Capturing Your Voice for Posterity : Resco Audio Recorder 2.11 Reviewed [Archive]

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John Walkosak

08-22-2003, 05:00 PM

Sure, the voice recorder feature of the Pocket PC is nice and all, but only for making a quick voice memo. What if you need more – to record a meeting or a lecture? The voice recorder falls short. Audio Recorder v2.11 by Resco aims to fill this bill. But does it work? <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/walkosak-aug03-audiorecorder-01.jpg" /> <!> I go to a lot of meetings and at many of them I am responsible taking the meeting minutes. As many of you can attest, many times during meetings, multiple people talk at once, and many people talk rapidly. Now, I’m no court stenographer, so it’s tough to be able write everything as it’s said. In the past I have used a micro cassette recorder to record the meeting for playback later. But hey, I have a Pocket PC, and I don’t want to carry anything else. So, I started to look for something beyond the basic voice recorder that’s on my Pocket PC. That search led me to Audiorecorder. What’s it do? Audiorecorder seeks to overcome the shortcomings of the voice notes – namely those of filesize and file manipulation (the ability to rename and/or edit a file). The default format for audio on the Pocket PC is a WAV file, which can make for some really honkin’ big files. Audiorecorder states that it has the following capabilities: <li>Can record to an MP3 (Better compression for longer files); <li>Can record to a. WAV file (Better sound quality, but the files are big); <li>Can tag portions of a file for editing; <li>Can use voice activated recording (if you say so); <li>Can set a timer for a recording to begin and end. Is That a Micro Cassette in Your Hand? The main interface is attractive, and harkens to a handheld recorder. To continue this theme, the software can remap the hardware so that the software can be run completely without the stylus, making it very easy to pull out and use in a meeting. This is a really nice touch. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/walkosak-aug03-audiorecorder-08.jpg" /> Figure 1: Mapping of Hardware keys, from the instruction documentation. Capturing Your Voice for Posterity The software can save to the standard WAV file or for longer recording sessions you can save to an MP3 file (of various compressions) giving you lots of playback options. One of the power features allows for the tagging of your recorded files. This means that, during playback only, you can mark certain portions of your audio as areas of interest, and send these out into another file. This is a great function, because it allows you to play back the audio of, say, an hour long meeting, and tag only the portion during which your client agrees to triple your fee! This tagged file can then be saved separately into its own file, and saved, emailed, etc. A really cool side feature allows you to tag any appropriate file, not just your own recordings; you can use this to crop out snippets of your favorite MP3 file. It's not really a sound editor, but you can do a lot with this feature. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/walkosak-aug03-audiorecorder-06.jpg" /> Figure 2: Tagging a portion of the audio. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/walkosak-aug03-audiorecorder-07.jpg" /> Figure 3: List of tagged areas of sound file. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/walkosak-aug03-audiorecorder-05.jpg" /> Figure 4: Exporting the tagged portion to a new file. Can you Hear Me Now? While the software is supposed to be able to let you save to an MP3 file, I had a difficulty with this. There are two sets of settings for each file you record: file type (which translates into compression) and microphone sensitivity. As mentioned above, the file type means saving to a .WAV file for better quality, or to an MP3 file for longer but poorer quality files. Microphone sensitivity refers to the ability of the software to detect sounds away from the microphone, and to some extent to operate as a voice activated recorder. Both attempt to level out the microphone volume and make for a more even sounding playback. By adjusting sensitivity, you can have the software record sound only above a certain volume, etc. When recording to a .WAV file, I got good results with both settings, but when I tried to record to an MP3 file, the sound was unusable. I used this software to record a meeting in a large council meeting chamber, and the sound file was very nearly unintelligible. Listening to it gave me a headache (and not just because it was a council meeting) because it was filled with fragments of words: the beginnings and/or ends of words were cut off, sentences were skipped, etc. Adjusting the microphone gain in the control panel never seems to be any help. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/walkosak-aug03-audiorecorder-02.jpg" /> Figure 5: The software gives you the ability to choose standard and long play file types. Look Ma! No Hands! The software also has a scheduled recording feature, which would allow you to set a timer, and set recording to start automatically. This could be a really useful feature; for example, you arrive at you meeting five minutes early, and don't want to be bothered remembering to start the recorder when everyone else shows up. Just set the schedule for five minutes in the future, and then set it for the anticipated length of the meeting, and viola! You're set to go. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/walkosak-aug03-audiorecorder-03.jpg" /> Figure 5: The recording scheduler claims to give you the ability to record unattended. This feature comes in handy. Just set it and forget it, as they say on TV. However, I should caution that it may not be legal in your area to use this function to record a meeting without the participant’s knowledge. Gotchas Overall, this is a good package, with the only exception being the disappointing quality of the MP3 files. This is a serious flaw in an otherwise good product. Where To Buy The software can be <a href="http://www.handango.com/brainstore/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=311&productId=21685">downloaded from Handango</a> or purchased for $19.95 (affiliate link). Specifications This program will work on any Pocket PC 2002 device – I do not know if the program will work Windows Mobile 2003 (I am still waiting for my HP 2215) :? . It takes 712 kb of memory. Conclusions While the program has a great interface and hardware button mapping, and a really useful file tagging feature, I was disappointed that my files saved as MP3s were not usable. Overall however, this will be a useful addition for those who need to extend the capabilities of the voice recorder.

CTSLICK

08-22-2003, 05:19 PM

Pat Logsdon

08-22-2003, 05:29 PM

Nice review! Kudos to Resco for the UI design - very slick!

dean_shan

08-22-2003, 05:56 PM

How does this compare to NoteM (http://www.geocities.com/zavorine/wince/mp3.htm). I record a lot of things with that (sermons, meetings, seminars, etc) would it be worth $20 for the Resco or should I stick with the FREE NoteM?

pepemosca

08-22-2003, 06:25 PM

I have been using Resco AudioRecorder for a wile, and i have to say that is great!

But, the MP3 recording is not great (as John Walkosak said). Sounds like an old LP.

Still, a great software! (I think that is the best on audio recording)

Andy Whiteford

08-22-2003, 06:43 PM

It's a great product let down by the mp3 recording as stated and this would be one of the most sought after features for myself. I would say quality of recording is on a par with NoteM although the interface and features of Resco's product win hands down. I must state I haven't done any extensive testing between the two. For anyone looking for a quality mp3 recorder, I suggest keeping an eye on Vito's Sound Explorer v3 which is currently in beta. The quality of mp3 recording far surpasses Resco and NoteM from what I have tested.

qmrq

08-22-2003, 06:59 PM

Interesting product

Can you give some examples of files sizes? i.e. settings used, time recorded, resulting file size

Does adjusting the sensitivity to only records sounds above a particular level help keep the file's size down?

You can figure that out yourself. :)

Take the length of the file in seconds, multiplied by the bitrate you will record at. Usually 32kbit / s for voice. Divide the product by eight to get a result in kilobytes. Divide that by one thousand and twentyfour to get result in megabytes. So let's say you want to record fifteen minutes of voice..

15m * 60 = 900s
900s * 32kbit / s = 28,800kbit
28,800kbit / 8 = 3600kbyte
3600kbyte / 3.515625mbyte

DimensionZero

08-22-2003, 07:09 PM

this is great and all..... but, what if during the meeting you needed to refer to something on your PPC? then what? :mrgreen:

peterawest

08-22-2003, 07:35 PM

what if during the meeting you needed to refer to something on your PPC?
I've used NoteM and had that happen. You can continue to record, but everything you do on the PPC will make lots of noise on the recording. A simple tap will come in very loud on the recording.

T-Will

08-22-2003, 08:09 PM

Too bad NoteM doesn't work on WM2003... :(

acutchin

08-22-2003, 08:44 PM

ctmagnus

08-22-2003, 11:18 PM

That's what I was thinking (except the music thing). An add-on microphone would likely greatly improve recording quality, even with MP3 format.

John Walkosak

08-23-2003, 02:26 AM

this is great and all..... but, what if during the meeting you needed to refer to something on your PPC? then what? :mrgreen:

I had this happen quite alot, and the most annoying result for me on my old IPaq 3835 was lag; the whole device just....ran....a little....more....slowly......

John Walkosak

08-23-2003, 02:32 AM

Do you have to use the built-in mic for recording on a PPC, or are there offboard, higher-quality microphones available? I've got a Samsung i700 PPCPE and would like use it to record live music. Any suggestions? -- Aaron

I just used the built in microphone in the IPaq. I am not familiar with any methods of connecting another mic to the system. Has anyone done this?

dean_shan

08-23-2003, 02:50 AM

I had this happen quite alot, and the most annoying result for me on my old IPaq 3835 was lag; the whole device just....ran....a little....more....slowly......

I haven't had much lag when recording with NoteM and playing Diamond Mine.

jonlien2003

08-23-2003, 04:07 AM

My vote is for notem. It is one of the reasons why I have not upgraded to WM2003. SoundExplorer gets the distance second only because it is not free and it lacks notem's superior recording quality and diminutive file size. Let's hope that Vito continues to improve SoundExplorer because it doesn't look like the developer of notem is putting much effort into his own product.

ctmagnus

08-23-2003, 06:49 AM

I just used the built in microphone in the IPaq. I am not familiar with any methods of connecting another mic to the system. Has anyone done this?

The headphone jack in tthe 5400/5500 series doubles as a microphone jack.

gpspassion

08-23-2003, 02:54 PM

It seems mp3 recording is a bit of a challenge on PocketPCs...With NoteM, at a conservative (and max for the micrphone anyway) 56kbps/22khz, there's a lot of skipping on my Dell Axim and it generally peters out after 18/20mn :-(

Is anyone getting flawless mp3 recording at these bitrates?

Godsongz

08-23-2003, 05:04 PM

Is this the latest version of what Resco used to call "SPA - Speech Personal Assistant"?

iPaqDude

08-23-2003, 05:36 PM

Is this the latest version of what Resco used to call "SPA - Speech Personal Assistant"?

Yep. I had the original SPA and had gone to this product right after it came out - then immiediately went back to SPA.

I am now using this version and most of the bugs that were in the original version have been corrected (ie: this version works....), as well as an update to the UI - and there is some documentation. Overall, I think this is a really good piece of software and has come in handy several times in meetings.

I am not familiar with noteM, so I cannot contrast the two.

droppedd

08-24-2003, 07:05 AM

Resco's recorder doesn't work right on my 2210 - records very choppy audio after the first few seconds. VITO sound explorer works much better, at least on the 2210.

There is but one outboard mic solution i've heard of for PPCs without a mic jack like the 5400... PDAudio's CF digital input card. It's rather klunky, since you'd need an outboard A/D mic preamp and an external XLR mic. But it would likely give extremely high quality audio due to the dedicated preamp and pure digital recording onto the PDA.

http://www.core-sound.com/HighResRecorderNews.html#NEWS

There are also a few PCMCIA sound cards out there... I don't know if they'd work in a PDA with a PC Card sleeve/adapter; i doubt there are drivers for PPC. Correct me if i'm wrong though.

iPaqDude

08-24-2003, 04:44 PM

Resco's recorder doesn't work right on my 2210 - records very choppy audio after the first few seconds. VITO sound explorer works much better, at least on the 2210.

Hmmm.... I am using the Resco product on my 2215 - sound has been recorded very well (WMA), even after some 1/2 to 1 hour meetings, and a couple of those while in my zippered notebook. You might want to look at what else you have running at the same time - I usually don't have anything other than PI running.

Talyn

08-27-2003, 03:06 PM

One thing I didn't see mentioned in the review was the VAS slider, where you can adjust the sensitivity of the mic to the ambient noise in the room. Once you get it set properly, you can just leave your device alone, and record someone giving a lecture, and when he pauses speaking, recording pauses too, then picks up again as soon as the speaker begins again. Works very nicely, and is something NoteM does not do.

Max Kirichenko

09-11-2003, 07:19 AM

The company called Core Sound says to release their external microphone + built-in recorder based on CF card. Take a look at it here: http://www.core-sound.com/

VITO SoundExplorer doesn't support this yet, but I think it will in future. Also, we're planning to release similar device based on SD or CF memory card with built-in audio compressor.

Just for your note. SoundExplorer version 3.2 has been released.

lok1234

02-17-2005, 10:19 AM

I read your reply about RESCO SPA.

I had used SPA to record a speech which last for about 4 hours.

There are two files generated after recording:
1. Session 0.spa (file size: 1K)
2. Session 0 - 0.pck (file size: 40Mb)

I cannot export this file to wav format. RESCO SPA always claims i do not have enough space for my memory card even i used 1G SD card.
(For my estimation, only 350Mb is required, so, i think it is program bug)

I have tried to use Audio Recorder (the latest version of RESCO SPA), but it does not support this kind of file format.

Do you have any idea for how to export the file to wav format?

Thank you a lot.. I am really in urgent for solving this problem..