DigitalBuzz - Digital Life

The latest advancement in the recording technology has transcended all boundaries and has brought convenience to your doorstep. The top American channels can be accessed and viewed at your leisure with the TIVO or the Digital Video Recorder.

A common term that is synonymous with TIVO is “personal video recorder” (PVR). The latter is a consumer video device which has the ability to capture television programming and store it on an internal hard drive to be viewed at anytime in the future.

No longer do you have to schedule your plans around your favorite television program. Let your favorite shows and programs be watched anytime and watched over and over again.

Having a TIVO gives you the option to select your preferred programs to record either by time, specific program title, or by amalgamation of genre, actors and directors etc. All programs will remain intact until it is manually deleted to give room for newly recorded items.

The capacity of the internal storage is enormous and can accommodate most of your favorite shows. The database of programs available is determined by the customer’s location and their cable/satellite services and is updated daily over the phone or network connection to TIVO control center. The TIVO system is comprised of a non-removable hard drive as well as sophisticated software that allows users to easily program and record their selected shows. The software can even be set to record shows it thinks the viewer may be interested in based on their viewing habits!

You can even pause, rewind, and fast forward the recorded programs just as if you were viewing them on a VCR or DVD player, but there are no messy tapes or discs to keep track of. If you are recording a program, you can still watch it in real-time as well.

TIVO guarantees that the digitally recorded images are received, stored, and played without any weakening in the quality of the image. Videos that are digitally stored will retain the same quality as the day the image was recorded.

TIVO also offers a user rating system where viewers can score the television shows they watch on a scale which ranges from three “thumbs up” or three “thumbs down”. These ratings are then used to further determine the user’s preferences and recommendations are suggested based in part on these ratings.

“Season passes” instruct TiVo to record a show each time it is aired on television regardless of when the show begins, with the option of ignoring reruns. Award-winning features such as “Wish List” searches and TIVO “Online Scheduling” have made TIVO a necessity for every household. The home entertainment innovations provided by TIVO surpasses features of a television possessing digital music, snapshot, and picture in picture features. The inlcusion of ‘TIVO To Go’ allows for the transfer of shows to your laptop or DVD.

You can always be up to date with the current programming on your television as your
TIVO routinely will keep you updated with the daily programming. The sophisticated technology combined with the user-friendly navigation allows you to search for programs just by using the remote.

The only drawback of the TIVO system is a minor one. It requires a land-based phone line to ensure successful activation and full functionality of the DVR service. This may be a problem for some customers as more and more people are canceling their land-line phone service and relying solely on their cell phone.

Your television set up is not an issue for you to make a TIVO acceptable to every household. It can be traditional cable, digital cable, satellite tv, or even combinations of these. TIVO is proving itself as a viable and efficient companion to your home theater system that pledges to be useful and economical.

Mitchell Medford is an author and product consultant for several consumer electronics manufacturers. Visit his website for more information on home theater, LCD TVs, and plasma tvs.

Tags: digital video recorder, dvd, dvr, television, tivo, VCRdigital video recorder, dvd, dvr, television, tivo, VCR

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Dictaphones or Digital Voice Recorders (DVRs) are ideal for recording voice memos, interviews, conferences, meetings and phone conversations. The term Dictaphone is a brand name that refers to the version that uses cassette tapes to record, as opposed to the newer Digital Voice Recorders (DVR) that the save the audio to memory.

Digital Voice Recorder (DVR)

Use your USB port to save typing time by directly transferring audio files from your DVR to your computer

With the DVR there is no need to rewind; when you finish recording you simply press the play button to playback immediately

Each audio file you record to your DVR is automatically saved under a number with a time-and-date stamp

The DVR usually has between 2 to 5 folders to separate audio for better organization

Some DVR’s allow you to move messages between folders and split or delete messages

You won’t cause a distraction during meetings or conferences changing tapes and you won’t miss anything important whilst doing so

Some DVR’s come with software that automatically converts the voice file to text for easy transcription

Newer DVR’s have expandable memory and come with external memory cards. Look out for this as it gives you more flexibility with recording time and makes it easier to download audio to your computer

The DVR is normally powered by 1 or 2 AAA alkaline or rechargeable batteries

Cassette Tape/Dictaphone

Choose between Mini, Micro or Standard; Mini cassettes (15min per side) hold half of the content of Standard and Micro (30mins per side)

Cassette Tape Dictaphones can be played on any player that takes the respective size

With digital you only have a limited amount of space to store recordings (if you have no external memory card) - whereas with a cassette tape Dictaphone you can simply exchange tapes if you run out of room

Battery life is longer in a Dictaphone than a Digital Voice Recorder

A Dictaphone is a cheaper alternative

There is no digital storage on a Dictaphone cassette tape

Reuse the cassettes - you can buy a machine that automatically erases micro and mini cassettes

Many come with equipment specifically for recording phone conversations

Desktop or Portable Voice Recorder?

Desktop DVR’s or Dictaphones are generally cheaper and are ideal for recording phone conversations or are used in conjunction with transcription software. There are numerous models of portable Dictaphones varying in size and ability, but are all ideal if you are on the road or need a Dictaphone or DVR for times of inspiration.

Push Button or Thumb Slide Recorders?

Push Button Cassette Recorders usually have the ability to insert dictation but it can be very difficult to find the point you want. With the Thumb slide switch it is much easier to review and control with rewind review capability, rewind, insert, play and stop.

Which Mode?

There are three levels of recording quality and differing recording times. The longer the recording time the lower the quality.

High Quality (HQ) - 43 mins approx.
Short Play (SP) - 65 mins approx.
Long Play (LP) - 121 mins approx.

Advertisers usually display the longest recording time, so keep in mind that the Dictaphone or DVR will record at less than half of that on high quality. This is particularly important for DVR’s, as the higher quality mode uses much more memory and you don’t want to be halfway through a meeting or interview and find you are out of memory.

There are usually two levels of sensitivity available on a Dictaphone or DVR. LOW is the best for dictation, as the microphone tends to be uni-directional in this mode and will focus on your voice. HIGH sensitivity picks up sound in all directions along with unwanted background noise.

Dictaphones and Digital Voice Recorders: Other Features to Consider

Voice Activate System (VAS) - Dictaphones or DVR’s with VAS will automatically record when they hear your voice (or other sound) without having to push any buttons. Great for when your hands are tied up.

Alarm - to remind you when to record or a timer that you can set to automatically record between two times

Tie clip microphone - for hands free recording

Earphones - for play back when you do not want to disturb others

Rechargeable batteries and a battery level indicator

Microphones can either be built in or detachable. If you want your Dictaphone or DVR for a higher quality of recording such as music, then look for one with a microphone jack

Speakers - most are built in but some models have detachable speakers that can be used for presentations.

Digital storage - some come with more than others

Hands free or foot control - keep your hands free for typing or playing an instrument

Automatic backspace - automatically reverse the desired number of seconds for input or playback

Transcribers and Docking Stations

All digital transcription systems require you to use a foot pedal connected to your computer. This enables you to transcribe files from your Dictaphone or DVR from audio to text by listening and typing a few seconds at a time.

Docking stations make it very easy to download the files you have recorded to your computer. Some docking stations also recharge the batteries on your recorder, which is ideal if your Dictaphone is in high use.

Article by David Haysom. David is the eCommerce Manager for OfficeRocket, http://www.officerocket.co.nz/ . OfficeRocket is an online store that offers a wide range of office supplies to New Zealand businesses at very competitive prices.

Tags: business machines, dictaphones, digital voice recorders, dvrbusiness machines, dictaphones, digital voice recorders, dvr

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