KnowBrainer Speech Recognition - Transcription and Digital Recorders

Can you teach Dragon if you are using a digital recorder

Smorton — Mon, 20 May 2013 23:16:52 EST

It has been a long time since I have been to this forum.

I Dragon Professional 10 I think (I have not used it much).

If I used a good recorder, can you "teach" Dragon when using a digital recorder.

If I have Dragon 10 professional, would I be better off using that or by buying Dragon Premium (the latest version).

I am an attorney and I am downsizing and would like to use Dragon to cut the cost of my overheard.

Thanks for any input.

Problems Moving And/Or Deleting Files In Dictation Module

gcarson — Tue, 07 May 2013 18:46:14 EST

Lately I've run into some peculiar problems with Dictation Module v5. For some reason, I can't delete anything in Folder A (the main folder). When I try to delete a file using either the menu option or the delete key, I get the usual prompt asking me if I'm sure, but when I answer yes, nothing happens. Refreshing the screen doesn't do anything either. At the moment, the only way I can delete a file is to go out to the folder in Windows Explorer and zap the file manually.

Another weird problem is that I can't move some files off my recorder into the Dictation Module at all. (I'm using a DS5000id). The files aren't locked or anything. If I select, say, a group of six files and drag them all to Folder A in the Dictation Module, some of them will be moved, but others won't. I have no idea why.

One thing that might be effecting this is that I've organized my recorder into different folders. Everything in the main folder gets moved automatically as long as the file isn't marked pending--that still works fine--but moving files from the sub-folders (which I have to do manually) is erratic at best. I know you can set up rules in the Dictation Module to download files in other folders on the recorder, but if I understand the process correctly, which I probably don't, you have to use multiple Author IDs to get this to work, something I don't want to mess with.

Anyway, does anyone have any idea what's going on here? It seems like it's a file permission problem (though the underlying file system folders aren't marked read-only or anything) or else there's something going on with the Dictation Module that I'm not aware of.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

DSS Dictation Module Problem

lloydgarver — Thu, 02 May 2013 18:54:12 EST

I foolishly clicked some buttons (which ones, I don't remember) and instead of having the list of all my audio files that I've downloaded from my Olympus 3400 recorder, the screen is blank. The files are, apparently, hidden. I thought this could be fixed by my clicking that little bluish push pin icon near the top, but that didn't work. So now I can's access my audio files -- or see them.

I have taken a ping-shot of the screen to show you what I mean.

Thanks -- Lloyd

Using Sony ICD-SX712 Recorder w/Dragon 11.0 for my recorder

vparetti — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 22:00:35 EST

I haven't done a thing yet, so I'm open to returning everything if need be if a better suggestion is offered. I haven't downloaded anything to my computer.

My original question was, my Sony Recorder comes with DNS 11.0 software for it's operation. I just purchased DNS Premium 12.0 Wireless w/Plantronics Calisto Headset. It seems there maybe problems downloading both to my computer. Should I download both? Send back the DNS 12.0 Wireless for something better? This is the response I got back from Nuance:

You can use DNS Wireless Version. You will get free support until June 30, 2013 as Version 11 came with your recorder does not have technical assistance.

Regards,

Nuance Customer Service

I have it on good authority that I should ask this question on KnowBrainer because the expertise is far more advanced than relying on Nuance. Seeing their response I can tell I was told the truth. I think attached files of my recorder may help?

Thanks,

Vincent

Minute Taking Recorder

takenaback — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 01:31:59 EST

I basically need a reasonably priced recorder to use in a meeting room with around about 8 people. I imagine the recorder would be placed centre of table. I have quadriplegia with very limited use of my hands and ideally I would like something I can'independently use.

Simplicity would be key, both physical operation and ease of operation.

Suggestions appreciated.

Cheers
Steve

DNS 12.5 can't locate Sound Organizer for new source profile.

CanyonKip — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 18:26:57 EST

I have a Sony SX712 IC Recorder that uses a program called Sound Organizer. You download the file to Sound Organizer to get it on the computer, and then copy or send it to DNS for transcription to text. I have had a couple "purists" on this site tell me this is not the best recorder for transcription, but this is what I got for Christmas, it came with sound organizer and Dragon ( Recorder only version ) and I believe it will be fine for a begginer and casual user like me, if I can just get it to do what I am sure it is meant to do. I have upgraded to DNS 12.5 Premium, it is working fine with the desktop mic, but I can't get the new profile to load the sample text I read into the recorder and downloaded to S O. I can transcribe the sample text to my " regular " profile, and it does an acceptable job, but when I go from my recorder with any of my own compositions, the translation is so bad I can't begin to figure out what I said. The new dictation source profile suggested that I type in the file path to the sample recording, but I have no idea what that is or where to find it. ( I also just switched to Windows 7, don't know my way around it and don't like it. May just go back to XP!! ) Anybody out there got any experience with this Recorder, set up, problem, etc. ??

Seminar recorder upgrade: Olympus DM-670

DavidW — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 06:22:01 EST

The eagle eyed amongst you will have noticed the "seminars and events" recorder in my signature has changed from a DM-550 to a DM-670. It wasn't an upgrade that I had planned, but I noticed an opened but unused DM-670 from eBay as a Buy It Now for £80, around half its new price, with an unopened Olympus ME-32 compact shotgun microphone thrown in for free.

You see quite a few DM-670 and ME-32 bundles being sold on eBay UK, likely from students who were given them as lecture recorders after a Disabled Students Allowance assessment, but decided not to use them. The offer I found was too good to miss, especially as similar bundles sold by auction on eBay UK recently have typically sold for more.

For those reading this in the US, the DM-550 is the DM-520 in the US. The DM-670 is unavailable in the US, but is very similar to the DM-650, which is the DM-620 in the US. The differences between the DM-670 and DM-650/620 are slight:

the DM-670 has double the internal memory of the DM-650/620 (8GBytes in the DM-670, 4GBytes in the DM-650/620)
the DM-670 is black and the DM-650/620 is silver
the DM-670 has voice menus for the visually impaired, unlike the DM-650/620
the DM-670 supports 44.1kHz 16 bit mono WAV (all these recorders support 44.1kHz 16 bit stereo WAV)
the DM-670 is supplied with a nice leather case (reminiscent of the DS-7000 leather case), whilst the DM-650/620 is supplied with what looks like a neoprene pouch

I had a few issues with the DM-550, though it's mostly been an excellent recorder.

My biggest issue is the poor level meters on the DM-550, which made recording with manual record level very difficult to use. The DM-670 has a larger display, which allows for much better level meters in recording and playback mode. The DM-670's recording meters have a dB scale, peak level indication and an overdeviation indicator. This alone is worth the cost of the upgrade for me.

The second big issue I have with the DM-550 is that there is no on-screen indication when you have a recording and/or playback 'scene' selected. A scene is a preset for the most important settings - there's some fixed scenes and some user-configurable ones. I find these scenes one of the most powerful features of the recorder. I use the user recording scenes to switch quickly to appropriate parameters for different microphone setups I use, so it is important to be able to confirm the correct scene is selected for the microphones in use. The larger DM-670 display has allowed Olympus to add status icons clearly indicating when a recording and/or playback scene is selected.

Another annoyance with the DM-550 is that it sets Olympus defaults for recording or playback when you turn the corresponding scene mode off. The DM-670 restores your last menu-configured settings when you turn the scene off, which is much more sensible.

The DM-670's case is much better than DM-550 case. The DM-550 case has a metal belt clip that I find releases itself too easily - not ideal if you want to record yourself speaking using a lavalier mic (I use an Olympus ME-52W with the supplied cable) and belt mounted recorder. More than once I've found the recorder falling off my belt as I move around in my wheelchair. The DM-670 case has a belt loop that fastens with velcro, like the DS-7000 case.

A great improvement over the DM-550 case (and DS-7000 case) is the DM-670 has holes allowing you to access the jack sockets. I wish Olympus had done this with the DS-7000 case - not being able to access the mic and ear sockets with the recorder in the case is annoying. However, the DM-670 case doesn't give you access to the USB socket, unlike the DS-7000 case. It is unfortunate that the excellent DM-670 case appears to be unavailable in the US unless you import a DM-670 or find the case as an accessory (I believe it's CS-138).

There are other usability improvements in the newer recorders. The record, stop and play buttons have moved from the side of the recorder on the DM-550 to the front on the DM-670, where they're much easier to see. The DM-550's buttons are in the same place as the corresponding slide switch settings on a slide switch device. Whilst I love my DS-7000's slide switch, I found the DM-550 layout unintuitive and difficult to use.

I don't know how much difference the centre microphone on the DM-670 makes to the low frequency response, as I rarely use the recorder's built in microphones and am almost always recording voice with the low cut filter selected. Still, it's nice to have the option and you can disable the centre microphone using the menus if you wish.

The DM-670's battery charging mode is easier to select than the DM-550's. On the DM-550, you have to connect a USB power source whilst holding the recorder's stop button down. When you connect a USB power source, the DM-670 prompts you to press OK to start charging. The DM-670 also has an alkaline battery option on the menus - presumably this disables the in-recorder charger and adjusts the battery level meter for the higher voltage of alkaline cells.

The DM-670 has an easier to use micro SD slot than the DM-550. I always record onto a card - if the recorder is damaged or a recording deleted or corrupted, you're much more likely to be able to recover data from an easily removable memory card than flash memory soldered to a circuit board. Sandisk 16GB micro SDHC cards are an inexpensive item from Amazon - you only need the basic sort for recorder use as there's little advantage in having a higher write speed. I'd buy directly from Amazon, not a Marketplace seller - there are an awful lot of fake memory cards out there.

The DM-670 will fit in the recorder slot in the case supplied with the ME-30W microphones, though it takes a little gentle persuasion at first because the recorder is fractionally larger than the DM-550/520 or DM-450 the case was designed for.

The DM-670 is a drop in replacement for the DM-550. All my accessories work on the newer recorder, including the RS-30W infra red recording remote. I will still use the DM-550 as a backup recorder and an an extra recorder in some scenarios (most likely DM-670 and ME-30W microphones to record the entire meeting, DM-550 and either ME-52W lavalier or ME-32 compact shotgun microphone for the main speaker).

The only drawback I've found with the DM-670 is that my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 phone won't recognise it at all via a USB OTG cable. The DM-550 was recognised in storage mode only, but this allowed you to copy data on and off the recorder using the phone. This is no great loss, however, as it's easy to eject the micro SD card from the DM-670 and use it with a small micro SDHC reader connected to the USB OTG connector.

Whilst this is written largely as a comparison between the older DM-550/520 and DM-450 recorders and the newer DM-670 and DM-650/620, I hope the comparisons on key usability points give a good indication of how the new generation of recorders work in practice. Reading the DM-670 and DM-650 manual is also helpful in understanding how the recorder works - it was the manual that helped me confirm pre-purchase that it would be a worthwhile upgrade.

I recommend the DM-670 and DM-650/620 for recording all sorts of events, meetings, lectures and seminars. As with any audio recorder, you must be aware of the limitations of the internal microphones and be prepared to pay for suitable external microphones. I've yet to use the ME-32 microphone in anger, but it's certainly a smaller and easier to set up option than its ME-31 big brother (which is an excellent microphone but can be clumsy to deploy).

I'm certainly happy with my DM-670 so far.

set up buttons in new speechmike

jwdr — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 20:17:41 EST

I just got the new Philips speechmike 3500. Any advice re: the most useful settings for the programmable buttons? Thanks

digital recorder in seminar room environment

VN_DNS — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 09:14:27 EST

I know that you suggest professional digital recorder for transcription.

can you suggest a digital recorder for recording speaker in a noisy environment?

requirements: fast forward button, not too expensive ( I lost too many recorders!!!)

example: we go to weekend seminars (bad bad bad), and would like to remember what the guys or girls speaking about. The environment is not perfect, we don't need much accuracy.

just able to record from far away and filter out the high pitch

and fast forward to some new jargons,or tips that we miss, don't need to listen to the same sale pitch again and again.

voice message to text

VN_DNS — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 08:55:48 EST

Probably, somebody already does this.

Every morning, I came to the office and the red light on the phone telling us

we have about 50 voice msg since last night.

Well, somebody has to sit down and play the msg to write down msg...

what can we do to automate the process?

we bought everything from you but we really don't know how to use it.

I'm ashamed to ask.

equipment we have: hardware( table mike, DS-5000) software: (ds 12 and knowbrainer)

our phone system is a VOIP and Panasonic digital KX-TGP550

Our wish: all msg appeared as text on the desktop.

anything to shortcut the process, play the msg, write down,...

I am thinking play the msg, put the DS-5000 to record and transfer to desktop.

that is about 5 step process.

any suggestion, i just want to have coffee in the morning.

Transcribing Accuracy with Different People

ScottLawson — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 17:58:15 EST

We have several people around the world that make screencasts and video recordings for our product launch process. These people do not have, nor will they use, DragonDictate. In order to get a transcription of their recordings, we have taken some of their old recordings, use them as a basis for creating a profile in Dragon, and then we take MP3s of the video recordings and run them through the transcribing feature with that specific person's profile activated. We have reached 60 to 80% accuracy using this method.

However, we would like to improve this by correcting some of their language. When we use Dragon for direct dictating I can stop incorrect the input when Dragon does not recognize an industry term, a person's name, or some other difficult to understand pronunciation. I would like to have some sort of process to do the same for these transcribed recordings. What I imagine, is that when I am correcting the transcribed words and I know that the person spoke one thing in Dragon transcribed another I could in some way correct it. So the next time, that person says the same word, Dragon would correctly interpret it.

Philips dvt 1000

Jsne Birkin — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 09:02:07 EST

probably my experience could be interesting tosomebody.

I required for 50 Euros Phillips dvt 1000 and I have excellent results in transcriptions.There are more expensive Phillips dvt, but I think they have the same a microphone, so if you don't need radio or other exotic functions you can getexcellent results for very reasonable price. I use Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10.

DR Q's

LearningChinese — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 04:16:43 EST

Finally trying to use my DS71 after having it sit in a drawer for a few years. My Q's are:

After using a handheld microphone to transcribe and it is input into DragonPad, do I have to hit the correction button? Or is it sufficient to simply write over the mistaking/misrecognize words? In this way, will it help Dragon learned? Another question for the voice recognition form:

2) Should I create a new user profile for a handheld microphone? I read in dragons documentation that it's not necessary and I should use I should just use a new dictation source. However, I seem to remember the general advice is that it is always better to create a new profile. What do you guys think?

3)
So I read in the manual that I should hold it a few inches below the mouth, but should mouth be pointing towards the handheld recorder or should I be talking over the microphone such that my mouth is horizontal to the floor and the handheld recorder is perpendicular to that? Are my just worried about it too much? I'm not having great recognition results with this. (I record in WAV)

Thanks!

ODMS R6

wyknot — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 18:09:17 EST

New to the forum, lurking for several weeks, very informative. Still learning how to use a new DVR (DS-3500) and ODMS R6 software that accompanied the recorder.

I noticed the "update" option under Help tab on the Dictation Module toolbar is grayed out, as well in Tools>Options>Update; how do I check for software updates?

Thanks.

DSS Player not recognizing DS-7000 (Mac)

rutilate — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 23:35:36 EST

I've installed on my Mac (running Mountain Lion) the Olympus DSS player v 7.2.8 and it does not recognize the DS-7000 in the device manager. There is no update available to the software according to Olympus. Is there a trick or an update that the tech support team isn't aware of?

When plugged into the USB port, the DSS Player software is automatically launched. However, the DS-7000 is not recognized by the DSS Player software when connected directly to the Macbook Pro USB or the massive Apple monitor USB port.

Ideas?

(Mod: if this is in the wrong place, feel free to move)

DSS Dictation Module

lloydgarver — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 16:23:49 EST

Lunis, I updated, but the most recent update I could get was 5.0.1.3 Is that good enough? If not, what's next?

Secondly, when I try to get the files from my recorder onto the module on the computer, things are a little glitchy. I had this once before and I know it's a really easy fix. Anyway, when I put the cursor near the device manager download button, the entire left side Dictation Tree disappears and the contents of Folder A take up the whole page on the screen. In order to show the Tree with the device manager,I need to click the arrows on the upper left side of the screen on the gray border that is above the files that I have already downloaded to the computer in the past. How do I get the Tree with the device manager etc., to behave itself and stand still at least long enough for me to click?

Thanks--Lloyd

Using digital recorder as direct input microphone in USB mode

nemelaer — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 04:13:12 EST

Hi,

i was thinking of having extra functionality of my PDR (grundig) by urinegewogen it as a direct microphone in USB mode, but that does not work well.

Any ideas why?

AutoTranscribe Folder agent

amen2u — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 14:34:19 EST

Could someone please verify that I neeed the Professional version of DNS to access batch transcription. I htought I had the Pro version: turns out I have the "Premium" version and that lacks many features. I inquired and the buggers want around $400 to upgrade.

Is there a way to batch transcribe with the Premium version? Are there other caveats I should know about regarding the Olympus DS7000 and DNS12 Premium? Should I consider the upgrade?

If not, no fear, I will carry on this way. I rarely have over a dozen medium length files to move, so it is not much of a bother.

But it was a shock to discover this.

amen2u

Transcription Foot Pedal For DS5000 That Doesn't Require A Computer

gcarson — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 17:51:15 EST

I think I already know the answer to this, but is there such a thing as a transcription foot pedal (for the DS5000) that doesn't require a computer? In other words, is it possible to somehow connect a foot pedal directly to the recorder so I can play, rewind, fast-forward and pause a recording for manual transcription (pen and paper)?

DSS vs DS2

Allan — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 08:20:01 EST

How do I set up my DS5000 to record in DSS rather than DS2?

Thanks,

Allan

Spelling Out Unusual Words While Dictating To Recorder

gcarson — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 10:17:03 EST

I'm trying to use my voice recorder to take research notes, but I've run into a problem dealing with unusual place names and other words that will never transcribe correctly if I just try to say them out loud (I have no idea how to pronounce them for one thing).

Some examples include "Fayoum,"-- a place in Egypt-- and "Sknopaios" -- the name of an Egyptian god.

I've had mixed results using the "spell that" command with my voice recorder. Does anyone have any suggestions for how to deal with this problem? I suppose one possibility is to just spell the words without using the spell that command and play the spelling back later after I've transcribed the file.

transferring from a Sony ICD-SX25

amen2u — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 12:08:33 EST

I am a hack writer and recently decided to use a digital recorder for ad hoc notes and observations. I have had a Sony ICD-SX25 for many years now and decided to put it to use. I use Dragon Naturally Speaking 12 Premium as my voice recognition program (BTW, I find quite a few annoying "gliches" when running this program. Could it be I have made a faulty installation or set-up?).

I built a separate profile for the recorder and did the training requested (Dogbert stuff).

I know it is said that DNS cannot handle .MSV or .DVF files. But I could find no conversion program on the bundled "Digital Voice Editor (2.31)" or in the latest upgrade which I downloaded and installed.

I have recorded a dozen or so files on the recorder and want to transcribe them to my computer for editing and the like. However, when I attach the recorder to the computer with the special cable, all I get is a "PC LINk" message on the recorder screen. I boot Windows Explorer but cannot find the files --- ANYWHERE. There is no listing for the recorder when attached this way.

No matter what I try (admittedly pure random jiggling and shots in the dark) I cannot see how to transfer the files over. My research so far (all entries here on the ICD-SX25) and elsewhere, I have learned that the SX25 is really not suited for dictation work, and that DNS12 and the SX25 are not truoly compatible.

So, is there anything I can do short of buying a new Olympus DS-7000?

Sorry for the length of this message. Any and all comments, instructions, advice or direction is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

amen2u

PC LINk message

amen2u — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 12:05:30 EST

I built a sparate profile for the recorder and did the training requested (Dogbert stuff).

No matter what I try (admittedly pure random jigglingand shots in the dark) I cannot see how to transfer the files over. My research so far (all entries here on the ICD-SX25) and elsewhere, I have learned that the SX25 is really not suited for dictation work, and that DNS12 and the SX25 are not truoly compatible.

So, is there anything I can do short of buying a new Olympus DS-7000?

Sorry for the length of this message. Any and all comments, instructions, advice or direction is appreciated. Thanks in advamnce.

amen2u

Problems with recorders and NaturallySpeaking

PocketaPocketaQueep — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 15:22:29 EST

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum having been sent here by a very constructive e-mail from a contributor to the Nuance forum.

I have had Dragon Naturally Speaking for a couple of versions now. (I'm on version 11). I tend to use it with a dictaphone. I write fiction and sometimes dictate (for reasons of privacy and personal eccentricity both) in my car (ie. while parked up), and elsewhere, often away from my computer. I rarely dictate to the computer directly and can find when I do that making corrections etc as I go distracts me from the flow of the text/fiction/etc itself.

Ideally, I would like to transcribe recordings as if I were speaking them. That is, to play them back through the computer, stopping and correcting wherever I find that the software has made a mistake. This would avoid distraction while dictating and would be the most natural way for me to correct the errors I see, rather than keeping many (often insidiously slight) differences in mind and going back to correct a fully transcribed text.

I have not yet found a way to do this with my Olympus DS5000id coupled with Naturally Speaking. Instead, I tend to send a file from the Olympus DSS Pro software to Naturally SPeaking, where it fully transcribes, offering no real time opportunity for correction that I can see. I then go over the text and correct it, but find this labourious and difficult, with the corrections I make sending the text and audio file out of sync.

The e-mail I got on the Nuance forum, from Trent, who says he is here more often, says, I think, that perhaps I correct manually in the text field and this throws out the audio and text. I don't do this (though I may have misunderstood him.) Instead, I try to click on or highlight sections of text, have the recording play back, and correct the text in the suggestions box. As I recall, this still tends to send the two elements out of sync.

In any case, anyone who has experience of using a digital recorder (and Olympus in particular) in this way, with Naturally Speaking, and can give me some advice to help me to better use them both together, would be very much appreciated.

I would consider updating to version 12, though it is expensive and Nuance's hard sell, poor customer service and unwillingness to discount upgrades for loyal customers grates. I would also consider getting any peripherals that may help in the long run, such as Olympus' foot pedals and the like.

In the main though, I'd like any advice to transcribe some of the many files I have accumulated.

Many thanks,

(sorry for the long post)

Rob

DIGITAL RECORDER VERSUS DIRECT INPUT

new user — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 12:25:09 EST

I still need to dictate in auto (USUALLY WHEN ANOTHER IS DRIVING).

I often take my laptop with 11.5 Dragons in i7 2.9 meghz, 7200 drive with 8 gigs of ram. In office I use revolabs...not quiet enough in auto to use revolab lapel microphone.

I do not know how to use a digital recorder--simply dictating notes or letters---want a simple input system that I can use also back in the office as input too.......if digital is best in auto, how do I transfer dictation into computer when I return to office.

Help please.

DSS Module Problem

lloydgarver — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 18:09:30 EST

As opposed to how my DSS window or screen has looked for years, now when I open it, I just see all the file names filling the screen instead of also seeing the folder navigation stuff. When I go to view, and click "Folder Navigation," the trusty folder navigation window thing that I'm used to seeing in the lower left hand side of the screen appears. However, it goes away, it disappears in a second. I don't even have to move the cursor to make it disappears. It just does.

Therefore, I can't go to the Devce Manager to click on Download, etc. So I haven't been able to click anything and I don't know how to change a setting so that the folder navigation stuff stays on the screen long enough for me to be able to use it. To be clearer, it's the Dictation Tree and (more importantly for me) the Device Manager that won't stay on the screen long enough for me to use it.

What do I do?

Lloyd

let us know your experiences of the Dragon android remote application

supee — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 01:55:17 EST

I have just started using the Dragon android remote application, and was surprised to find that the accuracy was not too bad, although I have not done any accuracy test.

It will be good to find out what the experience of users on this forum are with this application .it is useful when I go out of the house as I cannot carry the table Mike with me all the time, and my phone is almost always with me. I am using mine with Samsung Galaxy S2

internal error using medical practice and sony recorder

mwadden — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 14:55:11 EST

I upgraded from medical v 10 to medical small practice and have used a sony recorder for 2 years. When doing corrections and cutting and pasting into my emr I get an internal error message after a while. I have done support with nuance and the vendor with no solution. I have installed the latest patch, changed the location of my user profiles, redid user profiles, tried different recorders and computers, turned off scheduled acoustic optimizer and tried different sized vocabularies with the error reoccuring. It reoccurs at least 2-3 times a day, after it occurs I cannot do any corrections and after a few cut and pastes the dragon will crash. I am finally ready to down grade back to version 10 but before I do does anyone have any suggestions. Dragon log included, crashes occur where the large number stacks are located

DSS Player Dictation MOdule Interface

lloydgarver — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 16:06:10 EST

I assume I pressed a key that messed things up. However, now my DSS Pro 5 Module doesn't have the intereface that shows the icons for me to click to download or upload.(I'm recording from an Olympus DS-3400) Instead of what I'm used to seeing on the left side of the screen where I can see how to download new files, etc., the stuff on the left side of the screen now looks like this:

Also, now when I open the Dss Polayer Pro Dictation Module, the screen looks like this:

In other words, it doesn't show the recordings on most of the screen and those icons on the left like it usually does. I have to click some arrows near the top to get those icons on the left to appear.

And as I said (my major problem) when I do see those icons on the left as above, they don't have the familiar upload, download ones.

How do I get the module back to the way it was so I can work with it?

Thanks --Lloyd

How to Correct, in Recorder Transcriptions, What I Want to Write Without Affecting the User Profile

rmb — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 23:20:57 EST

I use Dragon only to transcribe recordings (not for real-time dictation).

With real-time dictation, the user can correct what they want to write (as opposed to how Dragon interpreted what they said) by saying the command "Scratch That".

I'd like to know the best way to make such corrections in a recording transcription without introducing spurious data into the user profile.

It seems to me that if I make corrections of what I want to write in the same pass as the corrections of Dragon's misinterpretations of what I said, Dragon might accept the former as corrections of its interpretation and therefore pollute my user profile with spurious data.

Is the answer that I should make "Scratch That"-type corrections by simply deleting and/or typing text without first displaying the Correction menu?

If that's correct, can I do that in the same correction pass through the transcription when I also do use the Correction menu to correct Dragon misinterpretations of what I said?

Or should I make these two types of corrections in separate passes?

digital recorder for phone recording

stormykay — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 14:08:54 EST

I have an old GE analog tape recorder set up for phone recording using a Dynametric phone logger patch (TLP-102). The recorder needs replacing, so I'd like to switch to a digital recorder in order to also use it with DNS 11.5 (soon to upgrade to 12). While many digital recorders seem to now be availlable at reasonable costs, none mention whether they will work with a phone logger patch. Could anyone recommend any brands/models that they have used for digital phone recording as well as with DNS dictated files, which can then be moved to the computer? Is this even possible? Thanks.

A digital recorder

ttate650 — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 18:59:49 EST

Hi. I have Dragon 12 Premium and after reading some of the forums, I see that I need the professional version in order to save my audio. Since I don't wish to change versions, I thought maybe I could just use a digital recorder. I know nothing about them so any advice and help would be very appreciated!

Tammy

Why the DS3500 is better than the DS7000

DaveR — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 03:43:07 EST

If a slider switch is important to you, then you’ll buy the DS7000. Otherwise, the 3500 is a far better choice — structurally identical, but superior acoustically. Essentially, the 7000 is a 3500 with a slider switch, maybe a cradle/dock, & crippled recording capabilities, for an extra $100-150.

This has surprised me. I bought a 3500 as a backup to my 7000, for use in the car and in lectures. I had thought that DSSPro, the only recording mode on the 7000, was probably similar in quality to MP3. In fact, it’s vastly inferior, not just for music (for which of course it’s not intended), but also for meetings, office consults, or any recording you plan to listen to yourself as distinct from feeding to Dragon.

On the DS3500, using its headphone output, there’s an appreciable gradient of audio quality, which I express crudely as:
PCM = 100%
MP3(256) = 90%
MP3(128) = 70%
DSSPro(QP) = 40%
DSSPro(SP) = 20%
DSSPro on the 7000 is acoustically identical to the 3500’s DSSPro.

Does it make any difference to Dragon’s SR accuracy whether you feed it MP3 or DSSPro recordings? Not that I've been able to tell. And with a 32GB SD or micro-SD card, you have thousands of hours of recording available in MP3 mode on the 3500.

For use in meetings, another important issue is mike sensitivity, and here the 3500 in MP3 mode is also better than the 7000. The inbuilt mike is good (identical on both), but it’s monaural, which is a pity because the 3500 makes excellent stereo recordings with an external mike — for this I've been using the Sony ECM-DS70P, which also picks up soft voices very well.

In the past, I've always liked the slider switch, including on the DS4000 & 5000. It seemed more professional, & when a secretary used to type it up, there was value in having already-corrected dictation. However it can be quite slow & fiddly to overwrite an error precisely, and for me it's much faster to correct onscreen after processing by Dragon. In addition, after spending time getting dictation perfect with the slider, I sometimes ended up recasting the entire paragraph onscreen anyway. Hence nowadays when I make a dictation error I just say "double slash" & dictate the correction. I really can't see any advantage here to the slider switch, and actually prefer the buttons on the 3500. The REC button on the 3500 doubles as a PAUSE, if needed. The other mechanical functions of the 2 recorders are essentially the same. The 3500 does have a neat HOLD switch position, though, which turns out to be crucial, since it's easy to hit the STOP button if you handle the recorder in a meeting.

Using the recorders in the car, I've discovered that Dragon performs something like its own voice-activation function. Previously I've used VCVA mode on the DS7000 (or DS5000/4000), which leaves something to be desired; I've also used the slider to Pause recording. However neither is needed. Dragon Ver11+ suppresses traffic noise very well, and even if you leave the recorder running for 10 min or more between utterances, it all gets compressed in the SR process, and what you see onscreen doesn't include those silent periods. This was a bit of a revelation to me, and I also realized that with 32 GB memory cards, total recording time has become an irrelevance. Now I just plug the Samson Airline Micro into the DS3500 and don't touch another button for the entire trip. After (unattended) processing by Dragon, a half-hour of recording might come down to a couple of paragraphs of actual dictation. So what would a slider switch have contributed?

A few other comments: (1) The new placement of mike & headphone sockets for both recorders on their long side is an abomination, precluding pocket use, and you even have to punch your own holes in the leather case to access them. (2) You can operate both recorders on mains power indefinitely (even with no batteries) if you hold down the OK/Menu button as you make the USB connection — this item appears in the manual, but is inconspicuous. (3) The "soft" On/Off switches mean that the recorders are always "On" when connected to a computer via USB. You can’t actually switch them off, and if you don’t want all computer sound diverted to them you have to change a setting in the Olympus DSS PlayerPro software. This contrasts with the DS4000 & 5000, where the recorder is either seen as a drive or simply charges depending on whether it’s switched on or off. (4) The DS3500’s display is better than the 7000’s, having large switch icons that actually allow you to tell which one is active (you can alternatively choose the tiny 7000-style icons if you want).

In summary, by choosing a 7000 over a 3500 you are valuing a slider switch above a huge improvement in acoustic quality and versatility. The cradle/dock adds nothing unique electronically. The reason why Olympus decided to restrict the 7000’s capabilities to only monaural low-acoustic-quality dictation is not at all obvious to me; however Lunis says it outsells the 3500 40:1, so I guess they understand their market.

David Rollo

Philips digital tracer 0662/40

mawdem — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 17:01:40 EST

A friend purchased dns 11 premium and a Philips 662/40 was included in the box.

I read the manual and the philips website and no where does it say anything about being able to transcribe with it.

I created a recorder voice profile for the friend and transcibed the reading...it was about 85 percent accurate.

Is it odd that there is no mfg product info that says that it can be used for transcribing.? Does anyone know where I could go to get info whether the unit is designed to transcribe?

So What's in User Profile Anyway?

1NcaNon — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 22:40:57 EST

Probably a very repetitive question over the years, but as a refresher, just what is in a User Profile?

I think your accent, your age, and some reading text training and advanced Accuracy Training.

Is the microphone a part of a User Profile? If so, should there be a user profile for microphone A and another for microphone B, C, etc.?

Is the training part of the user profile? If so, do you have to train for each mic used?

I have two different mikes: an old Andrea ANC 700 (two actually, one of which I carry when I travel and another at home) which I have found the best for my voice so far) and a Jabra Pro 7470 I am trying out. Plus, I use an Olympus DS 5000 (which I love) for dictating reports and notes in the field (really, on a roof with noise and wind).

One thing that has confused me in selecting the Dictation Source is the apparent limited choices. Bluetooth Microphone, Sony ICC Recorder, Dragon Remote Microphone Application, and Handheld or Smart Phone with Recording Application.

At other times I see list that include CODEX and other funny acronyms. So what do you select if you are using a USB Pod like the Andrea I use with the ANC 700? What about a device like the 4740 that does not need a USB pod (at least that is what they say).

I am not new to all of this, but frankly it seems like they keep changing the rules "and stuff".

Saving long transcriptions

grey1beard — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 17:09:19 EST

Facing the editing of a long transcription, with bed time approaching, I wondered if it's possible to save a half-corrected file, then go back to it later and finish, and still have DNS fully gain accuracy from all the corrections subsequently done?

I suspect the answer is yes, but if so I'll still be suprised.(and relieved)

John

Changing case of long passage

grey1beard — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 11:53:50 EST

In the middle of a large file, the transcription suddenly changes to upper case till the end of the file.

I listened to the recording (good quality) and the phrase

"stayed with Rosemary all that summer going to shows"

is transcribed as

"stayed with those are capitals GOING TO SHOWS"

I can see the probable miss-transcription, but aside from that, can anyone point me to a way to change the case without having to type it all out again ?

Would copying it into something like OpenOffice (not yet installed) be the way to go ?

John

Initial letter in lower case.

grey1beard — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 11:32:01 EST

Running Dragon Recorder ver 11, with an Olympus VN8500(?) digital recorder, and acting as a transcription editor for an elderly friend, we are making good progress in transcribing her remeniscences.

However, I'm having several problems with punctuation.

1. Her preferred spoken form of "full stop" is just "stop", so I have tried adding that to the alternatives via the vocab editor.

This seems to work. However, randomly, the first letter of the next sentence is in lower case.

This also happens when DNS has automatically inserted a full stop.

2. Is it possible to get the transcription to insert a new line after every full stop ?

Any thoughts or suggestions, please, even if you are unfamilliar with the limitations of Recorder ver 11.

John

Long recordings

lloydgarver — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 20:16:36 EST

I may have asked this question in the past. Please forgive me if I have. Recently, after making some recordings of considerable length -- definitely longer than 30 minutes -- when I have tried to transcribe the recordings using that little red Dragon symbol on my DSS Player Pro Digital Module -- I've been unsuccessful. Either it just transcribes a few words or does absolutely nothing. It's transcribing shorter recordings fine.

Is there a maximum length of time that this process of recording on my Olympus Ds3400 and then trying to transcribe it using the Pro Digital Module should not exceed? If so, what is it and is there a way to make that a larger number?

Thanks --Lloyd

Transcription/Recorder for interviews of family

robbyvegas — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 11:07:38 EST

Here's the idea: I'd like to write a list of questions to send to my grandparents along with a copy of text for training Dragon (if necessary). I'd like to have them sit down and respond to the questions (e.g. tell me what you remember about the first time that you met Grandma, first date, wedding day, the day that each of your children was born, etc.). I want to take the recordings and have Dragon transcribe them so that I have an audio and a text version of their memories.

I don't expect them to be willing to hold a recorder or to wear a headset mic, so it probably needs to be something that will be accurate from a nearby table, or a lapel mic that can simply clip to their shirt.

I won't be present with Dragon, so I do need a digital recorder of some sort. I don't anticipate using the recorder very frequently after this project is done so keeping costs down would be a plus.

Any recommendations?

Thanks,

Rob

Olympus ODMS 6.0.0 Patch 0005 fixes and enhancements

DavidW — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 05:02:20 EST

I had reason to talk to Olympus Professional Dictation Support Europe today - who, incidentally, are based in the next town to me in England. I called to report a couple of bugs in ODMS 6.0.0, which Olympus will investigate.

As part of the call, I was sent the latest patch for ODMS 6.0.0, which is Patch 0005 (the patches are cumulative). This failed to fix either of the bugs I reported, but Patch 0002 or higher fixes the broken foot pedal behaviour in the Transcription Module: without the patch, the program incorrectly started playing without the play pedal held down after a pedal fast forward or rewind.

A useful enhancement is the introduction of "Space Bar", "New Line", "New Paragraph" and "Tab key" commands for background voice recognition in Patch 0001 or higher.

I don't want to post either the Readme file or the installer here as it is copyright Olympus. The latest patch installer should be available from your dealer.

Digital Recorder versus Digital Transcription Software

BearClan — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 14:11:20 EST

I have a simple question that Olympus has been unable to answer!

I have a DS-3500 Digital Recorder and need to set up with a transcriptionist for transcribing. Would ordering a compatible Foot Pedal and Headset suffice or is there Transcription Software that also needs to be purchased???

Thanks much!

Digital Recorders and Dragon dictate for Mac

handienterprises — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 23:00:49 EST

hi guys,

I had a question, which is the best digital voice recorder to use with DragonDictate for Mac? I need one that is typically records in MP3 format. At a lower to middle range price point of about $75. And that offers long life recording time.

Any suggestions?

DSS Pro Module

lloydgarver — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 20:25:29 EST

I need a little refresher course here. The old file that I downloaded from my recorder to the DSS module (while looking at the module) have ds3400 where it says "author." My most recent ones which were from another recorder are blank. Is that okay?

More importantly, when I go to look at all of the sound files in my folders on my computer, I'll see files with names like ds340191 an ds340191.ds2. What's the difference between those two files? Is one wma and one an mp3 file? If not, can either the ds2 or the non-ds2 be converted to something so I can put it in my iTunes?

Somehow, the files I just downloaded from my recorder just disappeared from the module. Is there a way to get them back?

Thanks -Lloyd

Olympus ODMS 6 and Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11.5 workflow

DavidW — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 08:15:02 EST

I'm interested in how people are integrating Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11.5 with Olympus ODMS 6 (I own both the Dictation and Transcription Modules). I'm trying to figure out what workflow is best for those of my DS-7000 recordings I want to feed to Dragon.

I transcribe some of my recordings the 'traditional' way using a foot pedal and keyboard because Nuance never released a UK Legal edition of Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 or 11.5. There was a UK Legal version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10, which wasn't that good - I own a copy, but am much happier with Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11.5 Professional. Without legal citation support in Dragon, anything with a lot of legal citations is quicker to type from scratch than correct the mangled mess in a Dragon transcription. I'm really hoping there's a UK Legal version when Dragon 12 appears - I'll be first in the queue to upgrade my copy of Dragon 11.5 Professional.

However, some of my recordings are suitable for feeding straight to Dragon.

I eventually figured out the nasty gotcha in the ODMS 6 Dictation Module - though you can configure the Dragon profiles to use for real-time and background voice recognition, background voice recognition throws a rather cryptic error unless the User ID in the DSS Pro file matches the Dragon user name. This breaks a fundamental software engineering philosophy called the Principle of Least Astonishment - I configured Dictation Module to use a particular Dragon Profile for background transcription, which it refused to do because the user name doesn't match the User ID.

The Transcription Module doesn't share this flaw, as you can configure the User ID to Dragon profile matching).

Even when I got it working, I'm still having problems with background voice recognition and feel it really isn't suitable for a supposedly professional product. I realise some of these problems are shortcomings with Dragon's engine features rather than the Olympus ODMS software, but they are nevertheless frustrating:

I get a space before every item of punctuation - and have no idea why. I don't want every sentence finishing like this . This leaves me with so many corrections to make manually (or a round trip into Word for few search and replace iterations) that the results, frankly, are unusable. I don't ordinarily have this problem with Dragon NaturallySpeaking.
Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional supports saving audio with the recognised text, so you can use Dragon's correction features later. However, ODMS doesn't avail itself of this support - it supports Dragon's spell and correct features in real-time recognition but not background recognition. You can play back background recognise audio alongside the text, but your corrections are not fed back to Dragon.
You have to unload Dragon NaturallySpeaking before background recognition will work.
If Dragon NaturallySpeaking is loaded, the ODMS Dictation Module sometimes refuses to load with an error telling you to contact your Olympus dealer (I've never known the Transcription Module do this).

If there are any ODMS hotfixes or similar that will help, especially with the first problem, I'd appreciate information how to get them. The integration looks as if it will be really good in the future, especially as you can use a USB connected DS-7000 and the ODMS Dictation Module in a similar way to a DirectRec. Right now, I'd barely call it beta grade. Why did Olympus remove the old "Start Voice Recognition" feature from ODMS? That feature in Olympus Sonority works much better than the ODMS NaturallySpeaking integration.

Unlike the software, the new hardware is excellent with just minor frustrations.

I have had one DS-7000 glitch where I set the work type parameters of a new dictation, pushed the slide switch to record, the LED came on and the recorder completely locked up rather than starting to record. I had to pull the battery. Hopefully this was a genuine one-off or will be fixed in a later firmware release (I currently have 1.00 firmware).

The new RS-31 pedal is a great improvement over the old RS-28.

So far as the voice recognition goes, I think I will probably get better results with Dragon's AutoTranscribe Folder Agent. I'm wondering if anyone has tried to integrate this agent into an ODMS environment, especially in terms of keeping the .DS2, .docx and .dra files together throughout the workflow.

Any thoughts?

need file at 11 kHz sampling rate

chc111 — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 08:45:01 EST

I am still using my Dragon Naturally Speaking Version 4. I have been using it many, many years and I get excellent accuracy from it. (That version was not compatible with subsequent versions so I could never upgrade.) I have tried subsequent versions several times, most recently version 10, but I could never achieve the accuracy that I get with my Version 4. (I have multiple Macros trained in that version, and I just could never get them to work in the subsequent versions.

I just purchased the Olympus DS-7000. I installed the software and downloaded the files. For DNS version 4, I need the files in 11 kHz sampling 16 bit format. (That seems to be the only option.) The Olympus software does not give me the option to convert to 11 kHz. The files produced by the software are 44kHZ. There is a conversion option, but does not include 11 kHz.

Any solutions to converting the files produced with the Olympus DS-7000 recorder to the format to be able to transcribe with DNS Version 4?

Restricted Commands

FredR — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 11:46:14 EST

I am using a DS-7000 for dictation, with DNS 11.5 Professional, but strangely, cannot locate where I can set preferences to restricted commands or just dictation commands.

I assume they can be set once and remain until changed.

Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks.

FredR

DNS 9.5. closes withotu saving file

wrightone — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 04:49:03 EST

Hi

My approach with Dragon 9.5 is to dictate into a philips dictation machine and to feed texts of about 10 minutes length into Dragon, after conversion to wav format. This has worked for about ten years. Suddenly, Dragon now, at the end of transcribing the file, decided to exit without saving the transcribed text and without any act on my part. I have reinstalled the program, but kept my user files since I did not want to have to dictate alice in bloody wonderland yet again!
Has anyone else experienced this and does anyone have a suggestion on how to solve it?

Thanks for your help!

what if rogue command or really bad recognition happens with transcription?

danielschechter — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 12:14:11 EST

Hi,

My company is thinking of trying Dragon on a Citrix server and I'm not confident that this will work well because of the delays already present in the system that despite major upgrades have improved only modestly.

I think that using a recorder might make things more likely to be accurate. I'm comfortable dictating whole patient notes.

However, I've found that when using Dragon on my 2010 i5 4gb W7 32 bit machine with plantronics usb sound card and umevoice boom O that sometimes pop-ups are activated when I don't want them and that sometimes phrases are really garbled. Sometimes I'm activating a macro. What saves the dictation is that I see a problem is happening and I correct it to the best of my ability.

I'm concerned that if I dictate something, transfer the file to Dragon, and have Dragon transcribe the file that I'll see garble and will have no idea what I meant and the data will be lost.

But I haven't heard of people complain about this, so maybe it's not a problem, but I can't imagine why it wouldn't be a huge problem.

Maybe it's that I don't know how transcription works.

All the best,

Dan

PS--I think I've been training Dragon incorrectly. I've used the optimizer almost daily. I correct words with "correct that" but I'm not sure that helping accuracy. Am I supposed to be entering the error corrections directly into the dictionary after seeing the error?

DS-7000

rablaw — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 21:15:27 EST

I just bought a new DS-7000 to replace my DS-4000. I am very happy with the accuracy and expect to use it exclusively, placing my Sennheiser headset in the closet.

A public thanks to Lunis for supporting what he sells. I could not set up the Dragon Auto Transcribe Folder Agent until Lunis got on the phone and virtually got it working in a few minutes. Now, I can dictate and automatically transcribe multiple documents and have my secretary just do some formatting. Makes my workflow faster and keeps her carpal tunnel from acting up.