Olympus VN-8100PC Digital Voice Recorder 142600 (Silver and Black)

I just ordered this Olympus VN-8100PC digital voice recorder a few days ago and so far it has worked pretty good. I had an older digital voice recorder, but it didn't have a USB port, so I couldn't transfer files to my PC which is what I wanted, so I bought this. I've made several recordings and transferred them to my PC and they sound good, all you do is plug it into a USB port on your computer and then you can access this device just like a USB thumb drive.I decided to go with this one because the older Olympus model VN-6200PC on Amazon has over a hundred reviews that are mostly all positive, and this one is simply an updated more advanced model with 2GB of memory instead. I checked the Olympus website and this one is very close to the 6200PC model that everybody loves, but with more features and an easier looking layout. The most important difference is the ability to record in MP3 format, the 6200PC can only record in WMA format. Also this one has 2GB of memory, so you can record for a long time, and if the memory fills up you can just transfer the files off the device to your computer.As far as the layout of the on screen menu settings and buttons on the device, it is super easy. I didn't even read the instruction manual to figure everything out, I just played around with it for a few minutes and everything was pretty much self explanatory, it's designed so anybody can use it without having to click through a bunch of settings and crap just to get it to work.If you buy this device, one very handy accessory to get is the Olympus TP-7 Telephone Recording Device. It sells here on Amazon for $[...] or so and has a ton of reviews all rating it very positive. I bought it with mine and it works perfectly, I recorded a phone conversation earlier today to test it out and it worked great. The main purpose of buying this digital voice recorder was really to record phone conversations using the TP7. All you do is plug the TP7 into the mic input on your digital voice recorder, and then put the ear piece into your ear and when you are on the phone talking to someone hit "record" then when you are done hit "stop" and that is it. The Olympus digital recorders only record in mono, so that means when you play back your phone conversation on your computer speakers/headphones you will only hear sound from one speaker/headphone, but that really isn't a problem or big deal since it's only a conversation you're listening too and not music.As a side note, hopefully more people realize the VN-6200PC is an old model and do not buy it instantly just because it has a ton of good reviews. I almost did that until I went to the Olympus website and realized this 8100PC model was newer and better then the 6200PC and cost pretty much the same.If this review helped you, leave a comment or something :)

Olympus VN-8100PC Digital Voice Recorder 142600 (Silver and Black) Started taking guitar lessons and realized I needed to record my sessions. I would recommend this unit for any student or teacher to use for lessons. In fact the teacher should own a recorder and ask their students to bring a SD card if they want their session recorded. This unit does not have an SD card. The 2 MB build in memory does the trick for now.Price Point: I did not want to over spend yet I wanted an entry level recorder that would do the job. You can spend from $30 up to $300 on recorders. I found a deal on this one for $45.00 The normally list for $99.00Ease of Use: Very good. Start, stop, playback, and, downloading to PC real easy. I set up a folder on my pc to play along with my lessons.Microphone: The built in mike is ok for recording. If you purchased a separate mike this would be sure to make a difference. My next step.Speaker Quality: Not so good. However, I found listening with earphones or my iPad does the trick. The sound quality is there its just not with the built in speakers.Portability: Great. Comes with a nice pouch, similar to an iPod. Battery life appears to be good.Target User: For students who have yet to be discovered this recorder is a real winner. This unit would also work just fine for the classroom and conferences. You need to keep it still when recording. The unit looks to be well built.

I have been dictating narrative reports into a microcassette recorder on a regular basis for many years. Those cassettes would then be transcribed by a person. That method became expensive and the equipment obsolete.So,I did some online research and after consideration purchased the Olympus VN-8100PC. I was really looking forward to using this digital recorder with a dragon program to improve my efficiency and lower the costs associated with generating narrative medico-legal reports.I was impressed with the fine sound quality and incredibly long recording time. The problem was that the operation of the unit was counter-intuitive, i.e., there is no pause button (you press record again to pause!) but pressing the "stop" button creates a new file; still haven't figured out how to fast forward or rewind, after pausing; layout and functions of the operation switches (folder, index/scene, hold/pause)are fussy and frustrating.Probably fine for non narrative and audio apps. But it made narrative report dictation a Herculean labor.