Olympus VN3100PC Digital Voice Recorder

List Price: $99.95 Discount Price: $68.95

Features:

• 72 hours of recording time
• XHQ Extra high quality recording mode also HQ, SP & LP modes
• Timer Recording
• Timer Playback
• 26 Hours battery life

Customer Reviews:

Impressive unit not without minor flaws [Posted on 2007-05-14]
Maybe I'm just dazzled by this DVR's compactness and overall quality of recording -- it is my first DVR, after all, and I'm seduced by how something so little can work so well. I can press Record, shove this little guy into the bottom of my jeans pocket, and walk around -- and capture everything said around me in probably a 15-foot radius. (If my jeans are loose, I do pick up a bit of rustling noise as the jeans rub against the unit. But it doesn't detract too much.) I primarily use this DVR when I'm taking lots of photos -- I record what each photo is about, so when I upload the photos to my computer later, I'm not scratching my head to remember. It's easier than writing down notes, especially when I'm in my car. My only complaint here is that s-sounds tend to come across harsh, even at the best recording quality.

I wish this DVR was configured so that my computer could see it natively like it does my USB thumb drive. Since it doesn't work that way, you have to load some software that always runs in the background to recognize the DVR and transfer files. My chief complaint about this is that I already have five or six things always running in the background waiting for the infrequent times I need them, and I dislike adding any more programs to that list where they just consume memory. The software is easy enough to use, though. It plays the recordings efficently, but you can use any .wav player if you want. The software not only logs the date and time you transferred the file, but also the date and time you recorded the file, which I find very useful. The only way to access the recording date and time is through the bundled software, though; when you view the files through your operating system, they are stamped only with the date and time of transfer.

no continuous playback function [Posted on 2007-10-26]
A basic recorder, according to the manual there is no continuous playback function so you can't hear all files at once without pressing play often.

Very Disappointed [Posted on 2008-02-08]
I purchase this voice recorder because my son had the recorder but not the CD. I found it was not compatible with Windows Vista even though the CD said it was.
I installed it on my Windows XP computer and the installation went fine, but I had other problems. It would not play 16 minutes of the beginning of a lecture my son taped at his college. I tried downloading it again and again and the first 16 minutes were still missing and once I lost more than 16 minutes of the lecture.
I uninstalled and reinstalled the software and it did not correct the problem.
I spent 55 minutes with Olympus tech support and in the end NO ONE could figure out WHY the CD would not work with Windows Vista when it was suppose to.
I called several hours later and spent another 40 minutes back on the phone when I found I could not listen to the first 16 minutes of my son's professor's lecture. Again, the end result was, NO ONE knew what the problem was or how to fix it.
I am more than a little disappointed in this voice recorder and the people at Olympus.
The digital recorder is going back for a refund.
This is also the second Olympus voice recorder I have purchase that has not worked and it will be the last Olympus product I will ever purchase.

if you don't want to keep important data..get this [Posted on 2008-02-20]
I bought this digital recorder for school... It recorded OK, but getting and playing back the information was horrible... I had it in my backpack, and since the buttons are in the front, I even had lectures deleted [or who knows where they went? I couldn't find them !!..] I am taking Microbiology from a very fast talking, Head of the Micro Dept, and I needed all information for exams. When re-winding it, it you mistakenly pressed a wrong button,[ ie.. forward or backward, instead of 'stop'] the thing went back to the beginning of the lecture!!!. After swearing a 'blue streak', .I was ready to throw it through the window!!!. I would NEVER recommend this recorder... get it only if you don't care about what you're recording and will never have to listen to it again.!!..

GREAT PRODUCT [Posted on 2008-04-27]
I WAS SURPRISED WITH THIS LITTLE RECORDER. MY WIFE USES IT TO RECORD PHONE CONVERSATIONS ON SPEAKER PHONE. IT RECORDS WELL, HAS A VERY CLEAR AND LOUD (FOR ITS SIZE)PLAYBACK. LOTS OF MEMORY AND FEATURES. HAVEN'T STORED TO COMPUTER YET BUT I WILL. A BIG PLUS... I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS TO ANYONE WANTING TO RECORD WITH USER FRIENDLY CONTROLS.

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