5 things you should know about digital dictation & Transcription equipment

5 Things you should know about going to digital dictation machine equipment:

1. All hand held dictation machines are not all the same. Professional transcription/dictation recorders have very profound advantages over simple digital voice recorders.
2. Push button digital dictation machines are harder to navigate than the professional dictation equipment with thumb slide controls.
3. Olympus and Philips both make low end dictation equipment and pro dictation machines. The differences are huge and require consulting a dictation equipment company.
4. Transcription equipment is not all the same. The ease of use between a transcription software kit for consumers and a high end transcription equipment can save you hours a day in routing dictation to the right transcriptionist.
5. If you play dictation files on your computer and are pressing start-stop-play on your mouse more than 25 times an hour you need a digital transcription equipment upgrade.

Questions & Answers!

Q. How come there are so many digital voice dictation recorders to pick from! What are the major features that are different from them?

A. So you may have noticed the choices in digital recorder's number in the hundreds. Let me help you with the easy way to break it down to understand it. The first thing, is that digital recorders are broken down into 3 major groups: Dictation Recorders, Voice Recorders and Conference Recorders.

Let's Start with Dictation Recorders, they are engineered to be used in a professional workplace. The professional using them dictates letters, notes and records. The recorder is held close to the head so they microphone can clearly pick up the voice, and the recorder is used every day. This type of recorder will have a noise reducing microphone, and special editing features, including cue review, rewind, append, insert and delete. One of the major advantages of this type of dictation recorder is that it will have different folders for each special work, so its easy to keep organized with the dictation.

Most of the digital recorders being manufactured today use some type of removable memory. This allows you to change a card when you are running low on memory.

The specifications or features you will need to chose when purchasing a dictation recorder vary. They range in price and brand. Special add features may include push button controls or slide switch which is more convenient. The all important slide switch is only available on 3 models. The Olympus DS9000 Dictation Machine, Philips DPM 8000 and the Philips DPM 8000. All of these top dictation recorder models have hands-free recording, multiple folders, multiple recording formats such as .mp3 and .dss. Most of the manufactures include docking-recharging stations and dictation management software.

Here is a list of HIPAA compliant dictation recorders:

• Best Olympus Dictation Machine 9500
• Olympus Dictation Machine
• Philips DPM 8000 Pocket Memo

HIPPA Compliant Medical Transcription Software kits:

• Olympus AS-9000 Transcription kit
• Philips LFH 7277 Transcription kit

Voice Recorders, this is the typically least expensive of all digital recorders. Most of them come with a usb downloading cable that will allow you to move the voice files to a PC. Warning some of them do not have any way to connect to a PC or Mac, so be sure to ask before you buy one. Once you have established you need a digital recorder, the next question will be what type of file is the recorder creating. I would recommend that the recorder you chose, record in the universal .mp3 format. The next thing to keep in mind is that none of the voice recorders are able to be powered by AC adapters. This is an important feature if you are looking to use this voice recorder everyday at work. If you are recording every day, I would recommend the Marantz PMD620 MKII or the Marantz PMD 661 MKII recorders. They are designed to be used every day and have an AC power supply equipped with the recorders.

Conference Recorders, always come with a high powered microphone built into the units. They also have various modes of recording such a High Quality, and Low Quality. So here is how it breaks down. If you record in High Quality mode, you can record a better recording in a large room, but you will be limited by the memory record or built in memory on the unit. If you record in Low Quality you can record a long time, but the recordings will be lesser in quality. We recommend you use a larger card and always record in High Quality. So the difference in recording quality is important. The higher the recording, the better the voice recording will be in a noisy room. (It is very important to note that conference recorders do have noise recording adjustments, but does not have editing dictation features. So if you need to dictate notes this is a bad choice for you. There is no cue and review or append on conference recorders.

Next, is a key advantage for conference recorders, memory cards. Now you know about the different reasons why you would want to record in High Quality mode, here is how you can achieve that goal. Most meeting recorders come with SD card slots. The SD card slots hold key features that will help you get hundreds of hours of recording on a card. Typically, you can insert a 32 GB SDHC card and receive 500 to 1000 hours of recording time on a conference recorder. The SD card is the format we advise to use since it often carries an inexpensive price tag. It is also a convenient way to download voice files onto a PC or Mac since most of these computers have card readers built into them. Once you have downloaded the voice files you can insert them back into the conference recorder and begin fresh again on the card.

A Conference recorder with built-in memory may be a listing, purchase for you. There are many meeting recorders on the market that have a 4 GB internal memory inside of them. If the internal memory gets corrupted or used up during a conference, the recorder will stop.

Conference Recorders also have super rich features such as multiple external microphone inputs, Noise canceling microphones and most of all a convenient remote control from stoping, pausing and recording. Larger conference rooms with more than 50 people will need up-to 4 microphones to clearly record the voices in the meeting. If you need help call us for the best fit for your specific needs.

If you are working in a court and the need to capture 4 separate channels simultaneously in a courtroom, city council or boardroom, then the DM246 Court Recording/Transcription equipment system is the correct choice for you. I hope now you understand the difference between conference recorders and dictation recorders.

Q. How do I get the conference recorders or dictation recorders files to be transcribed.

A. Most digital voice recorders come with a usb port and/or docking station. All of these downloading ports are usb. The usb allows the record to connect to the computer or Mac, where the files will be uploaded into the file management software. At this point you can rename, or editing them before you save them. Once this has been accomplished you can email them or use a service like Dropbox, or Google drive to move them to a transcriptionist. Note (high speed internet is recommended).

Q. Where can I get more in-depth information on dictation recorders and transcription equipment.

A. Here at Martel’s website! We carry every professional dictation recorder in the world. We offer Professional Philips and Olympus Professional equipment. We even have our very own transcription kit (All N One). This transcription software handles voice and video files. We carry large mounts , accessories, memory card and conference microphones. Please call us for a custom quote 800-553-5536 or click on the quote button above in green. Once you have purchased from Martel it will include free toll-free technical support for as long as you own your equipment. All items come with a 1-year warranty and free software upgrades, as well as a 30-day money back guarantee.

An Information Article about dictation equipment.

Over the past 100 years dictation has changed drastically. From recording on phonographs from the Edison company, to Magnetic Reel to Reel, to cassette tapes and now finally digital. Digital has been the breakthrough those who dictate has been waiting for. It streamlines the process, enabling to to live a more stress free life.

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& dictation recorder.