[Lyndon]

I want to create files in my desktop computer for my audio books. I would like to rip them to Flac for better
compression, with tags, so I can then use them on my portable mp3 player, a Sansa Clip.
It just doesn't show much on from the discs if I use my Media Monkey player.  WMP will show the title of the book and author, but no chapters.
I have tried two different tag softwares today, with no luck.
How can I make this less difficult?
This is PC, so don't give me iTunes solutions.
Thanks,
Lyndon

[skunark]

You mean, don't give you Mac solutions .. iTunes runs on a PC just fine.

You could install Linux and try this:
http://blog.blazingangles.net/whatsthis/2007/09/creating-an-audiobook-on-linux.html

For windows, you can try this too:
http://tinyurl.com/25a7t2d

[skunark]

Interesting article here, indicates you want to compress less than 128kpbs and then use audicity to combine files into a single large file.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,1846814,00.asp

[Lyndon]

Right,
I'm not looking for audio quality here.  It's not like Natalie Merchant is breathing into my ear.
Skunark said:

You mean, don't give you Mac solutions

That is correct.
I just want a simple program to rip the chapters into a flac file (I think the Sansa Clip does Ogg Vorbis, but I don't need it)
Tag those chapters with both the book and the chapter number, so I don't get chapter 4 from Les Miserables, when I want Nick Hornby's "Juliet, Naked", and then dump them onto my little flash player piecemeal.  They are not going to stay very long on my hard drive.

[JEaton]

> I'm not looking for audio quality here.  It's not like...

> I just want a simple program to rip the chapters into a flac file (I think the Sansa Clip does Ogg Vorbis, but I don't need it)

These two statements are rather conflicting.  I think you might have FLAC and Ogg Vorbis mixed up.  FLAC is lossless, while Ogg Vorbis is lossy, like MP3, so much more compressed, resulting in smaller files.  If you don't need audio quality (and you don't for spoken word) then a compressed format like MP3, Ogg Vorbis or AAC would be better choices for file format.  You'll get a _lot_ more of the book on a Sansa Clip than you will with FLAC, especially if you encode at a low bitrate.

It sounds like your problem has mostly to do with tagging.  Are the chapter names actually in the files?  I would guess you want to use ALBUM for the book name and (track) TITLE for the chapter names.  Is that how you've tagged the files?

[Lyndon]

JEaton said:

It sounds like your problem has mostly to do with tagging.  Are the chapter names actually in the files?  I would guess you want to use ALBUM for the book name and (track) TITLE for the chapter names.  Is that how you've tagged the files?

Tagging is the problem.  Media Monkey recognizes nothing of the audio book cd.  When I run Roxio, it recognizes the book and chapter.  So, I ripped the cd into a folder marked with the title of the book.  Then I took the files, and using Media Monkey converted them into mp3, as you are correct, much smaller than Flac, and we are not looking for SQ for the spoken voice.  But are they in any order? Hell no. Just a mess.  Yes, I am having a H*ll of a time trying to organize and tag these book files, in XP Windows.
Back to the NBA game.

[JEaton]

Have you ripped and tagged audio CDs before?  I can't see why the procedure for an audio book would be any different.  Except that maybe the online tagging databases may not have the CDs.  If the CDs aren't in the database, then you have to enter the info by hand.

If they're not in order then the track number field must either be missing or incorrect.  Or, if you're viewing the files in windows, the track numbers may not be the first thing in the file name.

[Lyndon]

Except that maybe the online tagging databases may not have the CDs.  If the CDs aren't in the database, then you have to enter the info by hand.

That seems to be the problem.  I would think there would be an audio book database, but that may be a reader's
dream in the ethernet.

And the numbering I got from using Roxio, is not consistent.  In my opinion, it should tag Disc 2_3 for Disc 2 third segment, but it mixes all of the segments into a lovely stew.
Yeah, I have tagged music cd's that are not in any base, but this is a hornet's nest in comparison.
There seems to be some good programs for iPod users (what else is new?).
Audio Books has never taken off for the portable crowd.  I love it for both in the vehicle doing my 7 hour drive to Yellowstone, or across the country, or on a long 5 hour bike stretch across Wyoming.

Celtics Win! Oh, that fake that Rondo put under the basket.  That was sooo sweet!
Blackhawks Win! in Chicago, baby! Just one more for the Stanley Cup
And...the big Swede, Robin Soderling, lost against Nadal.  Hey, 2 out of 3 ain't bad.