|
It is easy to use with intuitive menus. I purchased this to work with Dragon Naturally Speaking and it has worked great with easy transfer of files then recognition almost as good as my headset. It is sturdy and has handled many trips to the floor and still looks and works like new.
It doesnt work that well. One thing i didnt like was the voice up. Still have to try to find the best setting though. Volume is a bit low.have to find a way to increase that but quality is awesome. It just increases everything including the noise.
I do like that it will record to a memory stick duo card. However, I purchased this unit for recording in a classroom environment. The voice up feature increases the volume, but also increases the background noise. Don't be fooled by the "Date First Available on Amazon" on this page. The majority of battery drain on this device occurs during recording and playback.Digital Voice Editor Software:I had the same problem of losing the CD. If you find you need an older version of "Digital Voice Editor", try doing a google search for "Sony Digital Voice Editor download truckerphoto". While I still believe it is a very good recorder, I would encourage others to compare with newer models and other manufacturers.Tip: Invest in some high quality rechargeable batteries.
You don't have to turn off that display, right. Also, don't be lured into the new "Low-Discharge NiMH" batteries for this device. However, if you use your recorder daily or several days a week you'll appreciate the higher mAH you can get from the standard NiMH batteries. These "Low-discharge" batteries are great if you are only going to use your recorder once or twice a month because they don't drain/discharge as quickly while not in use.
I am currently exploring my options for external, directional microphones. Sound quality is still very good if you sit close to the front of the class room. 2 years ago, however, it wasn't available from Sony. You will get use to it, but I often get annoyed while toggling through the menus. Along with the MAHA AAA 1000 mAH NiMH batteries (the higher the mAH rating the better, as of the time of this review 1000 mAH is about the highest you can get). Overall, I am satisfied with this recorder. If you do a google search for the latest version "Sony Digital Voice Editor Version 3.1.03" it should be one of the first results. Since cards are cheap these days, this gives you virtually unlimited recording space.
I rarely find the voice up feature to help. Further, even with the display "on" battery drain is minimal. This "truckerphoto" website has download links to older versions and some helpful installation troubleshooting tips. I think this became publicly available after conflicts with Vista were discovered. I had to do a deep search on google until I found a consumer who set up a download link. Finally, the little "joystick" control is a bit cumbersome. Think of it as a digital watch. Personal Opinions:As for my opinion on this recorder.
Sound quality is excellent for dictation. Second, Digital Voice Editor Software IS available.Turning Off the Sony ICD-MX20:Flip the hold switch on the back of the recorder -> wait -> the display will turn off. Maybe that is the date that it was available from a particular seller, but this recorder has been available from Sony since 2005. However, if you have a lecturer that has a soft voice and you sit toward the middle/back of the class room you will certainly be disappointed. The Maha MH-C9000 Battery Charger is probably the best you can get.
This "review" is primarily to clear up some inaaccuracies I have read in many reviews for this recorder. I can record an entire semester of lectures on my 1GB card (high quality settings enabled) without a thought of running out of space. First, you can turn off this recorder without removing the batteries. I wish it recorded directly to MP3 instead of the Sony proprietary format (which requires the Digital Voice Editor software to convert to MP3). I have owned this recorder for almost 2 years and have always been able to find the software for download.
Currently the software is available for download from Sony. I have personally used both verities of batteries and I get longer play/record times from the standard MAHA 1000 mAH batteries over the "eneloop" & "Acculoop" 800 mAH "low-discharge" batteries.
I knew before the purchase that the software they provide was not Mac compatible, but didn't know that the audio could not be read by ANY Mac software. Sony should give you the option to recording uncompressed WAV or AIF, and not just their lousy MSV format. The device is great, audio quality and features fine, but their proprietary audio format and lack of ANY Macintosh software that can read it is infuriating. Fortunately I use boot camp but it is a pain. Sony, get your act together.
that works for somewhere between 1-10 months. 3 people I spoke to were obviously from India (and I don't have an issue with that if they can solve the problem,)they didn't know what backorder meant and told me that since it was order three months before, they would only be able to give me a refurbished recorder. Olympus gets great reviews, the only bummer is Sony directly interfaces with Dragon Naturally Speaking (awesome software, though it takes training time), and Olympus doesn't. They gave my call to some 'manager' who tried to sell me the same line of bull.
They tell me they'll fix it for $140, with a 30 day guarantee on their work. I'm looking into a way to make those two play well together; I'll let you know if it works. Do they not realize, anything with the Sony name affects their customer's opinions of them. Does some weird stuff and won't work.
I didn't drop it, expose it to water, nothing. I refused to accept anything less, so finally he agreed to replace it with a new one and gave me a work order#. It took two months on backorder to receive, and then it broke within a month. Sony Acid - Great. So for a mere $300 to $400 investment you can have a piece of %*. I've now spent over five hours on the phone between the two calls, and I still don't have a working recorder. I don't really understand this, since their software department was Extremely helpful, when I needed assistance with Acid Studio.
Not ten months after that the thing's broken again.
It's my opinion that this branch of Sony makes it their policy to use excessive hold times and shift callers around to get them to hang up and leave them alone.
Can I give this a minus five stars.
I was pissed, but it worked, so I let it go.
I received mine not long after they began making them, when they were running over $200.
About a month later I got the digital recorder with a refurbished sticker on it.
So I called them to return it, and spent 3 HOURS being shifted from person to person, with no results.
I refused and finally insisted on speaking to an America.
this thing - not worth your headache.
|
May be eligible for FREE Shipping offer
