Guides. Create Bookmarking Files (Mac&PC), Cassette Tape, LP & CD(PC)

[moriond]

Hi Peggy,

Audible (.aa) files are a proprietary format, so there isn't any way for an individual user to convert mp3 files into .aa files. If you want to be compatible and share books, you can both use mp3 files. In your case, you can organize these into a smart playlist with criteria like Album is <name of your book> and Playcount is 0. Then when you access and play the book from this playlist on your iPod as soon as you finish listening to a track, its playcount gets incremented, and it drops off the playlist with the next track appearing at the head of the playlist. If you right-click on each track and check the "Remember Playback position" you can make your individual mp3 tracks bookmarkable as well, so that your place within the individual mp3 track is also remembered. Your audiobooks will not appear under the Audiobook category of your iPod, and you cannot play them at faster or slower rates, but you will be able to bookmark your location and also maintain a compatible file format with your husband's Garmin GPS.

Hope this helps.

[kirkmc]

Robert, you mention a limit of about 5 hours for files to not have problems. I'm curious as to where you get that info from. Is this from experience, or is there some technical reason why you think this is the case?

Kirk

[robert]

Two sources: Experience and Moriond's technical explanation -- don't know the link. You could search Moriond's posts.

[lemoni]

Hi:





• What do you call the categories that appear on my first iPod screen (with the title iPod)?

• Mine currently are Music, Photos, Videos, Playlists, Artists Compilations, Songs, Podcasts, Extras, Settings, and Now Playing. Sounds like a bunch of oranges and apples to me!.





lemoni

[kirkmc]

I'm finding problems with homemade bookmarkable files of even less than 5 hours. I don't recall seeing such problems before the video iPod. The latest file this is happening with is 4:30, so the 5-hour limit, however that is calculated, is not valid. Could it have something to do with file size? This particular file is 130 MB, at 64 kbps.

Kirk

[robert]

Originally Posted by kirkmc

I'm finding problems with homemade bookmarkable files of even less than 5 hours. I don't recall seeing such problems before the video iPod. The latest file this is happening with is 4:30, so the 5-hour limit, however that is calculated, is not valid. Could it have something to do with file size? This particular file is 130 MB, at 64 kbps.

Kirk

I, too, have recently had problems with aac homemade files created directly(not by converting mp3 to aac with iTunes) with SoundTaxi. After overnight, less than five hour SoundTaxi created aac files play for a couple of minutes and then skip out of the file to next file, increase play count by one. This problem was present for greater than 5 hour files in past, but newly happening to me with homemade five hour files. I had thought it was the SoundTaxi conversion, but if others are having problems with homemade AAC files created with iTunes, it must be more than a SoundTaxi created AAC problem. Skipping out problem began with occassional happening but last homemade file began happening everytime iPod left overnight -- I think after a soft reset at start up, but not sure. It is frustrating. Last night I updated iTunes, but haven't yet connected iPod to computer to see if there is an update available for it.

Sounds like David's findings on iPod bookmarking may be in play.

[kirkmc]

My files were made on Mac, with other software, so it's clearly not an issue of a single application. Nor, do I think it has anything to do with the way the file is made into an M4B file.

What are "David's findings on iPod bookmarking"?

Kirk

[robert]

Kirk, is your problem also skip out and/or loss of bookmark? If so, we should move this discussion to Davids Thread on Bookmarks (his findings) or one of the old loss of bookmark threads. This is new version of an old problem.

Since he is the author of MarkAble and has demonstrated considerable knowledge of interfacing with iTunes and iPod, I have a lot of confidence in David's assessment.

Sometime soon, I am going to convert three CD audio books bought from Amazon.com used market, so I will know in a couple of weeks if an iTunes conversion to AAC/m4b has the same problems of skip out and loss of bookmark.

[kirkmc]

Two things can happen:

Either the book stops and the iPod returns to the main menu, or the book stops and skips ahead to the next audiobook.

Ah, right, it's that thread... I don't agree with some of his comments (as I posted in the thread).

Kirk