Converting EPUB's for Kindle Paperwhite - AZW3 or MOBI?

HardwareLust · 09-15-2014, 05:23 PM

Sorry for the newbie question.

I just got my first Kindle, a Paperwhite (2nd gen). When I convert my EPUB's with Calibre to sideload them onto the Kindle, should I convert them to AZW3 or to MOBI?

Bonus points if you can tell me why!

BetterRed · 09-15-2014, 07:18 PM

@HardwareLust - 1. probably AZW3, 2. because its Bezos's latest attempt at creating a non portable format to keep you locked up in his walled garden.

BR

eschwartz · 09-15-2014, 07:44 PM

AZW3.

It is basically an updated and more improved form of MOBI which has feature parity with EPUB.

.mobi is the mobi7 format and .azw3 is the mobi8 format.

AZW3 has greater support for internal markup and amongst other things will preserve embedded fonts.

huladaddy · 09-16-2014, 01:57 AM

I see that you asked about converting and sideloading to your Kindle, and therefore the above answer is your best bet.

In case you are interested, I have been playing with converting epubs and emailing them to my Kindle, and have found that the only way to do this is to convert to "old" MOBI filetype. Through trial and error, I can verify that Amazon will not send the "new" MOBI format, nor AZW3.

Kovid confirms this here:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...16&postcount=3

eschwartz · 09-16-2014, 02:16 AM

There are reports that dual MOBI is accepted, and will send the .azw3 to supported Kindles. But you lose the cover.

huladaddy · 09-16-2014, 02:37 AM

Oh, that's interesting. Thanks. I do want the cover, so I'll be sticking to "old" MOBI.

HardwareLust · 09-16-2014, 07:54 AM

Thank you, that was the answer I was looking for.

Actually, I don't know why I was worried about it, other than curiosity. When I plug my Kindle in and select a book to transfer, Calibre asks me if I want to convert it before sending it and it works fine, so I'll probably just keep doing that.

theducks · 09-16-2014, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HardwareLust

Thank you, that was the answer I was looking for.

Actually, I don't know why I was worried about it, other than curiosity. When I plug my Kindle in and select a book to transfer, Calibre asks me if I want to convert it before sending it and it works fine, so I'll probably just keep doing that.

Connect the device: (When the device Icon appears): Select configure the device from the list: <The order is the preference> <The Ticks are the Library considerations allowed for sending. Anytime there are no considerations available, you must convert>
Preferences: Behavior: Preferred output...: Is the Conversion default (and usually will match your most popular used device)

speedlever · 04-01-2015, 11:42 AM

Resurrecting this old thread as I am just now getting Calibre up and running on my rebuilt PC (Win 8.1pro X64) and was dreading having to figure out all the DRM stuff I learned (and forgot) 4+ years ago. The DRM seems to be a non event this time around with a simplified plug-in from AA.

I bought a new Paperwhite 2014 late last year and have just been reading through what I've bought since plus a number of old titles that somehow came across in an incomplete collections that came from the old K3 somehow. I had trouble emailing some of my lost ebooks and had to side-load them.

My question: the Calibre welcome wizard chooses mobi as the preferred output format when the Paperwhite option is chosen. I have no idea if this is the old or new mobi format. The list of preferred output formats from the Behavior dropdown list does not show other than mobi (no old or new mobi). I know I can manually set the output to AZW3 via Preferences/Behavior. So I arbitrarily chose AZW3.

As of this posting, does it still make a difference which output format I choose? I generally prefer to email my ebooks from within Calibre vs side-loading).

Side note: since I upgraded from a K3 to the Paperwhite 2014, I am having to learn to deal with collections... which is not intuitive at this point. I need to find where collections are discussed here at MR.

theducks · 04-01-2015, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by speedlever

Resurrecting this old thread as I am just now getting Calibre up and running on my rebuilt PC (Win 8.1pro X64) and was dreading having to figure out all the DRM stuff I learned (and forgot) 4+ years ago. The DRM seems to be a non event this time around with a simplified plug-in from AA.

I bought a new Paperwhite 2014 late last year and have just been reading through what I've bought since plus a number of old titles that somehow came across in an incomplete collections that came from the old K3 somehow. I had trouble emailing some of my lost ebooks and had to side-load them.

My question: the Calibre welcome wizard chooses mobi as the preferred output format when the Paperwhite option is chosen. I have no idea if this is the old or new mobi format. The list of preferred output formats from the Behavior dropdown list does not show other than mobi (no old or new mobi). I know I can manually set the output to AZW3 via Preferences/Behavior. So I arbitrarily chose AZW3.

As of this posting, does it still make a difference which output format I choose? I generally prefer to email my ebooks from within Calibre vs side-loading).

Side note: since I upgraded from a K3 to the Paperwhite 2014, I am having to learn to deal with collections... which is not intuitive at this point. I need to find where collections are discussed here at MR.

AZW3 is OUT for email
I would try Mobi New

eschwartz · 04-01-2015, 03:25 PM

new MOBI is in fact AZW3 with a different file extension.

Convert to dual MOBI, they will be accepted by the Personal Documents service and send AZW3 to newer devices -- but without covers.
Or MOBI (old) which will be accepted and show covers, but supports fewer features.

eschwartz · 04-01-2015, 03:29 PM

[GUI Plugin] Kindle Collections

Supports the PW1/2, but requires jailbreak.

Jailbreak -- might not work depending on your current firmware. Read the details and red warnings.

speedlever · 04-01-2015, 09:17 PM

I don't believe JB is an option for me, being on FW 5.6.1.0.6.

Here are my options in Behavior:

I don't see options for new or old mobi. Or dual mobi either.

theducks · 04-01-2015, 11:28 PM

Old and New are on the Conversion OUTPUT settings

Calibre is like Ogres, it has layers

eschwartz · 04-02-2015, 02:16 AM

MOBI is the old mobipocket mobi7 format.
AZW3 is the new mobipocket mobi8 format.

MOBI has the option in Conversion Output settings to switch between regular MOBI, and dual MOBI which contains an additonal AZW3 component inside. For no reason I can discern, it also allows you to choose "new MOBI"... which is AZW3, making it just a touch obsolete.

09-15-2014, 05:23 PM	#1
HardwareLust Member Posts: 18 Karma: 7776 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Central PA Device: Sony PRS-950, Nook Color/Tablet, Kobo Aura HD/Mini, Kindle Paperwhite	Converting EPUB's for Kindle Paperwhite - AZW3 or MOBI? Sorry for the newbie question. I just got my first Kindle, a Paperwhite (2nd gen). When I convert my EPUB's with Calibre to sideload them onto the Kindle, should I convert them to AZW3 or to MOBI? Bonus points if you can tell me why!

09-15-2014, 07:44 PM	#3
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,422 Karma: 85397180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	AZW3. It is basically an updated and more improved form of MOBI which has feature parity with EPUB. .mobi is the mobi7 format and .azw3 is the mobi8 format. AZW3 has greater support for internal markup and amongst other things will preserve embedded fonts. Last edited by eschwartz; 09-15-2014 at 07:48 PM.

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09-15-2014, 07:18 PM	#2
BetterRed null operator (he/him) Posts: 20,568 Karma: 26954694 Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Sydney Australia Device: none	@HardwareLust - 1. probably AZW3, 2. because its Bezos's latest attempt at creating a non portable format to keep you locked up in his walled garden. BR

09-16-2014, 01:57 AM	#4
huladaddy Member Posts: 20 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2012 Device: Samsung Galaxy S3	I see that you asked about converting and sideloading to your Kindle, and therefore the above answer is your best bet. In case you are interested, I have been playing with converting epubs and emailing them to my Kindle, and have found that the only way to do this is to convert to "old" MOBI filetype. Through trial and error, I can verify that Amazon will not send the "new" MOBI format, nor AZW3. Kovid confirms this here: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...16&postcount=3

09-16-2014, 02:16 AM	#5
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,422 Karma: 85397180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	There are reports that dual MOBI is accepted, and will send the .azw3 to supported Kindles. But you lose the cover.

09-16-2014, 02:37 AM	#6
huladaddy Member Posts: 20 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2012 Device: Samsung Galaxy S3	Oh, that's interesting. Thanks. I do want the cover, so I'll be sticking to "old" MOBI.

09-16-2014, 07:54 AM	#7
HardwareLust Member Posts: 18 Karma: 7776 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Central PA Device: Sony PRS-950, Nook Color/Tablet, Kobo Aura HD/Mini, Kindle Paperwhite	Thank you, that was the answer I was looking for. Actually, I don't know why I was worried about it, other than curiosity. When I plug my Kindle in and select a book to transfer, Calibre asks me if I want to convert it before sending it and it works fine, so I'll probably just keep doing that.

04-01-2015, 11:42 AM	#9
speedlever Fanatic Posts: 592 Karma: 138200 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: NC, USA Device: PW2014, PW2012, iPad Pro	Resurrecting this old thread as I am just now getting Calibre up and running on my rebuilt PC (Win 8.1pro X64) and was dreading having to figure out all the DRM stuff I learned (and forgot) 4+ years ago. The DRM seems to be a non event this time around with a simplified plug-in from AA. I bought a new Paperwhite 2014 late last year and have just been reading through what I've bought since plus a number of old titles that somehow came across in an incomplete collections that came from the old K3 somehow. I had trouble emailing some of my lost ebooks and had to side-load them. My question: the Calibre welcome wizard chooses mobi as the preferred output format when the Paperwhite option is chosen. I have no idea if this is the old or new mobi format. The list of preferred output formats from the Behavior dropdown list does not show other than mobi (no old or new mobi). I know I can manually set the output to AZW3 via Preferences/Behavior. So I arbitrarily chose AZW3. As of this posting, does it still make a difference which output format I choose? I generally prefer to email my ebooks from within Calibre vs side-loading). Side note: since I upgraded from a K3 to the Paperwhite 2014, I am having to learn to deal with collections... which is not intuitive at this point. I need to find where collections are discussed here at MR.

04-01-2015, 03:25 PM	#11
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,422 Karma: 85397180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	new MOBI is in fact AZW3 with a different file extension. Convert to dual MOBI, they will be accepted by the Personal Documents service and send AZW3 to newer devices -- but without covers. Or MOBI (old) which will be accepted and show covers, but supports fewer features.

04-01-2015, 03:29 PM	#12
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,422 Karma: 85397180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	[GUI Plugin] Kindle Collections Supports the PW1/2, but requires jailbreak. Jailbreak -- might not work depending on your current firmware. Read the details and red warnings.

04-01-2015, 09:17 PM	#13
speedlever Fanatic Posts: 592 Karma: 138200 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: NC, USA Device: PW2014, PW2012, iPad Pro	I don't believe JB is an option for me, being on FW 5.6.1.0.6. Here are my options in Behavior: I don't see options for new or old mobi. Or dual mobi either.

04-01-2015, 11:28 PM	#14
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 29,800 Karma: 54830978 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	Old and New are on the Conversion OUTPUT settings Calibre is like Ogres, it has layers

04-02-2015, 02:16 AM	#15
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,422 Karma: 85397180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	MOBI is the old mobipocket mobi7 format. AZW3 is the new mobipocket mobi8 format. MOBI has the option in Conversion Output settings to switch between regular MOBI, and dual MOBI which contains an additonal AZW3 component inside. For no reason I can discern, it also allows you to choose "new MOBI"... which is AZW3, making it just a touch obsolete.