wrt (1), I used to handle recording for my local radio station. The obvious question is - do you want to record this stuff so it can be transcribed later (in which case the quality just needs to be high enough for the person listening to understand what was said) or be listened to by other people (in which case you want decent quality).
For the former, you certainly aren't going to have to worry about the quality of the recorder itself - the mic's make and position is a bigger issue, but you'll probably be fine with almost any mic with a 3.5mm jack that wasn't just designed to record stuff on a PC (and even that might work in a pinch). The easiest option is probably a PC running Audacity (an open-source recorder/editor) and a cheap or inbuilt microphone. Put it a fair distance from the speakers to balance things out a bit and give you a chance at hearing the questions. Quality will likely be rubbish, but it should be comprehensible and you won't need anything special. Plus, as long as you've got some space free on your laptop you
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atreic pointed me here but it looks like someone's given a good answer already. There are mp3 players that can do simple recording, but if you've got a laptop already that's fine, it just needs a mic with a 3.5mm connector, or some laptops have built in mics. I second the recommendation of Audacity. Whatever you use just make sure to test it well with various speaking volumes and presenter/questioner positions, and increase the recording level in the software if necessary.
I suppose it's just a small room with no PA, or else you might have been able to plug a recorder into whatever microphones are already set up for amplification.
Thank you very much for this, that's great. I don't have a laptop myself, but I'm sure I should be able to get access to one and take the time to carry out the necessary tests beforehand. Yes, it is just a smallish room without PA.
I don't think anyone knows about the napkins, so don't worry about that! :)
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For the former, you certainly aren't going to have to worry about the quality of the recorder itself - the mic's make and position is a bigger issue, but you'll probably be fine with almost any mic with a 3.5mm jack that wasn't just designed to record stuff on a PC (and even that might work in a pinch). The easiest option is probably a PC running Audacity (an open-source recorder/editor) and a cheap or inbuilt microphone. Put it a fair distance from the speakers to balance things out a bit and give you a chance at hearing the questions. Quality will likely be rubbish, but it should be comprehensible and you won't need anything special. Plus, as long as you've got some space free on your laptop you ( ... )
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I just want to be able to transcribe people's questions at leisure (I can't do shorthand!), so everything for your option one sounds perfect.
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I suppose it's just a small room with no PA, or else you might have been able to plug a recorder into whatever microphones are already set up for amplification.
Afraid I'm clueless about branded napkins!
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I don't think anyone knows about the napkins, so don't worry about that! :)
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