[rlmoss]

So much product out there; I'm overwhelmed trying to compare feature sets just at Cowon's web site.

All I need is the functionality to record NPR podcasts of today's news and features that I missed during broadcast. I see this like the first use of VCR: time shift. I won't store or catalogue news podcasts, so there's no need for playlists. OTOH, shuffle won't make sense

I'm more likely to listen to a news podcast at home, running a line out into my amp listening via my speakers. Possibly I'd listen through ER-6 on the metro, but mostly to damp down Metro's inherent noise level.

As far as FM radio goes, NPR's DC stations tend not to compress signals, but except for music bridges and music features are news reader/presenter voices.

I don't know how NPR or PRI or Deutsche Welle's how compressed they are and compression metrics: will a 1 or a 2 GB player let me download an hour's podcast? As I said, I won't save a news program and I assume I can overwrite yestereday's content.

I'm feeling late and very naive about digital audio, so I'd appreciate any pointers and product recommendations.

 

[othnielgraichen]

Fm is an analog signal. When you digitally record audio, your recording device has a sampling rate, a certain number of channels and # bits per sample which when multiplied together are called a bit rate. The cd standard rate is 1411200 bps.

Compression is when a bit rate like 320k 192k or other is employed instead of 1411.2kbps.
FLAC is a lossless compression while MP3 achieves a 92% reduction at a common setting.
MP3 technology turns a 1gb stick into 12gb of listening.

Simple 1st generation recorders record in uncompressed format so you can listen to your podcast then delete it. Or you could transfer podcast to PC, convert to mp3 using lame 3.99.5 and put your compressed file on your cell phone or other non recording mp3 player.
It would be 12 times smaller than your original recording.

An mp3 player usually doesnt record. I wanted to clarify when and how compression is employed. A player will not let you time shift any podcast. You have to have a recorder.

A recorder such as the sansa fuze plus uses 635mb per hour of recording.
So 1gb lasts 94 minutes.