Article ID: 22

Added: February 22, 2008

Category: Media Features

Question

What should I do in order to set up for recording voice memos on the BrailleNote?

Answer

Voice memos are good ways to recording things such as class lectures, events and personal notes. To set up BrailleNote mPower or PK for voice memos, do the following:

 

1. From the Main menu, go to Media Center (M)/Setup Options (S)Recording Options (R).

 

2. At the Recording Setup list, press SPACE to go through each of the following items:

    

   • Default Input Source: This prompt allows you to select whether you want to use the internal microphone or an external microphone. Press I for Internal or E for External then press ENTER. The default source is internal microphone. On the mPower, the mike (shortened form of microphone) is located on the top left of the case. On the PK, it is located on the front of the unit.

      

   • Sampling Frequency: This allows you to select the recording quality. Press L for Low quality at 11025 hertz (11.025 KHz or kilohertz for short), press M for Medium quality at 22.05 KHz or H for High quality at 44.1 KHz. The file size of the recording increases as the frequency increases. Make your selection then press ENTER to continue.

    

   • Bit Depth: This allows you to select the bit depth, the quality of a recording based on dynamics. For 16 bit quality, press H. For lower 8-bit quality, press L. Note that 16-bit recording uses more storage space than 8-bit recording file. Press ENTER to continue.

    

   • Record button input source: This setting determines the recording button that is used to start and stop recording. To use the internal mike button, press I. For an external record button (if the external mike has one), press E. On the mPower, the record button is located on the left side of the unit, directly in front of the headphone jack. On the PK, it is located on the front of the unit beside the microphone. Make a selection then press ENTER to continue.

    

   • Respond to the record button when power is off: To allow the BrailleNote to record even though the power switch is off, press Y. If you want to record the memo when the power is on, press N. Make a selection then press ENTER to continue.

    

   • Internal microphone level: This sets the microphone gain volume for the internal microphone. Type a number between 1 (lowest gain) and 15 (highest, i.e. sensitive gain) then press ENTER.

    

   • External microphone level: Same as above; Type a number between 1 (lowest gain) and 35 (highest gain) then press ENTER.

    

   • Enable recording tone: To have KeySoft play the recording tone (when starting and stopping recording), press Y. To keep it silent, press N. Press ENTER to continue.

    

   After making your selection, press SPACE with E/ESC to exit this list. Press the same command once more to exit to Media Menu. You are now ready to record a voice memo.

    

Location for memos

By default, memos are stored under My Memos folder on Flash Disk. To change the location of the memos:

 

1. From Main Menu, go to Media Center/Setup Options/Select folder for memos item.

 

2. At the "Store memos on which drive?" prompt, select the desired drive. It is preferable to store it on an external storage media such as CompactFlash, SD card, USB devices, and so forth.

 

3. At the folder name prompt, select the folder where you want to store the recorded files. If you want to store it under a subdirectory - that is, a folder under another folder, at the folder name prompt, use Directory Mode (SPACE with T/CTRL+T), then use navigation commands to select the parent folder, press ENTER, then use the navigation commands to select the underlying folder. When you are done, press ENTER at the directory name prompt to select this folder.

 

File size of the recording

The recordings are saved as .wav files. Depending on the frequency and bit depth setting, the size changes, ranging from 1 MB for one minute of recording (using 8 bit with 11025 Hertz frequency) to 5 MB per minute (44.1 KHz frequency and bit depth of 16 bits). So it is important to store the memo on a location where there is plenty of free disk space. This is the reason why it is preferable to store the memo on an external storage device.

Updated: February 22, 2008