How can I convert a DSS dictation file to mp3?

There are free downloads available that will do this: http://www.transcriptionsservice.com/dss-to-mp3-audio-converter-online.html

I've had a bit of a google around and I can't find anything for the Mac that will do the conversion, so here's a way to do it.

Get a player application from: http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/software_results.asp?id=99&os=m

You can now play the DSS file on your Mac. So now you need to record it, so get the free recording application Audacity from: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

However, it's not quite so simple. The Mac offers no way to record the audio playing through the soundcard. You need routing software that will route the audio from the playing software to the recording software. This is called SoundFlower and is also available free from: http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/14067/soundflower

It may sound a bit clunky and complicated but once you've done it once it's pretty straightforward. Essentially what you're doing is a software version of the old tape to tape method (if you go back that far) where you set a cassette player to play a tape, another one to record, and you have a cable connecting the output of the first to the input of the second - this "cable" is the role that SoundFlower is playing!

So, I obviously had a similar problem, yet was able to find a software that does the whole thing for you automatically, you don't even need to have the DSS Olympus player. It's called "Switch" and there are both a Windows and a Mac version, the link to the download of the Mac flavor is http://www.nch.com.au/components/switchmaci.zip and the website is http://www.nch.com.au/software/mac.html. It converted the files to a very reasonable MP3 file size and it has options for configuring the Bit Rate including fixed and variable Bit Rate.

Hope this Helps

Macanudo, that really worked for you? Because if I download Switch, I still cannot convert a .DSS/.DS2 file with it. If you go to their documentation, it does clearly state that it doesn't do .DSS conversion on a mac.

http://www.nch.com.au/switch/kb/1405.html

I use another NCH program called Express Scribe to do transcription work. Their pro version says it will play .DSS/.DS2 files, which is why I bought a license, but in the end, it doesn't work on a mac. Their help file sends people to go download a bunch of .exe codecs, which obviously won't work. I've sent in a support request but I am not holding my breath. Even if it had worked, I'd be pretty annoyed at having to buy a license for Switch (it's a 14 day trial) to correct something that should work in the licensed NCH software I already own.

I'm really interested in a solution for this problem, too. There is a discussion about it here, also:

http://nch.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/2900-dss-files-mac-os-x/

in which people say that the fault actually lies with Olympus, who are being difficult about their proprietary format.

I guess the takeaway from this is to never buy a handheld recording device which uses a proprietary format! That doesn't solve my problem, though, which is that I have this file sitting here and no sensible way to transcribe it as quickly as I can do any other kind of file.

Hi Thaumata:

Since the time I wrote the above "solution" which DID WORK for me, I have stopped using the Olympus recorder because of this whole process of converting files. I've been using my iPhone's "voice memo" recorder, which unfourtunately still requires conversion from m4a > mp3 but at least I can do all that within iTunes; have thought of making an automator workflow to streamline the process.

Therefore, I haven't been using the Olympus recoder and don't recall the details, HOWEVER, I just went to the NCH website and SWITCH is listed as available both for Windows and Mac (http://www.nch.com.au/software/audio.html).

Also, there are several recording Apps. for the iPhone which produce a number of file types including mp3 files. The microphone on the iPhone is NOT great for recording unless you are fairly close to the source (in my case Lectures), in which case it is Ok. Maybe an external microphone would help.

So, It worked then for me, can't give you much details now and consider dumping the Olympus for an iPhone mic + a recording App.

Macanudo

Thaumata:

I read their documentation and it mentions NOT supporting .dss/.ds2 conversion; the only thing I can think of is that I have Parallels on my Mac which allows me to use Windows !%$#& . I wish I could try again but only downloaded the trial which has since expired :-(

Good luck, keep trying.

Ah, yes, thanks. I definitely would not buy an Olympus dictaphone, probably ever, but definitely not if you use a Mac. Unfortunately, I'm not the one making the recordings. I'm a full time transcriptionist and so I often have very little say in what my business guys (and lecturers!) use to record the work they send me. I get a lot done on iPhones, too, and as you say, it's not so hot, especially with background noise or distance from the speaker.

In my other life, I'm a musician, so when I need to do audio things, I have plenty of options for equipment stashed away here. A friend of mine recently bought a really nice condenser mic that plugs right into his iPad. I can't remember the brand name but I could find out. He used it to record some guitar in his living room and sent it to me and it's clear as a bell. The quality was surprisingly excellent! So, I am sure you can find a solution for recording your lectures that works well and is portable. It's just a matter of searching.

In the meantime, I just tell my clients they need to convert the files themselves before sending them to me. I tried to get the free player from the Olympus site but the only file I could find was for Power PC! HA. Talk about being out of touch.

Soundflower worked great to convert DSS files internally to mp3/wav! I'd add to those trying this solution that you need to go into your internal speaker settings and set the output to soundflower 2ch and then in Audacity you set the input to soundflower and leave the output to "Built-in Output" since DSS player does not allow you to set Soundflower as the output. Also, if you are running Lion (as of Sept 21, 2013), currently you will need to install the beta version of "Soundflowerbed" in addition to the regular release of Soundflower otherwise it will not recognize that you have soundflower install. This should be updated eventually. Anyway those were the difficulties I ran into when following Zyriab's advice, but in the end it was the perfect solution. Thanks for introducing me to Soundflower!!

Hello Thaumata,

You are right, nothing works. I do not understand why so many websites say that Switch and others work to convert DSS to MP3. Nothing works!
Have you found an alternative? Please help.

Thanks,
C.

Thaumata,

I found a solution for a very similar problem. Essentially, I wanted to take DSS files and play them in Express Scribe with a Mac.

I found that Olympus provides software simply called DSS Player for playing DSS files here: http://www.olympus.com.au/Support/Latest-Product-Updates/Audio-Software.aspx.

(Note that you might need to install their patch as well, to run it depending on the version of OS X that you are running. I am using version 7.5.0. You will also need a serial numer to unlock this software which is provided with the purchase of a CD containing this software.)

Then, with Olympus' DSS Player I found that you can convert files from DSS to the AIFF format (.aif or .aiff), which you can open in the Mac version of Express Scribe.

I would like to validate and recommend the solution mentioned by Mark Dachille. I, too, have conducted extensive Google searches to find software which can convert Olympus DSS audio-formatted files to mp3, only to discover that there is no such animal out there. NCH Software offers Switch, but if you check out the list of formats supported by Switch, you will learn that while Switch is supported for Windows, Switch is incapable of converting Olympus's proprietary DSS audio files to any other audio format. Any attempt to do so will reveal a message that the file is empty, no data is found, etc. But if the Finder shows that your DSS does have data, then all Switch is saying, in effect, is: "Hey, I can't see anything in this file," which would be a more honest and a more accurate message, instead of using misleading language about the file itself.

(As a related issue, which I will not elaborate upon here, I have a problem with NCH Software. I detest their software upgrading policy; I find their technical software abominable; and I caught them lying in a recent Google search, where their AdWord at the top of the page alleges that Switch "Easily convert dss audio dictations to wav or mp3 on a PC or Mac. Works on Windows and Mac." Don't believe this marketing hype. It is a blatant lie. I wrote them a letter, and I published it as an open letter in the record for Switch at MacUpdate.com, for anyone wanting further details.)

As far as converting DSS files to mp3, I have found no direct route. As Mark points out, the most elegant option is to use the Olympus DSS Player software. Fortunately, version 7.5 works with Mavericks; I just tested it out once again to confirm that. The Olympus web site provides downloads to the previous versions of DSS Player, which accompanied the purchase of an Olympus recorder, but it may not allow downloading of the original application itself to which you can apply those upgrades. However, if you do a deep Google search, you may get lucky and locate the original application.

Once in DSS Player, you import your DSS file(s). After they are listed in file window, you can export them to AIFF files. From there, you can either use Switch or any other audio converter which can convert AIFF files to mp3 files.

I happen to use Switch, because I bought a license years ago, and it does the job quite well, while also working in batch mode to convert many files at one go. But that does mean I recommend buying Switch, for the reasons I discuss in my comments at MacUpdate.com. Be careful dealing with this software company: have your eyes open before you purchase.

NCH Software has had years in which to empower Switch to work on the Mac, but they either cannot code the program to do this, or they do not want to. Either way, they should not lie about saying their program CAN do in their Goggle AdWord, while admitting on their website, if you probe before you buy, that Switch can NOT convert DSS to mp3 after all. I have a bias against liars.

I find it interesting that NCH Software is not above slamming Olympus for having developed, in NCH's opinion, an inferior audio format for recording dictation. Whether that is true or not, I cannot comment for it is a technical matter beyond my expertise. However, I can say that setting your Olympus recorder (in my case, model DS-2, which has worked flawlessly for me for years), allows you to record many more messages before the storage capacity (of about 68 MB on my device) is reached. So, there is an incentive, in my case, to use DSS on the device, but to convert the source DSS files later on to usable formats on my Mac.

My calculations indicate that when you convert a DSS file to an AIFF file via the DSS Player, your file size will increase about 13 times, meaning that a 1 MB DSS file will convert to a 13 MB AIFF file. Converting that AIFF file via Switch reduces that file to about 9 MB, which means that an mp3 file is about 9 times as large as an original DSS file. The vast difference in the file size allows me to record up to 22 hours at DSS (at 200 - 3,000 Hz) vs 1 hour at Stereo High Quality mode, which delivers an AIFF file (at 100 - 17,000 Hz).

I like being able to choose the quality settings, and I like the ability to call upon the DSS setting to record long conversations, interviews, or dictation, without fretting that I will run out of storage space. The ability to convert those DSS files, via the DSS Player, to AIFF, then to mp3 gives me the flexibility of choice.

The key to the whole process of converting DSS files to other audio formats is the Olympus DSS Player software: it is the essential intermediate step for a Mac user, without which you are stuck, unless you want to run the Windows version of Switch. I don't.

Currently QuickTime and iTunes does not support DSS, if you try to convert DSS on Windows, Switch Audio Converter is nice choice

If you need convert DSS to MP3, WAV, WMA, M4A, AAC on Mac or Windows, you may try iDealshare VideoGo which has both Mac and Windows version.

Thank you! The convert to AIFF thing has saved my life.