Article ID: 13

 

Added: January 29, 2008

Category: Media Player

 

 

Background

 

From the 1970's to the 1990's, many people used so-called mini cassette recorders to record memos. These were usually stored on cassette tapes for easy storage. Now, with the introduction of digital signal processing (DSP) and recording via audio programs on a computer, people can do more than just recording memos - recordng music, TV shows, podcasts, radio and so on.

 

BrailleNote is not an exception to this trend. With introduction of BrailleNote mPower with its recording capability, users of the BrailleNote family of products can now use their devices as "digital recorders."

 

 

How does it work?

 

On the BrailleNote mPower, there is an internal microphone, located on the top left corner of the case. On the PK, the mike (an informal name for microphone) is located on the front of the machine to the left of the joystick. On both machines, there is a record button - on the mPower, it is located on the left side by the headphone jack; on the PK, it is located to the right of the microphone.

 

When a user records a memo, the file is saved in a location specified by the user under "select folder for Memos" item under "Setup Options" for Media Center. By default, the recordings are stored under My Memos folder on Flash Disk. These files are saved as .wav file with the following file name format:

• The time when the record began (in 24 hour format; e.g., if you started recording around 1:13 PM, it should be named "131300.")
• Then the date of the recording as date, month and year; e.g., If you recorded a class lecture for January 24, 2008, the date portion of the file name should say, "24-01-08." Notice that the year form uses two digit year numbers e.g. "08" for 2008.
• Following these, a message "memo.wav" completes the file name.

 

So the example file name would be:

131300 24-01-08 memo.wav.

 

When viewed from "Memo List" (see below), the recording is presented as follows:

• The time the recording ended e.g. if the recording lasted 30 minutes, the "list" says, "1:43:00 P.M." Then the word "on" is displayed.
• The date on which the memo was recorded e.g. since the recording was made on January 24, 2008, the list says, "January 24, 2008." Then the word "memo" is displayed.

 

So, the file name that will be presented at "Playback Memos" list would be as follows:

1:43:00 P.M. on January 24, 2008. memo.

 

 

How to record a memo

 

There are two ways of recordng a memo: using the Record button from anywhere in KeySoft, and from "Record a Memo" option from Media Center.

 

 

Recording from anywhere in KeySoft

 

 

1. From anywhere in KeySoft, press the Record button (see above for locations of these buttons on mPower and PK). A single beep should be heard.

 

2. Continue to record the memo as long as you want.

 

3. When you finished recording, press the Record button once more. A double beep confirms that the recording was finished.

 

 

 

Using "Record a Memo" feature

 

 

1. From Main Menu (Menu key/SPACE with dots 1 through 6), go to Media Center (M) then choose Record a Memo (R).

 

2. At the prompt "Start recording using internal microphone?", press ENTER to begin recording. A single beep confirms that the recording has started.

 

At this point, you can go to Main Menu then go back to the application you were working (Word Processor, Book Reader, Internet browser, etc.). At this point, you can stop the recording by pressing the Record button, or:

 

3. From Main Menu, go back to Media Cenbter/Record a Memo. A message "Recording" should be displayed. Press ENTER to stop the recording. A double beep confirms that the recording was stopped. Then press SPACE with E/ESC twice to exit to Main Menu.

 

 

 

Playing back recorded memos

 

When you've finished recording voice memos, you can play it back anytime and anywhere in KeySoft.

 

There are two ways to do this: by using "Playback Memos" feature from Media Center, or using a keystroke to play back last memo recorded.

 

 

Using "Playback Memos" feature

 

Playback Memos allows you to play not only the most recently recorded memo, but other memos you might have recorded in the past. These memos are displayed as a list of files, starting with the most recent memo to the oldest.

 

To access this feature:

 

1. From Main Menu, go to Media Center (M) then choose "Playback Memos" (P).

 

2. At the "playback memos on which drive" prompt, press ENTER to accept the drive you've stored the files. Alternatively, select the drive where you have some memos stored then press ENTER.

 

3. At the "folder name" prompt, press ENTER on the folder where the memos are located. Alternatively, press SPaCE to move to the folder where you have some other memos then press ENTER.

 

4. At the "List of Memos," press SPACE to move through the list of memos. When you find one you want to play, press ENTER to select the memo. The Media Player should come up, and you can use Media commands (see "Media Commands" section for mroe info). When you are done, press SPACE with E/ESC to exit to "Memo list."

 

At this point, you can select a another memo to play, or you can press SPACE with E/ESC to exit and select another location (whether on a different storage device, a different folder, etc.) where other memos are stored, or press SPACE with E/ESC once more to go to Media Menu. (Press SPACE with E/ESC one more time to exit Media Center.)

 

 

 

Using a keystroke to play the last memo recorded

 

You can play the last memo recorded by pressing a universal keystroke from anywhere in KeySoft. Press ENTER with M/CTRL+Shift+M to play the last memo recorded. When you are done, press SPACE with E/ESC to stop playback of the memo in question.

 

 

Additional Information

 

To find out the commands used for Media Player (which includes commands when listening to memos), see "Media Player Commands" list. For help on options available at "Record a Memo" prompt, read "Beyond Recording a Memo" section to read about commands available for testing and configuring the microphone level. For more information about setting up recording properties such as sampling frequency and type of microphone for recording memos, check out "Setting up for Recording Memos" page.

 

Updated: January 29, 2008