13Nov $49 TEAC VR-20 field recorder becomes a $100 field recorder with firmware hack
Looking for a field recorder like the Tascam DR-08 but don’t want the spend $100? Then you might want to take a look at the Teac VR-20. It’s basically a DR-08 with a few features disabled in the firmware. Not only do you save $50 on the price but with this firmware hack you can get the DR-08’s firmware to run on the VR-20, making the two units basically identical.
When you look at the Tascam DR-08 and the Teac VR-20 side by side, it’s very easy to see the resemblance. They both share the same button layout, the same on screen display, and the same swivel style on board microphones. The only noticeable difference between the two (besides the color) is that one supports 24-bit/96kHz sampling and the other only supports 24-bit/48kHz sampling.
Although 96kHz sampling isn’t something I’ve been desperate to have in my hand held field recorder, it’s still nice to know that with a little bit of work you can turn a $49 field recorder into a $100 field record. The hack looks pretty easy to follow and you can find the full guide to hacking the VR-20’s firmware here. If any of you make an attempt at this send me some pictures. Special thanks to Alex for point this out.
November 20th, 2012 at 3:07 pm
Just ordered one of these! I’ll try to give feedback on it after the hack, maybe i’ll try to compare it to the zoom h1
January 16th, 2013 at 2:49 pm
These just spiked up to about $80-90 each.