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Using Voice It Link and the supplied cable, a connection is made between the connector on the VTR recorder and a serial port on your PC. When the Voice It Link software is launched, a view of all the folders and files on the Internal and Card memory are shown, as well as options for transferring recordings from or to the VTR recorder in compressed .sri, and .wav formats. Recordings may be transferred one at a time or in groups, and are decompressed for playback automatically as messages are played.

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Q3. How do I name files and folders?

After the VTR is linked to your PC, individual recordings or folder names may be selected and then directly renamed, using common editing procedures.

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Q4. How do I organize my VTR recordings on my VTR recorder and PC?

The VTR recorder can be configured to have up to 99 folders on each memory, with up to 99 messages per folder, for 4MB memory and above. Therefore, by naming recordings and folders, various organizational configurations can be achieved. Moreover, recordings can be copied to and organized in Windows® directories on your PC in any manner desired, so that they can be archived and accessed from the VTR recorder for various purposes.

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Q5. How do I send a VTR voice recording to someone via the Internet?

One or more VTR voice recordings may be sent as an attachment to an email by simply attaching a .sri file to a voice mail sent to one or more persons. After launching the Voice It Link software, simply create new .sri files on your PC via the VTR recorder, after which the files can be named and accessed via your email program. The .sri compressed voice file will be about 1/13th the size of a typical corresponding .wav file. If the recipient does not have a VTR recorder and Voice It^® Link Software to decompress and play the file, they can download a free Voice It Player.

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Q6. What type of memory card is used with the VTR recorder?

The VTR recorder uses 3.3 volt SSFDC (Solid State Floppy Disk Card) memory cards, which are formatted in a special way the first time you use them on your VTR recorder (by pressing and holding the Delete button until formatting begins). Any 3.3 volt 2, 4 or 8MB SSFDC memory card may be used with the VTR recorder, but it must first be formatted as previously stated; please note that formatting a SSFDC memory card on a VTR recorder erases all information on the card, so be careful if the card you are planning to use holds pictures or other information thereon. Cards may be available at some camera and electronics stores. The cards must be designated as 3.3V, SSFDC type to work in the recorder.

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Q7. How is recording time divided between memories of the VTR recorder?

The internal and card memories of the VTR recorder are identical configurations of memory, each holding up to 99 folders and up to 99 recordings per folder (4MB card and greater). When a memory card is added to the VTR recorder, it is accessible as a complete memory with its own folder and file naming potential for organizing recordings.

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Q8. How are VTR sound files stored on the PC?

The compressed sound files from the VTR are stored as .sri files which can only be opened with the Voice It Link software; when played via this software, .sri files are automatically decompressed and played via our Sound Bar within the Voice It Link software. Moreover, the Sound Bar may be "floated" with any other application to play VTR voice files while using other applications. Sound files may also be converted as .wav files and stored on your PC, but it is more efficient to store files in compressed .sri format.

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Q9. How do I transfer recordings between my VTR and my PC?

Using Voice It Link software and the supplied cable, a connection is made between the connector on the VTR recorder and a serial port on your PC. When the Voice It Link software is launched, a view of all the folders and files on the Internal and Card memory are shown, as well as options for transferring recordings from or to the VTR recorder in compressed .sri and .wav formats. Recordings may be transferred one at a time or in groups, and are decompressed for playback automatically as messages are played.

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Q10. Can you upload VTR audio as a wave (.wav) file?

The VTR audio files are highly compressed, but can be copied to the PC as standard .wav files using the features of Voice It Link software; the .wav files are 16 bit files of 6, 8 and 11.025KHz sampling of LP, SP and VT speeds, respectively.

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Q11. Does the new Voice It Link software work on Windows® 98 and NT?

The Voice It Link software is designed to run on Windows® 95, Windows® 98, and Windows® NT.

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Q12 What if I have problems with my Comm port?

Problems will occur if the VTR is plugged into a comm port that shares an IRQ (interrupt request) with another device. If the VTR is plugged into a fax modem and you receive a fax while the VR-LINK is busy, the connection will be terminated between the software and the computer.

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Q13. What do I do if I can't hear sound with my Voice It Link software?

If you can play wave files on your computer, but can't hear anything in Voice It Link, then your PC may not be Sound Blaster® compatible. Some systems have sound capability but do not conform with the MPC standard. Get a Sound Blaster® or compatible card.

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Q14. What transfer and decompression times can I expect for transferring voice files to and from my PC?

Transferring voice files between the VTR recorder and a PC is done via a cable to the serial port of the PC; transfer times are dependent on the length of recordings being transferred and the serial port speed. For Windows® 95, a serial port speed of 115,200 baud is the maximum.

Based on the above, transfer times for Windows® 95 machines will be less than 2 minutes to transfer 10 minutes of recordings (at the highest quality VT speed); the entire contents of a 4MB card or internal 4MB VTR memory can be transferred to the PC in under 7 minutes at a baud rate of 115,200.

Decompression of .sri files for playback occurs automatically in the background, so, unlike our VR series recorders, VTR recorders require no extra decompression time for playback.

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Q15. What download times can I expect when performing email transfers of VTR compressed voice files?

40 minutes of recording on your VTR recorder is compressed to 4MB of compressed digital data. Therefore, about 100K bytes per minute of recording are used, which, at an average 33,600 baud transfer rate, takes about 24 seconds, equating to about 2.5 minutes of recording being transferred per minute of modem time (it would take about 13 minutes to transfer the same 2.5 minute typical .wav file). Of course, if a faster or slower modem is utilized, the transfer times will be proportionally different.

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Q16. Can I extend the Voice It Link cable?

Voice It^® Link is designed to work with the supplied cable. If you add extensions, this could result in electrical noise on the cable and communications errors. Use the cable as supplied.

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Q17. What is the format of the files on the VTR recorder and computer?

Voice files are stored in the VTR recorder, on either the internal or card memory, as highly compressed digital information, using advanced voice compression programs running on a fast Digital Signal Processor. These files are directly accessed from your PC for playback and remain in such form unless they are converted to .wav files using the Copy to PC feature of the Voice It Link software. Compressed VTR voice files can be saved on your PC as .sri or .wav files, and can be transferred in such forms; .sri files can be played by anyone having Voice It Link software, even if they don't have a VTR recorder. Voice It Link software can import 16 bit .wav files sampled at 6KHz, 8KHz and 11.025KHz, and can convert compressed files to .wav files as 6, 8 or 11.025KHz, 16 bit .wav files, depending on the speed at which the VTR recording was made.

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Q18. What kind of computer do I need to use the Voice It Link software?

To run the Voice It Link software, a computer running Windows® 95 is needed, with a minimum of 10 MB hard drive space available for storage of files, 16 MB of memory and a 100MHz or greater Pentium® processor; slower processors will work, but response times for opening recordings will be slower. Extra hard disk space is needed to store .sri or .wav files that are created. If you are installing voice-to-text software, you may need extra speed and capacity. Refer to the software system requirements.

Q19. Will the Voice It Link software work with a Mac® OS system?

No. The software is not currently compatible with Apple®-based systems, except via Windows® emulation approaches. .Wav files generated with Voice It Link software may be listened to on Mac® OS systems.

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Q20. Are there security features in Voice It Link software?

You can assign your user ID via the Voice It Link software, so that all recordings carry your ID. We support third party security codes, but these are available only to developers.

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