Is That Snoring I Hear? Transcription Woes.

Author's Rating:

Pros: Durable, no problems with operating the unit.

Cons: None as it meets my needs.

Author's Review
Please note after over a week of trying to put this review in the category "Which Transcriber For Me" and receiving error messages and then telling me to try again, I'm putting it here under Olympus as I'm pretty much reviewing this product, only an older model. Epinions is working on this, but so far hasn't been able to solve this glitch, although I'm sure eventually they will. In the meantime I'm placing the review here.

I own an Olympus Transcriber – Model T700 but since it is an older model and not listed here on Epinions, I thought I would then give my overall recommendation on what to look for when buying a transcriber, based on my experience with this particular unit.

Basically, I’ve used this unit for quite a number of years, and it still adequately meets my needs. So far at least with this particular model I've had no problems in terms of its operation. When purchasing a transcriber, one should either look for the following features, or ask themselves certain questions before making a purchase:

(1) Cassettes: What type of cassettes are you going to use? Micro? Mini? Standard (the larger cassettes)? Staples, Office Max, Office Depot carry a selection of these tapes that come singly packaged, or in plastic cases containing 6, or I think even ten tapes. I usually get the 60 minutes tapes, although there are tapes you can get that will run much longer, even three hours, which would of course be recommended for meetings, seminars, and interviews. I use the microcassettes both at home and in an office environment, and have had no problems. I think most units in most office environments use the microcassettes as oppose to the other two selections. Also the purchase of a head cleaner is beneficial, and I’ve seen these packaged along with the microcassette tapes.

(2) Functions of the Unit: Playback tape speed control of +/- 20% is a plus. Believe me this features helps anyone transcribing notes as you can then slow the speed of the tape in order to make out those words that may be garbled. (Although at one time while I was doing medical transcription no amount of slowing down on the tape could help me decipher the garbled words that were being spoken by a poor hapless doctor, who I’m sure must’ve had a particularly bad night in the ER the night before. At any moment I had expected to hear “snoring” in place of medical terms and procedures.)

(3) My unit has several other functions that help make transcribing easier. For instance when the machine stops, it can be set so that it will rewind a few seconds of tape, the length adjusted by me. Consequently, I won’t have gaps, or missed words.

(4) It also has a tone level that can be regulated to facilitate listening and thereby making the transcription work easier on the ears.

(5) And of course a must is the fast forward feature, a rewind feature, and also a feature that allows erasing the tape when finished. All units have these, or at least should have these functions.

(6) A number indicator which will let you know where you are on the tape in case you have to go back, as long as you remember to set it to zero before starting the transcription. Again, most units will have this. If not, then ensure when purchasing this is in place.

(7) My unit does not have conference recording feature, but I would suggest this be a consideration for those who take part at meetings and are required to record what goes on at those meetings. This unit incorporates a microphone. The hand-held microphone incorporates complete control for full-remote machine operation, which includes playback. Cues can be entered which mark important passages to highlight them for “priority” playback or dictation. This would be ideal for any office setting, especially for those who are involved in recording minutes for board meetings. On the conference model there are two recording sensitivity modes – CONF, to record sound naturally, and great for conferences or seminars. Or DICT, which eliminates background sound and will record one or two voices with greater clarity. The tape pre-end and end alarms feature is a plus as it alerts the person to when the tape is about to end. This can alert participants who can then wait until a new tape is inserted and thereby eliminate valuable pieces of conversations from being lost.

(8) Headsets are primarily a personal preference. But I would suggest trying them out because I have used headsets, which have ended up hurting my ears, and making it actually not only uncomfortable but painful to get through the transcription. I worked in an office last year where this was the case, where the headsets actually caused me pain, and I had to take frequent breaks by removing them. The ones I have now are fairly inexpensive, but most importantly are comfortable for me and do not cause any discomfort or pain after long hours of transcription.

(9) I have a basic foot pedal that allows me to rewind the tape. Foot pedals should be durable and able to withstand long hours of use.

When purchasing a piece of equipment like this, I would recommend sticking with the major brands, such as the Olympus which I have because I have used lesser-known models, where the sound quality was very poor. As anyone knows, when transcribing long hours of tapes, a good sound quality is not only a plus, but a must. Time is wasted trying to figure out what is being said, resulting in gaps being left to be filled in later by the dictator (and hoping that they will remember what had been said.)

Basically, that pretty much covers it. Again, I would reinforce the point that this is an investment, and to look at the major manufacturers of this type of product. If there is one thing about transcription work, you do want to be comfortable. Anything that might cause discomfort is akin to a tiny pebble inside your sneaker, which starts out quite innocuous, but as time passes can suddenly feel like a boulder.