Transferring Audiobooks to Hi-MD

[Karl Myer]

One thing I had been mildly disappointed with the MZ-RH1 is: it does not support the e-audiobook format. Before I was aware of the RH-1, I used to think: "I might someday buy a portable listening device that supports e-audiobooks, but, I certainly would never buy one that doesn't support it." (E-audiobooks are audiobooks that are downloadable from public libraries.) I recently learned, however, Apple iPods don't support e-audiobooks either.

[Strungup]

That sounds like a good assesment, Sparda, as far as digital music. Before that though, there was the cassette Walkman. That was an enjoyable era as well, portable music-wise, thanks to Sony. What a great company!

I was hiking on the historic Morris Canal today (Dover to Denville, NJ, segment) and, although I didn't notice many people with iPods when I would get into the towns, I did notice I never felt out of place listening to a portable device. I even felt comfortable browsing for a Mother's Day card in a store while listening. Listening is the most normal thing in the world now. I used to feel like a member of a fringe group, like the school bus driver in The Simpsons, or a college student, neither of which type I am. Now, even very smartly dressed people have portable devices.

It's so nice. I listened to two audiobooks today. I have always carried two audiobooks in case I would finish one. Now, I have numerous books on one MD (at 48 kbps). I don't physically carry the audiobooks at all.

One thing I had been mildly disappointed with the MZ-RH1 is: it does not support the e-audiobook format. Before I was aware of the RH-1, I used to think: "I might someday buy a portable listening device that supports e-audiobooks, but, I certainly would never buy one that doesn't support it." (E-audiobooks are audiobooks that are downloadable from public libraries.) I recently learned, however, Apple iPods don't support e-audiobooks either.

What Format are the E-Books in? could they be converted to mp3 or atrac?

For the Mac there is a small free prog called Switch , and it does just that , whatever you throw at it it will cconvert it .

http://www.nch.com.au/switch/index.html

This gets used daily

[Karl Myer]

What Format are the E-Books in? could they be converted to mp3 or atrac?

Here are some of the rules from the library's page:

Burning an eAudiobook file to a CD for listening to on a CD player is not allowed. If you do burn an eAudiobook file, encryptions on the eAudiobook file will make the file unusable.

You can transfer and listen to eAudiobooks on a wide range of portable devices, including portable music players, portable media centers, Pocket PCs, and even select smartphone devices as long as the device supports playback of secure or protected wma files. Note: Most devices do not support the playback of files lower than 32 kpbs, so you must download the CD quality file if you are going to transfer and listen to the eAudiobook on a portable listening device.

[2-J]

Well you could always record an ebook using Audacity or similar then simply save in mp3 at your desired quality (well maybe you knew that already, if so I apologise) could be handy for getting them on your RH-1 though.

[Strungup]

Here are some of the rules from the library's page:

Burning an eAudiobook file to a CD for listening to on a CD player is not allowed. If you do burn an eAudiobook file, encryptions on the eAudiobook file will make the file unusable.

You can transfer and listen to eAudiobooks on a wide range of portable devices, including portable music players, portable media centers, Pocket PCs, and even select smartphone devices as long as the device supports playback of secure or protected wma files. Note: Most devices do not support the playback of files lower than 32 kpbs, so you must download the CD quality file if you are going to transfer and listen to the eAudiobook on a portable listening device.

If they are wma , use Switch (It is also available for windows ) It doesnt give a crap about the DRM it wont be there after the Conversion. it will convert from wma to mp3 or wave whatever you set it up for . bit rates and all.

That is my experience with Switch , I download Wma to my Mac , then Use switch so I can play it Because I dont have Windows Media on the Mac .

[Karl Myer]

Thanks for the suggestions, 2-J and Guitarfxr. I downloaded and installed Switch, then downloaded an e-audiobook. Right-clicking on the e-audiobook icon gives a menu which includes the choice: "Convert with Switch." I left click on that. Switch opens with the e-audiobook in its "List of Files to Convert." For "Output Format:", I choose .mp3. I press the button "Convert". I get boxes saying "Loading wma file" and "Saving audio file", then an "Error" box saying "Cannot open file. It is possible that the file is protected with Digital Rights Management (DRM) which limits where the audio file can be used."

So, I'm assuming it is an impossibility to get these protected .wma files onto the MZ-RH1. Thanks again for the help, though. It was good exercise and a learning experience.

Edited May 15, 2007 by Karl Myer

[THIS SUCKS]

just play it overnight and record it with your rh1. then upload it then you can do anything you want with it.

[Richard]

* Topic split from original location

[Karl Myer]

just play it overnight and record it with your rh1. then upload it then you can do anything you want with it.

Thanks for the suggestion, A WHOLE LOT (I'm not being sarcastic). Sometimes the most obvious methods are the ones we overlook. It wasn't long ago real-time was how everything was copied.

And thanks for splitting the topic, Rich. My question may attract more suggestions by being titled appropriately. If you can, would you consider changing the title to "Transferring e-audiobooks to Hi-Md" (instead of audiobooks)? I think people confuse the two. There is no problem copying audiobooks-on-CD to any device at any bitrate. The problem is downloadable audiobooks -- e-audiobooks.

You would have been justified splitting the topic earlier. I was expecting it a few days ago. Anyway, our moderators do a fantastic job, I feel, and 99 percent of us are very appreciative. I was sorry to hear you criticized so severely yesterday. It must be very frustrating trying to keep everyone happy.

Karl's edit: On second thought, Rich, the way you have it titled is better than my suggestion. Nobody would search for e-audiobooks -- they would search for audiobooks -- and your full title makes clear what the topic is about. Also, you did split the topic at the right point, I now notice. Thanks again.

Edited May 15, 2007 by Karl Myer

[Richard]

Karl, thanks for the comments, I've edited slightly the title to include "e-audiobooks" in the sub-title. This way if people search on both strings they will hopefully find your topic.

I was in 2 minds where to split it, as the point at which the subject changed was halfway through one post and we can't split a single post into 2. Consequently I had to lose some of your comment for the previous topic. Please feel free to post it again in the other topic.

I appreciate the fact you understand one of the reasons we rename topics sometimes is to optimize the searching for other users. There are probably hundreds if not thousands of title renames that most people never even notice

[Karl Myer]

There are probably hundreds if not thousands of title renames that most people never even notice

I'm glad you mentioned you changed my subtitle -- I did not notice, and don't think I ever would have. I'm sure I'll benefit somewhere down the line when someone searches. Possibly I will be able to help that person. I was impressed with your restraint yesterday, by the way. Hopefully you will receive some sort of apology.

[lenny7]

I use Total Recorder to convert wma files to mp3 files. Where it's really handy is when the audiobook is just one large WMA file. I break it up into 30 minute mp3 files, using the program's ability to split based on duration of low levels.

If you use winamp to play the wma file, you can use Total Recorder's ability to accelerate the conversion. I typically get 10X or better speed.