Audiobooks - Help

[LupinIV]

Sorry if this seems a double posting, but I really need help. Here is the deal:

I have managed to convert Audible.com .aa audiobooks to WAV. When you donwload the audiobook, it is saved in blocks of 8 hours each (29 hours total for this particular book)

if I burn the CDs it will take 30 CD, so, if I could just go WAV to Hi-LP it would be awesome!!!

Unfortunately, #$%^& Sonicstage 3.1 imports roughly only 206 MINUTES of the original 8 hours (480 min) block. Where is the rest?

Of course I could split the WAV, but does anybody know WHY 206 min only? Is there a fineprint int the manual that I am missing?

Please help!!!

Cheers

[bug80]

It probably has to do with the fact that standard PCM wave files have an official limit size of 2 Gb.

206 minutes * 10.09 Mb/min / 1024 = 2.03 Gb.

By adding some extra info in the header, larger wave files can be made, but SonicStage does probably not read this extra fields.

[silence]

Sorry if this seems a double posting, but I really need help. Here is the deal:

I have managed to convert Audible.com .aa audiobooks to WAV. When you donwload the audiobook, it is saved in blocks of 8 hours each (29 hours total for this particular book)

if I burn the CDs it will take 30 CD, so, if I could just go WAV to Hi-LP it would be awesome!!!

Unfortunately, #$%^& Sonicstage 3.1 imports roughly only 206 MINUTES of the original 8 hours (480 min) block. Where is the rest?

Of course I could split the WAV, but does anybody know WHY 206 min only? Is there a fineprint int the manual that I am missing?

Please help!!!

Cheers

←

Unless your audiobooks are musical there is no point to have them in WAV -  My advice is find a friend with a Mac and convert them to mp3 or easier yet, load them on iTunes and save them as 40 bitrate mp3 you should be able to fit your entire book in one CD after that.  Most audiobooks are mono.  so make sure you do not waste any space making a stereo track.  The 206 minute limit could be the 2gig limit that most PC audio programs have.  Try a Mac if you want to edit the WAV or mp3's

Good Luck -

Just curious -What are the audiobooks about?

[bug80]

Unless your audiobooks are musical there is no point to have them in WAV -  My advice is find a friend with a Mac and convert them to mp3 or easier yet, load them on iTunes and save them as 40 bitrate mp3 you should be able to fit your entire book in one CD after that.  Most audiobooks are mono.  so make sure you do not waste any space making a stereo track.  The 206 minute limit could be the 2gig limit that most PC audio programs have.  Try a Mac if you want to edit the WAV or mp3's

←

He wants to convert the WAV files to Hi-LP (which unfortunately is only possible through SonicStage), so converting to MP3 first will not be a good idea.

[bug80]

It's a shame SonicStage does not read this extra header fields by the way. 10 minutes extra work for the programmer and you will make a lot of recordists happy

[LupinIV]

It probably has to do with the fact that standard PCM wave files have an official limit size of 2 Gb.

206 minutes * 10.09 Mb/min / 1024 = 2.03 Gb.

By adding some extra info in the header, larger wave files can be made, but SonicStage does probably not read this extra fields.

←

Bug80, Thanks for the hint!!!

There is though something weird. These are the info of my WAV:

Length: 498 min & 15 sec

Size: 1,287,489 kb

Format: PCM

Freq: 22Khz

Bits: 16

Bit Rate: 352 kbps

As you can see the size is below 2Gb, that is why I don't get it!!!!

SonicStage plays the file but the convertion fails to reach the right size.

Thanks again for your help

Cheers

[whatsinaname]

I subscribe to audible.com. Can you tell me how to convert it to some format so that I can down load it to my sony MZ-rh10.

Since I am a novice. Can you give me detailed site etc.

Thanks.

[LupinIV]

I subscribe to audible.com. Can you tell me how to convert it to some format so that I can down load it to my sony MZ-rh10.

Since I am a novice. Can you give me detailed site etc.

Thanks.

←

I have followed the instructions of many sites. Just type .aa to .mp3 in google. Basically use Goldwave to import and save the .aa Audible.com files into WAV, MP3 or anything you want.

You might end up with the same problems I have with large WAV, though.

I tried generating the same 8hours book parts into mp3s, but SonicStage says that it doesn't recognize them... go figure.... I swear they are regular mp3s, nothing funky, except that they are 8 hours long!!!!

I guess SONY does not take into account sound files of long duration. I will try playing with it, but I am pretty stuck. I wish somebody could test it too, just in case I am losing it

Cheers

Edited June 28, 2005 by LupinIV

[gmdisc]

I have followed the instructions of many sites. Just type .aa to .mp3 in google. Basically use Goldwave to import and save the .aa Audible.com files into WAV, MP3 or anything you want.

You might end up with the same problems I have with large WAV, though.

I tried generating the same 8hours book parts into mp3s, but SonicStage says that it doesn't recognize them... go figure.... I swear they are regular mp3s, nothing funky, except that they are 8 hours long!!!!

I guess SONY does not take into account sound files of long duration. I will try playing with it, but I am pretty stuck. I wish somebody could test it too, just in case I am losing it

Cheers

←

A great program called "cool mp3 splitter". This is exactly what I use it for. Convert the waves to mp3 (or use dbpower converter to convert the .aa file directly to mp3) and then cool mp3 splitter to split the large mp3 into any determined length you want. I personally tell it to split to 600 second files (10 minutes) and it then creates all the successive 10 minute files and names them 001, 002, 003, etc. Works Great!!

[Christopher]

(with Audacity for example, which is free)

←

..and also available in our downloads section, here:

http://forums.minidisc.org/downloads/details.php?file=11

[silence]

It probably has to do with the fact that standard PCM wave files have an official limit size of 2 Gb.

The 2gb is a PC/software limitation. Protools and other Mac applications handle larger PCM files with ease and are limited only by the size of the hardisk

[LupinIV]

Kurisu,

Audacity doesn't seem to work with .aa

After importing it just plays funky stuff (kinda squeeks and wistles!!!)

Goldwave works just perfect, and I believe it is free if you do not use it commercially.

I guess, as Breepee2 said, I will do the job manually and keep on wondering why I still trust Sony.... Sony, please, make this Sonicstage USER FRIENDLY, 'cause right now, you need at least 3 other pieces of software and a degree in computer science to put some stuff on them HiMDs!!!!

Thanks guys!!!

PS: Kirusu, I love your new Avatar!!!

Edited June 28, 2005 by LupinIV

[LupinIV]

The WAV under discussion are smaller tham 1GB. See above info.

[dex Otaku]

The WAV under discussion are smaller tham 1GB. See above info.

←

This may be true, but SS might be upsampling them to 44.1kHz/stereo, the standard format for all audio on MD and HiMD. This would bloat the file beyond 2GB if it's the case.

[LupinIV]

This may be true, but SS might be upsampling them to 44.1kHz/stereo, the standard format for all audio on MD and HiMD.  This would bloat the file beyond 2GB if it's the case.

←

Wouldn't that contraddict the fact that PCM (WAV) should not be resampled?

If this really happens then the bit-by-bit concept crashes.

I do believe, though, that you're probably right.

The consequences are upsetting

This means that ANY file that can be imported into SS (mp3 or wav) must be kept to a length lower than whatever the 2Gb translation would be. So far the magic number would be roughly 200 minutes.

Alright then, lets make it official: SS does not handle sound files of any sort if the equivalent PCM is +2Gb (or original +200 min).

I'd love a quick response from Sony tech support to officalize this...

Cheers

Edited June 28, 2005 by LupinIV

[dex Otaku]

Wouldn't that contraddict the fact that PCM (WAV) should not be resampled?

If this really happens then the bit-by-bit concept crashes.

←

The bit-for-bit concept applies to 44.1kHz stereo audio, since it's the only format that both MD and HiMD actually use. Any other sampling rate [22.05kHz here] or channel number [mono, correct?] gets converted to 44.1kHz stereo, regardless of what format [PCM, LP2, LP4, HiSP, HiLP 64 or 48] you're storing on the disc.

Note that SS should not be modifying the original file in any way. Only the copy that is converted and/or downloaded should be resampled et al.

The same applies to recordings made using the optical input; the unit automatically resamples audio [though only within the range of 32-48kHz IIRC] to 44.1kHz/stereo [including resampling/reclocking audio that is already 44.1kHz] for recording.

The only possible exception to this would be recordings made on older MDs via optical to MONO modes, which obviously won't be converting to stereo.

[ozpeter]

"The maximum possible size of a WAV file is 4GB. (The limit is due to the fact that the header of a WAV file contains a field giving the length of the file in bytes. This field is an unsigned 32-bit integer)."

"Some audio programs get this wrong, and interpret the file length as a signed number, thus imposing a 2GB limit."

[Easier to quote these bits from the net than to give urls]

Edited June 29, 2005 by ozpeter

[bug80]

"The maximum possible size of a WAV file is 4GB. (The limit is due to the fact that the header of a WAV file contains a field giving the length of the file in bytes. This field is an unsigned 32-bit integer)."

"Some audio programs get this wrong, and interpret the file length as a signed number, thus imposing a 2GB limit."

[Easier to quote these bits from the net than to give urls]

←

Yes, true. I believe a lot of programs get this wrong, probably because a lot of programmers are too lazy to put "unsigned" in front of their declarations (I "forget" it quite often too).

[LupinIV]

being an audiobook (spoken language) the degradation in sound quality would hardly be detectable.  I was simply trying to contribute a solution for the question,. a solution which has worked very well for me.  Converting the .aa file directly to mp3 file instead of wav and then splitting it up with cool mp3 splitter is a good solution.  BTW, you kind of need to lose the attitude.

←

GMDISC,

Thanks for your help.

I think that hitting the wall with SS is useless since Sony-san won't help anyway. So I have looked into "splitters" and I have found many that work with WAV too.

Just extra work for something that should be so smooth.....

Cheers and thanks again