Audiobooks discussion
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What kind of audiobook format do you prefer?
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I'm afraid I do prefer downloads, because having CDs means spending time using a programme like Chapter & Verse to reorganise and upload to iTunes so I can have the convenience of listening on my iPod, any time any place, without having thousands of files to sift through. I want to spend more time listening/less time uploading/organising.
Hmm, that's a good point, and I have three or four on my ipod, but I usually listen to audiobooks in a CD player
I prefer to own CDs, but downloads are cheaper and easier to put on the iPod.
I initially bought all my audiobooks as CD's and accumulated quite a library of them. I actually enjoyed the tactile aspect of them--changing CD's was an equivalent of turning pages I guess. But it only took a short while to transfer all my emotional attachment to Audible. First, the books are significantly less expensive--$9.56 for each book if you have a Platinum membership. finding a place to store all those CD's is no longer a problem. And I've found I truly don't miss changing CD's! I don't necessarily want to see the CD disappear. I have many fond memories of the Harry Potter CD's, not to mention Lord of the Rings and others. But I still couldn't help buying the LotR books from Audible when they finally became available, and will buy the digital version of the HP series if Audible ever gets them.
Actually I don't care . . . whatever format a book comes in . . . I'm ready . . . CD's, audio downloads, eBooks, print books . . . whatever.
I prefer downloads in Mp3 or Mp4 format. I don't like WMA downloads because I can't listen to them on my Android phone. I did own several audiobooks on CD, but they took up way too much space and ended up costing me more money than a subscription to Audible.
Jeanie wrote: "I initially bought all my audiobooks as CD's and accumulated quite a library of them. I actually enjoyed the tactile aspect of them--changing CD's was an equivalent of turning pages I guess. But ..."Yeah, I feell the same way, and I think there's something emotional with CD'S
It used to be cd's but now I like the downloads because I listen on my ipod now and transferring cd's into itunes is pain in the you know what!
I prefer downloads as long as they're accessible to me on my Mac. Too many are WMA, especially from the library.
I've never actually owned a CD player at all -- straight from cassettes to (then-new) Audible I'm afraid.I thought Itunes handles WMA books for Mac folks?
Downloads all the way for me. I can listen to the iPod through the sound system in the car and I have a device in the kitchen at home that I use to listen to the iPod while cooking. We still own a cd player (and a record player for that matter!), but my husband has digitised our cd collection, so we don't even listen to music on cds anymore
No, WMA is for Windows only. They try to say they are Apple compatible, but this isn't the case. They are i-device compatible (one type of Apple product), but NOT Mac compatible (a different type of Apple product).There may be some way to transfer files to another device like an iPod via a Mac, but I don't listen that way, so I don't really know. But WMA files are not usable in any way on a Mac.
I have a Walkman solely to listen to audiobooks that only exist in cassette format, but haven't touched it in a long time.
I almost exclusively listen to audible audiobooks on my Android phone. If my library has a CD of a book I want to read, I'll listen to it in the car and occassionally on my computer. But I prefer to have them on my phone because it goes with me everywhere, so I can listen to them wherever I am.
lostime4me wrote: "I have a Sony Sans Disk Sansa M250 2G that runs on 1 (rechargeable) AAA battery. It's old but wouldn't trade it for anything else. I've always had trouble with WMA's. I hate those, they seem to me..."I have a Creative Zen Nano Plus that's a technological dinosaur, running on a AAA battery also; only thing that's a pain is that it has no bookmarking, so if I start a non-Audible book on it, I pretty much have to stay with it. I've never had those problems with WMA files at all on any player - worst problem I've had is the occasional hiss/stutter, almost always signalling the end of a section of the book.
I had thought I wouldn't like to have to re-charge an internal battery either, but it isn't as bad as I thought with the Sansa Clip. Still, my dinosaur is just fine for listening to one book at a time; if I want to alternate something else, I'll use the Clip for that.
I own cassette tapes (if they come up on paperbackswap for a book I want, I'll take 'em!), but my car hates me and will spit out tapes at random intervals. I've never tried books-on-CD (too expensive), but the car CD player likes to randomly skip tracks, so that would be out. I finally bypassed the car system entirely, and I listen to all my books, either Audible downloads or podcasts, on my iPod. I love it - except that I tend to also lose my place easily on that too. (Pausing tends to drift forward a little, so I've gotten into the habit of "rewinding" a few seconds when I stop. Synching with iTunes often completely obliterates where I left off, and I have to hunt.) Still, the iPod isn't trying to kill me, so it's a plus.
Knitpurlgurl wrote: "I prefer downloads in Mp3 or Mp4 format. I don't like WMA downloads because I can't listen to them on my Android phone. I did own several audiobooks on CD, but they took up way too much space and ..."So you can't listen to WMA files on an Android phone? I didn't know that. I've been thinking of getting a smartphone (I have too many devices and need to downsize a bit) but I get most of my books from the library and lots of them are WMA.
lostime4me wrote: "I have a Sony Sans Disk Sansa M250 2G that runs on 1 (rechargeable) AAA battery. It's old but wouldn't trade it for anything else. I've always had trouble with WMA's. I hate those, they seem to me..."I love my m250 Sansa and previously m230 although I have recently retired it in favor of a Sansa Clip. I prefer the m250 because it counts both the time remaining and the time left. I desperately miss the countdown on the Clip but I do enjoy the ability to listen to books on the fast speed on the clip. For that reason, I moved the Clip up to the starter role and benched the m250 but would be happy to bring it back should the Clip become unable to perform its duties.
Grumpus wrote: "lostime4me wrote: "I have a Sony Sans Disk Sansa M250 2G that runs on 1 (rechargeable) AAA battery. It's old but wouldn't trade it for anything else. I've always had trouble with WMA's. I hate tho..."My Cowon D2 shows time elapsed along with total (file) time, which is really nice. I take it with me when I travel (it also plays videos), but it isn't really practical for day-to-day shirt-pocket use. For Audible books on other players, I have to remember (occasionally having to check mid-book) "Okay, this (part) is about 6.5 hours" - the Clip's progress bar is an approximation, but seems to run a bit slow/behind.
I can see there are lots of more convenient ways to listen than what I do, but I tried to improve my system and got stuck and gave up.I mostly use my postage stamp size Shuffle. I have to manually upload from CDs, can't see where I am once I start listening, and have heck to pay if I accidentally push the forward button to the next track or heaven forbid accidentally hit the shuffle button, but I love that I can clip that tiny thing on my workout clothes, coat, whatever, and be set. I listen throughout the day, and it is so much easier to move my Shuffle from one environment to another than to move my iTouch from my pants pocket to my coat pocket to my workout clothes pocket, etc. (I hate to stop listening while I'm changing clothes, which maybe you didn't need to know, but there you have it.)
After reading about the virtues of the Sansa Clip+ I got one from QVC, then discovered it was PC compatible only. I've got a Mac.
I do have an audible account and download books into iTunes, but I'm so used to the tiny Shuffle that when I have to listen using my iTouch I find it cumbersome. The upside is I don't have to load tracks, which with a CD set of over 10 discs can be a major undertaking (and don't get me started on CDs where Track Titles aren't available), but I find it easier to accidentally skip ahead on an iTouch, and going back to find my place is annoying.
So, until something else comes along, I will be uploading discs into iTunes for my Shuffle, and occasionally listening to audible downloads on my iTunes.
Re: Sansa Clip and Mac computer compatibility ...You might find this thread useful: http://forums.sandisk.com/t5/Sansa-Cl...
I have an audible account in both UK and USA. I also belong to 3 libraries here in Australia where I can download wma (which I convert using Sound Taxi) or as MP3. I also get CDs from my local library which I copy and convert.I use a Phillips MP3 player- it is the 4th mp3 player I have had over 5 years as I seem to wear them out. This one is fantastic it has a long battery life about 24 hrs (rechargeable)and you can listen to it in the car with the charger plugged in. I got it covered!
John wrote: "Re: Sansa Clip and Mac computer compatibility ...You might find this thread useful: http://forums.sandisk.com/t5/Sansa-Cl......"
Thanks John. I will play around with these tips when I have a minute. If they work I will be one happy camper!!!
This might come under the heading of "too much information" but since you asked... BEFORE 2012: I physically went to the library and borrowed sets of CDs. With the kitchen being the principal site of daily drudge work for me, I happily played them on the CD player/radio I keep there. I also played the CDs on walks on a Sony Discman which I carried slung over my shoulder in a handy neoprene case which has extra pockets for spare disks and fresh batteries. (I originally found this useful item on a council clean up.) I could also play those CDs loud and clear through the car stereo.
SINCE 2012: I got Audible. Then almost immediately I bought myself an Android phone,and installed the Audible ap, the Overdrive ap and recently the Librivox ap. In the kitchen, I connect the phone to the same CD player through the audio out port. While walking I carry the phone by its strap and listen through earphones. Currently in the car I listen through the phone's own loud enough but tinny speaker and wish I had a more up-to-date car stereo.
As I read through others' posts in this thread, I've been inspired to experiment with downloadable WMA titles from the library (of which there are far more than MP3 titles) and try burning them onto CDs. I have to admit I'm still evolving in this big brave new digital world.
I get CDs from the library to listen to in my car on the way to work.I tried to download a book from the library once to an iPod. Granted it was a shuffle - but I wasn't successful. I don't have the patience (or an iPod or phone) for that, I think.
Susan -- burning protected WMA format files to CD's sounds like a pain as you'd have to re-record them in real time; you can't just "convert" them. I'd recommend getting a player that plays that format, like a Sansa Clip Zip, instead.Nancy -- with no display to tell me where I am in the book, listening on a Shuffle would drive me bonkers!
John - It would have for me as well. I was desperate - it was book #7 in a series and my library didn't have the CD version. Thank heavens I discovered the inter-library loan and borrowed it from a library in KY and got it!
My Creative Zen Nano Plus (runs on a AAA battery with a whopping 1GB storage) is almost as basic as a Shuffle, though it does have a display screen showing the book name and time elapsed; clunky to switch between files with it, and even so, only Audible books have bookmarking. Generally, I use it as my bedside player for late night listening of the same (continuous) book.
I try to keep life simple. Downloads to iTunes.
Some of us have neither Macs nor iPods.
Downloads for me. I download to iTunes and sync them to my iPod but I also download with the Audible app straight to my Android phone. The second has become my preferred method lately. I really like the new feature which syncs my place in my current book and if I want to pick it up and listen on my Nexus 7 tablet I can do that much easier now.I do sometimes use Overdrive app, but since the MP3 versions are sparse compared with the WMA versions, I don't use it much. I do however checkout ebooks with it. :)
John (and anyone else) -- on the strength of this thought-provoking thread, I did experiment. I downloaded a WMA file library book, London Fields by Martin Amis, and using Overdrive burned the first chapter onto a blank disk – It took a few minutes, slower than syncing, but much faster than “real time”. Seemed to play okay in the CD player, but discovered 4th track was gobbledygook, then the 5th and last track sounded normal again.Also I had recently given my Sansa player, an older model called “lil’Monsta”, to my daughter to use. After some urgent pleading, I was allowed briefly to borrow it back, and now confirm that I could indeed copy the WMA files perfectly to this player. But, as I found when I originally used the thing years ago, it reads audio book chapters as (long) songs, and you can’t easily keep your place or navigate back if you missed something.
BTW Sansa players are no longer available in the shops in Australia. I think it’d be worth ordering a new one from a website. Are the newer models set up for audio books?
My daughter said “Why don’t you just download a free WMA to MP3 converter?” She eventually tried to show me herself how to convert the file, but failed because of the DRM protection. Looks like comfort in message #27 has the right idea. I think, like her, I need to get Sound Taxi. It costs $20 but gets around DRM.
I get the feeling I probably sound like I’m re-inventing the wheel to other members of this group. Apologies for that.
The Sansa Clip and Fuze models work with well with WMA files - you need to change the underlying "genre" to "Audiobook" (or use the Overdrive manager's Advanced Settings function to send the book to a folder you've created called Audiobooks on your device); had you done that I think your Monsta experiment would've been a success.
John -- This is what I like about this GR group. Feedback about books and readers is fascinating, not to mention useful for future reference, but the technical advice is INVALUABLE. Thank you!Long story short: I ordered a Sansa Clip+ off the website MP3Players'RUs.com (or something similar).
Susan -My listening is rather non-mainstream, lots of nonfiction and more ... obscure books, so the tech stuff makes me feel more "part of the action" (as it were). The Clip's bookmarking function is really impressively easy once books are either tagged as audiobooks, or sent to the audiobooks folder (instead of Music) - if you leave the book to go listen to another book, podcast, music, etc and want to retrurn, you should see a prompt asking if you'd like to return where you left off (exited) or would rather start over from the beginning. The latter can be useful if I start a book, but decide fairly early on that I'm just not really in the mood for it, and would rather give it another try later.
For listening around the house, I prefer downloads (either the library or borrowing from my husband's Audible account). I put them on my phone and plug it into speakers. For the car, I like CDs from the library so I don't have to remember to plug in and unplug my phone.
I was just wondering, what kind of audiobook format do you prefer?
Personally, I don't like audible, I love to have boxed audiobooks.
They seem more like books lol.