At some point, almost everyone finds the need to record audio for one reason or another. For most of us, it’s just for remembering something important, as was the case the other day when I used the Voice Memo feature on my iPhone to make note of my brother’s new address. For professionals, however, audio recordings require a little more attention to detail. The Olympus LS-7 PCM recorder is one of the devices made for professionals.
Lots Of Features
Offering 24bit and 96kHz Linear PCM Recording, the LS-7 is not designed to just record a bit of audio for playback later. The sound quality is provided for professional use, offering crisp, clear audio recording and playback for things that require a little more fidelity and clarity than your shopping list. As you may be aware, higher quality in any digital media almost always means more storage space will be required and used. Thankfully, Olympus included 4GB of built in memory and a micro SD memory card slot for even more audio. At 4GB, you can get (according to the Olympus site) about 1.75 hours at a higher PCM quality and much more with lowered quality and varying formats, up to over 1,000 hours at the lowest quality with WMA files. In reality, anyone who pays the professional price for a high-end recorder like this will usually record in the upper limits of quality.
The recording and playback features are too numerous for me to go into detail on all of them, but there were so many, that I actually felt a bit overwhelmed at first. After playing with the LS-7 a bit and reading through the quick start guide, I was quickly navigating through several folders for audio file storage, recording, deleting, and changing many of the settings. The user interface required this practice in order for me to begin to feel comfortable, but it didn’t take long. With optional audio descriptions of every menu item and option, there was almost a feeling that the female voice was walking me through it. After getting comfortable with the menus, the voice can be turned off as well. The second feature that caught my attention was the storage folders. I thought it a bit odd that the LS-7 came with several pre-named folders by default rather than just adding and naming folders as needed. This is, perhaps, the one thing I would change about this device if I could. The final UI feature that impressed me was how I delete files on the LS-7. Although it sounds like a small thing, anyone who has ever lost any digital content that they created from scratch knows the value of confirmation before deleting anything. In this case, I would hit the Erase button that was ominously placed in a very easy to hit spot on the front of the device and I would be given an erase menu with the option to erase or cancel. After choosing Erase from the menu, I had to confirm. It’s an extra step, but it put a physical Erase button in a very easy place to find while not sacrificing my recordings to any mistakes.
The three built in microphones, including two Stereo Directional mics and a Center Omni Directional mic, are very prominent on the top of the LS-7. In my testing, I was easily able to see the Peak lights for the left and right light up as I moved my sound source. Upon playback, it was clear that they picked up as intended, too. Of course, this is another feature not needed for all applications, but when you need any kind of stereo or directional recording, this is a must. Other physical features included a built in speaker, microphone and headphone jacks, a large back-lit screen and even rechargeable batteries.
Device And Audio Quality
Weighing in at 3.17 ounces and with 4.4 x 1.5 x 0.6 inch dimensions, the LS-7 is small and portable, but also feels very sturdy and comfortable to hold and use. I wouldn’t want to drop it, but if I did, I think an external blemish might be the worst of it. To protect against that, a padded carrying sleeve is included, too, making the idea of breaking it accidentally a little tough to imagine. In addition to the features I mentioned above, the user interface as a whole is very detailed and easy to navigate with practice. Using the large screen well, Olympus left little to the imagination, freeing the professional to think about the work to be done.
The microphones picked up awesomely in my testing. I spoke normally, yelled and whispered and the LS-7 picked up every bit of my insanity clearly. Just to throw a curve ball at it, I even exited my home office with the LS-7 in my pocket, recording, to talk to my wife. The very beginning of the recording was lower, but after a couple seconds, everything she and I said was as clear as if I was holding a microphone in my hand.
Conclusions
The $199 retail price tag sets the LS-7 clearly out of the reach of those who don’t need a professional PCM recorder, but for those who do, it’s a welcomed and comfortably-priced offering. With an army of features, high quality microphones and intelligent design, the Olympus LS-7 makes a great little recorder for those with big needs.
Having a computer dedicated to your entertainment center is fine, but what if you don’t want to dedicate a computer just to that? That’s how I had things set up for a long time. I used the computer less and less after we got a new cable box that included a DVR. With HULU, I contemplated setting it all back up, but then I came across a device that promised to save me all the trouble.
The device pictured above is a USB PC to TV audio and video adapter from a company called Warpia and it’s designed to transmit the audio and video signal from your computer to a receiving unit attached to your PC.
Setting It All Up
The setup for this device really couldn’t have been much easier. Following some simple instructions, I installed the software from the included CD and then plugged in the USB PC adapter. After looking over the settings, I plugged in the A/V base adapter and hooked it up to the HDMI cable I borrowed from my DVD player (will connect via VGA, too). After a couple seconds, everything on my laptop screen was being displayed on my 42 inch TV as well. Check out the video of everything in action:
The refresh rate for video was pretty good, but could be a little better. Other than that, HD video came across as true HD and looked really good. All my applications refreshed seamlessly and I had a very clear picture.
Features and Flaws
One of the things I liked about this was that it’s treated as an additional display, so I can tell Windows to either Duplicate the display or Extend it. When I extend it, I get to keep my normal laptop screen just on my laptop, and a second desktop for the TV. A great example of how that’s beneficial presented itself the other night. I purchased a movie online for direct download and watched it on the TV over my wireless A/V connection. At the same time, I was able to tweet, read and respond to email, etc. from my original desktop. Pretty cool.
The SWP100A also comes with mounting screw slots on the bottom of the TV adapter and that end’s USB stick can plug in horizontally or vertically in case you want to wall mount it and keep it as flush as possible.
The only real concern this device presented was the heat it generated. The USB adapter can get pretty warm and the TV adapter gets downright hot. I’d have loved to see an on/off switch on the TV end of the setup. Not only would this help with the heat problem, but it would be a lot easier than having to unplug it and plug it back in every time I want to use it.
Conclusions
At $179.99, it’s not my cheapest device, but it’s cheaper than setting up another computer just for the TV and a lot, I mean a LOT easier. I went from sealed box to completed and in use in about 5-7 minutes. If you can handle the price, it’s a decent solution to get your audio and video from PC to TV in a snap.
I can be pretty picky about the sponsored posts I accept because I want to post about stuff I would actually use or buy myself. Today is no exception, because today’s post is about a product that I think is timely, useful, and reasonably priced. It’s iPod / iPhone to iTunes Transfer software called iPodRobot.
One of the things that I’ve heard people complain about with the iPhone is that you have to sync it with iTunes to get files on and off the device. I’ve personally felt that was annoying with my own iPhone. Almost every other smart phone on the planet lets you connect to it as a mass storage device and access your videos, photos, etc. This software works as a bridge between your computer and the data on your phone, eliminating the need for iTunes as part of the equation. It’s a great idea and I’m a little shocked that I haven’t seen it before.
When the software starts up, it looks for your phone and connects to it. Then you just select the folders or files on your phone to transfer and tell it to move them to your computer. After confirming (or changing) the local folder, the files are moved. There’s not much to it, really. The one thing I was unable to find (and isn’t listed as an option on the site) was uploading files to the phone from my computer. The lack of bi-directional transfer was a drawback to me. Looking at the glass as half full, you can download a free trial to try it out, and what it does do it does well and without needing any specialized knowledge. For $20, it’s a nice piece of software to have if you don’t want to (or can’t) sync with iTunes for some reason.
While I was on the site, I checked out their Free iPod / iPhone Video Converter software. It did what it promised and pretty quickly. I was able to convert an AVI Flip video from one of my previous reviews into an iPhone-friendly format and just like the transfer software, this had a simple interface and just worked fast and clean out of the box. Although the ipodrobot software lacks a valuable feature I was looking for, I gave the company extra points for delivering otherwise very solid, stable, and easy to use products.
One of the cutest little gadgets I’ve gotten in my mailbox is the Speakal iBoo, a little speaker, shaped like a ghost and available in red, white or blue. The one they sent out was blue and has become device number two that my wife claimed as her own on sight.
What’s in the box?
It can be frustrating to find the right speaker system to match not only your needs, but also the connection requirements of the device providing the music. It’s worse when you upgrade from one iPod to the next just to find that the new one doesn’t fit in the speaker system you already own. A lot of systems that are geared towards iPods take this into consideration and so does the iBoo. It comes with a bunch of adapters to make any iPod fit. One difference here is that they provide a prying wedge to remove the attached iPod adapter and replace it with another one. It also comes with a kind of cap for when you don’t want any adapter.
Also in the box is an audio cable, the power adapter, user manual, and a small remote control. The remote is a nice addition. Although not necessary, the remote could be handy when you place the iBoo on a shelf or otherwise not easily within reach. The remote also has more functions on it than the iBoo, itself, so it’s good to have even when the iBoo is right next to you.
Appearances aren’t everything, but…
Honestly, of the three colors they offer, blue would be my preference, but I also think any decent sound system should come in sleek black, silver or titanium. That’s just my opinion, and apparently, blue isn’t all that bad, either. Michelle took her new iBoo in to the office to replace her existing stereo speakers and it was, as I’m told, the talk of the office, briefly. Everyone loved it. It is pretty cute, and the design is sleek enough, even in blue. The most thoughtful aspect of the design is that it doesn’t really have any protruding buttons or controls. The play/pause and volume controls are easy to find if you’re looking and not too easy to see if you’re not looking. They’re part of the iBoo’s surface, so you just have to touch the right area on iBoo to control the audio in various ways. It’s not like some small controls sticking out of iBoo would make much of a difference, but it’s the little details that count, sometimes.
How is it as a sound system?
Something that I always fear with devices that are made to fit a theme like this is that they focus too much on making it look cute and not enough on making it sound good. Luckily, that’s not so here. Speakal offers up a system that looks cute and sounds good too. I already mentioned that it takes all the iPods as input but I also mentioned an included audio cable. That cable is for the auxiliary input so you can hook up a game system, stereo, television, etc. Where it failed was with my iPhone. When I plugged the iPhone in, it displayed a message on the screen indicating that the device wasn’t made to work with an iPhone. It’s not the first device that has been rejected by my iPhone and I’m sure it won’t be the last, but it’s worth noting. Michelle pointed out that you can’t grab it by the top (because of the touch sensitive controls) to turn it off, although that seems like a minor inconvenience.
Conclusions
iBoo is supposed to be cute, but I want one in black or titanium and I want it to work with my iPhone, but did prove itself as device that can easily please an office crowd and it sounds good. For the money (about $80), it’s a great way to free your music from your standard ear buds or replace larger speakers for more desk space. They also have iPanda and iPig, but I’m holding out for iNinja.
