MP3 RECORDERS

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Physical definition

'MP3 recorders' are a loose term to describe "flash memory" recorders. At this time of writing, most battery-operated MP3 players may also record audio with a built-in or plug-in microphone. Prices are dropping so fast that they are sometimes given away "free" by some dealers. The common, easily available models are smaller than the size of your largest finger, and have an auto-sensing inbuilt microphone.

Recording suggestions

One use is for recording of speeches by having the recorder close to the mouth (necklaced, pinned or in a chest pocket).

If the recorder is placed in the front row of a room, or on the discussion table, the recording will be overwhelmed by background noises: body movements, doors, etc.

Sound editing suggestions

MP3 recorders, despite their name, usually record audio in WAV format. This is easily converted to MP3 format by computer.

Voice recording can be equalizer-filtered to remove room-echo, the hiss of machines, etc. Unwanted noises or spoken sections can be completely removed. Using the MP3 format at a sample rate of 128 kbps (kilo bits per second) there is only 16 KB (kilobytes) per second of audio. Meaning that a 700MB Compact Disc (which has 716800 kilobytes)can store over 12 hours of audio. Using a lower sample rate like 64kbps will result in smaller space consumption per second of audio.