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Teenage Engineering's recorder and mic make the Field series feel complete
Teenage Engineering's Field series is a family of different recording devices. Each has a purpose on its own, but the idea is that they work better together. The question is, do they?
Teenage Engineering's TP-7 field recorder costs an eye-watering $1,499
Teenage Engineering has launched a new field recorder called the TP-7 that was designed to record interviews, music and any kind of audio.
Critter & Guitari’s 5 Moons is a wonderfully wooden multitrack recorder
Critter & Guitari is back with a multitrack recorder that prioritizes simplicity and ease of use. The 5 Moons multitracker continues the company’s track record of making visually distinct devices, due to its attractive wood enclosure, and features a 48KHz 16-bit sampler and enough storage for around 20 hours of samples and full recorded pieces.
Google Pixel phones can now shoot Night Sight videos
In its latest feature drop, Google is bringing things like Locked Folder in Photos and Night Sight videos to Pixel phones.
The Tula is a stylish portable audio recorder with AI noise cancellation
You probably haven't heard of Tula before, but you may be familiar with founder David Brown and his other microphone brand: Soyuz. The Tula is different: it's a surprisingly flexible portable recorder that promises quality audio and clever features for $199. The first thing you'll notice about the Tula is its design -- while not nearly as ostentatious as a Soyuz, it shares a sense of old-school whimsy lacking in more "professional" gear like, well, anything Zoom makes.
Google's powerful Recorder app now works on older Pixel phones
Over its last few Pixel cycles, Google has made a point of bringing some features of its most recent phone to other devices. This week, for instance, Pixel 4's live audio captioning tool expanded to Pixel 3 and 3a devices. Now, owners of older Pixel handsets can check out one of Pixel 4's niftier aspects: the Recorder app that can capture and transcribe audio simultaneously.
Google's voice recorder app is heading to older Pixel phones
One of the niftiest features Google revealed for Pixel 4 at the device's launch event last month was a Recorder app, which captures and transcribes audio simultaneously. Owners of older Pixel devices won't necessarily miss out, however, as Google revealed in a Reddit thread it plans to bring Recorder to other phones.
Another Pixel 4 leak reveals a transcription-centric Recorder app
Google's not doing a great job of keeping details of its forthcoming Pixel 4 quiet. Following leaks about its take on accessible Face ID, and more recently its car crash detection feature, new info has emerged about its updated Recorder app. At the moment, Google's simple Recorder app lets you record audio from a microphone, and not much else. But according to Mishaal Rahman at XDA Developers, it's set to get an upgrade that'll make it a lot more useful.
Forget taking notes, this Bluetooth headset captures your calls
Journalists everywhere will weep with joy if this Bluetooth recording device comes to fruition (at least this one will). We're talking about Bluewire, a headset that records both sides of a smartphone or VoIP conversation over Bluetooth. That means if you're a reporter, lawyer or anyone else who may need to keep their calls on record, your days of blasting a conversation on speaker and hoping for the best are probably over.
Someone put Spotify inside this old cassette recorder
The above contraption may look like the kind of cassette player bygone teens used to use to create mix tapes, but it's not -- it's a Raspberry Pi-powered Spotify speaker with NFC-based playlists. Its creator, a British builder named Matt Brailsford, said he came up with the idea after being introduced to the iRecorder, a novelty speaker designed to look like a traditional cassette recorder. Brailsford's project is more than a glorified iPod dock, however: it uses those NFC playlists embedded inside cassette tapes to dictate which of his Spotify jams is active, and the entire experience (volume, play, next and stop) can be controlled with the ancient recorder's analog buttons below. The NFC-tapes are even double sided. Sadly, Brailsford's modern technology couldn't update all of the cassette player's features: that record button doesn't do anything anymore. Update: Well, whaddya know? Turns out that record button isn't redundant after all. Brailsford got in touch to tell us it functions as a power switch. Nifty!
Zoom's H5 brings high-quality audio recording to budget-minded pros
Are you serious about capturing high-quality audio away from a studio, but not so serious that you need a do-everything recorder like Zoom's H6? You'll want to look into the company's newly unveiled H5, then. While it should match the H6's audio quality and can use the same stereo microphone add-ons, it ditches two of the XLR /TLS combo inputs in the name of cost; you'll also find a monochrome display in lieu of the H6's color panel. The H5 has an analog output for backup recordings, and you can add two more XLR/TLS inputs through a module if your ambition ever grows. Launch details aren't available just yet, but we'd expect the new handheld's pricing to slot in between the $299 H4n and the $399 H6.
Compact cassette turns 50, puts a tear in Soundwave's eye
Forget the MP3 player, or even the Walkman -- the real instigator of the portable audio revolution is the compact cassette, which just marked its 50th birthday. Philips formally launched the format on September 13th, 1963, bringing recorded sound to a truly portable (and more accessible) form factor. The technology didn't just kickstart the markets for media players, field recorders and boomboxes; it led to bootlegs, mixtapes and other ways to shake up the audio status quo. The cassette has largely disappeared outside of nostalgic reissues and transforming robot toys, but its effects are still visible after half a century of progress. [Image credit: Tony Unruh, Flickr]
Switched On: New world recorder
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. When it comes to time-shifting television viewing, the conversation these days usually involves premium streaming services -- namely, Netflix and Hulu Plus. But consumers routinely shell out more than they do for either of these services -- in fact, sometimes more than for both of them combined -- simply to have more convenient access to the television from their existing cable or satellite subscriptions. Not only that, they're often willing to put up with a large, relatively noisy (and failure-prone!) box for this privilege. That box is the digital video recorder.
Tascam unveils iM2 microphone add-on for iOS devices, makes live Foo Fighters bootlegs a breeze
Sure, audio recording via the stock mic and iOS app is pretty serviceable for most tasks, but what about capturing that next Avett Brothers gig? You need look no further than Tascam's iM2 stereo microphone for your Apple handheld or slate. Equipped with a pair of condenser microphones -- the same kit as the outfit's DR-series recorders -- the iM2 plugs right in to the dock port of your iOS device. The duo is adjustable over 180-degrees for the perfect capture and it sports its own preamp and analog-to-digital converter to cut out unwanted coughs and increase those vicious banjo chops. Since the peripheral doesn't use the stock iPhone preamp, it is capable of capturing up to 125dB levels without distortion. And don't worry about that 4S dying mid-set, as the iM2 features a USB input that enables charging through the encore. If you're jonesin' for a closer look, hit the gallery below before grabbing yours for $80. %Gallery-140112%
Dragon adds Recorder app for time-shifted desktop dictation
It's all about speech on the iPhone 4S, from the systemwide dictation features to the inscrutable but very helpful Siri assistant. The fine folks at Nuance (suppliers of some of the underlying IP that powers the 4S voice savvy) have made a big move into the mobile space; the company already has a suite of iOS apps that cover several speech-related functions. There's Dragon Dictation for text entry, Dragon Go! and Search for finding what you need, Dragon for SalesForce to work with your CRM system, two Dragon Medical apps for search and recording, and the Dragon Remote Mic app that turns your iPhone or iPod touch into a networked microphone for the company's desktop dictation apps (Dragon Dictate for Mac or NaturallySpeaking for Windows). Now there's another member of this growing family: the Dragon Recorder app. Dragon Recorder is a free and straightforward voice recording app designed to pair with the company's transcription software; on the Mac, that means the $150 MacSpeech Scribe application. You can use Recorder to record your voice (only yours; Scribe and its Windows sister product are speaker-dependent) on the go, and then easily transfer the recordings via sync or Wi-Fi browser sharing for later transcription. Of course, you could use the built-in Voice Memos application to achieve much the same result, but you wouldn't get the Wi-Fi sharing feature. Then again, if you're planning to do a lot of mobile dictation, I'd recommend picking up Irradiated Software's drop-dead easy DropVox for $1.99 -- forget transferring your files by sync or by click, they'll just show up automatically in your Dropbox folder ready for transcription. (There's no step 3.) It remains to be seen how much of an impact the new on-device dictation capabilities will have on the pro-level dictation and transcription software market, but if you're already a MacSpeech Scribe user then it's worth giving Recorder a try... that is, if you're not already feeling silly talking to Siri.
Toshiba Regza DBR-M190 stores 15 days of HDTV from six channels, we go hands-on (video)
There's no question that Japan gets all the cool gadgets -- many of which never make it stateside. Well, we have yet another tease for you, in the form of an eight-tuner Toshiba DVR with five terabytes of storage. The DBR-M190 reserves six of those tuners (and four TBs of storage) for its Time Shift recording, which as its name implies, transports you to an alternate dimension -- in realtime, mind you -- allowing you to watch past HD episodes of those favorite Japanese programs that you otherwise neglected to record. OK, fine, it can't actually shift physical time, but the home DVR does allow you to record 15 full days of HD content from six channels. Or 30 days from three channels, or 90 days from one -- you get the idea. It also offers 3D Blu-ray playback. Huzzah! There's some pretty heavy compression in place in order to squeeze all that HD content with the allotted storage, but Toshiba reps insisted that the content looks acceptable. Clever as they are, reps also neglected to have that heavily compressed HD video available for demo at CEATEC, but were happy to let us peek at a show recorded using a much more liberal amount of compression, which nets you just one-fifth of the advertised amount (think three days, not 15). Still, three days of 24 hour content from six channels ain't too shabby, but that 200,000 yen price tag (about $2,600) is a bit of a deal breaker, no? As is the fact that you can't plug this puppy into cable networks overseas (Time Shift is only compatible with basic cable channels in Japan). Jump past the break to see it in action, and expect to see it hit Japanese shores sometime in mid-December.%Gallery-135627%
Only in Japan: Toshiba's Regza DBR-M190 serves 5TB of home media
Sometimes gigabytes aren't enough. You have to start talking terabytes. That's the case with Toshiba's new Regza Server, more numerically known as the DBR-M190. The just-announced home media server boasts 5TB of storage, enough for 15 days of MPEG4AVC-compressed digital TV -- from six different channels. Of course, that "server" in the name means you'll be able to stream captured content as well. The sad news? "You" means only Japanese consumers. But if you're one of the chosen many, this media-slinging behemoth will cost you 200,000 yen, or around $2,600.
Zoom R8 8-track recorder promises 'total production to go'
Looking to lighten your load a bit on your audio production job in the field? Then you might want to consider Zoom's new portable 8-track recorder, the R8. Also functioning as an audio interface, control surface and pad sampler, the device packs an SD card slot for storage (a 2GB card is included, complete with 500MB of drum loops), can be powered by 4 AA when on the go, and it naturally connects to your Mac or PC via USB for use as an interface with your favorite DAW program. Head on past the break for a quick demo video, and look for the device itself to set you back $525 $299. Update: We just got hit with a bit of new intel -- the price is actually set for $299. The information we were given earlier was deemed incorrect. Phew!
Snail concept rolls out Braille-to-speech translation
A new concept that fits nicely in the things-you-never-knew-you-wanted category is determined to make speed readers out of the visually impaired. Snail -- deceptive name aside -- uses a pressure-sensitive touch pad to read patterns in a Braille passage, then translates them to speech, speeding up the reading process and allowing users to record audio passages for later playback. The user places his / her thumb, in the obvious opening and glides the device over a line of Braille. The translated audio is then played back either through a built-in speaker or over a connected Bluetooth headset. Snail was made with the blind in mind, but considering we've always been curious about what resides in those bumpy white lines, we wouldn't mind rolling with one of these things ourselves. As is the case with so many concepts, however, there's no telling when or if this Snail will slither on to the market.
Tascam outs new DR-07 Mark II audio recorder, touts adjustable mics
If you're in the market for a quality audio recording device to capture demos somebody other than your mother would listen to, here's your chance to get those songs past her and out into the real world. Tascam, maker of professional music studio equipment, has just announced their newest addition to the recording family, the DR-07. Depending on what you'll be recording, the device allows the user to capture sound in XY or AB configuration using the adjustable dual microphones -- the XY adjustment for a tight stereo recording and AB for ambient, larger noise. The Mark II comes bundled with a 2GB microSD slot, features 17.5 hours of battery life and grabs MP3 audio at up to 320 kbps or WAV audio at up to 96 kHz. If you're interested in picking one of these up, hit up the more coverage link and drop the $150.
