page_title: Dictation machine
section_title: Digital dictation
hierarchical_section_title: Dictation machine / Digital dictation
caption_attribution_description: English: Olympus Digital Voice Recorder VN-2100
context_page_description: A dictation machine is a sound recording device most commonly used to record speech for playback or to be type into print. It includes digital voice recorders and tape recorder.
  The name "Dictaphone" is a trademark of the company of the same name, but it has also become a common term for all dictation machines, as a genericized trademark.
context_section_description: Digital dictation became possible in the 1990s, as falling computer memory prices made possible pocket-sized digital voice recorders that stored sound on computer memory chips without moving parts. Many early 21st-century digital cameras and smartphones have this capability built in. In the 1990s, improvements in voice recognition technology began to allow computers to transcribe recorded audio dictation into text form, a task that previously required human secretaries or transcribers. As of 2014 the technology is not robust enough to replace human transcription in most cases.
  The files generated with digital recorders very in size, depending on the manufacturer and the format the user chooses. The most common file formats that digital recorders generate have one of the extensions WAV, WMA and MP3. Many dictation machines record in the DSS and DS2 format. Dictation audio can be recorded in various audio file formats. Most digital dictation systems use a lossy form of audio compression based on modelling of the vocal tract to minimize hard disk space and optimize network utilization as files are transferred between users. (Note that WAV is not an audio encoding format, but a file format and has little or no bearing on the encoding rate (kbit/s), size or audio quality of the resulting file.)
  Digital dictation offers several advantages over traditional cassette tape based dictation:
  The user can instantly rewind or fast forward to any point within the dictation file to review or edit.
  The random access ability of digital audio allows inserting audio at any point without overwriting the following text.
  Dictation produces a file which can be transferred electronically, e.g. via WAN, LAN, USB, e-mail, telephony, FTP, etc.
  Large dictation files can be shared with multiple typists.
  Sound may be CD quality and can improve transcription accuracy and speed.
  Digital dictation provides the ability to report on the volume or type of dictation and transcription outstanding or completed within an organization.
  Despite the advances in technology, analog media are still widely used in dictation recording for their flexibility, permanence, and robustness. In some cases, speech is recorded where sound quality is paramount and transcription unnecessary, e.g. for broadcasting a theatre play; recording techniques closer to high-fidelity music recording are more appropriate.
caption: Olympus digital voice recorder.
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