Readers asked us to look at dictation devices. Rupert White tried three new machines with an outsourced transcription service


Comparing digital dictation units may not get the pulse racing from a technological point of view, but these devices are a staple of legal IT, and transcription outsourcing seems to be doing rather well at the moment.



The Gazette tried out three machines and an outsourced dictation transcription service to get the feel of digitally recording audio, emailing it to a service and having that transcription emailed back.



Grundig Digta 415

According to Grundig, the Digta 415 is a 'new standard in digital dictation devices', which is amusing but, sadly, an exaggeration. Beneath the hyperbole lies an interesting product, however.



The Digta is pleasant and easy to use, feels solid in the hand, is not confusing in terms of buttons, and records in the familiar DSS file standard.



Grundig has developed clever accessories for PIN-locking the unit, and scanning bar codes or even RFID tags (remote-activated chips such as London's Oyster transport payment card) for appending file information to recordings. Bulk conveyancing firms using bar codes for file and mail identification, for example, might appreciate these add-ons. Built-in memory is acceptable at 64MB. Recording quality seemed very good, and the 1.5-times playback speed feature is well delivered.



A key difference between it and the Olympus and Sanyo machines is that the record button is a discrete red button, rather than the last notch on a slider. This may not sound like a problem, but it makes it easy to record over files by mistake.



In brief: solid and usable but a bit ugly; a similar punch to Olympus for less cash; nifty add-on gadgets. Price (including VAT): £364.





Olympus DS-4000

The DS-4000 is easily the best-looking unit in this round-up, and it feels good in the hand, with a metal case and seemingly the best build quality, although - for a plastic unit - the Grundig was good. Olympus's slider has a positive feel, and the screen is huge compared to that of the Grundig and Sanyo.



The DS-4000, in essence, looks and feels like a pricey, high-end piece of kit. Like the Grundig, it comes with a dock for connection to your PC and a rechargeable battery. Sound quality was good, but not quite as good as the Digta's. The 32MB memory card smacked of meanness considering the unit's price, but you will fit 11 or so hours of dictation on it in the trusty DSS format. Quite how much on-board storage a lawyer needs, though, is debatable.



One feature that stands out is the ability to slide effortlessly from play to stop to record, making it rather too easy to tape over the middle of files. Of course, this can be a plus point, but it was extremely frustrating when it happened accidentally. If you intend to record conversations that you need to keep safe, the added safety of a separate record button or a course in carefulness should be considered.



The DS is designed for professional users, and is the best-known brand on this page for them - there is still very much the 'no one ever got fired for buying IBM' feel to Olympus's brand, and this reputation is not undeserved.



In brief: very pretty, well-built, feature-laden high-end dictation stalwart, but the cost is a bit stiff. Price: approx. £400.





Sanyo ICR 1000

Gazette reporter Catherine Baksi spent some time using the ICR 1000, and was generally pleased with it: 'The shiny, chrome-encased unit comes with a 256MB memory card, enabling 35.5 hours of recording. This can be upgraded to 1GB - enough to record almost a whole week's worth of legal musings.



'It has a smooth-moving, four-position slider control on the side like the Olympus, which includes the record setting. Usefully, it has three sensitivity settings for dictation, conference and meetings, and records in high quality people positioned some distance from the machine, even if you inadvertently select the wrong mode. There are also three playback speeds. The machine contains three storage folders, each of which can store 99 recording files, if you can follow the slightly muddling user instructions.



'The screen is easy to read - clear for its seemingly small size, uncluttered and with well-sized graphic elements. It also comes with a smart black protective case.' This was the smallest device reviewed - compact enough to slip neatly into a handbag or jacket pocket.



The Sanyo does not record in DSS format, which proved a downside in emailing files to Voicepath, for example. The 'wave' format it uses also produces much larger files than the DSS format, no doubt the reason for supplying such a large memory card. The total number of possible files is also a lot lower than on the Olympus.



In brief: a very portable machine and a good all-rounder; not the bee's knees, but a worthy lower-price option. Price: £229.





Voicepath transcription service

Voicepath's service is behind a number of the digital dictation systems law firms can buy. These are usually clever software systems linked to practice and/or case management, but you can see some of the arguably lesser benefits of outsourced digital dictation by just contracting out the transcription, which is what Voicepath let the Gazette do. Recognition of non-legal business terms and brand names was not always perfect, so clearly every transcript would need rereading.



Overall the service was good, with files coming back within the allotted times - there is a 24-hour and one-hour turnaround service, with scaled pricing. Using email to send and receive the files worked well, with only the Sanyo's 'wave' format causing problems at Voicepath's end and a minor mutiny in the Gazette's mail server. But any outsourced service would suffer the same minor problems, and it was easy to see the attraction of a 'pay as you go' service that might allow smaller firms to reduce administrative staff, a major overhead.

Link: www.voicepath.com