Validation errors on epub3 sheet music document

[maestroc]

I'm trying to publish a book of short sheet music pieces exported from a music notation program that provides export to epub 3 format. The problem is that the export process leaves a bunch of validation errors and although the music shows up perfectly on my iPad when I load the epub onto it the same file will not pass Apple's validator. I have solved a few of the errors on my own but can't figure out how to do the two that I am pasting below.

I am also providing a copy of the exported contents.opf, nav.xhtml, and the first page p001.html of the document in a zip file attached to this post.

First error is:
ERROR ITMS-9000: "ChristmasCarolsAltoSaxIBookv3.epub: OEBPS/content.opf(24): assertion failed:
media overlay items must be of the 'application/smil+xml' type (given type was ''). This error occurs 39 times." at Book (MZItmspBookPackage)

Second error is:
ERROR ITMS-9000: "ChristmasCarolsAltoSaxIBookv3.epub: OEBPS/content.opf(21): assertion failed:
global media:duration meta element not set" at Book (MZItmspBookPackage)


There are actually a couple more errors as well but I didn't want to burden anyone with a really long post. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Toxaris]

The errors seem self explaining to me... In your content.opf there are references to documents but you do not tell what type of documents these are or specify a wrong type. For media overlays these apparently have to be different. Change them accordingly. To be more concrete, change 'application/xhtml+xml' to 'application/smil+xml'

The second error is that for this kind of book metadata is missing. You need to enter the meta element for duration. I cannot say what the exact metaname is though.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by maestroc

I'm trying to publish a book of short sheet music pieces exported from a music notation program that provides export to epub 3 format. The problem is that the export process leaves a bunch of validation errors and although the music shows up perfectly on my iPad when I load the epub onto it the same file will not pass Apple's validator. I have solved a few of the errors on my own but can't figure out how to do the two that I am pasting below.

I am also providing a copy of the exported contents.opf, nav.xhtml, and the first page p001.html of the document in a zip file attached to this post.

First error is:
ERROR ITMS-9000: "ChristmasCarolsAltoSaxIBookv3.epub: OEBPS/content.opf(24): assertion failed:
media overlay items must be of the 'application/smil+xml' type (given type was ''). This error occurs 39 times." at Book (MZItmspBookPackage)

Second error is:
ERROR ITMS-9000: "ChristmasCarolsAltoSaxIBookv3.epub: OEBPS/content.opf(21): assertion failed:
global media:duration meta element not set" at Book (MZItmspBookPackage)


There are actually a couple more errors as well but I didn't want to burden anyone with a really long post. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

My one question would be, you did create the SMIL files, is that right? And embedded them for each piece of music (I assume that you're highlighting, what, musical notes? Is that right?)?

The second error is about setting the time (duration) for that particular piece of embedded audio, as far as I can tell, without pulling your whole book apart.

Does any of that help?

Hitch

[AlPe]

EDIT: Please see the next message.

I keep the text of my previous message in the spoiler:

Spoiler:

Originally Posted by maestroc

I'm trying to publish a book of short sheet music pieces exported from a music notation program that provides export to epub 3 format.

This is quite cool: what is the name of the program?

Originally Posted by maestroc

First error is:
ERROR ITMS-9000: "ChristmasCarolsAltoSaxIBookv3.epub: OEBPS/content.opf(24): assertion failed:
media overlay items must be of the 'application/smil+xml' type (given type was ''). This error occurs 39 times." at Book (MZItmspBookPackage)

Actually, in the content.opf you posted, the Media Overlay resources (SMIL files) are not declared at all. In the <manifest>, you should have an <item> for each SMIL file, which you do not have. (Moreover, the media-overlay property of the <item>'s corresponding to XHTML pages is set to "a001", "a002", so these missing <item>'s referencing to SMIL files should have id's "a001", "a002", etc.). It looks like the export routine of that program is buggy.

To fix this error, you need to add to your <manifest> one line for each SMIL file, like this:

<opf:item id="a001" href="path/to/p001.smil" media-type="application/smil+xml"/>

(adjust path/to/p001.smil according to its location in your package)

Moreover, since you will probably also have some audio file for each XHTML page, you will need to declare them as well:

<opf:item id="m001" href="path/to/p001.mp3" media-type="audio/mpeg"/>

(the media-type depends on the format of the audio file)

Originally Posted by maestroc

Second error is:
ERROR ITMS-9000: "ChristmasCarolsAltoSaxIBookv3.epub: OEBPS/content.opf(21): assertion failed:
global media:duration meta element not set" at Book (MZItmspBookPackage)

You need to add in the <metadata> element the following:

<meta property="media:duration">HH:MM:SS</meta>

and substitute HH:MM:SS with the total duration of your audio.

[AlPe]

Originally Posted by AlPe

This is quite cool: what is the name of the program?

MakeMusic. (from the p001.html)

BTW, looking at p001.html, I share the concern raised by Hitch: does MakeMusic generate the SMIL files at all? I do not see any "id" associated to XHTML elements, which are needed for the sync highlighting.

What is your ebook supposed to do? Just displaying the score? The score and an <audio> player? Or should it also highlight the notes as the audio plays?

EDIT: after looking at MakeMusic web site, I think that the generated EPUB simply contains the score, not the (MIDI?) audio, and hence no SMIL at all. If this is indeed the case, removing the "media-overlay" property should fix both the two errors you reported in your first post (since media:duration is not required if there are no media overlays). As far as I can tell, the folks at MakeMusic are probably working on exporting a "better" EPUB3 (with audio and note highlighting), but in the last release they disabled this feature, forgetting to remove the "media-overlay" property (and not checking with the EPUB validator before releasing...)

EDIT 2: I edited the previous message

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by AlPe

MakeMusic. (from the p001.html)

BTW, looking at p001.html, I share the concern raised by Hitch: does MakeMusic generate the SMIL files at all? I do not see any "id" associated to XHTML elements, which are needed for the sync highlighting.

What is your ebook supposed to do? Just displaying the score? The score and an <audio> player? Or should it also highlight the notes as the audio plays?

EDIT: after looking at MakeMusic web site, I think that the generated EPUB simply contains the score, not the (MIDI?) audio, and hence no SMIL at all. If this is indeed the case, removing the "media-overlay" property should fix both the two errors you reported in your first post (since media:duration is not required if there are no media overlays). As far as I can tell, the folks at MakeMusic are probably working on exporting a "better" EPUB3 (with audio and note highlighting), but in the last release they disabled this feature, forgetting to remove the "media-overlay" property (and not checking with the EPUB validator before releasing...)

EDIT 2: I edited the previous message

AlPe:

Not to be dense, but if there's no SMIL files, how does the score/music follow the text? I admit to not having tried to yet make any ePUB3 audio-embedded iBooks' ePUBS--does this happen, somehow, w/o SMIL files? Does the note/text highlighting occur using something available in ePUB3 that's not viable in 2?

Hitch

[AlPe]

Apologies, my first post might have created some confusion.

After browsing MakeMusic and skimming through the posted p001.xhtml, I realized that the EPUB3 exported by MakeMusic does not seem to have audio (hence, no media overlays/SMIL), but it contains only the score, in SVG format.

So, to eliminate OP's first post errors, it suffices to remove the

media-overlay="..."

properties from the manifest items.


Hitch, to answer your question: with no SMIL files no synchronous highlighting is possible (not only in iBooks, but in EPUB 3 in general). Moreover, since Media Overlay is not part of EPUB 2, such a functionality is not available in EPUB 2.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by AlPe

Apologies, my first post might have created some confusion.

<Hitch snippage>


Hitch, to answer your question: with no SMIL files no synchronous highlighting is possible (not only in iBooks, but in EPUB 3 in general). Moreover, since Media Overlay is not part of EPUB 2, such a functionality is not available in EPUB 2.

AlPe:

Thanks for confirming what I already thought was right; we've made lots'a synchronized iBooks files, using SMIL's, and I was pondering what mysteries of ePUB3 had occurred (of which I was unaware) that somehow made synchronous highlighting possible sans the SMIL, which, obviously, we bookmakers would ALL love to not have to do, as you know all too well.

So, if the OP is still around, we've solved this, correct? At least, vis-a-vis the SMIL media type? Did we solve the duration issue?

Hitch

[AlPe]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Thanks for confirming what I already thought was right; we've made lots'a synchronized iBooks files, using SMIL's, and I was pondering what mysteries of ePUB3 had occurred (of which I was unaware) that somehow made synchronous highlighting possible sans the SMIL

Technically, you can do sync highlighting withouth SMIL via JS (e.g., see my JS library to add SMIL support into iBooks for reflowable EPUB3 files: https://github.com/pettarin/rb_smil_emulator ). However, you still need a sync map {xhtml_element_id, t_begin, t_end}.

Originally Posted by Hitch

we bookmakers would ALL love to not have to do, as you know all too well.

Well, we create reflowable EPUB3 with Media Overlays, using a tool I developed which creates the SMIL files automatically, given the text and the audio. We have already processed several hundred thousands SMIL fragments, see http://www.daisy.org/techwatch-2013-08b#a4 .

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by AlPe

Technically, you can do sync highlighting withouth SMIL via JS (e.g., see my JS library to add SMIL support into iBooks for reflowable EPUB3 files: https://github.com/pettarin/rb_smil_emulator ). However, you still need a sync map {xhtml_element_id, t_begin, t_end}.

Yes. I know. ;-) Sort of a difference without a difference, LOL!

Well, we create reflowable EPUB3 with Media Overlays, using a tool I developed which creates the SMIL files automatically, given the text and the audio. We have already processed several hundred thousands SMIL fragments, see http://www.daisy.org/techwatch-2013-08b#a4 .

Yes. That's really impressive. (The tool, not to mention the work).

Hitch