This problem is one reason why I don’t want to buy NB just yet. The feature is just too important for me not to have it work :(

— Last edited 01:37PM, Dec 10, 2008

Hello,

This is not a NoteBook problem – NoteBook is recording everything the mic is picking up. The issue is the mic of an open laptop faces the user, which is perfect for something like iChat but not if you want to record sound hitting the other side of the laptop lid. For a lecture setting you may need a microphone that you can point at the speaker.

Best,

__jayson

Hi Jayson,

I must respectfully disagree with you.

I have tried (the same room and the same macbook) recording with Omnioutliner Pro, and have had much more success with the sound. I don’t see any other reason for the problem other than Notebook.

EDIT:

I just did a side by side comparison with the two programs. I recorded simultaneously, and there is a significant difference between the sound quality.

— Last edited 07:05PM, Dec 10, 2008

Hello,

What I said is still correct (with the laptop lid open the mic faces the user, and so is not set up to pick up sound on the other side of the laptop lid). There is a problem, however, with the recording levels on certain hardware, typically Macbooks. I’ve theorized that these laptops use a different kind of mic hardware than others. On my Macbook Pro, for example, voice recording is very clear. This is an issue we’re still working on tracking down, but I would agree that fixing this problem should also improve recording of ambient sound.

Best,

__jayson

I have to agree with Johnathon. I have the same problem and have raised the same point. It does not make sense to answer that it is an issue with the hardware and not with NoteBook when, using the exact same hardware, at the exact same time under the same conditions, you get poor sound quality results with NoteBook but reasonable quality with Omnioutliner Pro. You have to look at what is the same and what is different and in this case the only difference is the software used, not the hardware.

As I said, NoteBook voice annotation works fine on some computers (my Macbook Pro, for example). It seems to not work well on Macbooks, which suggests a difference in the Macbook hardware. This is not to say that the issue cannot be addressed in software, but it does seem to be an issue specifically with the Macbook’s hardware.

__jayson

Hi Jayson,

This is the first time I’ve commented on the forum. I’ve had an excellent experience with Notebook for the past two semesters taking notes at Law School and as an organizer. Thanks for such an excellent product!

The voice annotation feature has been a great, with one exception – the playback quality. I have a Macbook pro, and I have tried a few different external USB mics in addition to the built in mic. When I’ve used these mics with other programs (for example the Notebook Layout in Word 2008) the sound has been significantly better. I think this is because these programs have the option to change the quality of the recording (sample size, rate etc).

I have looked for such an option on Notebook, but I haven’t found one. Am I missing something?

I believe that Circus Ponies’ Notebook is significantly better than the Notebook Layout view in Word 2008 in many ways, but adding the ability to increase the sound quality for voice annotation would be a HUGE help for people like me, and yet another reason to continue going strong with Notebook. Please let me know if anything to this end is available or in the works for Notebook.

Thanks,
Nawaz

I just downloaded the most recent update of Notebook and noticed the ‘Good’, ‘Better’ and ‘Best’ options for recording quality. When did this feature pop in?! Regardless, this is exactly what I was thinking of, and my recordings are sounding great now when I increase the quality!

Thanks a lot!
Nawaz

We added the quality option in the 3.0 v343 update. Glad to hear it’s making a difference!

__jayson