Choosing a Digital Voice Recorder
by Jennifer Tribe
Published on this site: October 25th, 2004
Thanks to digital voice recorders, creating audio products
has never been easier or more affordable. These recorders
are powerful machines capable of capturing quality audio
files
yet small and lightweight enough to slip into your pocket.
And with average prices in the $100 to $200 range, they won’t
blow your budget.
Whether you want to record teleclasses, scripted readings or live
speeches, a digital voice recorder (DVR) is definitely a good investment
for an infopreneur interested in audio products. In my own quest
to find a suitable recorder, I discovered four things you need to
consider when choosing a DVR for an infopreneuring program.
PC Connection
Make sure your DVR comes with a data port and a cable that will
connect to your computer and allow you to upload your digitized
recordings. This is critical for infopreneurs because getting the
files onto your computer is the first step towards turning them
into products. Once the files are on your computer, you can manipulate
and edit them. It’s then a simple matter of burning CDs or
creating downloadable audio files such as MP3s.
Recording Time
Digital voice recorders vary widely in the length of the audio
files they can hold. Some hold just 90 minutes of voice recordings
while others can store more than 20 hours. A few models come with
memory sticks to expand the
recorder’s storage capability.
The amount of audio a DVR can hold is linked to the recording’s
sound quality since higher quality audio files take up more storage
space in the recorder’s memory. Many DVRs have two quality
settings, a lower setting that gives you poorer quality recordings
but more storage space and one that gives you higher quality recordings
with less storage space.
The lower setting can be used for practice runs but for audio products
you wish to sell, you definitely want to use the setting that will
produce the clearest files. Keeping that in mind, make sure the
recorder you choose can hold the length of audio you need when it’s
at its highest setting.
You probably won’t need a tremendous amount of storage.
Remember that you can upload files to your computer after
each recording then clear them from the DVR memory. Thus,
if you are recording mostly hour-long teleclasses or 30-minute
speaking engagements, a few hours of recording time will be
plenty. For myself, I chose a recorder that could hold four
hours of audio at its higher setting since I anticipated the
longest single recording I might make would be to capture
a half-day seminar.
Microphones
Look for DVRs with a microphone jack since using a microphone
will deliver better sound quality. Some recorders even come
bundled with a clip-on mic so you don’t have to buy one
separately. A clip-on mic is great for unobtrusively capturing
live speaking engagements while a good quality handheld mic
might be the way to go if you are recording scripted material.
Telephone Adaptor
My recorder came bundled with an adaptor
that connects to my telephone and captures recordings directly
from the phone line. Since it's
wonderful for recording teleclasses, it's an extra goodie that’s
definitely worth looking for.
Digital voice recorders come with a
variety of other features beyond these four but I have found these
are the top ones to consider if
audio products are the end goal for your recordings.
What kind of recorder did I end up buying? I selected a Cubig CVR-L210
(http://www.cubig.com/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=55),
which I purchased at Radio Shack for less than $150 CDN. It has
served me well.
© 2004 Juiced Consulting Turn your expertise
into money-making information products like books, audio tapes
and teleclasses! Juiced Consulting shows you how. For a free
e-zine and other resources, visit www.juicedconsulting.com.
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