Speech Recorder

Version 1.0.0 (Android) Switch to iOS

Introduction

Speech Recorder is a speech recording application for your mobile phone that is specifically designed for professionals that dictate on a regular basis. Health-care, legal, insurance and law enforcement professionals will benefit from the convenience of using the mobile device they already have and Speech Recorder's powerful features to allow easy creation and distribution of dictations.

Use Speech Recorder with or without an account. An eVoice Manager or a TAWK Pro account provides additional features such as dynamic metadata definitions and selections, additional distribution options, and speech recognition. Creating an account is free and allows you to purchase Credits.

Speech Recorder is ideal for professionals in health services, law enforcement, legal services, and the insurance industry.

Features

Standard features:

Record audio for dictation, note taking, interviewing, etc.
Configurable recording quality
Flag recording as priority
Configurable metadata fields (up to 4)
Share audio file via email, bluetooth, cloud services (Dropbox, ...), and more
Pause and resume recording
Save a recording as pending to be resumed later

Even more features available with an eVoice Manager or TAWK Pro account!

Unlimited number of metadata fields
Securely upload to eVoice Manager or TAWK Pro server for additional distribution options

Receive dictation via email
Perform speech recognition and receive transcript via email
Submit to transcription service
Encrypted cloud archival (requires Amazon AWS account)

"Unlimited" number of metadata fields
Configurable metadata selection values
Hidden and read-only metadata fields
Shake to contact server and display credits available
Custom logo on RECORD view (dynamically downloaded from server)

Requirements

Android 13 (Tiramisu) and newer
App Permissions: Files and media and Microphone

Quick Start

Install 2RC Speech Recorder. Available in the Google Play Store
Ensure that the Speech Recorder app has been given the necessary permissions: Files and media and Microphone
For advanced features create an account.
Add your account name, username and password in the Settings view.
Tab the microphone icon to begin a new recording.

How to Use

Speech Recorder Mobile App by 2RC Software - Audio Recording for Professionals

Start a New Recording

To begin a new recording tap the microphone icon.

While recording the following options are available:

Priority: Tap the icon to toggle between normal and stat priority. A red exclamation mark indicates a high/stat priority.

Save as Finished: Save the recording as "Finished" and setup for a new recording to be started.

Save as Pending: Save the recording as "Pending" and setup for a new recording to be started.

Pause: Temporarily pause recording. Continue recording by pressing the microphone icon.

Preview: Play the audio recorded so far. If recording is in progress, it will be paused automatically.

Metadata: Add or modify metadata associated with this recording. If recording is in progress, recording will continue while managing metadata.

While recording a voice level meter confirms that your microphone is working and your speech is being recorded.

Speech Recorder - Level Meter

Saved Recordings

Swipe left or tap the "Saved Recordings" tab header to change from the Record tab to the listing of previously saved recordings.

Where are my recordings saved? Recordings are stored on your phone in the "Phone/SpeechRecorder" folder.

Previously saved recordings are displayed in a list with the most recent recordings at the top and the oldest at the bottom.

Speech Recorder Mobile App by 2RC Software - An inexpensive alternative to digital recorders.

Each recording displays the metadata associated with it (or the filename if there is no metadata defined), the time the recording was created, and the length in minutes:seconds (mm:ss). The icon associated with each recording displays status information:

The recording was saved as Pending and can be restored to the Recording tab so that it can be continued.

The recording is Finished and has NOT been uploaded.

The recording is Finished and has been uploaded one or more times.

The recording is Pending and has previously been uploaded (and was previously Finished).

The addition of a red exclamation mark indicates that the recording has been flagged as Priority.

Tap the recording to listen to the audio. Press the play icon to begin playback and move the track bar "thumb" to quickly reposition the playback position.

Speech Recorder - Playing

Long-press the listed recording to view a menu of available options related to the recording. Different menu options will be shown depending on the recording's status: "Pending" or "Finished".

Menu Options

Menu Options (Pending)

Resume Recording

Restore the recording to the Recording tab so that you can continue appending audio to it. Once this menu option is chosen, change to the recording tab and press the microphone option to begin appending audio to it. At this point, all the regular options available while recording (pause, preview, save, ...) are active.

Edit Metadata

Allows you to view and modify the metadata values associated with the recording.

Toggle Priority

Select this option to change the priority from normal to high/stat or from high/stat to normal.

Change to Finished

Choose this option to change the recording's status to "Finished" and indicate that it will no longer be changed and is ready to be uploaded or shared.

Delete File

The recording is permanently deleted from the mobile device. A prompt first confirms that you want to delete the file.

Menu Options (Finished)

Upload File

A recording is uploaded to the eVoice Manager or TAWK Pro server and is processed and distributed as per your account's distribution configuration.

If the Transcoding setting is set to a value other than "None", the audio file will be converted to the selected format. If the Encryption setting is set to a value other than "None", the original or transcoded file will be encrypted with the password provided in the setting Encryption Password prior to being uploaded.

Edit Metadata

Allows you to view and modify the metadata values associated with the recording.

Toggle Priority

Select this option to change the priority from normal to high/stat or from high/stat to normal.

Change to Pending

Choose this option to change the recording's status to "Pending". Pending recordings can then be restored to the Recording panel to have additional audio recorded to it.

Share File

Allows the recording to be shared with one or more contacts via email, messaging, etc. It also provides a means of adding the recording into a cloud storage service installed on your device (Dropbox, OneDrive, Drive, etc.)

Rename File

Change the name of the file that is stored on the device.

Delete File

The recording is permanently deleted from the mobile device. A prompt first confirms that you want to delete the file.

Metadata

Metadata is information related to a specific recorded dictation audio file that describes the recording. Some metadata is automatically associated with a dictation file: account and length are a couple of examples. In addition, Speech Recorder supports four additional custom metadata fields (unlimited with an account).

Speech Recorder Mobile App by 2RC Software - Audio recorder that supports an unlimited number of metadata/demographics.

Metadata displayed with a light blue background are read-only and cannot be edited. Read-only metadata are values that remain the same for all your dictations, your employee ID and department name, for example.

The metadata fields you may want are generally industry specific. For example:

Medical: MRN, Work Type, Facility Code, Admission ID, Referring Physician ID, Study ID
Legal: Case #, Matter #
Insurance: Requestor Name, Region, Loss Number, Interviewee Name
Law Enforcement: Witness Name, Badge #, Evidence ID, VIN, Occurrence ID, Report Type

Setup of Metadata

Without an Account

To configure Speech Recorder to associate the recording with one or more metadata values, start by configuring the settings Metadata Count, Metadata Names, Metadata Labels, and Metadata Default Values.

See information in the Settings section for more information about local device metadata settings.

With an eVoice Manager Account

With a valid account, metadata definitions (count, name, label, default values) are automatically downloaded from the 2RC server each time a new recording is started. Instead of one default value, an account allows for a list of values that can be selected. For example, a physician can be provided a daily list of patients from which to choose from when recording a new report.

Speech Recorder - Metadata Selection

There is no limit to the number of metadata fields that can be associated with a recording when you have a valid eVoice Manager or TAWK Pro account.

Even with an account, Speech Recorder settings related to metadata can be provided to handle the case when a new recording is created when there is no network connection available. Use the same Metadata Names as defined in your account profile.

Settings

To change configurable preferences tap the menu icon and choose "Settings"

Speech Recorder - Settings

Setting Name Type	Description Default
Account String	Your account name. An account is not required but enables additional distribution and metadata features.
Username String	Your username - usually an email address, but not necessarily. An account is not required but enables additional distribution and metadata features.
Password String	The password associated with your account.
Server URL String	The server URL for the system (eVoiceManager or TawkPro) that you connect to. https://web1.evoicemanager.com or https://www.tawkpro.com
Encryption String	Enable encryption to protect personal information and/or Protected Health Information (PHI) included in your recorded dictation. Do not enable encryption if using this app with eVoice Manager or TAWK Pro. The system will automatically store your audio file with encryption to protect sensitive information. When encryption is enabled and the recording is uploaded it is encrypted using the algorithm specified in this setting and the password provided in the Encryption Password setting. Once encrypted, the audio file cannot be listened to without the password being provided. Even 2RC is unable to decrypt the file - it is possible only by someone who knows the password. Dictation files that are encrypted when uploaded cannot be automatically processed by a speech recognition engine by the server. The files can be submitted for speech recognition once they are downloaded from the server and the correct password is provided. AES encryption is 128 bit, CBC mode, PKCS5 padding. Important! When a file is encrypted and uploaded it can ONLY be listened to when the correct password is provided. The original copy of the audio file on your mobile device is not encrypted and can be re-uploaded with the same or different password as long as it exists on the device. Supported values are None, AES None
Encryption Password String	The password used to encrypt an audio file that is being uploaded.
Transcoding String	Transcoding is the process of converting an audio file from one format to another. This setting allows uploaded files to be converted from the format it was recorded in to another supported format. You may choose to upload in a different format due to size, for example. Recording in the recommended format for optimal speech recognition results creates very large files. Very large files can take a long time to upload. Therefore, in cases where you want to upload an audio file for distribution, and you know the audio will not be processed with speech recognition software, you may choose to transcode (i.e. convert) the audio to MP3 or FLAC. Both will create smaller files that will upload faster than the original. Supported values are None, MP3, FLAC None
Audio Sample Rate Integer	Choose a sampling rate. The larger the sampling rate the better the quality possible but at the expense of larger file sizes. For optimal speech recognition results choose 16 kHz. 16000 (16 kHz)
Audio Channels Integer (1\|2)	Choose the number of channels, mono (1) or stereo (2). If the recording will be submitted for speech recognition, choose 1 channel (mono). 1 (Mono)
Audio Bits Per Sample Integer (8\|16)	Choose between 8-bit and 16-bit per sampled audio. For the smallest file size, choose 8-bit. For the best quality, and for use with speech recognition, choose 16-bits per sample. 16 (16-bit)
Microphone Source String	Selects which microphone will be used during recording and the type/amount of processing that is done to the audio prior to it reaching this application. Default: Chooses the microphone that the device has assigned as the default. In normal use this will be the built-in microphone. If an external microphone is plugged into either a 3.5mm jack or the USB port, the selected microphone will be the external microphone. Built-in: Chooses the built-in microphone whether or not an external microphone is connected. Voice Recognition: Chooses a microphone source tuned for voice recognition by limiting the amount of pre-processing done to the audio including automatic gain control (AGC) and noise suppression. This setting may not be supported on all devices in which case this setting will be the same as selecting Default. Unprocessed: Chooses a microphone source tuned for unprocessed (raw) sound if supported on your device, otherwise, it behaves like Default. Supported values are Default, Built-in, Voice Recognition, Unprocessed Default
Metadata Count Integer	The metadata settings fields are used to configure metadata fields that are to be associated with a recording. If using this app with eVoice Manager or TAWK Pro, metadata fields defined in this app will be overridden by values configured in the system. Choose from zero (0) to 5 metadata fields. For each metadata field you must provide a name, label, and optionally, a default value. 0
Metadata Names Pipe-delimited String	For each metadata field an identifying name must be provided. The name is not visible and should not contain spaces. Names are provided in one continuous string using the pipe (\|) character to separate them. For example, wt\|mrn
Metadata Labels Pipe-Delimited String	For each metadata field a label must be provided. The label is displayed to identify the metadata entry. Labels are provided in one continuous string using the pipe (\|) character to separate them. For example, Work Type\|MRN
Metadata Default Values Pipe-Delimited String	For each metadata field a default value can be provided. The value is not visible and should not contain spaces. Values are provided in one continuous string using the pipe (\|) character to separate them. A blank/empty default value is allowed but all delimiting pipe characters must exist. For example, report\|123456789 An example with an empty MRN default value, report\|
Disable Media Scanning True/False	When checked, a small file is written to the SpeechRecorder audio folder to tell other player apps to not include SpeechRecorder audio files in their Audio/Music library. This setting only affects audio and video player apps that recognize the ".nomedia" file. True (Checked)
Upload Data Size Integer	Determines the size of the upload buffer. Smaller buffers are suitable for slow network connections and larger buffer sizes for fast network connections. Larger buffer sizes resault in faster file uploading and are preferred where the network connection speed/bandwidth supports it. If you get errors during upload experiment with smaller buffer sizes. 250 kB