Professional, Portable, Live MP3 Encoding

An Anonymous Coward writes: "Developed by DIALOG4/ORBAN the unit is called the Sountainer, a fliptop portable about the dimensions of a cell phone. Emphasized as an audio field recorder, the unit was designed for broadcasters, journalists, and artists who wish to record a live feed of their performance off the mixing board."

Comments

Microphone Connections / Alternatives

[stereoroid]

Another reason why this is definitely not a professional device: the microphone connection is a stereo 3.5mm jack. I would expect to see at least a 1/4" balanced jack per channl, ideally XLRs with phantom power.

There are better alternatives out there:

• Sonifex Courier (as used by BBC and NPR - serious kit.
• Marantz PMD600 series (semi-pro, good connectivity).
• MiniDisc systems (some of them), as you know.

And, in the Vaporware corner, the Shine MP3 Recorder for Handspring Visor!

Re:Why this instead of MiniDisc (or DAT?)

[Shelled]

Minidiscs are recorded in Sony's proprietary ATRAC format. No easily available computer drive bays or audio editors/software codecs exist, meaning a reporter would be required to re-record the entire interview in real time to .WAV for computer editing.