Phil Of Mac
macrumors 68020
True, but if you want a high-end mic, you probably have a better setup for it than just an iPod.
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Belkin iPod Mic and Media Reader FAQs
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True, but if you want a high-end mic, you probably have a better setup for it than just an iPod.
iDictate
If the iPod becomes the standard device used for dictation, Apple could develop an iDictate-type application for voice translation to text, and could be part of the rumored iOffice.
If the iPod becomes the standard device used for dictation, Apple could develop an iDictate-type application for voice translation to text, and could be part of the rumored iOffice.
Analog Kid
macrumors G3
I don't know if I'd go so far as to ask for hi-fidelity, but 8kHz certainly isn't good enough for recording live sound that has any complexity.
A line in port would make it great for recording off a sound board, but a mike input would be good for recording a live practice session for later review.
For myself, I just want to walk the streets and record what I hear, or catch a sample of an interesting sound I come across.
And maybe you're right-- that might be asking too much...
At 8kHz though, it's like listening to everything through a telephone. Even if the mike had spatial range, I don't know if I'd want to listen to a lecture through a telephone.
I think that's what bugs me the most-- they seemed to have found a way of thwarting every decent use of a plug-in microphone. Can't record anything but speech and can't even do that more than 2ft away.
Even if I couldn't use it the way I wanted to, I could have swallowed it if they were appealing to the student-wants-to-record-a-lecture crowd... But they're not. This looks like the doctor and executive dictate-for-my-secretary crowd-- not a big market in my opinion...
Sure, you could go for a portable DAT recorder or another solid-state recorder with lots of features and high-end connectors - but then we're talking about prices from around $1000 and up!🙁
A lot of amateur- and pro musicians and DJs use MD for recording, sampling etc - and there's a huge selection of quality microphones designed for this. Think of this, and the fact that iPods are extremely popular among musicians - it's obvious that there is a demand for good quality recording.
This is "The most requested feature" steve was talking about - but unfortunately he didn't deliver...🙁
Analog Kid
macrumors G3
Conflicting specs...
Hmmm... From the Belkin FAQ:
"The microphone is tuned to range of the human voice and the recording capabilities of the iPod; frequency response is 500Hz to 12kHz."
and
"Monaural (mono), 16-bit audio at 8KHz."
Now, if 8kHz is the sampling rate, we're looking at 3-4kHz bandwidth, but even if we assume 8kHz is the bandwidth, this sounds weird...
Maybe the 32kHz sampling is right after all? That would give 12-15kHz of bandwidth...
So much for clearing up the specifications...
Being "tuned to the recording capabilities of the iPod" makes it sound like the iPod itself is part of the limitation. Time for an Apple Knowledge Base article to set the record straight...
I can't think of any reason why the iPod couldn't record at much higher rates. It's not even doing any real compression on a WAV file...
Hmmm... From the Belkin FAQ:
"The microphone is tuned to range of the human voice and the recording capabilities of the iPod; frequency response is 500Hz to 12kHz."
and
"Monaural (mono), 16-bit audio at 8KHz."
Now, if 8kHz is the sampling rate, we're looking at 3-4kHz bandwidth, but even if we assume 8kHz is the bandwidth, this sounds weird...
Maybe the 32kHz sampling is right after all? That would give 12-15kHz of bandwidth...
So much for clearing up the specifications...
Being "tuned to the recording capabilities of the iPod" makes it sound like the iPod itself is part of the limitation. Time for an Apple Knowledge Base article to set the record straight...
I can't think of any reason why the iPod couldn't record at much higher rates. It's not even doing any real compression on a WAV file...
I would be surprised if high-quality recording was the most requested feature and not at all surprised if dictation, voice notes or lecture recording was the most requested. At least 2 of those 3 are serviced by this and I suspect the last is doable too.
Over 1 million of these have been sold and I would think the student, journalist and general populous ownership comes well above that of musicians.
centauratlas
macrumors 68020
I'm pretty disappointed that they didn't consider the xD card also.
I think the mic accessory is pretty cool, I'll be using it to record lectures and stuff. They'll probably be revisions of this accessory in the future, so take it easy.
I think the mic accessory is pretty cool, I'll be using it to record lectures and stuff. They'll probably be revisions of this accessory in the future, so take it easy.
CrackedButter
macrumors 68040
GREAT and Great!
GREAT because i use xD and i could of used the ipod thingy, GREAT because i bought a lexar 8 in 1 last month. YOU HEAR ME Apple? 8 different formats!
But the thing looks and acts pooh anyway so GREAT i didn't spend any money on it and got something far better for less than half price.
Great! Because i have bought one of those voice recorders thinking it would do lectures. Now my teacher is going to have to hold it for me or hope and prey i get it on a desk close enough and nobody nicks a £300 audio device. I wish i knew it could only do 2ft before i bought it. Damn Apple always leaving out the good bits to a new device. But i am happy if it functions as we diary device. I've wanted one for a few years and i was going to buy an Olympus device which costs nearly $150. Anyway this is cheap so Great!
But bad because i thought it could do something it couldn't, suppose i would have to wait till a 3rd party does one better.
GREAT because i use xD and i could of used the ipod thingy, GREAT because i bought a lexar 8 in 1 last month. YOU HEAR ME Apple? 8 different formats!
But the thing looks and acts pooh anyway so GREAT i didn't spend any money on it and got something far better for less than half price.
Great! Because i have bought one of those voice recorders thinking it would do lectures. Now my teacher is going to have to hold it for me or hope and prey i get it on a desk close enough and nobody nicks a £300 audio device. I wish i knew it could only do 2ft before i bought it. Damn Apple always leaving out the good bits to a new device. But i am happy if it functions as we diary device. I've wanted one for a few years and i was going to buy an Olympus device which costs nearly $150. Anyway this is cheap so Great!
But bad because i thought it could do something it couldn't, suppose i would have to wait till a 3rd party does one better.
lectures? 24" thats 60cm. what do you expect me to do stand right next to the lecturer. damn its not even 1metre distance. thats totally crap.i dont know what type of lectures steve went to (if he went to uni) but its physically impossible to be within 1 metre of the lecturer.
this is such a crap device, unless its better than Belkin make out (which i doubt)
this is such a crap device, unless its better than Belkin make out (which i doubt)
so was the MD and so was cassette. point being? if offering a service, atleast made an effort in fulfilling the task of the object (mic). rather than offering somethink that would be offered about 20years ago!
Has anybody tried just plugging a regular Mic into the headphone jack on a 3G iPod running the latest Firmware? Or maybe someone can take apart one of the new Mic things, and rig up some kind of adapter that would be like a mini-amplifier, so you could plug in a regular Mic to it, which in turn would plug into the iPod.
Does everyone really think that a microphone will drop off to nothing at 24.x inches? The mic is "tuned" for that, that's all. Wait for a review. They will obviously try it out at various distances.
I'll bet all of those personal cassette recorders have the same kind of mics. Yet, they are used for lectures all the time.
Wait and see before complaining.
I'll bet all of those personal cassette recorders have the same kind of mics. Yet, they are used for lectures all the time.
Wait and see before complaining.
What a disppointment! I was hoping a little elf would come out and massage my back. I guess I'm forced to just use the iPod for listening to days of music and backing up my hard drive. sigh.
Phil Of Mac
macrumors 68020
Wrong mic for me
I think the microphone is ok, for the right purpose. I wasn't looking for this purpose. Like others, I'm more interested in recording in a larger setting, lectures and mid-size meetings.
I'm pleased they thought to put a speaker on it.
One thing I'm curious about is how it uses the HD and battery life. Does it cache the incoming data to RAM, then dump out to the HD now and then? Or does the HD keep spinning? I'm guessing it uses the cache, in which case the battery should last a while.
I think the microphone is ok, for the right purpose. I wasn't looking for this purpose. Like others, I'm more interested in recording in a larger setting, lectures and mid-size meetings.
I'm pleased they thought to put a speaker on it.
One thing I'm curious about is how it uses the HD and battery life. Does it cache the incoming data to RAM, then dump out to the HD now and then? Or does the HD keep spinning? I'm guessing it uses the cache, in which case the battery should last a while.
Guys, I don't think you are getting what is happening here. Apple has said they will give the firmware code out to other companies to make a microphone.
This one is for speech. It's $49 which is more than fair. And to answer the question "who the hell wants to record speech only?" Journalists maybe?
I have no doubt that this is not the last recording add-on. Before long there will be others. This is just the most basic one and also a good excuse for students to justify the iPod's expense to their parents.
It's what Apple does best: Only one step in a long term strategy.
This one is for speech. It's $49 which is more than fair. And to answer the question "who the hell wants to record speech only?" Journalists maybe?
I have no doubt that this is not the last recording add-on. Before long there will be others. This is just the most basic one and also a good excuse for students to justify the iPod's expense to their parents.
It's what Apple does best: Only one step in a long term strategy.
jimthorn
macrumors 6502a
I agree. Now that the recording functions of the iPod are available through the firmware, it should be fairly trivial for other companies to make recording add-ons. I think a great one would just be a dongle that snaps into the audio and remote ports, like the end of the remote cable, and then just has a line-in port. Snap it in, plug in your own mic, and go nuts recording whatever you like. Sounds like a job for Griffin. Unfortunately, it looks like it still won't be high-quality stereo, but then there's always the next gen iPod.
