Digital dictation machines are now widely available and are revolutionising the workplace. Accuro can offer advice on purchasing your voice recorder but here are a few points to note;
- Do buy from a recommended supplier. The Olympus and Philips websites have a list. Buying from a cheaper source may save money in the short-term, but lack of back-up service and technical support will soon make this a temporary benefit.
- Do get a high quality voice-recording device. Voice recorders are like digital cameras - the more you pay, the better the final product. Higher sound quality means quicker transcription times and lower costs in the end for you. It is a false economy to buy the cheapest.
- Do get a recorder with a standard .wav or .dss sound file format facility. It is an easy mistake to buy equipment that uses an obscure file format which cannot be opened or played except by specialist software provided by the manufacturer. Olympus and Philips are the best options.
- Do not buy a recorder with an odd sound file format, or use a basic MP3 recorder as the files will have to be converted first. Sony files are particularly big and awkward to send and convert. The ideal files are .dss as they are small. If a file is more than 1MEG per minute, you will have a problem with bandwidth. As a guide, a 1MEG .dss file will equate to approximately 10 minutes dictation.
