Guide to convert to Stereo to avoid 4G & Mini Lockup on NEW or EXISTING Mono m4b file

[robert]

.m4b [mono] files cause 4G [and mini] iPod to lock up after I listen to them discusses the underlying problem of 4G and mini iPods locking up when using what turns out to be mono m4b files. This post is a step-by-step of how to convert new and existing m4b files from mono to stereo.

Please note that iTunes or audible.com downloaded files are mono and do not lock up an iPod It is only homemade m4a and m4b files that lock up the iPod.

It had appeared that homemade mono files created with iTunes 4.7.1.30 fixed the lockup bug for 4G+ and mini iPods, but posters are reporting continued problems. More testing warranted.


Newly added m4b mono files or existing m4b mono files can be converted to stereo with an iTunes AAC conversion as described below. "New" assumes you are downloading an AAC m4b mono file. Otherwise, you will want to convert audio cd's and mp3 files in AAC m4b originally in stereo by setting the edit import preferences to custom stereo and follow the sticky guides, into which the stereo steps have been added, at: (Although, this lockup is a bug that Apple may someday fix, you may want to do all your m4b conversions in stereo in anticipation of the day when you own a 4G or Mini.)

Complete Beginner?s Guide for Copying Audio CD?s into a Bookmarking iTunes/iPod file

Beginner???s Guide to Copy Audio CD & MP3 files into ONE Bookmarking [Stereo m4b] iTunes/iPod file

For Both Conversions of mono m4b files to stereo m4b files:

In iTunes go to Edit>preferences>importing tab>
a. change to importing using AAC Encoder
b. Change setting to custom and choose channel = Stereo and select your kbps rate

To add and convert a new mono m4b file to stereo in iTunes, like say from:

http://www.freeclassicaudiobooks.com/

1. At the link to the books (files) you want
Click on the AAC for iTunes and iPod icon
2. On the page that opens, Right Click on the book file and select "save file as" and browse to/chose your iTunes songs folder (creating a new file in the author's name if you wish to)
2. Click Save
3. In iTunes, select file/add file to library/locate saved file and double click on it
4. In iTunes Library, so you can find the file, click on date added column heading AND slide right hand button to top to see the added file at top of the list . (A right click/get info/summary tab will show a mono file) If Book Name does not appear after clicking dated added col head several times and sliding button, exit and reopen iTunes.
5-16. Continue with steps 5 - 16, which are identical for new and existing mono m4b files.

To convert an existing iTunes mono m4b file to stereo

Set iTunes preferences to custom/stereo, clear the mono file from your iPod, and

5. In iTunes, right Click on the mono m4b file and select AAC conversion from the drop down. File will proceed to slowly convert.
6. Upon completion of conversion, click on date added column heading until > points down AND slide button on right up to get all the files to show. If Book Name does not appear after clicking dated added col head several times and sliding button, exit and reopen iTunes.
7. Right click on the most recent (top) file name in iTunes Library. (See Date added for time). Choose Show File in dropdown.
9. In the window that opens, highlight the old Book Name.m4b mono file. Click on Delete File from list to left and say yes to "Str you sure you want to send Book Name.m4b to the recycle bin." Leave window open.
10. In the same window, highlight the new stereo Book Name.m4a file , highlight Rename this File to left, change the file extension to m4b, saying yes to "Are you sure you want to change file name...?"
11. Double click on the new Book Name at top of Library list, click Yes to "The Book Name song ... could not be found, would you like to locate it?"
12. Highlight the new BookName stereo m4b file in the window that opens and double click it or click Open. This will link both the old and new Book Name Library entries to the new m4b stereo file.
13. Verify that the Book Name Library entry you wish to retain is stereo by right clicking on Book Name in iTunes Library, choosing Get Info, choose Summary Tab. Stereo and kbps will show in the resulting window. Leaving that window open,
14. Click on the Info Tab of Get Info, and validate and enter any missing information -- most likely genre.
15. Right Click on the duplicate Book Name iTunes Library entry, choose clear and say NO to "...remove this file to recycle bin...". Changing "Info" one of the files in step 13 may disassociate the duplicate Book Name in Library from the new stereo m4b file.
16. Synch or drag and drop the Book Name iTunes Library entry to iPod icon in iTunes.


File location and management can be tricky. After several conversions, I found the above the easiest way to locate and manage the files. Should you have difficulty in finding a file, go to Start Button > Search > For Files or Folders > Key in m4a or m4b in the box for "All or part of the file name" and (optional), the Book Name in "A Word or Phrase in the File." Select the drive (and only the drive) on which your iTunes files reside, and then click "Search." The file you are looking for will display and you can note its location and then use that location in the rename and add the new m4a or m4b stereo file to iTunes Library or to delete a mono m4b file.



According to justgotmyipod, Reclined Lounger in another thread:Converting iTrip frequency and Led on off files to AAC and renaming resulting m4a files to m4b causes 4G to skip them in shuffle.

Basically, just follow steps 5+ in the guide above.

Wow! I haven't checked it out, but makes sense.

I also created a separate playlist for each of my frequently used itrip frequencies and include the on file in it also. Makes recovering and changing frequencies much easier and quicker.

[Podunk]

If you ask me, this forum has to many stickies already. Its getting impossible to read the new posts. If something is relevant enough to be at the top, natural selection will put it there.

Shouldn't stickies be for only the two or three important posts that everyone must read, and are broad enough to be of interest to most everyone?

[mkral]

Is there any way to tell if your current files are mono or stereo?

[robert]

I was stumbling around with this and Dordale said:

right click on file, select get info, choose summary tab, and it will show mono or stereo on lower right portion of screen.

[aszanik]

Thanks for the help. Unfortunately, when I try to convert my mono file to AAC - I get a response stating that protected files cannot be converted...Do you think that's the end of the road for me...I downloaded from iTunes and Audible won't give me customer support...Thanks, Angela

[robert]

Is your iPod locking up with the file? There has been no report of lockups on non-homemade files like the iTunes store audiobook downloads. What is the reason you want to convert?

[Podunk]

Yeah, why would you even want to convert it? Since the whole point of all this converting discussion is to get in INTO the format that iTunes Music store uses, not OUT OF.??????????

Your iPod should have no trouble playing files you purchased from the iTMS.

[aszanik]

The audiobook that I downloaded was in mono format and since it's format was the only possible problem I could blame my Mini's inability to play the book - I thought that possibly converting the book might help...I'm not a technologically adept as you guys so maybe I'm not doing the right thing...I downloaded the book from iTunes as I've said but can't get a good download of it onto my iMini...

[Podunk]

Don't worry, you're not the first one to confuse the file conversion issue with regular Audible or iTunes files. Unless you already know this, there's no way most people would intuit it.

So anway, thanks for clearing that up. The more we know, the better we can try to help.

In your case, the Mono thing should not be the issue since its an iTunes file. I would suggest setting your iPod in manual mode and find the file that is on there and manually delete it off the iPod.

Then retransfer it again from iTunes. If somehow you get a bad file on your iPod, and you try to sync again, iTunes thinks the file is already on there so it doesn't over-write it. So you have to manually delete it.

Try that first and let us know if that solves the problem.

[robert]

To prevent anyone else from coming to the same, but understandable, wrong conclusion, I have edited the post: Guide to Convert NEW or EXISTING mono m4b files to Stereo to avoid 4G & Mini Lockup AND keep iTrip frequencies out of 4G and mini Shuffle to note that audible and iTunes downloads are mono and cause no problem on the iPod. Quite frankly it was only this week that I realized that they were mono or I might have caught this sooner. Thanks for the alert.

You may have saved a lot of people some trouble. Not to worry about being a newbie. We love helping people attain the full potential of their iPods.

[Podunk]

Hmmm, all of the Audibooks from iTunes are .m4b Mono but the iPod doesn't lock up on them. Have you guys making your own .m4b files experimented with any different AAC encoders?

If the iPod can handle AAC mono with no trouble, the problem might be with your file encoding. Eh?