Wainer,
Thanks for taking the trouble to do this. As someone wondering what to get
for our department at the moment, this is very helpful.
Best wishes,
Alan
>From: "Lusoli,W (pgr)" <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: qual-software <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Report on DM-20
>Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 13:41:09 -0000
>
>Hallo -
>
>some time ago I posted an enquiry re low-budget digital recorders. A friend
>has bought the Olympus DM-20, and since I have been using it all the time I
>thought it would be good to post a short assessment.
>(Many thanks to all those who sent suggestions!)
>
>Name: Olympus DM-20.
>
>Specs: 128 MB in built memory. For recording frequencies (4 options) and
>all that see maker's site.
>
>Price: 350 Euros in the Netherlands, nowhere to be found in the UK. We have
>to go trough Uni procurement, and that makes things worse. But even as a
>layman I could not find it anywhere worth travelling to (form Manchester,
>UK, at least).
>
>Weight: trivial, can sit in a shirt pocket.
>
>What you get: device; cradle; USB connecting cable; all fit in soft-box
>(some 14x8x2 cm approx); remote (wire control); headphones; batteries (2).
>
>Usability: takes five seconds to unzip and place in front of the
>interviewee. Handy rec button, with waves indicating recording in progress.
>Five folders, in case you forget who you have interviewed. It has just one
>plug for headphones, remote and mic. Clever, but you cannot listen on the
>headphone while you record, or command an external mic with the remote.
>Shame.
>
>User friendliness: not too bad, though I have not figured out how to pause
>the recorder during an interview. Sure, you can use the editing facility
>post hoc, but it would be rather easier to do it on the spot. And, I expect
>to figure that out without having to use the TM (technical manual,
>according to military jargon). That's not user friendly.
>
>Output: Using Sony stereo T recorder: very good. Microphone is crucial, but
>that's always the case. Strange enough the two in-build mics are good, the
>one on the shuttle particularly good. I have used it at a conference, some
>20 yards from the speaker, 64 bit rate on the Olympus DSS high quality
>mode. I pointed it at the speaker, and thought it would just get a lot of
>noise. Surprise, not the best recording in the world, but good enough for
>transcription.
>
>Formats and autonomy: with stereo mic you get what they call 'S-Hi'
>quality, a WMA (Windows media audio) file, directly portable to computer.
>Some 8.5 hours recording. With Hi mono you get DSS file, which is Olympus
>proprietary compression. Some 16 Hours. Overall, if you are doing more than
>8 hours recs on the move, and have no laptop to back up (and in that case
>you can use the laptop!), mini-disk is a better option.
>
>Batteries: 10 hours recording the first set, at 9 hours now, but awaiting
>corroboration from second set.
>
>Connectivity: USD from cradle or device to computer. Software is easy to
>use and quite straightforward. Can be configured from the computer, meaning
>one can change folder names, up/download stuff, edit. I have not tried
>DM-20 with Mac, I was told it makes no difference, but could not confirm.
>
>Geek factor: if you are doing interviews with computer-literate
>interviewees, or just plain geeks :) the recorder makes quite an
>impression. Might be good to break ice :) (was good for us, actually).
>
>Dangers: no solid state, meaning that you have all your precious material
>on the device memory until you download it to your PC. Thus, same risk of
>tea-spilling as for any other device, including mini-disks... Alas, I had
>my magnetic tape recorder along for back-up, and I assume all anxious
>people like me do have three-level redundancies at interviews....X-ray
>resistant (tested), no risk of data loss on that front.
>
>Downs: it does not allow for voice recognition, according to the manual....
>naahhh. Just more complicated. Saved my DSS into WMA, and all was fine.
>Mah.
>
>Music & data: yeah, you can use it both as an MP3 - WMA reader, and as a
>USB virtual disk. Tried both, ordinary. I'll stick to my USK key for the
>time being.
>
>Final note. Quite handy when we'll deposit data with the UKDA. Sure, it
>will be anonymised, and part of it embargoed, yet it will save us quite a
>lot of transcription time (and money).
>
>Value for money: 8/10. And no, I'm not from Olympus. Quite a few things
>need improving, but overall good stuff.
>I think I'll get one myself.
>
>I'd be curious to know whether anyone else has tried it, and had different
>impressions. Send them along.
>
>Best regards,
>
>Wainer
>
>ESRI - University of Salford
>http://www.ipop.org.uk
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