MobileRead Forums - View Single Post

delphin · 03-21-2011, 12:32 AM

Yes, unless the book is in MP3 format, it will need to be converted, and if it's in Microsoft WMA format, then there are DRM issues as well.

Some WMA files will let you burn them to CD's and if you have the right software, you can skip the actual burning step, and just capture the CD ISO image files and convert them directly to MP3.

Alternately, you can strip the DRM and use a conversion tool to convert to MP3, but you will have to Google around for the software, as we can't post the links here because DRM removal is a no-no in some countries.

One hint - it's MUCH more difficult to deal with DRM in Windows 7 or XP after Microsoft has helpfully updated your Media Player.

Easiest way around this is to use the free VirtualBox emulator to create a second 'Virtual PC' then load XP on that and DON'T INSTALL THE NEW MEDIA PLAYER (just keep media player 9). You can (and should) do the security updates for Media Player 9, just don't install Microsoft's latest and greatest version, and it will make finding the tools to convert your files into a usable format much easier.

Then, if you have access to a machine with Ubuntu Linux loaded, there is a free application called simply "Sound Converter" that you can get from the free Ubuntu Software Center that does an absolutely incredible job of converting WMA to MP3 (as long as the WMA files have no DRM).

"Sound Converter" will let you load all the audio books tracks at once and do a nice bulk conversion to 64kb or 128kb MP3. It even converts the title and author tag information and keeps it intact, which saves you the trouble of re-tagging the converted MP3 files.

If you don't have Ubuntu, it's not too hard to create a second Virtual PC in VirtualBox and load Ubuntu into that machine.

I run Windows 7 on my laptop with an XP virtual Machine and an Ubuntu Virtual Machine running under VirtualBox.

If all this sounds way toooo complicated, then your only alternative is to only download files in DRM free MP3 format (some libraries do have a few MP3 titles available).

EDIT:

Another even better option, is to simply give up on using the Sony and get an inexpensive MP3 player that also handles WMA format with DRM. They do exist

The 'Overdrive' service web site has a list of players that they have tested, and there are a lot more that they don't list, and you don't necessarily have to spend a lot of money to get this feature, but you will want to double check, as only a fraction of the MP3 players out there can deal with WMA DRM.

03-21-2011, 12:32 AM	#3
delphin Evangelist Posts: 434 Karma: 346901 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: SONY PRS-650	Yes, unless the book is in MP3 format, it will need to be converted, and if it's in Microsoft WMA format, then there are DRM issues as well. Some WMA files will let you burn them to CD's and if you have the right software, you can skip the actual burning step, and just capture the CD ISO image files and convert them directly to MP3. Alternately, you can strip the DRM and use a conversion tool to convert to MP3, but you will have to Google around for the software, as we can't post the links here because DRM removal is a no-no in some countries. One hint - it's MUCH more difficult to deal with DRM in Windows 7 or XP after Microsoft has helpfully updated your Media Player. Easiest way around this is to use the free VirtualBox emulator to create a second 'Virtual PC' then load XP on that and DON'T INSTALL THE NEW MEDIA PLAYER (just keep media player 9). You can (and should) do the security updates for Media Player 9, just don't install Microsoft's latest and greatest version, and it will make finding the tools to convert your files into a usable format much easier. Then, if you have access to a machine with Ubuntu Linux loaded, there is a free application called simply "Sound Converter" that you can get from the free Ubuntu Software Center that does an absolutely incredible job of converting WMA to MP3 (as long as the WMA files have no DRM). "Sound Converter" will let you load all the audio books tracks at once and do a nice bulk conversion to 64kb or 128kb MP3. It even converts the title and author tag information and keeps it intact, which saves you the trouble of re-tagging the converted MP3 files. If you don't have Ubuntu, it's not too hard to create a second Virtual PC in VirtualBox and load Ubuntu into that machine. I run Windows 7 on my laptop with an XP virtual Machine and an Ubuntu Virtual Machine running under VirtualBox. If all this sounds way toooo complicated, then your only alternative is to only download files in DRM free MP3 format (some libraries do have a few MP3 titles available). EDIT: Another even better option, is to simply give up on using the Sony and get an inexpensive MP3 player that also handles WMA format with DRM. They do exist The 'Overdrive' service web site has a list of players that they have tested, and there are a lot more that they don't list, and you don't necessarily have to spend a lot of money to get this feature, but you will want to double check, as only a fraction of the MP3 players out there can deal with WMA DRM. Last edited by delphin; 03-21-2011 at 12:51 AM.