I have been involved with audio books now for a couple of years. While the popularity of audio books is growing, it seems that a lot of people just don't understand the audio book concept. Often I get asked by customers and friends to explain the growing trend towards audio books, to explain that trend and to give them some advice as to how audio books work. Consequently, I thought it appropiate to publish some of the most frequent questions that I get asked and have take this opportunity to list the most frequently asked questions and my relevant answers below.
So, can You Answer These Audio Book FAQs?
What is an audio book?
An audio book is simply a recorded narration of a conventional book.
In what formats are audio books produced?
Audio books come in a number of formats including cassette format for playing on cassette players, CD format for playing on CD players or a format using compression technology for playing on media players like iPods or MP3 players.
What is Compression Technology?
Compression technology is based on the characteristics of human auditory, A number of digital processing technolgies are used to enable data size to be reduced with virtually no loss of sound quality. Broadly speaking, sounds that are difficult for humans to hear are not recorded, transformed into sounds or simply eliminated in the process.
What is an iPod?
Ipod is a registered trademark of Apple Computers Inc. It is a brand of portable media players designed and marketed by Apple. The first iPod was launched in 2001.
What is an MP3 Player?
An MP3 player, or, more correctly, MPEG Audio Layer III, is a method for compressing audio files developed by the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG). This group has developed compression systems for video data, including that for DVD movies, HDTV broadcasts and digital satellite systems. It is said that the MP3 file format revolutionized music distribution in the late 1990s, when file-swapping services and the first portable MP3 players began to emerge.
The MP3 technology has to be one of the most amazing phenomena that the music industry has ever seen. Unlike other systems, the MP3 process started not with the industry itself but with a huge audience of music lovers on the Internet.
Are iPods and MP3 Players the same?
The only similarity that we can e sure of is that they both use digital compressed technology. Apple jealously protects the software used in its iPod.. However, thanks to the effective propaganda of the Apple advertising machine, the term iPod has almost become a generic term for mp3 player.
What is an unabridged audio book?
An unabridged audio book is narrated word for word from the printed book. No words or chapters are omitted.
What is an abridged audio book?
An abridged audio book is one that has been shortened by editing out superfluous words or chapters without diminishing the message or story line of the book much in the same way as Readers Digest abridges its products.
What is the difference between an ordinary audio book and a dramatised one?
While an ordinary audio book is simply a recorded narration of a conventional book, a dramatised audio book is a recorded production, that is, a “live play”, utilising a full cast of actors, sound effects and music.
How do you down load an audio book?
This will generally dependent on your operating system. A reputable audio book site will have instructions on how to down load an audio book. Most will offer two formats; MP3 and WMA (Windows Media Audio) which will play on PC's and most portable players. If you have an iPod, you may have to burn a CD first.
How do you play an audio book?
This is a matter of choice. My preference is to first download the audio book to the hard drive on my computer. This then provides me with a number of options. Using a media player, I can play the audio book directly from the desktop; I can burn a CD for playing later on a CD player; I can download to an Mp3, which I prefer, or thanks to a link to the stereo I can produce a cassette should I so desire.
In the case of an iPod, the CD burnt as in the previous question, can be transferred to the iPod using iTunes (while this is an Apple product, it will function on a Windows platform). If you are not happy with iTunes there is a number of compatible programs that will do the job.
