you can also download the video here

The PMD620 is Marantz Professional’s newest and smallest handheld portable recorder — it fits easily in a hand or in a pocket, but packs quite a punch for its size. The PMD620 offers direct to MP3 recording in three quality levels, as well as fully uncompressed, CD-quality 44.1/48 kHz .wav format in 16 or 24-bit resolution, allowing the user to configure the PMD620 for a wide variety of applications, from extended-length voice recordings to high-quality music applications. Sound quality is enhanced by the inclusion of two condenser microphones on the PMD620, as well as line and external mic inputs, and an external mic output.  The new PMD620 also utilizes the SD flash memory card for data storage, a first for the PMD Series of recorders. SD (secure digital) is a highly stable and the most widely available flash media format, so users will have ready access to very cost-effective data storage. Additionally, the PMD620 accepts memory cards of high capacity (up to 2-TB 2048 gigabytes).

Incorporating user feedback from across the PMD Series spectrum, the new PMD620 sports several new layout enhancements making for a simpler and more confident experience. The PMD620 offers one-touch record engagement using a button with its own tactile feel and red highlight illumination. The unit’s transport controls will be familiar to users of personal portable music devices, and incorporates a thumb-operated scroll wheel and a vivid organic LED (OLED) display screen, one of the first in the industry, which uses very little power to illuminate, thus extending the unit’s battery life. (The PMD620 is powered by two AA batteries.) The display’s black background means that all alpha-numerics and function icons are always crisp and easy to read. The screen is also configurable thanks to two font sizes, allowing more information on the screen with the smaller font and highly readable key information with thelarger one. These are just a few of the ways in which the PMD620 crosses market sector lines, making it the choice of the executive suite and the iPod® generation, as well as the educators, journalists and broadcast professionals who have been the core markets for the PMD Series.

D&M Professional enjoyed a sucessful showing of its product line at the InfoComm 2007 show June19-21 in Anaheim California.  InfoComm regularly attracts A/V and IT professionals from many areas, especially the higher education community.  Because of D&M Professionals commitment to serve the education community with high quality products, it was a great pleasure meeting these individuals, explaining our latest product offerings, and gaining valuable feedback.

The first time I hear the term “Convergence Journalism”, I was confused but after the 10th time….well you do have to hit me over the head!

Adding sound to still images is but one application of this new multimedia expansion. It was explained that the creative art of Photography has expanded into the computer age beyond digital pictures and editing. The audio could be narrative or the ambient sounds when the picture was captured.

We have been asked by many to recommend a solution for field recording that would compliment a Photographer or Photo Journalist and they were pleased to find solutions that used the same compact flash media used in the digital cameras. All three compact flash recorders record in MP3 or Uncompressed WAV and allow the same file transfer procedure as it was images from their camera.

The argument has been made that flat panels will soon be everywhere on campus as a means for general communication and crisis managment. While hardware costs continue to plummet, you may ask, ”What is the common platform for content managment and creation?”

We understand the added responsibility of content playback and scheduling is now part of any “Signage”network. Who has this responsibility? AV or IT? What are the formats, limits, and process? These are all questions in many industries and we hope to here from you! Please share your thoughts on this subject and how you have addressed this growing opportunity.

The ability to record long term audio (15-30 Hours) and create a CD in one compact unit allows great flexability for users who dread the sometimes complicated and time consuming task of transferring files to a PC, converting formats and the subsequent chore of file burning to CD. 

Most people have used a CD Rom and expect files to show up when inserted into their computer. For this reason, we created the CDR310 which can record MP3 or WAV files easily and conveniently.  A built in CD burner allows the user to create a finalized CD copy in minutes, all without ever accessing a PC.

Lecture Recording, Music Practice, Meeting Recording and Podcasting are obvious areas the CDR310 will fit well but we are interested in the percentage of people on campus that prefer a CD rom over a removable card or jump drive. We welcome your comments and application ideas.

Audio recording formats have evolved for years, but never has there been an outside influence that changed the direction until the IPOD!

General recording applications on campus have evolved through each format and all may still exist on your shelves and in your equipment racks! The evolution of the IPOD generation has accelerated the change from dedicated proprietary formats to the simple computer file that is easily downloaded and shared.

Regardless of the actual media (Compact Flash, Smart Media, Files on CDR, etc) the files recorded must be standard MP3 or Uncompressed WAV to have any value. These recorded files have the opportunity to be played in Computers, DVD players, new CD players, new car stereos and most importantly, the personal MP3 player device.

This evolution has added more responsibility to the AV/IT departments and the challenge is, “How can we eliminate steps?”.  One key step is the actual capture of the recording to be the correct format and could be easily downloaded or transferred. The digital recorder world has changed recently to include portable and controllable rack mound compact flash recorders. These units not only provide the correct file formats, they are much more stable and reliable than a “moving parts” recording technology.

We have seen many great examples of recording lectures and events for Podcasting, Narrow Casting and dedicated examples including Oral History, Speech Pathology, Music Practice and Journalism. We welcome your comments or concerns for any application at your campus.

The Marantz Professional PMD670 is improving the process in which Speech-Language Pathology is being studied and taught. In the past Speech Language Pathologists’ had to depend on the notes they took during one-on-one and small group sessions, now they can simply record these sessions and keep samples of their student’s progress. Speech-Language Pathologist’s such as Courtney Srum, M.S. CCC-SLP/L of White Eagle Elementary are thrilled about the simplicity and efficiency the Marantz Professional PMD670 has provided them in keeping precise student speech history, utilizing a well-organized paperless documentation process, and increasing both productivity and motivation.

Srum has been working in Speech-Language Pathology since she graduated in May 2000. About five years ago she started instructing Speech-Language services at White Eagle Elementary and working with children in grades K-5th.

“All of the students in the program are given their own personal goals and objectives, we report the students progress to their parents every quarter”, says Srum, “and once they achieve all of their objectives they graduate from the program.”

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To track the progress of the students, Srum would take brief notes during both one-on-one and small group sessions. She would also track accuracy levels by tallying the correct responses or sounds produced during the sessions and then calculate the percentage correct.

“These methods rely too much on clinician memory and paper notes. It is also difficult for students to evaluate their own performance without being able to hear a playback of how they sound,” says Srum.

Srum wanted to find a better way to archive all of her sessions and provide her students with immediate feedback of their speech and sounds during practice. This solution would be more beneficial to her students because they would be able to hear their progress. It would also give Srum the tools she needed to motivate her students to continue succeeding.

Principal Ron Zeman approached Srum to see if she would use the Marantz Professional PMD670 during her students’ sessions. He felt the portable Solid-State Recorder would be a perfect fit. This would give Srum the ability to record her students, immediately play it back to them and then archive the files for further study.

The Marantz Professional PMD670 is beneficial because it records directly to Compact Flash Cards, which allows Srum to record a full day of sessions and has a variety of Audio Settings that will give Srum and her students the sound clarity they need to keep an accurate history of speech samples.

Because the Marantz Professional PMD670 converts the recording to MP3, MP2, WAV and BWF Format Compatible, Srum quickly learned that she could take her recordings and transfer them to her PC in one swift step. Now she could keep accurate sound samples of all her students’ speech history and use it as a quick point of reference. The samples are then used to update students goals and objectives quarterly and at annual reviews.

“In the school setting, there is always paperwork, but this helps decrease the need for note taking during the sessions, which can sometimes be distracting and time consuming,” exclaim Srum, “now I click the Easy One-Touch Record button and then listen to the session later, taking more detailed notes if needed.”

Srum primarily uses the PMD670 for evaluating students’ progress in the areas of articulation (speech sound production) and speech fluency (stuttering). Therefore it is important to have a high quality recording with no distortion. With over 40 Assignable Quality Settings, Digital input/output, Balanced XLR Mic Inputs, 16-48 KHz Sample Rate Selections and 32-384 Bit Rate Selections the PMD670 is able to give Srum the distinguished audio quality she desires.

“I was amazed at the clarity of sound and at how easy the Marantz Professional PMD670 is to use,” adds Srum, “the manual was simple to follow and answered all of my questions.”

Overall the PMD670 has provided Srum with accurate student speech history, paperless organization, an efficient work process, and increased productivity and motivation. More importantly, the Professional PMD670 has given the students’ parents a way to hear, first hand, how their child has developed.