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Michael Goff

Suspended
Original poster
Jul 5, 2012
13,329
7,421
Is there some program for a Mac that makes it easier than I've read? Every site I've gone to shows that you have to have exact, precise, settings for each and every single setting, or else it will come out as some unrecognizable mess.

I have iTunes 11, I'd have hoped they would have made it a lot easier by now.

Is it?

Or will I be searching for another program?
 

BrianBaughn

macrumors G3
Feb 13, 2011
9,616
2,392
Baltimore, Maryland
Are you talking about from CDs?

I'd just use iTunes convert to m4a files in the lowest mono bitrate I can tolerate, then use a file renamer app to change all the extensions to m4b. Then I'd set the files to "Audiobook" and check the pref for starting playback where last stopped.
 

DUCKofD3ATH

Suspended
Jun 6, 2005
541
2,419
Universe 0 Timeline
I get my audiobooks from Audible, but can't stand how poorly they're packaged (low resolution cover images and incomplete/inconsistent ID3 tagging) and the DRM they use doesn't allow modification in iTunes. So I use Audio Hijack Pro to record the audiobook as it's playing on iTunes.

Hijack Pro outputs the recording as MP3 files in one-hour chunks. Unfortunately, if the audiobook is, for example, 8 hours long, it takes that long for Audio Hijack Pro to convert the audiobook to MP3 (makes sense, given that it's recording live from iTunes).

Once I have the MP3 segments, I use Join Together or Audiobook Builder to combine them into 12-hour or less M4B files.

It's not convenient, but since I get just a few audiobooks from Audible every month, it's tolerable. I wish Audible would get with the program and remove the DRM from their files!
 
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Michael Goff

Suspended
Original poster
Jul 5, 2012
13,329
7,421
Are you talking about from CDs?

I'd just use iTunes convert to m4a files in the lowest mono bitrate I can tolerate, then use a file renamer app to change all the extensions to m4b. Then I'd set the files to "Audiobook" and check the pref for starting playback where last stopped.

And is there a way to join multiple CDs as a single book? This book I'm going to listen to is 28 discs.
 

NogbadTheBad

macrumors regular
Aug 28, 2009
212
55
United Kingdom
You can do most this in iTunes, except joining CDs

1) Import the Audible audiobook into iTunes.

2) Create a playlist of the audiobook.

3) Right click on the playlist and select Burn playlist to disc and burn as an audio CD to a CDRW disc.

4) Re import the CD to MP3 or AAC and there is an option to join the selected CD tracks.

It's pointless converting an Audible audiobook to anything greater than 64 kbps.

Bazinga :)
 
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