Machine

I just purchased a "Micro D" (AKR-200) Micro-DVR and hooked up video and a normal microphone up to it. By normal, I mean one that is a full-sized mic that an announcer, DJ or singer might use. If I speak loudly, directly into the mic, I get some sound back on the recording but it is very low. Would you typically need a powered mic or something for an application like this? Here are the audio specs from the DVR: Compression Format 16bit PCM, 8KHz Input Channel 1 Ch. Mono Input impedance > 4.7Kohm, Unbalanced Maximum Input 6 mVp-p @600ohm