Philips' New Personal Recorders at a Low Price

Philips has released a new series of personal dictation machines that make it easier than ever to dictate digitally, whether you have a Mac or PC. 

Introducing the Digital Voice Tracer...

First off, the 660:

• This recorder is listed for only $99. 
  
• It records exclusively in .mp3 format making it compatible with most all of your audio players. 
  
• Use it as an .mp3 player to listen to your favorite songs.
  

This would make a great gift for the holidays. It is so versatile and easy to use. Take down your notes and carry music with you at the same time. 

The 860:

• This recorder is basically the 660 with twice the capacity. 
  
• And it is all silver.
• The best part is listed for $129. You get 2 gigs of capacity instead of 1 for only $30 more!

The 880:

• This model allows you to record in .mp3 format and .wav. 
• 2 gigs of memory;  142 hours in .mp3/mono.
• 30 hours of battery life on 2 AAA's
• An FM Radio tuner. 

This is, in my opinion, the best deal we have in the entire store. You have an mp3 player, a portable radio, and a personal digital recorder in one small device that will fit easily in your pocket. It is listed for only $149. Pick up one of these great recorders for the holidays!

How To Transcribe From A CD

We hear this several times a week from our customers and it's a great question! Sometimes a transcriptionist, working with digital voice files such as DSS or WMA, will get an audio CD to transcribe and not know how to play it back with his/her foot-switch. Here is what we agree is the easiest way to convert audio files from a CD in order to transcribe it. 

• First, download iTunes whether you are on a PC or a Mac. It is FREE! 
  
• Select your operating system on the top left and click "Download Now"
• 'Run' or 'Open' the installer and complete the installer wizard keeping all default settings.
• Once this is complete, open iTunes.
• Go to 'Edit' on the top left of the toolbar and select 'Preferences' at the bottom.
• In this window, in the center, click the button that says "Import Settings"
• Select to import using the MP3 encoder with the "higher quality" setting using the scroll down menus.
• Click OK and OK again to save your preference settings.
• Put in your audio CD
• When the list of track(s) appears in the main window, click "Import CD" on the bottom right.
• After a few minutes the files will be copied to the Library in iTunes. 
• Click Library on the left and find the file name in the list. The search feature at the top right makes it much faster!
• Once you have found the file, highlight it and drag it into your Transcription software window.
• Now that you have an MP3 sound file, you can use your Transcription software to transcribe it and play it back using your foot control.

I hope this information was helpful to you if you were wondering how to transcribe from a CD. In summary, we converted the file to a .MP3 file format allowing you to manipulate the play-back using your foot control. If you have any questions call us at 866-408-1383 to talk to someone. We'd love to help.

Olympus LS-10 Lives Up to the Hype

When we got the Olympus LS-10 recorder here at NovuScript, I was eager to test it out. Every review I read raved about the product and said the sound quality was excellent. Many people said they use it to record live music and claim it can also produce a studio quality recording. I wanted to see for myself.

First, I just set the recorder on a chair a couple feet away from my acoustic guitar. I was blown away. After I downloaded the file and listened to it in Windows Media Player, I was very impressed with the quality of sound that I was hearing. It had recorded in Linear PCM mode which is a 24 bit/96 khz audio file, a slight step above the standard stereo sound file, since most stereo audio files play in 48 khz. The LS-10 delivers crisp, clear sound in stereo quality.

A very cool feature as well, I think, is the recorder's ability to record in mp3, wav, or wma. You can easily record a song, download it to your computer and send it to a friend in an e-mail. Or you can post it online for someone to listen to or download. Since the most common public music posting websites support mp3 format, this recorder is great for the internet savvy musician.

Also, with 2 gigs of memory on-board, you can record in the highest quality for 55 minutes and standard quality for over 3 hours. This should give you enough time to capture the music you need. For even more added memory capacity, get an eight gig SD card. Then you'll have over 12 hours record time. 

With adjustments available for mic sensitivity, record volume, low-end frequency filter and more, this little recorder is flexible in several environments. If you want to capture a musical performance or audio from any event I think you'll find this recorder to be well worth the price.

To view more detailed descriptions of all the features and any technical questions you might have, click here.