Digital voice recorder for help with lecture notes

[abcdefg]

I'll be starting a course soon which will have lots of lectures at native speed and I would like to record them for personal review purposes.

 

Would like to buy a small digital voice recorder for that purpose. It does not need to capable of recording music or have a particularly wide dynamic range. Voice fidelity is the most important factor. The lectures will be in a medium-size classroom (not a huge auditorium or concert hall) and I may possibly also use the recorder for interviews closer up (such as across a table.)

 

If it could accept a micro SD card, that would be a plus, though not essential if it has 4 GB of internal memory. Would need to be able to transfer files to my computer either by SD card or by USB cable.

 

Budget is not my main consideration, but I'm guessing I should be able to find a suitable one in a retail store (Kunming) for well under RMB 1,000. Course starts soon, so I don't want to order one on-line. I see good reviews for several Sony and Olympus models.

 

Have not gone shopping yet; thought I would post the question first. Plan to go see what's available this afternoon or tomorrow. (It's currently a holiday weekend with some stores closed.

 

Anybody using one they like and would recommend?

[Hofmann]

Why not your phone?

[character]

I used two Olympus recorders over the years, the newest a WS-600S, to record Chinese classes at fairly short distances from the teacher.  They worked fine; I don't have experience with other equipment. FWIW, a two-hour class was usually less than 116MB, so you may not need lots of memory on the device, assuming you transfer recordings to your computer periodically.

 

Looking on Amazon, there's a WS-823 with: "The Zoom Microphone Mode Makes It Possible To Focus On A Voice That Is Far Away: The latest directivity control technology has been used to make it possible to switch direction with the "+" and "-" buttons. It provides value by zooming in on audio sources when recording a discussion or lecture from a distant position, or when recording in an environment in which there is a lot of ambient sound. The new zoom microphone mode adjusts the recording level higher according to the zoom."
That sounds handy (if you want to focus on the teacher's voice and can't place the recorder near them).
 

Why not your phone?

If you use your phone for Pleco, you may find you're moving it during class as you look up words, changing where the microphone is pointing. Trying to record while doing something else on your phone may cause problems with recording.

[skylee]

Is recording of lectures generally allowed now? No copyright issues? (I have not been in a classroom for a long time so I genuinely don't know).

I am asking this question as somehow I think recording what someone says without his/her consent is a no-no. I was a meeting secretary in my last job and voice recording at meetings was not allowed.

[anonymoose]

I had a digital voice recorder, several years ago. I bought it thinking it would be good to capture interactions with native speakers, which I could then review later.

 

In the end, I didn't use it all that much. I think the main drawbacks were lack of versatility. It did the recording, but finding the files again was a nuisance, they couldn't be edited, and the storage was limited.

 

Now, if I want to do that kind of thing, I either use my phone, or my iPad. Although the basic function of recording is the same (though I think the sound quality on the ipad is probably better), the fact that you have a screen which enables you to see a list of files, name the files, and edit the files, makes using a phone or iPad incomparably more convenient. And of course, a phone you are likely to be carrying around with you all the time anyway.

 

Personally, I would say use a phone for that kind of thing. Even if you are intent on buying a new gadget, I would seriously consider getting an iPad mini, albeit at a higher cost, than just a digital voice recorder which is likely inconvenient to use, and has absolutely no other uses at all.

[abcdefg]

#4 -- @Skylee --

 

Is recording of lectures generally allowed now? No copyright issues?

 

I asked about it and the staff said it would be OK for personal use (not for publication.) This is a professional tea course at a private institute here in Kunming, not at a university. 茶艺师学院。

 

Link for those interested: http://www.ynpx.com.cn/

 

Valid points above about just using my phone. But my phone is not the latest and greatest and, apart from needing it to look up words on Pleco that I don't know as the lecture is in progress, I'm afraid fidelity won't be adequate.

 

Had not thought of buying an iPad mini, however. Might also be useable for short video clips and still pictures as well as sound. That's an innovative solution. Will check it out.

 

We will have 4 hours of class a day, a combination of lectures and demonstrations. At the end of the day I can off-load content onto my computer for review. I plan to take notes by hand as the lecture is in progress, but am out of practice and mainly use a "key word" technique instead of trying to preserve everything by hand.

 

As a point of clarification, I don't intend to transcribe these notes. They are only to help me with parts that I did not understand "live." (Would rather be prepared, since there could be many parts I don't fully understand.)

 

I expect it will be challenging course since I will be the only non-Chinese person attending, and the lectures will contain some technical terms. (I'm familiar with some of the vocabulary in Chinese, but obviously not all.) There will be no textbook to which we can refer.

 

Thanks for your suggestions.

[abcdefg]

#3 -- @Character --

 

Looking on Amazon, there's a WS-823 with: "The Zoom Microphone Mode Makes It Possible To Focus On A Voice That Is Far Away: The latest directivity control technology has been used to make it possible to switch direction with the "+" and "-" buttons. It provides value by zooming in on audio sources when recording a discussion or lecture from a distant position, or when recording in an environment in which there is a lot of ambient sound. The new zoom microphone mode adjusts the recording level higher according to the zoom."

 

That does sound handy. Thanks for mentioning it.

[character]

 

Had not thought of buying an iPad mini, however. Might also be useable for short video clips and still pictures as well as sound. That's an innovative solution. Will check it out.

It may have changed in recent years, but I found an iPhone/iPad produced lower-quality recordings than a dedicated voice recorder.  You can probably plug in an external microphone to address this, but this may lead to a big pile of equipment on your desk.  If you take pictures, be sure the camera click is turned off.

[abcdefg]

Thanks for that addition, @Character.

 

I have a satisfactory camera, so voice recording was my main initial thought. (And I will turn off the "click" sound. That's good advice.)

 

My overall thinking is that this will doubtless be a tough project and whatever advantage I can gain by having the appropriate tech tools, then I'm willing to invest in them even if I never use them again for anything else.

[geraldc]

I use one of these http://www.sony.co.uk/support/en/product/icd-ux533

 

Transferring files to PC is v easy, it has a usb jack that just slides out. It also recharges via USB, and takes AAA batteries. Accepts Micro SD if you need extra storage. 

 

Also allows you to play back at different speeds while maintaining pitch.

[character]

[...]I'm willing to invest in them even if I never use them again for anything else.

In that case, have you considered approaching the teacher/school about setting up a video camera/microphone to get good quality recordings of the lectures and sharing the recordings with the school? They would get something they could put online at Coursera or the like and you get the best recording possible. Just a thought.

[abcdefg]

#10 -- @Geraldc -- Thanks. That looks like an excellent device. Will take its brand and specs along when I go shopping.

 

#11-- @Character --

 

In that case, have you considered approaching the teacher/school about setting up a video camera/microphone to get good quality recordings of the lectures and sharing the recordings with the school?

 

That's intriguing. Hadn't thought of that. Not sure I'm technical enough to do it right. But, I will be meeting with the course directors on Thursday afternoon and will discuss the possibility. That would indeed benefit the school; raise their profile. Wonder whether they would fear intellectual property theft. (Not from me, but from someone else who saw the course materials on-line later.)

 

I attended final exams for their last session a week or so ago and did notice someone filming with a good video rig on a tripod. Not sure what his status was; whether he was official or not.

 

It's a fairly big operation. Over a hundred students were enrolled when last I was there (at several different levels of instruction.)

[Flickserve]

Are you planning to record the demonstrations as well?

I think do not underestimate the video aspect, especially for demonstrations.

The newest iPad mini is not technologically much advanced from the previous version if you really want an iPad.

Microphone is the main thing. If you use a tablet, I am a bit worried about the sound quality. I would definitely try to borrow an iPad (or mini), set it up with a mini stand and test run it.

Also, test it with an external microphone that can be directed at the speaker. I am not an expert at the equipment but if you depend on the iPad microphone (or any other tablet), the internal microphone will pick up a lot of extraneous sounds.

[abcdefg]

Are you planning to record the demonstrations as well?

 

I originally had not planned to video record those. Too much trouble and I have no experience with such a project. Plus I believe I can remember how to do things once I see them done.

 

What I'm most concerned about is a lecturer talking real fast or indistinctly and leaving me lost in the dust. With an audio file, I can probably sort it out later when I get home. May have to listen a couple times or even slow it down.

 

Didn't particularly want to buy an iPad or iPad mini. Don't really crave one for other purposes. Am leaning towards a dedicated voice recorder such as the Olympus and Sony mentioned above.

 

Thanks for your thoughts, @Flickserve.

[makochan]

I have this http://www.zoom.co.jp/products/h1 and have been happy with it.  I'm sure this one, Olympus, Sony, etc. are all about the same quality for that price range.  Just make sure it has a decent quality microphone, or else voices can come across sounding tinny.  

 

You can probably find some good user reviews on youtube that would give realistic examples of what these recorders sounds like in a lecture hall (assuming that the recording weren't compressed like crazy before being uploaded).

[Angelina]

I just got myself an iPad mini 3 last week. Haven't tried the voice recording function yet. Should I try it out with one of my lectures and see how it goes? It's cool in general, it even has fingerprint recognition.

[imron]

Fingerprint recognition is one of those things things that seems like a good idea, but is actually really insecure for any sort of serious security measure.

Firstly, you leave copies of your fingerprints basically everywhere (if someone has your phone, they almost certainly have your fingerprint somewhere on it) and it's relatively trivial to create fake fingerprints from that (I'd provide links but am on mobile).

Secondly, there is no failure recovery. If your password is stolen, you can change it. If your fingerprints are stolen - hah, well good luck changing them.

Fingerprint scanners seem all futuristic and amazing, but they are really only suited as a form of casual authentication and not for any sort of real security.

[Angelina]

I think it's convenient, passwords seem so boring and last millennium. Can we have something not that annoying? It can be a password, but not the letters and numbers ones we are using now.

Security is a bummer. Is it really that easy to create fake fingerprints? If so, 那没办法。

[abcdefg]

Bought the Sony ICD--SX734 this afternoon. It has 8 GB of flash memory and will accept a micro SD card for more. Paid 1,380 RMB and the seller tossed in an 8 GB micro SD card plus adapter as a lagniappe. (Said that was a 35 RMB value.)

 

Attaches to computer via USB and the built-in lithium battery charges the same way. Runs 19 hours on a charge. Light and compact. Bilingual instruction manual.

 

Specs look good and a limited try out shows it to be easy to use. Will let you know how it pans out after putting it to the test over the next few weeks.

 

Thanks for all your help and good advice.

 

http://www.sony-asia.com/product/icd-sx734

http://www.amazon.com/SONY-Stereo-ICRecorder-SX734-ICD-SX734/dp/B00B6ZBMBE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOKEsux4q4k

 

[imron]

A few years back there was a German politician proposing using fingerprints in passports and id to make it easier to track criminals and such. A group of hackers took a fingerprint from a glass he'd used, duplicated it, and distributed copies of it in a magazine: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/03/30/german_interior_minister_fingerprint_appropriated/

Recently, a hacker also did the same thing but only using a photo of a (different politician's) finger taken with a fairly normal camera and lens: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-30623611

It requires some specialised equipment to make the copies, but such equipment is readily available and the techniques behind how to do it are well publicised.

Anyway, like I said, it's fine for casual authentication if you assume the phone is mostly always in your possession, but don't expect any real security from it if it comes under the control of an attacker who wants to gain access.