New Custom Button Modes for the Philips SpeechMike

Posted on 8. November 2018 by speechblog 2 comments

The Philips SpeechMike was the first dictation microphone that introduced a keyboard mode to support environments where no additional software installation was possible. The new firmware versions support up to 6 different preconfigured button modes on the SpeechMike Premium series for Windows, Mac and web-based applications. The intuitive method to switch between the diverse button modes, set hot keys, and control the microphone with a single button click adds flexibility and allows you to tailor Philips SpeechMikes to diverse IT environments.

The three new button modes are:

Custom 1 mode: Windows speech recognition (for Windows operating systems only)
Custom 2 mode: Dragon Dictate speech recognition (for Mac operating systems only)
Custom 3 mode: Dragon speech recognition (for Windows operating systems only)

With the three new custom button modes, the SpeechMikes can be used in all potential environments without the need for integration or driver software installation. The new custom button modes enable users to control their dictation and speech recognition application with the SpeechMike by assigning hotkeys to the programmable SpeechMike buttons according to their individual needs. Users can define to send hotkeys when a button is pressed and when it is released. This enables to even program functions like push-to-talk to the SpeechMike buttons. In addition to the keyboard mode, the new custom button modes also enable to control the SpeechMike microphone + Record LED + the recording application with a single button click.

Easy Button Mode Switching

Here is an easy and intuitive three-step approach to switch between the new button modes:

Initialize the button switch operation by pressing EOL and INS/OVR simultaneously for 3 seconds (familiar method)

The LEDs that are close to the buttons will start flashing yellow

Select the appropriate button that represents the intended button mode

The LED of the selected button will briefly light up.

Button Assignments

SpeechMike button	Button mode
F1	SpeechMike event mode
F2	Keyboard mode
F3	Browser mode
F4	Custom 1 mode (Windows speech recognition)
EOL	Custom 2 mode (Dragon Dictate for Mac)
INS/OVR	Custom 3 mode (Dragon for Windows)

To check the selected button mode, briefly press EOL and INS/OVR.

The LED of the corresponding button mode will light up in yellow.

SpeechMike Premium Air 4000 Series with Firmware 4.50

Additional Enhancements

Based on customer feedback the SpeechMike Premium Air firmware version 4.50 includes the following:

We disable all automatic beeps, including the wake-up beep, if the ‘Enable acoustical warnings’ setting is disabled.

The wake-up beep was always heard at reconnect, e.g. when picking up the SpeechMike in idle mode. This beep will now be disabled when the user switches off all beeps with SpeechControl.

The connection LEDs no longer flash if the wireless connection is active, but the USB connection is interrupted.

In earlier firmware versions the Connection LEDs flashed, e.g. if the computer went into standby mode. We have removed the flashing indication and have also changed the LED color from red to yellow.

Removed low voltage vibration warning in SMPA.

In earlier firmware versions, the SpeechMike Premium Air sent a vibration warning if the battery voltage fell under a certain threshold level. We have removed the low voltage vibration alarm from firmware 4.50 onward. The battery/charging LED indication remains unchanged.

Improved charging behavior for empty rechargeable batteries.

With the new firmware the SpeechMike Premium Air wireless charging electronic can better cope with empty rechargeable batteries. To prevent the battery from damage the charging electronic will start with a ‘trickle charging’ mode for about 45 minutes, which is displayed by a flashing orange battery/charging LED on the device. If the battery has reached a certain voltage, the standard charging method is applied. To fully charge an empty battery via the docking station, we recommend running the charging process for approximately 6 hours in total.

Note: If the rechargeable battery is almost empty, the connection to SpeechControl is interrupted on the software side for security reasons.

SpeechMike 2 Operation Mode for SMP 3700/3800 Series

SpeechMike 2 operation mode in the SpeechMike Premium Touch SMP 3700/3800 series enables customers to use these devices in environments where no upgrade to the latest SpeechMike drivers and extensions has been done within the last 7 years. We have learned that this sometimes happens if system administrators do not want to change their running system to avoid any glitches in their working environment. The SpeechMike 2 operation mode simulates a connected SpeechMike 2 to the recording application. From the new V3.52 firmware onwards, the SpeechMike Premium Touch SMP3700/3800 series will also support the SpeechMike 2 operation mode. In the SpeechMike 2 operation mode, the SpeechMike Premium Touch only provides SpeechMike 2 functionality to the recording application.

Notes:

The SpeechMike 2 mode can only be enabled by pressing the F1+F3 simultaneously for 5 seconds, if the SpeechMike is in event mode.
In SpeechMike 2 operation mode users can neither do firmware upgrades nor switch to any other button modes.
New buttons like the ‘-i-‘ button are not supported in SpeechMike 2 operation mode, because they were not available in the SpeechMike 2.

How to switch to/from SpeechMike 2 Operation mode:

To toggle between the operation modes, users just need to press the F1+F3 key simultaneously for 5 seconds. When the switch is done a short beep can be heard and the corresponding SpeechMike operation mode is indicated by a function key LED:

When the SpeechMike switches to the SpeechMike 2 mode the F2 LED lights up
When the SpeechMike switches to the Standard mode the F3 LED lights up

We have also put together detailed Tech Tips on this topic, if you’d like to dive a little deeper:

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