Zoom H1 Handheld Microphone & Recorder Unboxing

**Unboxing and Overview of the Zoom H1 Handy Recorder: A Comprehensive Article**

Welcome back to Paul's Hardware! Please ignore the massive hardware sitting to my right—it’s just here as a test to see how easily distracted you are. Today, we’re diving into an unboxing and overview of the Zoom H1 Handy Recorder. This device has been highly recommended by none other than Elri Ferris, who is known for his Tech of Tomorrow YouTube channel. Beyond his expertise in computers, Elri has also done significant work in audio creation and recording, which made him suggest this recorder as a versatile and high-quality option.

### A Special Acknowledgment

It’s important to give proper credit where it’s due. The Zoom H1 Handy Recorder was recommended by Elri Ferris, who is not only known for his Tech of Tomorrow channel but also has a wealth of knowledge in audio creation and recording. His recommendation has been instrumental in bringing this device into our lineup. It’s worth noting that Elri has joined our new TV team as a supplement to our existing members. He’s not replacing anyone, so rest assured, no one is quitting!

### Unboxing the Zoom H1 Handy Recorder

Let’s take a closer look at the packaging of the Zoom H1 Handy Recorder. The box clearly states “Brilliant Stereo Recording Now in Your Pocket” and mentions that this is version 2.0. One standout feature is its USB connection, allowing it to function as a direct USB microphone, much like the Blue Snowball mic I have. However, the Zoom H1 offers additional features, making it a more versatile option.

Included with the recorder is free bundled software: Wavelab LE7 by Steinberg, which provides linear audio editing capabilities for both Windows and Mac users. The box also lists technical specifications such as 24-bit/96 kHz high-resolution audio recording in WAV format and MP3 recording at 320 kilobits per second. Additionally, it supports up to a 32 GB microSDHC card for extended recording time.

The packaging details don’t end there. The side of the box highlights features like the XY microphone design for stereo recording, a low-cut filter, auto-level settings, and a built-in mount for attaching to a tripod. It also mentions a impressive battery life of 10 hours on a single AAA battery. Both sides of the box have identical information, ensuring clarity from every angle.

Inside the box, you’ll find:

- A 2 GB microSD card with an adapter for immediate use.

- Wavelab LE7 software pre-installed on the device.

- A quick start guide for setting up and using the recorder, including instructions for adjusting input levels, recording formats, and basic playback controls.

- Warranty information from Zoom and Samsung.

The packaging also includes a battery, allowing you to get started right away. The recorder itself is compact and portable, designed with durability in mind.

### Features of the Zoom H1 Handy Recorder

Examining the recorder itself, it features two cross-firing microphones at the top for stereo recording. This design ensures remarkable depth and clarity in your audio. The device offers a switch to toggle between WAV (high-quality) and MP3 (longer recording time) formats.

Key features include:

- **Headphone Line Out:** Monitor your recordings live using the headphone jack, with a volume knob for precise control.

- **Line In Jack:** Gold-plated connectors allow you to connect external microphones or line-in sources for high-quality recording.

- **Input Level Adjustment:** Fine-tune your audio settings directly on the device.

- **Playback Controls:** Navigate with play/pause, fast forward, and rewind buttons. A trash button allows you to delete unwanted clips easily.

- **Record Button:** A large, central record button ensures easy activation of recording sessions.

- **LED Readout:** This display indicates recording status, time-stamps, track markers, and input levels. It also alerts you if your audio is peaking, ensuring optimal sound quality.

The recorder runs on a single AAA battery, providing up to 10 hours of continuous use. The compact design makes it easy to carry around, perfect for on-the-go recording sessions.

### Hands-On Experience

I decided to test the recorder by inserting a small 4 GB microSD card, as I felt a 32 GB card might be overkill for my current needs. Upon turning it on, the device immediately displayed the date and time, which is useful for organizing recordings. However, I noticed that no card was inserted initially, so I quickly popped in the 4 GB card to begin recording.

The device provides clear feedback through its LED readout, showing active noise levels and peak indicators if you’re recording too closely to the microphone. This feature is crucial for maintaining high-quality audio without distortion.

### Conclusion

In conclusion, the Zoom H1 Handy Recorder has exceeded my expectations so far. Its compact design, versatile features, and high-quality audio capabilities make it a valuable addition to any content creator’s toolkit. Stay tuned for an upcoming video where I’ll put this recorder to the test with an audio comparison against the Blue Snowball USB microphone.

Thank you for watching! For more videos, check out my Paul's Hardware YouTube channel and don’t forget to subscribe for future updates. We’ll see you in the next video!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enexcellent hello everyone and welcome back to Paul's Hardware please pay no attention to the massive Hardware you see sitting just to my right it's just there as a test to see how easily distracted you are today's video is actually going to be an unboxing and overview of this Zoom H1 handy recorder now for starters I need to give proper credit for this uh recommendation here because it came from none other than elri Ferris you guys probably know him from his Tech of Tomorrow YouTube channel uh apart from all of his knowledge about computers and whatnot he also has done a fair amount of audio creation and recording in the past so he recommended this uh this recorder for me to use as a microphone it's one that he uses when he's doing his videos and uh it's got really good sound and it's pretty versatile so I'm already liking it just uh going over the features that I see on the box um and I should also mention since he has joined our new TV team he's there to supplement our team not not to replace anybody that seems to come up quite frequently um he's he's not replacing anyone he's also there with us and no one's quitting anyway uh so let's start off with a closer look at the box here we can see it's the H1 handy recorder brilliant stereo recording now in your pocket this is version 2.0 it's got a USB connection so you can actually use it directly as a USB microphone so in the same way that the uh Blue Snowball mic that I got can simply plug in via USB but this one has a lot of other features as well there's a picture of the recorder itself comes with free bundled software you get wavelab le7 by Steinberg so you get some uh linear audio editing software there for Windows 7 or Mac uh that's pretty nice little add-on there a model number and UPC on the bottom all right let's take a look at the side here the zoom H1 handy recorder XY mic design captures perfect stereo images with remarkable depth and Clarity you can see right here it's got sort of cross-firing microphones so you get a stereo audio signal records wave to 24-bit 96 khz for high resolution audio MP3 to 320 kilobits per second for maximum time uh uses up to 32 GB micro SDHC cards for maximum recording time so um that's a pretty cool feature here I can just drop in something like say this right here little 32 gig micro SDHC card and then I can record all of the audio that's ever existed moving right along uh it's a USB 2.0 connection so um no need for USB 3.0 with an audio device USB 2.0 should be plenty fast broadcast wave format compatible time stamp and track marker onboard reference speaker external mic and line inputs low cut filter uh and auto level setting features built-in mount for joining to a tripod 10 hours of continued battery life continuous battery life with one ablea battery so pretty impressive specs there what's on this side I think it's the same same thing on both sides yes yes it is okay inside the box we have an included 2 GB micro SD HC I'm sorry just micro SD card with an adapter so you can start recording right from the Geto pretty typical little 2 gig card right there with the standard size SD adapter as well you also get information on SD card usage precautions oh never had cautions about an SD card before uh here's the handy recorder system software version history so there's 1.0 there's also version 2.0 which has some updates uh information about installing your wavelab le7 software cool I guess it's just included on the device maybe oh yeah I think it's already it actually ships uh pre-installed all right and here's your actual uh quick start guide there so walk through of the functions sorry if this is a little blown out guys but hopefully you can read a little bit setting the date and time adjusting the input levels setting the recording format play adding track marks all that good stuff and warranty information of course from Zoom one year all right so one year warranty also for this device from Samsung I didn't realize this was made by Samsung does it say Samson anywhere in the Box designed by zoom in Japan maybe they're partner companies apart from all that you do get a battery which is just really seriously in there okay and that's it for the packaging so battery included get yourself up and running just takes a single double A and then the recorder itself which is W in plastic all right so there's the zoom H1 handy recorder so up here at the top you can see the two microphones again stereo so they're both firing in either direction uh we have some now we have a low cut filter Auto levels recording format between wave and MP3 so just a switch right on there you can switch it back and forth wave uh for better quality mp3 for more recording time here is the battery compartment right there in the back pretty straightforward here's your micro SDHC card slot right there so you can drop in uh what I will be using is I'm not sure if I'm going to actually use that 32 gig cuz that's pretty Overkill I think I have a 4 gig lying around somewhere all right so here's some of the cool features I really like about this uh headphone line out so if you are using this for uh uh to use non-synchronous sound so if I'm recording separately from what I'm recording on the camera for example I can plug in a headphone right there to actually monitor that volume knob also right there or rocker I should say uh available then over on this side we also have a line in Jack you'll notice they're goldplated so um I can take a higher quality micro microphone for example or handheld mic plug it in right there and then use this for handheld recording uh here's where you can adjust your input levels here's playback stuff for play and pause fast forward and Rewind also trash to throw away audio clips and then a pretty standard power button right there so slide that way to turn it on and you can put it on hold as well so you don't actually change any settings while you're recording then of course USB compatibility so uh USB plug right there a little uh mini USB Jack and you can use that to plug in directly to your computer to transfer files or as previously mentioned you can simply record directly to your computer using this as a USB microphone also here on the front you got a nice large centralized uh record button so easy to hit easy to find uh and then also of course you got your LED readout right there uh this will also indicate whether you're recording this will also indicate if you're peeking if you have your uh gain or your input gain G turned up too high it's also very small very light so really easy to carry around pretty versatile microphon so great recommendation by El let me pop in the battery ah and it says hello all right immediately pops up so you can see uh if you got your month day year so you can actually record uh the times that you're making your recordings very useful for sorting if you're doing all day or something like that uh and then it's also telling me there's no card right now so I need to pop in the card to actually do anything and uh there you can see it's actually got my levels popping up right there on the left side as well so you got active uh noise levels you can tell uh how how loud your recordings are and of course Peak which maybe I can get it to peek yep there we go so if you're recording Too Close you get a little Peak blink right there that indicates hey you're peeking and it's not going to sound good and that's going to wrap it up for this video guys once again this has been my unboxing an overview of the zoom H1 handy recorder stay tuned for a future video while where I'll be doing an audio test and comparison between the zoom H1 and the Blue Snowball USB microphone thanks again for watching this video if you'd like to find more they're available on my Paul's Hardware YouTube channel don't forget to subscribe we'll see you in the next videoexcellent hello everyone and welcome back to Paul's Hardware please pay no attention to the massive Hardware you see sitting just to my right it's just there as a test to see how easily distracted you are today's video is actually going to be an unboxing and overview of this Zoom H1 handy recorder now for starters I need to give proper credit for this uh recommendation here because it came from none other than elri Ferris you guys probably know him from his Tech of Tomorrow YouTube channel uh apart from all of his knowledge about computers and whatnot he also has done a fair amount of audio creation and recording in the past so he recommended this uh this recorder for me to use as a microphone it's one that he uses when he's doing his videos and uh it's got really good sound and it's pretty versatile so I'm already liking it just uh going over the features that I see on the box um and I should also mention since he has joined our new TV team he's there to supplement our team not not to replace anybody that seems to come up quite frequently um he's he's not replacing anyone he's also there with us and no one's quitting anyway uh so let's start off with a closer look at the box here we can see it's the H1 handy recorder brilliant stereo recording now in your pocket this is version 2.0 it's got a USB connection so you can actually use it directly as a USB microphone so in the same way that the uh Blue Snowball mic that I got can simply plug in via USB but this one has a lot of other features as well there's a picture of the recorder itself comes with free bundled software you get wavelab le7 by Steinberg so you get some uh linear audio editing software there for Windows 7 or Mac uh that's pretty nice little add-on there a model number and UPC on the bottom all right let's take a look at the side here the zoom H1 handy recorder XY mic design captures perfect stereo images with remarkable depth and Clarity you can see right here it's got sort of cross-firing microphones so you get a stereo audio signal records wave to 24-bit 96 khz for high resolution audio MP3 to 320 kilobits per second for maximum time uh uses up to 32 GB micro SDHC cards for maximum recording time so um that's a pretty cool feature here I can just drop in something like say this right here little 32 gig micro SDHC card and then I can record all of the audio that's ever existed moving right along uh it's a USB 2.0 connection so um no need for USB 3.0 with an audio device USB 2.0 should be plenty fast broadcast wave format compatible time stamp and track marker onboard reference speaker external mic and line inputs low cut filter uh and auto level setting features built-in mount for joining to a tripod 10 hours of continued battery life continuous battery life with one ablea battery so pretty impressive specs there what's on this side I think it's the same same thing on both sides yes yes it is okay inside the box we have an included 2 GB micro SD HC I'm sorry just micro SD card with an adapter so you can start recording right from the Geto pretty typical little 2 gig card right there with the standard size SD adapter as well you also get information on SD card usage precautions oh never had cautions about an SD card before uh here's the handy recorder system software version history so there's 1.0 there's also version 2.0 which has some updates uh information about installing your wavelab le7 software cool I guess it's just included on the device maybe oh yeah I think it's already it actually ships uh pre-installed all right and here's your actual uh quick start guide there so walk through of the functions sorry if this is a little blown out guys but hopefully you can read a little bit setting the date and time adjusting the input levels setting the recording format play adding track marks all that good stuff and warranty information of course from Zoom one year all right so one year warranty also for this device from Samsung I didn't realize this was made by Samsung does it say Samson anywhere in the Box designed by zoom in Japan maybe they're partner companies apart from all that you do get a battery which is just really seriously in there okay and that's it for the packaging so battery included get yourself up and running just takes a single double A and then the recorder itself which is W in plastic all right so there's the zoom H1 handy recorder so up here at the top you can see the two microphones again stereo so they're both firing in either direction uh we have some now we have a low cut filter Auto levels recording format between wave and MP3 so just a switch right on there you can switch it back and forth wave uh for better quality mp3 for more recording time here is the battery compartment right there in the back pretty straightforward here's your micro SDHC card slot right there so you can drop in uh what I will be using is I'm not sure if I'm going to actually use that 32 gig cuz that's pretty Overkill I think I have a 4 gig lying around somewhere all right so here's some of the cool features I really like about this uh headphone line out so if you are using this for uh uh to use non-synchronous sound so if I'm recording separately from what I'm recording on the camera for example I can plug in a headphone right there to actually monitor that volume knob also right there or rocker I should say uh available then over on this side we also have a line in Jack you'll notice they're goldplated so um I can take a higher quality micro microphone for example or handheld mic plug it in right there and then use this for handheld recording uh here's where you can adjust your input levels here's playback stuff for play and pause fast forward and Rewind also trash to throw away audio clips and then a pretty standard power button right there so slide that way to turn it on and you can put it on hold as well so you don't actually change any settings while you're recording then of course USB compatibility so uh USB plug right there a little uh mini USB Jack and you can use that to plug in directly to your computer to transfer files or as previously mentioned you can simply record directly to your computer using this as a USB microphone also here on the front you got a nice large centralized uh record button so easy to hit easy to find uh and then also of course you got your LED readout right there uh this will also indicate whether you're recording this will also indicate if you're peeking if you have your uh gain or your input gain G turned up too high it's also very small very light so really easy to carry around pretty versatile microphon so great recommendation by El let me pop in the battery ah and it says hello all right immediately pops up so you can see uh if you got your month day year so you can actually record uh the times that you're making your recordings very useful for sorting if you're doing all day or something like that uh and then it's also telling me there's no card right now so I need to pop in the card to actually do anything and uh there you can see it's actually got my levels popping up right there on the left side as well so you got active uh noise levels you can tell uh how how loud your recordings are and of course Peak which maybe I can get it to peek yep there we go so if you're recording Too Close you get a little Peak blink right there that indicates hey you're peeking and it's not going to sound good and that's going to wrap it up for this video guys once again this has been my unboxing an overview of the zoom H1 handy recorder stay tuned for a future video while where I'll be doing an audio test and comparison between the zoom H1 and the Blue Snowball USB microphone thanks again for watching this video if you'd like to find more they're available on my Paul's Hardware YouTube channel don't forget to subscribe we'll see you in the next video\n"