Using the Dragon NaturallyMobile Recorder

Transcription

1 16 Using the Dragon NaturallyMobile Recorder Dictating into a portable recorder frees you from having to sit in front of the computer as you write. You can dictate into the recorder anytime, anywhere. When you return to the computer, NaturallySpeaking transcribes what you said. You can even use the Dragon NaturallyMobile recorder as a hand-held microphone while it s attached to the computer. If you have the Dragon NaturallyMobile recorder (also known as the Voice It recorder), this chapter is for you. It explains how to set up the NaturallyMobile recorder, how to speak to it for best accuracy, and how to transcribe the recordings you ve made. If 187

2 T HE D RAGON N ATURALLYM OBILE R ECORDER 188 Recorder Setup you have a different recorder model, turn to Chapter 17, Using Other Recorders. Using the NaturallyMobile recorder is a two-part process. First, you train NaturallySpeaking to recognize your voice as it sounds using microphone in the recorder. Then, once initial training is complete, you can dictate to the recorder and have NaturallySpeaking transcribe your dictation. These two steps are the same, conceptually, as when you first set up Naturally- Speaking to recognize your speech through a microphone, though a few details are different in practice. How NaturallySpeaking Hears a Recording The NaturallyMobile recorder records sound information digitally. As you speak, it convert the sound of your voice to numbers, which are stored in the recorder s memory as a numerical, digital file. You use a special software program called the Voice It Link, included with the recorder, to transfer the file to NaturallySpeaking through a serial port on your computer. If you re familiar with connecting equipment to your computer, the setup instructions here should be sufficient to get you up and running quickly. If you need more detail, see the instructions included with your recorder for additional help. Here are the key steps in setting up the NaturallyMobile recorder, followed by more detail about each step. 1. Turn on the recorder, make a test recording of a sentence or two, and play it back, so that you hear your recorded voice through the recorder s speaker. 2. Plug the recorder connector cable into one of the serial ports on your computer (make sure the computer is off when you do this). 3. Plug the other end of the cable into the recorder. 4. Install the Voice It Link software if it s not installed. 5. Confirm that the link software can connect to the recorder. 6. Play back your test recording through the computer s speakers, to confirm that everything is set up properly.

3 189 T HE D RAGON N ATURALLYMOBILE R ECORDER First, record a few sentences with the recorder and play them back, so that you hear your voice through the recorder s speaker. You may need to adjust the volume dial on the recorder. Second, turn off your computer and plug the recorder connector cable into a free serial port. Third, plug the other end of the connector cable into the bottom of the recorder. (This connector looks like a USB connector, but it actually plugs into the recorder, not the computer s USB port.) Fourth, check that the Voice It Link software is installed. From the Windows Start menu, go to Programs and look in the Dragon NaturallySpeaking group. You should see Voice It Link as an item in this group. If you don t see it, install the software that came with your recorder, which includes the Voice It Link. Fifth, make sure the recorder is off (but not unplugged) and start the Voice It Link program (from the Windows Start menu, in the Dragon NaturallySpeaking group). The Voice It Link program opens. Choose Link to Recorder from the program s Link menu. The recorder should turn on automatically. This confirms that the computer and recorder can communicate with each other. If the Voice It recorder does not turn on, or if you get an onscreen message Communications Error, the Voice It Link program cannot find the recorder. In this case, choose Communications Options from the Link menu, change the Com Port setting, and try again. Refer to the recorder s instructions for more details, or consult Troubleshooting in the Voice It Link online help. Sixth, now that the recorder is linked to the computer, you should see a file in the right-hand section of the screen (as in Figure 16-1). This file is the test sentences you recorded. Figure 16-1

4 T HE D RAGON N ATURALLYM OBILE R ECORDER 190 Enrollment Click once on the file to select it, then choose Play Recorder File from the File menu. You should hear your voice through the computer s speakers. (If you can t hear anything when you try this, make sure your speakers are plugged in, turned on, and the volume is turned up.) Hearing your recorded voice through the computer s speakers conforms that your equipment is set up correctly. Exit the Voice It Link program. You re now ready to proceed to enrollment, where you teach the computer the sound of your voice. You can transcribe recorded speech using the same speech files you first created by dictating into the headset microphone. Your voice spoken directly to the computer through the headset microphone, though, sounds different than it does when recorded and played back. For better accuracy, set up a new user separate speech files for your voice dictated into the recorder. In the NaturallySpeaking window, choose New from the User menu. Label the new user with your name plus the recorder you re using (e.g., Dan Voice It ) to distinguish it from the dictate-directly-to-the-computer user you already have (Figure 16-2). Figure 16-2

5 191 T HE D RAGON N ATURALLYMOBILE R ECORDER After typing in the name for your new user, click the Next button. In a few moments, NaturallySpeaking will ask you to select a user type. Choose the Into a Recorder option, then the Use the Dragon NaturallyMobile Recorder option, as shown in Figure Figure 16-3 Close the Voice It Link program if it s still running. Then click Next and follow the on-screen instructions to begin training. During training, NaturallySpeaking uses the recorder as a handheld microphone. Speak into the recorder s microphone to teach NaturallySpeaking the sound of your voice. For best accuracy, hold the microphone to the side of your mouth as you speak don t speak directly into it. The microphone should be about an inch or two away from your mouth. You ll read to the computer for between 5 and 45 minutes, depending on the speed of your computer. The yellow arrow on the screen shows you what to read. Sometimes the arrow will not move forward as you speak, which means that you need to repeat the words you just read. If this happens three times in a row on the same words, click the Skip Word button to move on.

6 T HE D RAGON N ATURALLYM OBILE R ECORDER 192 Speaking to a Recorder You can pause to take a break at any time by clicking the Pause button. Click the Record button to resume. After you ve read enough, a message will appear telling you so. Click Finish to complete enrollment. NaturallySpeaking will process your speech files, which takes a few minutes. Your enrollment is now complete. When you speak to the recorder, do so in the same way you speak into a microphone while at the computer. Speak clearly, enunciate, and avoid mumbling. Review Chapter 13 for good speaking tips. When dictating, keep the recorder s microphone a consistent distance from your mouth. The microphone should be 1 to 2 inches from the corner of your mouth. Place it near the corner of your mouth, not directly in front, to avoid recording noise from your breath. You ll typically get better transcription accuracy if you use a headset microphone with the recorder. You can plug the headset microphone that came with your software into the Naturally- Mobile unit, bypassing the recorder s built-in mic. A headset microphone keeps the microphone a consistent distance from your mouth, so there s less variability in how your voice sounds to the computer. Alternately, you can use a stalk microphone, which sticks out from the recorder like a small mushroom. You can read more about stalk mics online at SayICan.com. Transcribing from a recorder tends to be less accurate than dictating directly to the computer, for several reasons. Recorder users tend to slur their speech more. Dictating directly, you have immediate feedback on screen. If NaturallySpeaking is making many errors, you can speak more clearly. Dictating to a recorder, though, it s easy to forget that your speech will be transcribed by a computer, and there s a tendency to slip into slurred words and mumbling. For best results, practice dictating directly to the computer before starting to use a recorder. This will help you learn a speaking style that gives the best accuracy. Also avoidable is the tendency of recorder users to move the microphone around as they speak. This makes your voice vary in quality on the recording, making NaturallySpeaking less accurate. For best results, keep the recorder s built-in microphone in a

7 193 T HE D RAGON N ATURALLYMOBILE R ECORDER Transcribing a Recording consistent position relative to your mouth. For even better accuracy, use a headset mic plugged into the recorder. Before instructing NaturallySpeaking to transcribe your recorded speech, be sure to choose the correct user the one trained from the NaturallyMobile unit. You can change users from the NaturallySpeaking Users menu. To transcribe, start the Voice It Link program and connect to the recorder (choose Link to Recorder from the Link menu). In the right-hand section of the screen you ll see a list of files in the recorder s memory (as in Figure 16-1). To select the file you want to transcribe, click on it. Then choose Transcribe from the File menu to begin transcription. The Voice It Link copies the file from the recorder to the computer, then sends it to NaturallySpeaking, which transcribes it automatically. You can transcribe more than one file at a time. Just select all the files you want before choosing Transcribe. To select multiple files, hold down the Ctrl key as you click on each one. To select a range of files, click on the first file you want, then hold down the Shift key while you click on the last file. NaturallySpeaking transcribes the files unattended, one after the other. Using the Recorder as a Handheld Microphone When the NaturallyMobile recorder is plugged in to the computer, you can use it as a handheld microphone. As you speak, the words you say appear the screen immediately, just like using a headset mic. This feature is convenient for editing your transcribed text by voice. To use your recorder this way, make sure that:! The recorder is plugged in to the connecting cable, which is plugged in to your computer s serial port.! The user open in NaturallySpeaking is the one you created with the NaturallyMobile recorder.! The Voice It Link program is not running.

8 T HE D RAGON N ATURALLYM OBILE R ECORDER 194 If all three of these things are true, when you turn the mic on in NaturallySpeaking (such as by pressing the numeric + key), you can talk into the recorder s microphone. If you see an error message like Figure 16-4 when you turn the microphone on, this means that NaturallySpeaking cannot locate the recorder. This could mean that the recorder is not plugged in or not properly configured. Figure 16-4 Dragon On-Screen Recorder Included with NaturallySpeaking is the Dragon Sound Recorder, software that lets your PC work like a digital tape recorder. You can dictate to the Sound Recorder, saving your file for later transcription. If you re using a computer that has NaturallySpeaking on it, it s more practical to dictate directly to NaturallySpeaking than into the on-screen recorder. Dictating to NaturallySpeaking, you can see your words instantly on screen, which is much more convenient. If you re using a computer without NaturallySpeaking, though, you can save your recorded files and move them to the NaturallySpeaking computer for later transcription. This could be particularly useful on a computer that is too slow or has too little memory to run NaturallySpeaking. To use the Sound Recorder, from the Windows Start menu, choose Programs, Dragon NaturallySpeaking, Sound Recorder. The recorder appears on screen (see Figure 17-12, page 210). For more details and instructions, press F1 for help while the Sound Recorder is displayed.