How to Backup your Recordings for SoniClear Users

Whether you're a county clerk, court reporter, government official, or board secretary, losing a recording is simply not an option. Equipment failures, stolen laptops, accidental deletions, and other unexpected events can compromise your recordings in an instant. That's why understanding and implementing a well-planned strategy is crucial for anyone using SoniClear. The key is not just to record, but to protect your recordings with a multi-layered backup approach.

What are the best practices for backing up digital recordings?

Why should I avoid using Flash drives for backups?

First and foremost: never rely on a Flash drive as a backup device. While these drives are convenient for transferring files, they're notoriously unreliable for long-term storage. They can easily fail, get lost, or become corrupted.

What are the recommended backup solutions for short and long-term storage?

Short to Medium-Term Backup: Invest in small, relatively inexpensive external SSD drives. These provide the most reliable short-term and medium-term archiving

Long-Term Storage: Consult with your IT department or a professional consultant to design a comprehensive backup plan that meets your specific needs. Consider routine automated file backups and explore offsite or cloud storage options.

Three Backup Strategies with SoniClear

SoniClear offers a few ways to safeguard your recordings, ranging from manual checks to real-time automation:

1. Manual Backup: After you create a recording, use the Backup Recording button to copy recordings to a backup disk, network folder, or CDROM.
2. Automatic Backup: For Government Recorder, Court Recorder, and Interview Recorder, enable Auto Backup to create a copy of the recording in real time. This works when you have access to a network folder or a backup disk connected. If there is a problem finding the network folder or backup disk during the backup process, an error will be displayed, but the recording will continue. In this case, you will have to revert to manual backup after the recording has been completed.
3. Hardware Redundancy: For absolutely critical recordings, use an additional hardware recorder as a complete backup. For example, a court reporter could record with SoniClear Court Recorder and in addition, place a handheld recorder on the conference table to ensure that no matter what, there is a second recording method in process.

Need expert advice on your recording backup strategy?

Our team is ready to provide suggestions on selecting any additional equipment needed for your specific recording scenario. Don't leave your important recordings to chance – protect them with a comprehensive backup strategy.

Contact SoniClear Sales to learn about our products or SoniClear Support to receive technical consultation.