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JohnnyBoy
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 Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2008 2:22 pm Post subject: iPod for voice notes |
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I would imagine that the answer to my questions is 'yes', but if you don't ask...
Can the recordings made by an iPod with plug in microphone be moved to a Mac HD? Can they be imported/understood/used by Mac applications?
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Pleiades
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| Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2008 2:50 pm Post subject: |
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Yes. AFAIK, all iPod mics use the iPod's internal recording system which records as WAV files and stores them on the iPod's HD where they can be copied off. Almost any sound application can handle WAV files, including VLC, Quicktime, Garageband, and iTunes.
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JohnnyBoy
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| Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2008 4:39 pm Post subject: |
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Nice one Clunk, thanks for the reply. I've given up trying to find voice memo software for my MacBook and am now looking into the alternatives. From what I can see people are less than impressed with the Griffin iTalk featured in the photo - but there are other companies making similar products.
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Cypher
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Joined: 24 Jan 2007
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| Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2008 4:59 pm Post subject: |
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After we spoke about voice recorders the other day Johnny, I popped an e-mail off to Olympus, the makers of my VN-3100PC digital voice recorder, to see if they had any plans to release a driver for the ever growing Mac community.
Here's the reply
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No.
Your only option would be to install Windows on your Mac.
(Can not confirm that would work either)
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Straight to the point and not very helpful. 
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JohnnyBoy
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| Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2008 5:16 pm Post subject: |
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Cypher, that's hilarious! 
At least you got a reply - I mailed Belkin last Sunday and have yet to hear a peep out of them. 
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Intel Mini 2.0GHz C2D (4GB/120GB/SuperDrive/10.5.8 ), 120GB WD Passport, Logitech ergo k/b
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barnz
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Joined: 19 Oct 2007
Posts: 423
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| Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2008 6:20 pm Post subject: |
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I have a really good one from xtrememac.
The bad news is it looks like they've dropped the product - no info at all on their website. 
The good news about the bad news is that people are of course blowing it out at great prices. Get two! 
Google Product Search
FWIW I haven't needed any support or instruction, it's very much plug and play with no learning curve. For Voice Memos the sound quality is excellent, even at the lower data rate. And you can either synch with iTunes or just use your iPod in HD mode and pull off the raw WAV files.
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JohnnyBoy
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| Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 7:09 am Post subject: |
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Wow, thanks for that Barnz! I've scouted around a bit and it seems that many people agree with you about the Xtrememac mic - it's very good at its job.
I'm particularly impressed with the model that works with an iPod Nano. However, I've only seen pictures of it plugged into a 2nd gen Nano - I don't know if this is because other Nanos have a different connector that would make them incompatible with this mic.
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barnz
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| Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 11:34 am Post subject: |
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| JohnnyBoy wrote: | ...
I'm particularly impressed with the model that works with an iPod Nano. However, I've only seen pictures of it plugged into a 2nd gen Nano - I don't know if this is because other Nanos have a different connector that would make them incompatible with this mic. |
Well, mine is on a video iPod, which is dedicated to the purpose of voice recording for my wife. I have a 2nd gen nano, and as I recall there were some significant changes from the 1st gen that made most peripherals obsolete. I think 1st gen had the headphone jack at the top??
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JohnnyBoy
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| Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 1:49 pm Post subject: |
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TBH Barnz, the reason I was interested in the Nano compatibility is here (note the price  )
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Pleiades
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| Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 1:50 pm Post subject: |
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Both the first and second gen Nanos had the dock and the headphone jack at the bottom, however they were spaced differently for each gen, hence the change in peripherals.
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JohnnyBoy
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| Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 1:56 pm Post subject: |
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...and I suppose that the 3rd gen is different again
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Pleiades
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| Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 2:03 pm Post subject: |
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I'm not positive, but probably. Not to mention, a lot of the modern iPods have issues with some of the recorders.
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barnz
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| Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 3:40 pm Post subject: |
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| JohnnyBoy wrote: | | TBH Barnz, the reason I was interested in the Nano compatibility is here (note the price ) |
WOW. 2 pound 99....
If you are at all interested in voice recording, I would say get a couple of the mics and a refurb 2gen nano to use as a dedicated device. You should be set for years.
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MacMini 2GHz C2D 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD| Panasonic TH-37PX60U | iPhone 3G 16GB
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Cypher
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| Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 5:07 pm Post subject: |
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| JohnnyBoy wrote: | ...and I suppose that the 3rd gen is different again
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I never realised that the Nano's had the headphones in the bottom. My daughter bought one today. I thought it was great at first but having the head phones on the bottom is a real pain. You have to unplug them to dock the iPod, and even if you use the cable its a nightmare to release as the headphones get in the way of the release catch.
Other than that it looks a great little player. Its half the size of my iPod Video and at least half the thickness.
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JohnnyBoy
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| Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 2:50 pm Post subject: |
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Well I tried to kill two birds with one cheap stone today.
Leafing through the Argos catalogue, I saw a cheap MP3 player with a built-in mic that allowed the user to take voice notes. It also had a tiny readout of the track being played, so I thought that it would solve the problem I've been having while playing audiobooks that I detailed in another thread. So I bought one.
The first thing I noticed was that the build quality was crap. I tried three different AAA batteries but it wouldn't power up. Then I went back to the first battery and it inexplicably decided to function.  I plugged it into the Mini and it appeared on the desktop looking to the Mac just like a USB pen drive. I dragged an MP3 track across to it and ejected the device and it played okay. However the tiny display was tiny, and its text was hard to read - for those who remember dot-matrix printers, the typeface was decidedly "draft pica". Still nothing terrible up to this point....
I managed to navigate my way through the fiddly interface to the sound record option, and record a sample of my voice to test the quality of the mic. It was awful. I could make out what I was saying, but the sound quality was something that would have made gramophone enthusiasts cringe.
Looking for some positive points, I dragged some audiobook chapters into the MP3 player, but it screwed that up as well - the device had somehow managed to re-order the chapters: 1, 2, 4, 5, 3.....
I gave up, took it back to Argos and sweet-talked the assistant into giving me a refund.
Today's lesson? You get what you pay for. For now, it's back to my Sony dictaphone and mini-cassettes...
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Intel Mini 2.0GHz C2D (4GB/120GB/SuperDrive/10.5.8 ), 120GB WD Passport, Logitech ergo k/b
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