‘Seems like just about every equipment manufacturer is coming out with similar versions of some sort of professional hand-held recorder.
This is an ad I got from BSW today, and hilites a unit I hadn’t seen before, although Olympus holds the corner on the market of low-priced hand-held consumer-level digital recorders..
I’ve blogged before about the unit I purchased last year, the Zoom H4. Now, there’s a Zoom H2 as well. See HERE for more information in a previous blog.
In addition, Sony, Edirol, Marantz, M-Audio, Tascam, Denon, and even BSW (which has it’s own offering in this now-crowded field) all are marketing units with similar features, and competitive pricing.
All have their commendable features, but if I may, a suggestion or two about what the Voice-Actor really needs from a recorder like this:
1) An easy-to-read digital display
2) SD and/or SDHC-card compatible (up to 4 Gigs if possible)
3) rechargeable battery
3) capability of recording in .wav, .mp3, and .wma as a minimum
4) capability of recording at two or more sampling frequencies (44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, and 96 kHz preferable)
5) easy linking, uploading/downloading to computer via USB
6) built-in compression, limiting, and/or mic emulation software (if you want)
7) a dedicated “pause” button
8) input and output level and gain controls
9) capable of recording directly to your computer as a USB audio interface
There’s more of course, and most of these units are feature-rich, but make sure you read the fine print to get the gizmo that’s right for you.
I did a lot of looking into this, and bought the Zoom H4 for a portable studio set-up. It works great, but I must admit it’s actually more than I need, as it is probably more appropriate for someone hoping to record garage-band stuff. It has 4-track mixing capability, and accepts XLR plugs from mics and guitars.
CourVO
