Touch How do non-B&N ePubs fare?

tb74 · 08-11-2011, 11:21 AM

I am debating getting a Nook touch but had a few questions first, a million apologies if they been covered elsewhere in the board.

Do non-B&N epub book covers display properly? (Assuming they have one, that is)
How easy is it to change the cover art for both B&N books and non B&N books without using Calibre or metadata edit tool? Can the images be simply swapped out from their location on the unit itself (as they can on the Sony readers)?
How does the pagination work on the Nook Touch? I currently have the Sony PRS-650 and the page progress is not dynamic, so often shows odd page locations such as "213-214 of 264". The Kobo on the other hand only shows chapter progress (unless it's a side-loaded epub, in which case it's only overall page location). I'm hoping the Nook shows chapter AND overall location AND dynamically re-formats if I should happen to change my font size. Any luck?

Thanks all!

VicLavigne · 08-11-2011, 11:28 AM

Well, I use Calibre to manipulate book covers since the program is free and it is easy to do. THere might be a way to do this as you suggest, just swapping picture files, but I'm not inclined to test this. But ebook distributers such as Smashwords contain book covers that show on the Nook with no modification needed.

For question no. 3: pagination shows a single page at the bottom of the screen, but this page number may not change for 2 or 3 page turns. I suspect that the page number is related to the original pagination tied to the ebook. The Nook does Not show chapter headings.

Victor

afv011 · 08-11-2011, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tb74

I am debating getting a Nook touch but had a few questions first, a million apologies if they been covered elsewhere in the board.

Do non-B&N epub book covers display properly? (Assuming they have one, that is)
How easy is it to change the cover art for both B&N books and non B&N books without using Calibre or metadata edit tool? Can the images be simply swapped out from their location on the unit itself (as they can on the Sony readers)?
How does the pagination work on the Nook Touch? I currently have the Sony PRS-650 and the page progress is not dynamic, so often shows odd page locations such as "213-214 of 264". The Kobo on the other hand only shows chapter progress (unless it's a side-loaded epub, in which case it's only overall page location). I'm hoping the Nook shows chapter AND overall location AND dynamically re-formats if I should happen to change my font size. Any luck?

Thanks all!

If the book does not show the cover, then you have to do some tweaking for it to show. An option is to do an ePub to ePub conversion in Calibre, the other is to manually edit the ePub and edit the metadata (my preferred choice). So, the short answer to your question is "not possible".

In general, there is no difference between sideloaded books and books bought from B&N. I believe you can't use the social media stuff on sideloaded books (for quotes and such), but I haven't used those features, so I could be mistaken, though I believe other people have mentioned this.

Bookworm_Girl · 08-13-2011, 07:31 AM

In response to Item 2, no, you can't swap out the images in buried folder locations for the cover thumbnails like you can on the Sony. I also do not think it is possible to change the B&N book covers since it is syncing those books with the B&N servers.

Also, there may be an issue with how covers are displayed for DRM versus non-DRM'ed books. With my Nook Color, which has similar firmware, the non-DRM'ed books mostly have covers. If not, then I do a calibre conversion as noted in the previous posts. However, the DRM'ed books (like ones I purchased from the Sony or Kobo bookstores) show a generic icon rather than the cover art. Perhaps somebody can clarify if the Nook Touch has this same issue.

Item 3. The pagination will be similar to your Sony. That's the nature of EPUB's. It does not dynamically repaginate for font sizes. On the other hand, if you were to go to Page 213 on the Nook Touch, then you will see the same text as Page 213 on your Sony.

FYI - If you have a really large library of non-B&N books, then you will probably need to store them on SD card rather than the Touch main memory. The Touch only has 250MB of its internal memory allocated to side-loaded books; the rest is reserved for B&N content.

HarryT · 08-13-2011, 08:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bookworm_Girl

Item 3. The pagination will be similar to your Sony. That's the nature of EPUB's. It does not dynamically repaginate for font sizes.

No, it's "the nature of Adobe's firmware", which both nook and Sony use. It's certainly not "inherent" in ePub files.

drofgnal · 08-13-2011, 08:19 AM

what is the best reader then for side loaded epubs? I'm currently using the ipad ibooks, but would like to get a smaller dedicated reader as well.

Asawi · 08-13-2011, 08:51 AM

Nook, Kobo and Sony all work well with sideloaded ePubs. I'm sure others do as well, but those I have tried.
Of the three Sony is the one that makes me feel most "independent", followed by Kobo and then Nook last of the three. The reason Nook is last is because of the home page trying to get me to go to the store and buy books.
I more or less only use sideloaded content and hate the syncing to my store libraries where I have to archive (or similar) all books I don't want to show up on my reader.

drofgnal · 08-15-2011, 05:47 AM

Can't you just leave wi-fi off and use it like a sony?

Asawi · 08-15-2011, 06:19 AM

Yes, you can leave the WiFI off and use it like the Sony. The Nook home page will still show BN material though, but you really don't need to visit the home page.

6charlong · 08-15-2011, 09:46 PM

It should be mentioned that dictionary look-ups work the same whether you got the book from B&N or from another bookstore.

HarryT · 08-16-2011, 04:23 AM

Is it still the case that only a small portion of the storage space is available for user-loaded content?

Asawi · 08-16-2011, 05:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Is it still the case that only a small portion of the storage space is available for user-loaded content?

Yes, of the on-board 2 (?) GB only around 250 MB is available for sideloaded content. But you can use a mikro SD and things stored there are handled the same and can use all functions as well.

drofgnal · 08-16-2011, 05:47 AM

250 mb can be a lot of books.

Does side loading work by plugging the nook into a usb port and using drag and drop?

HarryT · 08-16-2011, 05:57 AM

Yes, the same as with any other reader; it just mounts as an external storage device.

brudigia · 08-17-2011, 02:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asawi

Yes, of the on-board 2 (?) GB only around 250 MB is available for sideloaded content. But you can use a mikro SD and things stored there are handled the same and can use all functions as well.

There are a copule of problems with sideloaded content. The first is related to the fact that you might have problems with the covers, the second (which is more of a bug) is that if you use shelves to catalog content, sooner or later (like turning it off and on) you might lose the shelves content for the sideloaded.
Whilst the first issue does not worry me too much, the second is not so nice. It must have to do with the fact that the underlying Androis OS has to mount the microSD when it wakes up, and this does not finish in time sufficient for the application to find again the shelved content. Having said that, you can read all manner of epubs, B&N and Adobe drm type without any problem. Which is positive.

08-11-2011, 11:21 AM	#1
tb74 Member Posts: 12 Karma: 21 Join Date: Nov 2010 Device: Sony PRS-650	How do non-B&N ePubs fare? I am debating getting a Nook touch but had a few questions first, a million apologies if they been covered elsewhere in the board. Do non-B&N epub book covers display properly? (Assuming they have one, that is) How easy is it to change the cover art for both B&N books and non B&N books without using Calibre or metadata edit tool? Can the images be simply swapped out from their location on the unit itself (as they can on the Sony readers)? How does the pagination work on the Nook Touch? I currently have the Sony PRS-650 and the page progress is not dynamic, so often shows odd page locations such as "213-214 of 264". The Kobo on the other hand only shows chapter progress (unless it's a side-loaded epub, in which case it's only overall page location). I'm hoping the Nook shows chapter AND overall location AND dynamically re-formats if I should happen to change my font size. Any luck? Thanks all!

08-15-2011, 09:46 PM	#10
6charlong friendly lurker Posts: 896 Karma: 2436026 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: US Device: Kindle, nook, Apple and Kobo	It should be mentioned that dictionary look-ups work the same whether you got the book from B&N or from another bookstore. Last edited by 6charlong; 08-15-2011 at 09:49 PM.

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08-11-2011, 11:28 AM	#2
VicLavigne e-reading since 2008 Posts: 197 Karma: 112730 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Hinesville Georgia Device: Nook STR, Sony PRS-T1	Well, I use Calibre to manipulate book covers since the program is free and it is easy to do. THere might be a way to do this as you suggest, just swapping picture files, but I'm not inclined to test this. But ebook distributers such as Smashwords contain book covers that show on the Nook with no modification needed. For question no. 3: pagination shows a single page at the bottom of the screen, but this page number may not change for 2 or 3 page turns. I suspect that the page number is related to the original pagination tied to the ebook. The Nook does Not show chapter headings. Victor

08-13-2011, 07:31 AM	#4
Bookworm_Girl E-reader Enthusiast Posts: 4,871 Karma: 36507503 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Southwest, USA Device: Kindle Oasis 3; Kobo Aura One; iPad Mini 5	In response to Item 2, no, you can't swap out the images in buried folder locations for the cover thumbnails like you can on the Sony. I also do not think it is possible to change the B&N book covers since it is syncing those books with the B&N servers. Also, there may be an issue with how covers are displayed for DRM versus non-DRM'ed books. With my Nook Color, which has similar firmware, the non-DRM'ed books mostly have covers. If not, then I do a calibre conversion as noted in the previous posts. However, the DRM'ed books (like ones I purchased from the Sony or Kobo bookstores) show a generic icon rather than the cover art. Perhaps somebody can clarify if the Nook Touch has this same issue. Item 3. The pagination will be similar to your Sony. That's the nature of EPUB's. It does not dynamically repaginate for font sizes. On the other hand, if you were to go to Page 213 on the Nook Touch, then you will see the same text as Page 213 on your Sony. FYI - If you have a really large library of non-B&N books, then you will probably need to store them on SD card rather than the Touch main memory. The Touch only has 250MB of its internal memory allocated to side-loaded books; the rest is reserved for B&N content.

08-13-2011, 08:19 AM	#6
drofgnal Wizard Posts: 1,227 Karma: 7838248 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: Ipad Pro/Kindle Oasis 3/iPhone 13 Pro Max	what is the best reader then for side loaded epubs? I'm currently using the ipad ibooks, but would like to get a smaller dedicated reader as well.

08-13-2011, 08:51 AM	#7
Asawi Gadgetoholic Posts: 1,462 Karma: 2731820 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Sweden Device: Kobo Libra2, Tolino Vision 6	Nook, Kobo and Sony all work well with sideloaded ePubs. I'm sure others do as well, but those I have tried. Of the three Sony is the one that makes me feel most "independent", followed by Kobo and then Nook last of the three. The reason Nook is last is because of the home page trying to get me to go to the store and buy books. I more or less only use sideloaded content and hate the syncing to my store libraries where I have to archive (or similar) all books I don't want to show up on my reader.

08-15-2011, 05:47 AM	#8
drofgnal Wizard Posts: 1,227 Karma: 7838248 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: Ipad Pro/Kindle Oasis 3/iPhone 13 Pro Max	Can't you just leave wi-fi off and use it like a sony?

08-15-2011, 06:19 AM	#9
Asawi Gadgetoholic Posts: 1,462 Karma: 2731820 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Sweden Device: Kobo Libra2, Tolino Vision 6	Yes, you can leave the WiFI off and use it like the Sony. The Nook home page will still show BN material though, but you really don't need to visit the home page.

08-16-2011, 04:23 AM	#11
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Is it still the case that only a small portion of the storage space is available for user-loaded content?

08-16-2011, 05:47 AM	#13
drofgnal Wizard Posts: 1,227 Karma: 7838248 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: Ipad Pro/Kindle Oasis 3/iPhone 13 Pro Max	250 mb can be a lot of books. Does side loading work by plugging the nook into a usb port and using drag and drop?

08-16-2011, 05:57 AM	#14
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Yes, the same as with any other reader; it just mounts as an external storage device.

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