Scribd Android app audiobook issues.

[seanma]

booklover6, i wish i could offer you a comparative sample of the same book on scribd (encoded, for app purposes, at the ridiculosly low bitrate of 32 kbs) and on other sites (which offer encoding at 50 or higher... an italian retailer even produces its (relatively few) own titles with a 128 bitrate... practically a soundorgasm!) but i can't.

i can only surmise that audible, with its policy of 'portability above all' has ruined the ears and perceptivity of audiobook listeners, who have settled for a ridiculously low standard.

listening to a 32 kbps encoding is like eating pre-cooked meals. you satisfy your hunger, but it's not like you ate something of value.

[Obscene language deleted - MODERATOR]

[ApK]

I'm thinking the problem is on your end.

Scribd audiobooks are essentially the same as Audible format 4, iTunes audiobooks, and as far I as I know, most other mp3 audiobook sources.

They all sound clear, and, through a car stereo, or portable player earbuds, where most folks tend to listen to audiobooks, they sound to me indistinguishable from audiobooks I get from the library on CD.*

Audibooks are not consumed like classical music on studio monitors in a quiet listening room.

If you are saying that you simply won't stand for any less-than-CD quality mp3 audio file of anything, well, it sucks to be you, I guess. Just don't expect to convince any of us here in the real world that we have a problem.

But if you are saying you find Scribd's books to be below the industry standard of mp3 audiobooks, surely you could indeed post some samples. If you record the analog output of a Scribd book and a book you think is better, from the same player and record the samples at CD quality, any distinct audible difference should be evident.

ApK

*I have encountered BAD audiobook recordings, but they were individual production and engineering issues, not an inherent problem with the audio file format.

[seanma]

yeah, it definitely sucks to be me... it's less a problem than an unwillingness to listen to anything that's not crystal clear and /or capable of rendering one and every nuance of the narrator's voice.

it's like reading a book with mold-stained pages as opposed to a newly printed one.

i agree to you when u say that the problem varies from book to book. I found Naxos editions to be perfectly listenable even at a low bitrate, maybe because their original encoding is incredibly above average (and they make you pay for it dearly, too!) but for me is an exception.

audiobooks by such top companies as blackstone, penguin, random house, ecc become intolerably butchered when on scribd (both online and with the app) whereas the original recordings are undoubtebly top shelf.

and of course you're patently wrong saying: s far I as I know, most other mp3 audiobook sources.

many sites (even audible i think, that lets you choose from 4 different versions) offer audiobooks at a CD quality bit-rate (samples on downpour.com are at 128 even!) because otherwise you'll be wasting money.

scribd encodes at 32 mainly for portability purposes (a 20h book encoded at 96 occupies about 1 G of space, the same at 32 requires less than 300 M... you clearly see the convenience here...) but for me, at such conditions, it's a no brainer, and a no go.