Ripping Audiobooks for iTunes - m4b

[tedfroop]

Has anyone else done this?

From trial and error I am guessing the audiobook needs to be ripped as one file, not chapters as the chapters. If you rip it into chapters (tracks) they show like an album would in iTunes but on the iPod each track shows as a book.
When I rip-as-one everything shows up ok on both with the book as one big file.

Is that correct?
Should I be forcing an encoder profile?
What is an RTP hint?

[skypilotpete]

Re: Ripping Audiobooks for iTunes - m4b

If your original audiobook is in multiple files, then the easiest thing is just to convert them all to m4b, make sure that they are tagged correctly, import them into itunes, and then add them to your ipod/iphone as a playlist. Listening to them as a playlist overcomes the problem you refer to.

As to your other questions, someone else will have to answer those.

[AdrianD]

Re: Ripping Audiobooks for iTunes - m4b

I converted a load of MP3 audiobooks to m4b a couple of years ago using a program (which was free then and probably is now) called Chapter and Verse.

http://lodensoftware.com/chapter-and-verse/

As I remember it uses the iTunes encoder to covert to m4a and then sticks them together and can keep the gaps between each m4a in the file as chapters in the final m4b.

If you've got loads of files to convert, then I'd suggest using dppoweramp to do this as the multicore use cut down the progressing time considerably.

Hope that helps.

[tedfroop]

Re: Ripping Audiobooks for iTunes - m4b

Thanks guys. I am ripping them from cd's I got for Christmas. The playlist idea sounds ok but when you put a dozen cd's in the audiobooks with about 20 tracks each it makes a bit of a mess for finding stuff.
Is there anything I am missing in the tagging perhaps that would make it show up like it is?

[jfkaess]

Re: Ripping Audiobooks for iTunes - m4b

I do this often, and to avoid having 250+ files for each book, I rip each disk as one file (use the "rip as one" button) and use m4b format. I change the file name of each ripped file (before actually ripping) to show the book name and the disk number. This has worked well for me.

[Wayne]

Re: Ripping Audiobooks for iTunes - m4b

I do this often, and to avoid having 250+ files for each book, I rip each disk as one file (use the "rip as one" button) and use m4b format. I change the file name of each ripped file (before actually ripping) to show the book name and the disk number. This has worked well for me.

I use this method as well.