Review on OM Digital Solutions DS-30 SEO-Optimized Digital Voice Recorder by James Richardson

I don't know what problems other people have had with this recorder before but I found it very easy to use if you have worked with electronics or a computer before. Even on the box I was able to figure out how to use all the features of this recorder including using the software without even touching the instructions. It doesn't do much, so it doesn't take much to figure it out. Select, record, play, transfer, organize folders. The Olympus DVR is beautifully built, very small and light: like a fancy PEZ dispenser. The sound quality is excellent for a portable voice recorder. Comes with a stereo microphone that can be plugged in and unplugged from the top; or use the built-in monaural microphone to make it even smaller. I've found that a monaural mic sounds much better for recording voice, as stereo picks up too much of the ambient noise. Plus a smaller file size. A stereo microphone is really good for capturing a "panoramic view" of sound from all angles, but not so good for dictation, interviews, or lectures. You can plug in almost any mini-jack mic: camera mics, lavaliers, phone headsets, etc. I use an old cell phone headset (FYI: same as Skype/Internet headsets) that plugs into it while driving , and it works great! The sound is great because the headset mic is next to my mouth and I can hear the playback in my ear. I spend a lot of time driving and get most of my ideas on the road so it's really helpful. when applied to the correct shooting situation. Installing and transferring the software was fairly easy, as was the program itself; although I probably won't use it since I have other audio editing programs. Olympus creates a proprietary DSS audio file (extremely small file size compared to standard WMA) that can be converted to WMA, although I don't recommend bloating your files unless you have to. The program is mostly useful only for storing, organizing and playing your files. If you want to do more, such as B. editing or converting files for other purposes, you must use other programs that better suit your needs. If you're just starting out, you can easily do this for FREE using the internet and a few Google searches. May I suggest "Audacity" or "i-tunes". You'll be surprised what you can do for free with a little research. All in all a great little recorder that has exceeded my expectations, especially in this price range. Highly recommended.