Digital Or Analog Recorders Witch Do You Prefer.

I guess I'm a bit old fashioned and use both types of recorders. If I'm going to leave a recorder just sit somewhere for a while with no one else in the room I will use a digital recorder. When investigating a very quiet area I will use my micro cassette recorder. I've even used both simultaneously.
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I use the Olympus VN-8100PC. It has all the features with the exception of the microSD card slot. But for the cost I was willing to make that trade-off for the other features. Its lightweight so that if you drop it (which I know I will, given enough time) it will not just blast apart. So far its worked great for me, I bought a couple of them, and external microphones also. Although the internal works perfectly well.

crystalcross wrote: I would have to say I agree mostly. I think digital is the way to go because its much more versatile and easier to use. Both at the point of the investigation and also afterwards. Its much easier to go through digital data and download it quickly through USB or a microSD reader, than to try to listen to a load of bulky cassette tapes.

When I first went to go look for a digital recorder I was looking for a number of features. Your point about a microSD (or other card) is a great one. It enables you to not only have multiple media sets that you can easily plug/unplug if they're full. But also allows you to expand the available storage memory without having to purchase an entirely new product.

Another Must-have requirement for me was that it had the ability to attach an external microphone (stereo, not just one channel). This enables me to use a clip-on microphone with a wind screen. Also allows me to use each channel independently for whatever purpose I need at the moment.

Another thing was selectable recording format between PCM and MP3. Multiple compression levels to either maximize quality or space available. And then another requirement was to have multiple file folders where I could store files from different areas. Also the ability to tag recordings and timestamp.

And of course price was a big factor for me as well. I'm not rich, and have to work on a tight budget. And I think most people are in that same boat.

So just out of curiosity what digital recorder do you have?

I would have to say I agree mostly. I think digital is the way to go because its much more versatile and easier to use. Both at the point of the investigation and also afterwards. Its much easier to go through digital data and download it quickly through USB or a microSD reader, than to try to listen to a load of bulky cassette tapes.

When I first went to go look for a digital recorder I was looking for a number of features. Your point about a microSD (or other card) is a great one. It enables you to not only have multiple media sets that you can easily plug/unplug if they're full. But also allows you to expand the available storage memory without having to purchase an entirely new product.

Another Must-have requirement for me was that it had the ability to attach an external microphone (stereo, not just one channel). This enables me to use a clip-on microphone with a wind screen. Also allows me to use each channel independently for whatever purpose I need at the moment.

Another thing was selectable recording format between PCM and MP3. Multiple compression levels to either maximize quality or space available. And then another requirement was to have multiple file folders where I could store files from different areas. Also the ability to tag recordings and timestamp.

And of course price was a big factor for me as well. I'm not rich, and have to work on a tight budget. And I think most people are in that same boat.

tyrstag wrote: If you've read my other posts, I've talked about the good and bad of both.

Digital is prone to interference and compression errors. Analog is susceptible to ghosting, back masking and tape stretching.

To make a long story short(I know, too late) . . . use which ever you feel most comfortable with.

I actually prefer digital because it's easier to handle, use and move the files to a computer.

This would be why I prefer digital also. Plus I do not have to carry bulky tapes to change out. If I am doing a 4 hour investigation, I would need several tapes to carry with me, where as with digital I may need an extra micro sd card but that is easily portable.

If you've read my other posts, I've talked about the good and bad of both.

Digital is prone to interference and compression errors. Analog is susceptible to ghosting, back masking and tape stretching.

To make a long story short(I know, too late) . . . use which ever you feel most comfortable with.

I actually prefer digital because it's easier to handle, use and move the files to a computer.

Digital Or Analog Voice Recorders Witch Do You Prefer And Why.