Olympus Directrec II Microphone Series Review Leave a comment

Directly replacing the DR-1000 and DR-2000, Olympus have gone back to the drawing board to produce the new versions of their handheld DirectRec series USB microphones, the Olympus DR-2100, Olympus DR-2200 and the DR-2300. The Direct Series II, as they are collectively known, are designed for users that only require dictation from the desktop as opposed to standard portable dictation units such as the D3-3500 and DS-7000 models. Together with the popular ODMS transcription software the Olympus DirectRec series allows for dictation directly to the users computer / laptop with full support for commands such as playback control, insert and overwrite.

Tethered Microphones in general are now a bit “old hat”, however with the new designs encompassing higher quality microphones and better ergonomics, there is still a place in the professional digital dictation market. The real win can be found when pairing these top end microphones with the range of Dragon’s voice recognition software, enabling true speech-to-text solutions.

For organizations such as healthcare, legal and property, these devices can provide a cost effective way to securely dictate.

Olympus DirectRec Series Features

• Professional high-quality Microphones
• Robust and Ergonomic designs
• User based system wide configurable controls and functions
• Simple Integration into company applications and workflows
• Automatic transcription using Speech recognition software

Build Quality

With daily use, USB microphones can be prone to a high amount of abuse. Just like their previous incarnations, the DR-2100, DR-2200 and the DR-2300 can stand a fair amount of abuse – a testament to Olympus’s build quality. The unique manner in which the USB cable is integrated into the units also bodes well for reliability.

Controls

The Olympus Directrec II series make controlling the process of dictation a breeze. With a trackball included on the DR-2200 and DR-2300, mouse input can be done from the device and negating the requirement to change between handset and mouse.

Integration and Support

Complete with full support for Apple operating system (OSX Snow Leopard and Lion), the Direcrec II series works with the majority of Windows based company IT infrastructures, including support for Terminal Services and Citrix. With barcode scanner-compatible models such as the DR-2300, the customizable options and uses for the range are significant.