I need to purchase a digital audio recorder to record interviews, from which I write feature stories. For years, to record interviews, I always used a cassette tape recorder, which came with a handy tape counter. In the course of taking notes, I’d just jot down a number every so often and later, when writing, could go quickly and easily to the good quotes on tape. Well, that old thing died and wow! now everything’s digital. There’s no need to buy tapes – sounds great to me!
Well, in looking them over it seems they don’t really have this counter/time code type of feature. I need to have every single second documented, since I don’t know until afterward what I’ll need. (Well, not true; sometimes a golden quote happens and I know I’ll use it and write down the time code in my notes right then and there).
But in looking at what’s available (on Amazon), it seems some offer a “handy” indexing featuring that allows you to mark certain places.
I don’t know what the imagined use for these things are, but mine is pretty specific. Does anyone have a digital audio recorder, and can you tell me does it carry a time code or tape counter? What is the name of the feature I’m looking for, so I can look for it in perusing the available recorders?
In this thread from last year, I cited some of the advantages of the Mini-Disc (MD) system:
[All prices are from August 2006. I haven’t checked the current prices.]
To answer your question about counter/timecode, MD recorders display how long you’ve been recording, so you could just note the time. But they can also be set to record time marks at any interval you choose (I use 5 minutes) and while recording it displays the current mark and time, i.e. Section 5, 2:30. So could note just the section, or section and time.
Finally, let me repeat the exhortation to make sure you are getting an Hi-MD recorder, NOT a NetMD recorder. If you don’t get Hi-MD, you can’t transfer your recordings digitally at high speed to your computer. You can only copy them through the analog headphone output in real time. Blecch.
It has around 9 folders for 99 recordings each. Each recording has a timer. And you can plug it directly, without cables, into a usb port. It also has an index function. Fine piece of kit.
Thanks, commasense and tagos! And for the link to the earlier thread. This is exactly the info I needed. I didn’t think about how wonderfully easy it would be to transcribe from the audio recording if I had it right there on the computer, and didn’t have to mess with the device on my desk. I’ll check on the MD (though it’s so hard to imagine life without my microcassettes!).
If you’re doing one-on-one interviews in a quiet location and can get close to your sound source, microcassettes are fine. But I am usually recording conference sessions and can’t tap into the room’s sound system, and there are always people who aren’t miked. In those circumstances microcassettes were often useless because of the poor audio. The quality of an MD recording (with a good mike!) even at the slower speeds, is fantastic. You can literally hear a whisper across the room. And you never have to worry about flipping the tape over. You won’t miss losing minutes of your interview because you hadn’t noticed that the tape had run out, will you?
Once you switch to MD, you’ll wonder how you lived with microcassettes.
The one downside: to transfer files to your computer, you have to use Sony’s quirky and slightly buggy software that’s loaded with DRM (digital rights management). It’s somewhat annoying, but workable, and much better now than in its earlier versions. If you want, you can then convert the files from Sony’s format to WAV or MP3. There are lots of patches, tricks, and hacks available to make MD recording simpler.
Uh-oh…this is now giving me a sick sinking feeling. I don’t want hacks and patches; too complicated for me! Also, $150 seems like overkill for what I want. Isn’t there something cheaper? I don’t need to keep these recordings for posterity; usually I record over the cassettes right away.
So I guess I’m asking – do you (or anyone) know of a cheaper, servicable option? With of course the timecode imbedded, or other thing I can use to keep track of what’s where? Tagos? It sounds like yours gets the job done.
Don’t be scared off: you don’t need the hacks and patches. I rarely use them myself. They’re just available if you need or want to do things that Sony thinks you shouldn’t. But it probably won’t be an issue for you.
As for price, you’re paying for vastly superior quality, compared to microcassette, longer recording times, and the ability to transfer the files to your computer in digital form at high speed.
A solid-state digital recorder may suit your needs at lower cost, but they don’t have the audio quality of MD. But I have no first-hand experience with them. Google “digital voice recorders.” Olympus makes a lot of them. One may be just right for you.
Actually, now that I look at them, I might try one out myself. The recording times have gone up since I last looked.