Digital Video Recorders; WMA or MP3?

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Leigh writes, "My company wants to record interviews for later distribution, which file format should my digital voice recorder save files as?"

Recording voice for later distribution, should be saved as MP3 and not WMA format. The simple reason being that the MP3 format is more commonly recognized, and can be burned to an MP3 CD-Rom, for distributing in the workplace to either Windows or Macintosh computer. Typically voice recording is done to convert to text, but saving MP3's for music or lecture listening is nice, especially when the digital voice recorder is an MP3 player as well.

More important, are the other features of the digital voice recorder;

1. Recording Time - The longer, the better, but don't be fooled by the manufacturers times. Be sure to check how long you can record in high quality mode. Voice-to-print or voice recognition software needs a high quality recording for transcription.

2. Computer Connectivity - Being able to connect to your personal computer is a must-have. Make sure that the digital voice recorder is compatible with a USB interface. This allows files to be read on the computer as well as allowing for digital voice recognition.

3. File Formats - Being able to save your recordings in different formats is a plus. Some digital voice recorders only have options to save as WAV or WMA, but include software that will allow conversion to an MP3. Saving as an MP3 is better, but saving as other formats as well, is a definite plus.