check out this digital sound recorder for PDA

ucfitkid · 04-14-03, 02:55 AM

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

Looks pretty interesting as a solution for good quality audio recording for out PDA's. Now I can nap in class and let my Axim do all the listening.

io333 · 04-14-03, 08:04 AM

It won't work. You need to be able to have two CF slots, which is currently only possible with a dual card expansion pac for the ipaq

etrik · 04-15-03, 02:02 PM

actually it might work as it needs 1 cf slot for the hardware and it assume you use the other for storage. we axim peeps have a sd slot for storage so we sould be good to go. only problem i see is that it only takes digital/optical inputs so no mic.

Wayfinder · 04-15-03, 04:30 PM

What I want is a CF card that contains a good-quality microphone recording system so I can do quality recording using my PDA. I play guitar and would love something that I could just set up real quick and do a good-quality sound recording, which I then would transfer to my computer system for CD burning.

(By good quality, I mean no hiss or "hollow" sounds... and of course since it's a PDA, there won't be any system noise like with my desktop computer. That would be cool).

However, at $199 the price is to tell the truth, out of whack. For that money I could buy a top-notch portable digital recorder.

04-15-03, 04:35 PM

Check out VITO SoundExplorer. Not a hardware solution, but I did get better results than the built in app...

VITO SoundExplorer

Aximsite.com Review

Wayfinder · 04-15-03, 05:44 PM

Well, the program looks kewl, and it's cheap... but the Dell needs a better microphone system if it's going to be used for quality recording. A CF mike would be just the ticket (too bad the Dell doesn't come with an external microphone jack. That would solve the problem).

Add another item to the wish list.

DavidOFOTD · 04-21-03, 07:08 PM

I had actually started a thread about this very same product.

http://www.aximsite.com/boards/showt...&threadid=8079

Here are the are the pros and cons to this product or better yet this product w/ the Axim.

Pros:
Lossless digital recording!!!!!!!!
Compact Flash size
Future storage expansion
Ability to record 24bit audio
Replacement for DAT recorder
Ability to patch via 802.11

Cons:
No SD cards big enough (keeping price in mind)
No dual expansion CF pack for the Axim (ipaq only)

What this card does folks is allow you to record CD AND DVD quality audio into your PDA to a CF or SD card. You do NOT have to convert to MP3 or WPA or any other lossy format. 95% of the people out there couldn't tell the difference or better yet 95% of the people could care less about the quality while 5% of us want quality. Why spend good money and have inferior sound? Its like buying a high-def big screen tv and running your VCR through it as opposed to a satellite dish or DVD. BIG difference in quality if you care. But if you spent the money on the High-Def TV you SHOULD care about quality. As an example 2 channel 24bit recording takes 2GB per hour. Where the CD quality 16bit is roughly 650MB per hour.

Musicians could find this product of particular use as well. By using a format converter you could go from a guitar into a format converter into the Axim. Then still digitally send that track to the DAW for editing/burning/etc.

For persons wanting to record meetings or speechs, using a format converter and the PDA you are golden with broadcast quality audio. You can ALWAYS dither down to lesser quality to save space. But at least you have the option of the highest quality.

As Axim owners I see us as having 2 vaiable options. 1. Is to spend a ton of money on a huge SD card. 2. Somehow persuade the manufactures of the dual expansion slots to manufacture one for the Axim or at least modify an exisiting one for the Axim.

Folks, this is an incredable technology that is fast becoming the standard. I feel that as Axim owners we should continue to push for greater technology. And especially technology that works for my Axim just like an ipaq user would get.

David

Massive Quasars · 04-21-03, 07:46 PM

When MP3 or better yet OGG recording does come to PDA's is when I will record class length audio on my PDA. With a 256mb card on mp3 128kbs I could get 1 min = 1mb (approx.) for over over 200mins of audio at good quality. Doing the same with OGG could give me double to quadruple the amount of recording time (depending on how much fidelity I want to lose).

Wayfinder · 04-21-03, 08:09 PM

It's a really nice idea to be able to record quality sound on the Ax... but for most folks I think this device is overkill. Much more preferrable:

A simple CF recording system that lets us record in quality MP3 format (or CD format, whichever we choose). It could either have a GOOD built-in microphone (considering there is NO sound interference from the Ax as there is from say, a desktop computer) or it could simply have a mini-plug jack for a quality external microphone. Either way, they need to keep the price well under $100 ($59.95 sounds about right).

All I want to do is be able to three things:

1. Sit at a business meeting and record all the voices in quality
2. Sit at a music concert and do a decent recording job (if such is allowed at the concert, of course)
3. Or more importantly for me, to sit down with my guitar and record a new song that just popped into my head.

I'm amazed the industry hasn't jumped on this yet.

But in my mind, we don't need a dual-CF card monster that costs as much as a quality digital recorder. I'm sure some people will buy it, but they'll be relatively few in number-- especially once someone figures out a simpler recording system.

Just my opinion, mind ya. I don't know a whole lot about such things.

DavidOFOTD · 04-22-03, 03:34 PM

I think that there may some misunderstandings about this whole topic or better yet the concept of this type of use/device. MP3, OGG, WMA are LOSSY formats. That means that you are losing quality. You are NOT making quality recording. MP3 is such a crappy technology but it caught on so it is a standard. Its kinda of like Beta/VHS. Beta was FAR superior to VHS. Not a little difference but a BIG difference. VHS caught on though and the majority of people who didn't know better thought that VHS was the greatest thing on the planet. MP3 is the same way. It is just the popular format. There are audio formats out there now that are LOSSLESS. That means that the audio is in no way, shape or form changed. With MP3 the highs and lows are cut out so you are left with all mids. OGG works the same way basically. Two formats are out now Shorten (SHN) and FLAC. These two formats are lossless. They do not cut out any frequencies and are a true representation of what is being recorded. Please if you have a second take one of your own store-bought cd's and pick one track and mp3 it. Listen to the original cd and then the mp3. Even on cheap computer speakers you can tell the difference. And it is a big difference.

The big advantage to the expansion pack is the ability to use Compact Flash. The price difference between CF and SD is huge!

Now in regards to using other hard drive based recording. There are NO products on the market or apparently on the horizon that can offer reliable use at a reasonable price. There is the Nomad JB3 which really in all honesty sucks. It does not deliver as promised, its has lots of digi-noise and is not reliable yet. I guess what bothers me is that people seem to think the this is not suited for the Axim or that the Aximis over-kill. Its funny because I think this is such a great use for the Axim.

deftech · 04-22-03, 06:09 PM

Yes, I agree totally about the lossy formats mentioned in this thread not being good for live recording. I mentioned in my previous post about the huge quality difference that I can personally hear.....there is no way that I would ever consider recording a concert in MP3 format. I was a member of the Etree trading community for a couple of years (but haven't had time to trade/collect in about 6 months). They do NOT ALLOW mp3 or any other lossy format files to be traded. They prefer SHN files (Shorten files), as were mentioned by David. This is a lossless format.....if you ever listen to one, then encode an mp3 from the same source.....you WILL hear the difference easily!!!

--deftech

HBKDinobot · 04-22-03, 06:42 PM

Personally I don't care as much about the quailty, I just want to be able to record voices or sounds that aren't right in front of the Axim. Thats all I want, I would like to record lectures at school, or things like a normal voice recorder could pick up.

Wayfinder · 04-22-03, 09:00 PM

In regard to the lossless formats...

How much memory does a lossless format take compared to an identical recording in MP3?

The reason I ask is because while I enjoy good sound, I'm not really an audiophile (which I think applies to most people) and for my use, MP3 works just fine. Like you, if a better format is available I want to use it. But there are memory considerations.

MP3 is good enough that recently at a part I hooked my Ax in to my stereo and it played music for 3 straight hours with no discernable difference.

Now I know that if I played a CD and an MP3 side by side, I'd probably notice a difference. But for practical use, MP3 does just fine.

Of course, if lossless really compacts the files and does a better job, AND I can play them right from my Ax without purchasing further devices, AND I can create my own lossless files without having to buy a $100 piece of software, I'd rather use that format.

But if these things aren't true with lossless, I'll stick with MP3s and I think most of the general public would do so as well.

(BTW, I surely do agree with you on the BETA/VHS battle. My BETA machine was MUCH better than my VHS machine. Too bad VHS won out. That's marketing and greed for you).

Massive Quasars · 04-23-03, 04:18 AM

Just for some clarification I am not a complete retard. I know that so called "lossy" compression algorithms like mp3 and ogg will deteriorate the sound quality of a live recording when it is compressed on the fly. However I point it out merely as a statement of the possibilities in terms of maximizing available storage for the most audio.

deftech · 04-23-03, 12:44 PM

Yes, you can fit much more with the lossy formats in a given amount of space. It just depends on how much you like music (i.e. if you REALLY listen closely to small detail), and the type of equipment that you use to play back the music. The SHN (Shorten) format that was mentioned is one of the best lossless formats, but a given concert that I have collected runs anywhere from 700MB all the way up to 1.5GB.

Hrmm....now that I think about it, I wish I had approximate numbers right in front of me. It would probably be easy to switch CF or SD cards in between sets....kinda like switching DATs. Smaller cards are always cheaper than thier 1GB+ counterparts.

--deftech