Hi Rishi 7624, You be grateful if you could point us to the URL where this software is located. I've tried a google search and there were several similiar software. I would be interested to try this software especially if it has a splitting function. Thank You for your time. Paul
Dear Chong This was the software for Windows - http://www.highcriteria.com/ I could not get it to work because my comp has crashed yesterday. Best wishes Rishi
Hi, I've read through this thread and I think some important information is missing. The begining of this thread has just about all the information you need. With out a doubt Goldwave is the best and easiest program to use. I do beleive that audible manager is needed (needs to be activated as well). All that you have to do is open the file in Goldwave (when opening make sure the file type says "all*.*")it will take a few minutes to open, and yes it does make a really large temp file. Then just simple "save as" - This is important, I have found the best attributes for quality sound and relatively small file (about 1.5 times the .aa file) is "Layer-3, 22050 Hz, 64 kbps, mono" in the "save as type" box. I had to do a lot of reading and researching of these terms to understand what I was messing with and this is the best rate I found. If you go any lower you start to get a tin sound. Secondly, YOU CAN SPLIT A FILE INTO SEGMENTS WITHIN GOLDWAVE, there is an explanation of how, that I gave on 11 May 2005 (pg 6). I think it works best in Goldwave because it seeks out silence and places the split there rather than exactly at 3 minutes (or whatever length you choose). You can name and number the files what ever you want and if you have a smaller mp3 player like I do you can download sections of the book to fit in your mp3 player. If there is anything I can help clarify for you please ask. I was confused when I first started but, now I am pretty familiar with the process. I only use one program (goldwave)and it saves me time. Happy converting audible members, Mandi
Hi Mandi, I was pretty much using goldwave for converting the .aa files. work great too. the problem came about when I used the autocue function to spilt the file up. When I wanted to spilt the next file, I found I couldn't erase the previous cue. I could only add more cues and couldn't find any way to erase the whole listing. Can you help? How to you clear the numbers?? Thanks Paul
Ok, I think I need more information on what you are talking about because I have not had that problem. Are you using the most recent version of Goldwave? Here is what I do. I open my mp3 file (or i do this after I have saved my .aa file as an mp3), Then I set my "auto cue" as I have listed it earlier in this thread and it automatically generates the cue points for me. Then I click on "split file". I choose my destination folder and I click on the browse button (If I am doing a succession of files from the same books - say a 40 hour book split into five different downloads from audible)to check my next file number so all of the book is a run of numbered files (1 through 782). I check the option "use base file name and number" and "base filename" I put the code ###fires (or whatever the bookname is) and int the "first number I change it to whatever I found my next file number to be (177) and then it will split the file starting with that number. In the "File format" section I choose the option "Use file's current format and attributes." Then I click ok and it does everything else for me. I put the ### first because for some reason it will keep the files in order that way. If I put the ### last it jumbles them up. When I start splitting a new book I change the name after the ### and start the number back at 001. Please let me know if this isn't helpful. Thanks, Mandi
anyone know what settings would be used to convert aa files to wma files, using goldwave? I found that they sound just as good and they can be made small like aa files. I just don't know which setting would be the best.
Hi Mandi, It version 5.08 I'll try to do a screen capture and put it up somewhere where all of us can see it. Give me some time. Ultimately, I'll be planning to get a creative MP3 player so there be less hassle converting files to the mp3 player. Luckily, I live in Singapore, home of creative tech. Every so often, they slash prices on the older version of MP3 to clear stock. Paul
HELP PLEASE I just spent money on audible.com and the .aa will not play on my palm so I need some one to send me the code for the river past audio converter.email mite be something like fegepoopoo at yahoo.com
Ash for Night, contact me directly at dave@nerdex.com, I can get you a copy of GW which will work great, combined with my own mp3po
Thank you everyone for contributing to this informative and helpful thread! I am very new to all this and hope my question is not too stupid. I would just like to convert my own purchased .aa files to .mp3. I understand that Goldwave works best. I also understand that I need to have Audible Manager and have it activated. Does it need to be running when I convert? I see mention of mp3po - do I need that for simply converting files? Many thanks for clearing this up for me!
No, audible doesn't need to be running at all, to convert. When you convert the files from Goldwave they will be extremely lengthy, timewise. In addition all of the chapter breaks and the ability to jump forward will be lost, it's just on huge mp3 file, which can be difficult to use in most commercial players and too large for many personal players to even hold. mp3po while not necessary to listen to the file will split these lengthy mp3's into manageable lengths. There are other mp3 splitters out there of course but the reason mp3po is mentioned so much is that it was written with this purpose in mind, splitting books. As such, each section replays the last moment of the previous section. This allows a smoother transition between tracks. In addition, the sections are named in a way that you are pretty much guarenteed that they will play in correct order on your device and in your computer. Also, mp3po, uses silence detection at the split point so it doesn't break mid-syllable, although it can split mid word, which is an annoyance I am working on for the next release. For those that care the next version of mp3po, to be released shortly actually can be used as a player for the .aa files themselves, including chapter breaks, so this should be a nice addition, the interface is also much slicker looking and has a number of features to make it more intuitive to use.
Does any know if you can use ituens to convert AAC to mp3 to a virtual disk using Alcohol 120. Then use mp3po on the virtual disk to copy the files to your hard drive?
Onesys, The additions to mp3po you mention about the new version seem very helpful. Do you have a beta version to test them? To use mp3po as a reader for audiobooks sounds great!
***Last Updated 14 DEC 05*** The instructions for splitting the file posted on 11 May by rmgott are great, but I have a slight modification which saves some time and hard drive space (i.e. removes the converting to WAV/MP3 first then re-opening the file). The full instructions are posted below. The credit for this is due to rmgott - I only tweaked it a bit. 1. Open the file with Goldwave. You will have to choose "All Files" in Goldwave for it to find then .aa file, because it does not automatically associate the Audible file as a file type it can play. *****(You will only have to do steps 1-1 through 1-6 the first time you prepare to convert a book. They deal with setting the default save type (i.e. MP3) and data rate)***** 1-1. Go to Options, then File Formats, then the tab for Default Save Format 1-2. In the drop down box Save as type: select MP3 1-3. Click on the word Attributes, just before the next box. 1-4. Create a new MP3 setting of: Sampling Rate: 12000 KHZ Channels: Mono Bitrate range: 24000 to 56000 bps (i.e. 24-56 Kbps) VBR quality: 3 -Mode 4 of the Audible files (the highest quality) is approximately equal to MP3 at mono, 11 Khz, 32 Kbps, and the others are lower. Technically you could use that same MP3 setting, but best to play it safe and give it some room to breathe with the VBR. If you have an MP3 player that can not play VBR, I'd suggest 11 Khz, CBR, 40 Kbps. 1-5. If you like, you can name this setting as a preset in the Presets box, and then click the + sign 1-6. Click OK, and then when you are back in the Default Save Format box, make sure you put a check in the box for Use this format for Save As, Save Selection As, and Copy To 2. Open Tools / Cue Points 3. Click on Auto Cue on the lower right hand side 4. Thresh hold is -32.0 (this defines what is considered silence - below a certain dB) minimum length is 0.50 (this is the length of the silence) minimum separation is 3:00.00 (this is how long your segment or tracks will roughly be) cue placement is 50% (this is how much room you are giving it to find a silent spot - some sections will be 3:04 or 3:02 etc.) 5. Select Ok and it will calculate all of the Cue Points 6. Click on split file, choose the directory you want the split mp3 put into (I recomment a fresh folder so you can find all of the pieces). Click on Use base filename and set the ### marks first and then I just put one word to describe what book it is from. I have found that if you put the ### marks first my cd-mp3 player will read them in numerical order but, if they are last my cd-mp3 player jumbles them all up no matter if they appear in order on the cd (This is from a burned cd - I'm not sure how it will work on my mp3 player I haven't recieved it yet). Click on Use file's current format and attributes. 6-1. I recommend you start the file numbering at 001 rather than 1. Computers list the number 10 before the number 2, as they go by the very first digit/letter. If you start with 001 then 2 would be 002 and 10 would be 010. 00 comes before 01, so 002 would come before 010. If you start at 1 then your files would go 1, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 2, 20, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 (assuming you had 20 files.) 6.5 Click the choice for Use default save format and attributes. This has it save the file in your default format (i.e. the MP3 format you chose as default in steps 1-1 to 1-6) 7. Click Ok and it will split and encode each file, which takes a little while. 8. The added steps keeps you from having to open the file and save it as a WAV or MP3. You can do it all in one fell swoop!
Well, that's where your software has an advantage, with the replay of the last couple of seconds. I don't have an MP3 player in my vehicle(s) so I just use my portable player and a radio transmitter while I drive.
