The Plextalk PTR2 Daisy Recorder

Introduction

The Plextalk PTR2 is certainly a fascinating and wonderful device. Manufactured by Plextor of Japan, the Plextalk PtR2 broadly speaking is a professional recording machine, allowing you to create very high quality recordings in the DAISY format.

However in addition to allowing a person to make recordings using its built-in microphone, an external microphone or by connecting it to an external source via the Line-In socket, the PTR2 contains a suite of complex editing functions. This makes it possible to very precisely edit your recordings once they have been made. They can then be saved to a Compact Flash storage card, copied to CD via the built-in CD-ROM drive either in DAISY or audio music format for playing on a regular CD player, or copied to a computer for further manipulation or editing using the computer-based Plextalk Recording Software which is bundled with the machine.

Having just purchased a PTR2, to say that I am delighted with this product would be understating the case.While I appreciate the merits of other lower priced smaller recorders, there is no doubt that the attraction of using the PTR2 as a blind person is that every operation of the unit delivers oral feedback through audio sounds or speech prompts. The PTR2 contains no display and so it must speak all of its functions! Added to this, I would suggest that from a functionality perspective, the PTR2 can offer the visually impaired professional Sound Recordist and Editor much more than is provided by mainstream recorders.

Since I purchased the recorder in mid-July, I have made a lot of recordings with the PTR2 both for testing purposes and to carry out essential recording projects and the device is a pleasure to use.

For example, as a Technical Consultant, with each customer I visit I do need to produce training notes pertaining to the computer software being taught. Using the PTR2, I can create the training notes either in MP3, audio music or DAISY format - whichever the customer requires. During the recording, I can correct my mistakes, or edit them when the recording is complete.

Following the recording and editing of the material, it can then immediately if necessary be copied to CD for the customer to use without delay and without using any external devices, such as a laptop computer.

Features of the PTR2

The Plextalk PTR2 comes complete with a host of features which include, but certainly not restricted to the following:

In addition to its recording capabilities, the PTR2 can play DAISY titles, music CD's and audio files stored on a CD or CF card. If you are subscribed to a talking book library which has adopted the DAISY format in which to deliver its spoken word material, the PTR2 is the ideal vehicle on which to listen to them. It contains all the features one would usually expect from a talking book player, such as the retention of playback position, variable speed without increasing pitch, good quality audio reproduction through its internal speaker, the storing of ten thousand bookmarks per title, reading of elapsed time and time remaining, etc.

A user of the PTR2 can easily take advantage of many book navigation features, including moving immediately to previously stored bookmarks, titles, headings, pages or in specific time increments. Finally,in addition to being able to move through the book at a slower pace by phrase (or in five second increments depending upon the mode selected), you can hold down the fast forward or rewind keys and hear the audio being played back to you at a higher pitch - a little like the "Cue and Review" feature of a tape recorder.

You can enjoy up to eight hours of battery life when the PTR2 is using Compact Flash storage.

Alarm clock functions allow the unit to be programmed to shut down following a time period specified by the user or indeed it can be set to play a title at a specific time.

The machine can be used as a CDRW or memory card drive when connected to a computer.

As previously mentioned, the accompanying PRS software makes editing of a DAISY project faster. This software is installed onto a computer and can be used without the aid of a screen-reader although I prefer to use one personally. The PRS software gives you all the capabilities you need to produce, edit and finalise audio only DAISY 2.02 titles.

The PTR2 can be operated in two modes. Normal Mode consists of a simpler interface and makes the process of recording a project very straightforward. Book Creator Mode, on the other hand, allows for complex editing.For example, in Book Creator Mode, one can set the desired heading level of a specific section within a DAISY project, or perhaps use the insert, overwrite and punch-in functions. These facilities are not available in Normal Mode.

Expanding for a moment on some of the advanced editing facilities available within Book Creator Mode, Overwrite is particularly useful if you make an error within your spoken delivery and wish to re-record the phrase or phrases during the recording of a project rather than post-production. Moreover, while Normal Mode automatically inserts any new audio recording at the end of the DAISY title, Book Creator Mode will allow you to insert material at a specified location. Thus, one could without difficulty insert a Table of Contents for example, marking it with an appropriate heading level of course.

Concerning the editing capabilities within the PTR2 itself, a user can easily mark the beginning and end of a section to be copied, cut or deleted. One can also join headings or phrases together.

Stereo recordings can be made using Line-In or External Microphone. The audio reproduction is excellent, and several file formats and bit rates for recording can be chosen from the easy to navigate spoken menu system. These formats include both WAV and MP3.

As previously stated, its ability to speak all of its functions in a clear female voice puts the PTR2 in a class of its own. A user will be in no doubt as to whether the recording level is set correctly, if the battery is low, whether the unit is in Pause or Record Mode, how much time has been recorded or how much more audio on the selected media can be stored.

While professional recordists will probably use the manual recording level, the Automatic Gain Control system can be used to automatically adjust the level while recording. This could be important if the user was in a class or lecture room environment. Don't forget that, while the student is recording, he or she can mark specific sections of the recording to return to later.

A user of the PTR2 can learn through speech information about the recording, such as whether the level is correctly set, so that immediate adjustments can be made. If headphones are worn while recording, the spoken guidance does not interfere with the recording audio output.

Usefully, the volume level of any prompts delivered by the PTR2 can be adjusted independent of regular audio output. This means that talking books can be played at a high volume level, while speech prompts could be set to be delivered more quietly.

The unit will automatically shut down following a period of thirty minutes of no activity. This is very useful for conserving on battery power.

A criticism which is sometimes levelled at the PTR2 product is that the format being used for recording is DAISY rather than MP3 or an alternative audio file format. While it is true that any overwriting during recording (or post-production editing) does indeed manipulate the DAISY structure rather than the audio content directly, it is possible to either easily extract the audio from the storage media for editing on a computer, or alternatively use the PRS software to extract the audio into a specific folder on the storage media. If this latter method of operation is chosen, any editing which has been done within the DAISY structure on the PTR2 is carried through to the audio only content. Thus, you end up with audio content of a standard which you expect from the precise editing which can be accomplished using the PTR2. Further, this second method of recording and editing, if planned correctly, will enable you to create an audio CD with each section of your recording comprising a separate track, since each created heading consists of its own audio file.

Are There Any Improvements Which Could be Made to the PTR2?

Ideally, it would be advantageous to have a keyboard shortcut to move between Normal Mode and Book Creator Mode. There is one particular function which I use in Normal Mode, allowing me to precisely set the position of a heading to be inserted. This is not available using Book Creator Mode which is disappointing and does not in my view sit well with the philosophy of Book Creator Mode being the means by which a person would undertake advanced editing. At present, you can only switch modes by using the Control Panel.

PTR2 Documentation

The User Guide for the PTR2 is extremely comprehensive and well-written.

It fully and clearly explains how to use all of its functions.

The manual is provided on the accompanying CD-ROM as an audio DAISY project, in plain text and as a Microsoft word document. I was able to install all of these formats (including DAISY) on my PAC Mate, so that I could learn how to use the PTR2 without having to rely upon the product itself to play the DAISY title. The range of formats will allow most people to use the material with an external source as described above if required, although simply inserting the provided CD-ROM into the PTR2 will of course play the audio version of the material.

As I have said, the DAISY version of the manual is an audio project only, and so there is absolutely no reason why a human reader could not have been used to read the text. Instead, the manufacturers have chosen to use synthetic female speech which, although this can be comfortably listened to, is not the same as having someone read it to you. If the manufacturers provided a simultaneous text and audio DAISY presentation then this approach could be well understood.

Further Information

The cost of the Plextalk PTR2 is Ł575.00 in the United Kingdom. The price will I know be out of the range of many people, however a lot of thought has gone into the design and feature set of the product and I do not regret purchasing it.

As with many products, remember that when budgeting financially to purchase the PTR2, you probably do not have everything you need. A 64 MB Compact Flash card is provided, however remember that audio files and DAISY projects accommodate a significant amount of storage space. While projects can be originally recorded onto CD prior to editing, my advice is to purchase an additional Compact Flash card from a company such as Expansys. This company will deliver promptly, and currently a 6 GB card (giving you approximately 110 hours of recording using MP3 128K) will cost you about 90 pounds. The manual does contain a list of recommended storage cards.

Much of the functionality of the PTR2 centres around the use of a numeric keypad and a variety of other keys including a Menu Key, Information Key and buttons to operate play, fast forward, rewind and so on. These keys are fully described within Michael Lang's excellent and very eloquent review of the PTR1. Michael's shorter article concerning the PTR2 describes the differences between the two products and outlines some of the newer features included therein.