Olympus VN-8100PC Digital Voice Recorder 142600 (Silver and Black)

I just ordered this Olympus VN-8100PC digital voice recorder a few days ago and so far it has worked pretty good. I had an older digital voice recorder, but it didn't have a USB port, so I couldn't transfer files to my PC which is what I wanted, so I bought this. I've made several recordings and transferred them to my PC and they sound good, all you do is plug it into a USB port on your computer and then you can access this device just like a USB thumb drive.I decided to go with this one because the older Olympus model VN-6200PC on Amazon has over a hundred reviews that are mostly all positive, and this one is simply an updated more advanced model with 2GB of memory instead. I checked the Olympus website and this one is very close to the 6200PC model that everybody loves, but with more features and an easier looking layout. The most important difference is the ability to record in MP3 format, the 6200PC can only record in WMA format. Also this one has 2GB of memory, so you can record for a long time, and if the memory fills up you can just transfer the files off the device to your computer.As far as the layout of the on screen menu settings and buttons on the device, it is super easy. I didn't even read the instruction manual to figure everything out, I just played around with it for a few minutes and everything was pretty much self explanatory, it's designed so anybody can use it without having to click through a bunch of settings and crap just to get it to work.If you buy this device, one very handy accessory to get is the Olympus TP-7 Telephone Recording Device. It sells here on Amazon for $[...] or so and has a ton of reviews all rating it very positive. I bought it with mine and it works perfectly, I recorded a phone conversation earlier today to test it out and it worked great. The main purpose of buying this digital voice recorder was really to record phone conversations using the TP7. All you do is plug the TP7 into the mic input on your digital voice recorder, and then put the ear piece into your ear and when you are on the phone talking to someone hit "record" then when you are done hit "stop" and that is it. The Olympus digital recorders only record in mono, so that means when you play back your phone conversation on your computer speakers/headphones you will only hear sound from one speaker/headphone, but that really isn't a problem or big deal since it's only a conversation you're listening too and not music.As a side note, hopefully more people realize the VN-6200PC is an old model and do not buy it instantly just because it has a ton of good reviews. I almost did that until I went to the Olympus website and realized this 8100PC model was newer and better then the 6200PC and cost pretty much the same.If this review helped you, leave a comment or something :)

First bought the Sony that Amazon has at #1- it was actually not good in the fact that it picked up Iphone or other RF interference and ruined 2 of my recordings. Than I tried other Olympus recorders, and found them ok, but I really wanted stereo output and good battery life with little hissing. The Sony had A LOT of hiss in the recording. This one once you turn on the filter in playback eliminates practically all the hiss. Trust me I went through like 5 recorders before settling on this little guy. The only thing I wish it had was a way to add to a recording. Once you stop you have to record a new file, so be sure to just Pause. Probably the most amazing thing about this recorder is the battery life- While the Sony 820 ate up my batteries in one week of classes, this thing hasn't even dropped a bar out of 3!!! Very impressed. Sometimes it takes some searching, but don't buy the top two sellers when you can get this for the same price.You won't regret it! Plus the Sony comes with NO CASE!!!! I would of liked headphones, but that is not a big deal, the case that comes with this is so needed. Sony, I'm a little disappointed that your product wasn't even close to what Olympus put out.

Wow. I'm very impressed with this recorder. The reviews encouraged me to give this a recorder a try.Appearance- It's very snazzy. It's very clean and just really looks nice compared to the appearance of others. Kind of trivial, but it's a nice little bonus.Battery life- I've only used this for a week, but have recorded six hours of lectures so far and the battery indicator hasn't even gone down one bar yet. So far so good.User interface- Very easy to navigate. The information included with the recorder also explains how to switch folders, access the menu, etc. There's also a setting to make the font two different sizes, both very clear. By default, it's on the larger font which I found to be more than adequate. I switched to the smaller one and it's still highly visible. What I liked is that I can turn off the beeping indicator when you press buttons. There are a few people in class who have theirs on and it's kind of annoying to hear that beep when they pause during lecture. I'm glad this one has the capability to turn that off. There is also an amber light that illuminates when in record mode. Helps prevent any accidental non recordings or leaving it paused too long (something I've been guilty of in the past).What's also nice is the plug n play capability. Included is the usb cable that you connect it to the computer with. It reads it as it would a flash drive. You just access it as you would a flash drive or HDD, and can go through the different folders (I've designated each for a specific class, so it makes finding the files easier) to find the file you need. From there, you can drag and drop the files onto your computer. Very simple.Quality- Crystal. I was using an MP3 player before and would have to convert the files to increase the volume to hear adequately via computer (the sound played back on the MP3 player was barely audible). The sound files created with the Olympus recorder (choice of MP3 or WAV files)don't require any modifying and can be played "as is" either on the computer or the recorder itself. The speaker on the unit works very well too. Depending on the lecture, turning it up to full blast is too loud, which is good. It means that you don't have to turn the volume up really high in order to hear clearly.Bonus- I like that this one came with a case. Keeps it protected while in my bag.Overall, I would highly recommend this, especially for college students in long lectures. I was prompted to buy this because I would zone out the second half of 2 hour lectures and miss a lot. This helps greatly, especially to review while I'm on the computer.Edit- 3-15-11: the battery life is amazing. The recorder is almost filled to capacity with about 15-16 hours recorded and wow. The battery indicator has 3 bars, and it's only now teetering back and forth from full to two bars left.Update- 1-2-12- It's been almost a year and I stand by my first impressions of this recorder. It's been awesome and I haven't had any problems with it. :)