The RR-US360 records longer in SP Mode than Panasonic's previous models and does not require LP (Long Play) Mode to record up to eight hours. In the past, LP (Long Play) Mode was necessary to maximize recording time, but this often meant sacrificing sound quality. Now you no longer have to choose between sound quality and recording time. You can save and edit the sound files you record on the RR-US360 with the included software. The included USB Cable connects your IC Recorder to a compatible PC for easy file transfers. Thanks to the Digital Voice Activated System on the RR-US360, recording begins as soon as sound is detected. This helps eliminate wasted tape space. At less than 4" tall and less than 1" deep, the RR-US360 is easy to carry and fits conveniently in just about any pocket.
This digital voice recorder features up to 8 hours of recording time. There's also a digital VAS function, three jacks (mic, headphone, earphone) and a high-sensitivity Electret condenser microphone, among other features. The RR-US360 can even hook up to your PC via its USB terminal.
1 it's nice, but not great...especially for the price
The microphone is too sensitive...I use this recorder to get class lectures, but so much background noise (and conversations) are picked up I can hardly hear the lecture. The software for the program is great, as long as you only want to use their sound file format. You can convert to .wav, but the sound quality it dramatically reduced (and background noise amplified). It's also impossible to share your sound files with another person...or it might be, but I've been unable to find a way to save the recordings to cd. If you plan to use this for minimal use in a disciplined environment, than this might be the one for you. Otherwise you might want to shop around some more.
2 Do not buy this recorder
I bought this recorder for the purpose of recording meetings. The recordings needed to be transfered to my computer. All in all, it's a wonderful product. The reason for the bad review is in the difficulty (nigh unto impossible) of retreiving your recordings if you should happen to lose the CD that comes with the recorder. Panasonic's tech support is horrible at best. There is appearantly no way to replace the needed software or drivers via mail or download. The best solution I was given from Panasonic's technical support was to "buy another one, copy the CD and return it." Aside from the dubious legalities of that suggestion, I recommend not supporting a company that doesn't support their products.
3 Unhappy customer
Practically everything I own is Panasonic - rice maker, home entertainment system, vaccum cleaner, clock radios. I have three of their older voice recorders and this RR360. The device is great. What isn't great is their software. It's hideous. It's worse than hideous, it's the worst commercial software I've seen in a long time. It's the only package I know of that consistently bluescreens Windows 2000 Pro. I'd love to update it to the latest version and see if that helps, but when I use the VoiceStudio Help -> Update menu it stupidly tells me that VoiceStudio is not installed on my computer. They do not offer the software for download separately, you can supposedly only upgrade it through their menu. All attempts to contact Panasonic tech support are fruitless. The recorder uses a proprietary format and they don't release specs so you can't use it with Linux, older Windows versions or future Windows versions - just the ones out now. Right now I've got a rather important 2 hour meeting stored on it that I can't upload because every time I try it bluescreens the two computers I've got their software installed on. I'm going to have to capture the analog audio as a .wav file.
I'm a huge Panasonic fan, but don't buy this one because they won't let you get to your own data and they won't respond to requests for tech support on it.
4 Limited to wav files only
Voice recording in HQ mode is very clear, but any extraneous sounds (such as page flipping, chair moving, etc. ) even 10 feet away gets recorded louder than your voice.
Panasonic uses its own proprietary format to record voice. If you need to save the recordings on your computer, you can only use its supplied Voice Studio software, and it only converts the recording into wav format. You then need to convert again into mp3 or wma. Likewise, to play your audio recordings from other sources, you must first convert them into wav format in order to download into this Panasonic 360. It accepts download in wav format only. So, if you need to play your files in mp3 or wma format in other devices, you would spend a lot of time converting them from and into wav format. Besides, the software for conversion into mp3 or wma are not supplied.
In other words, this Panasonic 360 limits you to using only wav format.
5 sound file editing
No problems with quality of sound, downloading sound files, or versatility of the product at all. My "gripe" is how confusing the instructions seem to be when it's time to edit the sound files for editing out long breaks in the recording process. I've yet to get satisfaction when inquiring about on-line tutorials to simply editing the files I record, download and need to edit. I would think that a company the size of Panasonic would offer a tutorial that could be viewed either on dvd/cd rom or vhs cassette; as the instructions printed via acrobat reader seem to be too confusing. There has got to be a better and easier way to get editing accomplished without acquiring a headache! I would appreciate help from anyone proficient in editing these sound files............I'm using winXP platform but I don't know how to access the sound files using my Roxio 6 software (which I've used to rip various forms of media). I'd gladly pay for a visual tutorial that is priced reasonably, so try me.
6 Super buy
I consider myself lucky to have selected this. I do stand-up, and this is great for recording ideas I have and going through them later. I found the mic sensitivity to be really great... and even the included software and cable works great. Little hard to set up the software, but once it's going, it's actually useful!
Go for it!
7 Panasonic NOT again!!!
After reading other reviews and shopping around I elected to buy a Panasonic RR US360. I am very happy with the ease of use, size, and clarity. However, I will NOT recommend this item to anyone due to the extreme difficulty I have had trying to download the recordings to my Dell D600 using Win 2000. What you do not learn until you have purchased and possibly used the item is that Win 2000 will not recognize the device and you are told to access it via the VoiceStudio software that comes with the item. Great, except it has not worked and doesn't recognize the USB port, much less the device. I have tried contacting Panasonic help and I strongly recommend anyone thinking of purchasing one of these to call them at 1-800-211-7262 and cycle thru the options (1,4,2,7) as given to me by the 'audio technician' to get help with the US360. The minimum wait time I have encountered is 21 minutes, but have yet to get a resolution and having been told I would be called and left my number, after 2 weeks I have yet to be called, have sent in emails via their web, and have not received any response. Panasonic again, absolutely NOT!!!! Call for yourself before buying and save yourself the frustration later.
8 outstanding sound quality
I do not know about this model, but if you don't need to download sound files to your computer and all you want is a pocket sized digital voice recorder with excellent sound quality and ease of use, then Panasonic's identical looking cheaper model RR-QR160 (less than $50) is the ticket. I compared many small recorders for voice quality and the RR-QR160 beat them all.
9 a good buy
I have been using this product for 2 weeks and i haven't had any problem transferring the files from the recorder to my computer at all. i am running on XP and haven't experienced any problem. i just installed the software that came with the package. everything works great. however, i do agree that although it says it records up to 8 hrs you are more likely not going to use the sp mode especially in a medium size lecture hall. i have found that everything works fine with just the FQ mode which means you can record upto 4 hrs. and 40 mins.
10 Do Not Buy!
I purchased this product for a Physiology lecture of about 150 students. I sit in the second row with the professor being only about 10 feet in front of me, and let me tell you this recorder is nothing but a piece of junk! Where should I start?! Well, first off I am going to comment on the sound quality. I had to put it on HQ (high quality) and it could barely pick up the professors voice. The whole recording sounded like a crumpling mess! The package advertises up to 8 hours of digital recording, but when you have to use the HQ setting, I could not even get three full lectures out of it, a total of 2.5 hours. I was a little set back by the inefficiency of this task. I could deal with it because it came with some handy software that I could use to easily transfer the lecture to my computer. Nope, not a slight chance that the software would work! I should have listened to the reviews before I made the purchase, but no one had specifically listed what the software would not work with, so I figured I would give it a try. Before I made the purchase I even made sure that I asked the manager at Staples if she had heard of any problems; she told me no. Well, the software did not work with Microsoft XP Home or Office edition! Panasonic website and customer service is lowsy, so I am happy to say that I returned the little sucker! I consider myself an educated consumer (although I did not make the best of judgements on this purchase) and I have since purchased the Olympus DM-10. It is FABULOUS! I have a classmate that has and Olympus and she swears by it. I have also heard that Sony is not very good either, and their customer care is very poor as well. Even for the money, the Panasonic is not worth it. If you can, I would suggest spending a little more money on an Olympus, that way you know what you are getting. I for one will probably not purchase a Panasonic again. They ruined it for themselves and do not stand behind their products! Good luck and I hope that my experiences have helped!
11 one of the best
I also read the reviews before I decided to buy the US-360. The rave reviews about the quality of sound and the affordable price appealed to me, however, the problem of accessing the software made me a bit apprehensive about purchasing the recorder. But, I purchased it anyway! The sound is excellent, but there were a few problems downloading the software and the reason is that you cannot download the Voice Studio 2.0 initially, you have to download the Microsoft Direct X first which allows you to access the sound files of the Voice Studio 2.0. Other than that, it's a great product!
12 Everything Works Like a Charm
This little device is an absolute gem. The Voice Studio software works beautifully. There were no problems downloading the recordings to my computer. I have it linked to Dragon Naturally Speaking 7 software for transcribing my voice data into written text and it works well.
The functionality you get for the low price can't be beat.
13 Driver problem + bad customer service
I totally agree with Jeff. In fact, I wish he wrote his review before I purchased the RR-US360! My laptop has Windows XP and I can't download the driver either. Windows doesn't recognize the device and I can't even manually install the driver from the CD. I keep getting:
The specified location does not contain information about your hardware
Customer service is really bad! They keep you on hold for a long time and then don't even help you fix the problem. Ridiculous!
Other than the above, the voice recorder works pretty well.
14 Good sound but the USB connection does not work.
I am satisfied with the sound of this small voice recorder. However, I cannot install the Voice Studio software onto my computer. I noticed the problem at Circuitcity.com, and thought that was associated with Windows 98. However, I am using Windows ME. I have not had any problems with any other software. Therefore, be aware that this recorder may not work on your computer as well. I am giving a two star rating because 1) the claimed selling point is not working. 2) Panasonic has terrible customer service with this product. No support information on this product on their website. No response to e-mail inquiries. Called them, I was put to wait for 40 minutes and then kicked out. Their customer service let me feel angry.
15 Excellent First PDR
This is my first Digital Voice recorder. It was one of the cheaper ones I have seen but it works great. It is very small, has a USB interface and software for the computer, and has good sound quality. This device has much better sound quality than a lot of the mini cassete recorders people use to dictate into, is easier to use, has a USB interface, and is much smaller and less of a battery hog. This unit also gets high marks from me because it is easy to navigate through the menus. I recommend this unit to anyone.
