, the routing and management of work is much, much easier, safer and more secure. Olympus and Philips professional systems provide encryption, e-mail/FTP transfers and workgroup file sharing.

Perhaps you have made the switch from tape to digital. If so, share your experience here!