What to Consider Before Buying a Digital Voice Recorder

After all the research and discussions it is a proven fact that digital recorders are much more convenient than tape recorders. Even though the advantages of these devices are countless, you still have to be smart when it comes to purchasing them, especially if you are considering getting it for your business! Question is: Do you only need Dictation software or do you need voice recording software with transcription capabilities? So we took the liberty of coming up with a list of features that you should to pay more attention to before investing in this software.

Digital Voice Recorder Recording Time

You will be surprised to hear that there are digital recorders that offer up to 500 hours of recording time! But wait! Do not be fooled by these tactics that Marketers use to sell their items. Most of the time these recording hours that are given should be taken with a grain of salt. Truth of the matter is that if the quality of the recording is high then the recording time goes down. Always check the total amount of time the recorder can record in high quality mode, as high quality recording means more accurate transcriptions.

Data Storage

If you are purchasing Digital recorders for your business purposes then the ideal product should be able to handle more than voice files. If the device has USB mass storage class support then you can save documents, images and audio files. Also look for the ability to organize your files. A good digital recorder should be able to save your audio files in a minimum of five different folders.

Recording Features

Having a wide range of features to make the recordings easier is another detail to look for. Voice activation is one such feature where if you stop speaking or there is a silence for a certain period of time then the recording will automatically stop. You could even include a prompt or a cue that would indicate to the software that it needs to stop recording. Does the device have an LCD display? What kind of information will it show?

Digital Recorder Connectivity

If you are going for an inexpensive digital recorder then do not expect to be able to connect it to the PC, but if you want our opinion this is a must have feature! Most of these devices that can be connected to a PC use a USB interface. It would be better to have a digital recorder that would directly plug into the USB port, but there are also those that require a USB cable or a docking station.

Transcription and Special Transcription Features

If this device is to be used for transcription services then there has to be some software that will perform this. Some devices do come with the feature being in-built; however there are also those that require you to purchase a separate device to perform transcription. If you want to manually transcribe you will have to invest on headphones and foot pedals as well. That is money that no one wants to spend!

Now for special features! If you want to share your voice recordings with other members then it is better to get a recorder that allows you to have individual user ID’s. There are also some that have features suitable for management. Some of these features include assigning different work types to dictation and automatically forwarding the transcriptions to a pre-assigned e-mail address.

Now you know the advantages of Digital Dictation, what it is used for, how it is different to analog tape recorders and what you need to look for when purchasing these devices. So get out there! Look for the best Digital Dictation device for you! After all, now you know EXACTLY what to look for!