Sansa Fuze or Fuze+ for MP3 for audiobooks?

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by mmread

tubemonkey,

You got a great deal on the clip+ at RS. My RS would not accept the coupon on BF. I did not try it at a smaller RS. The .com store has it as out of stock.

I just looked at the site, and it is showing as in stock in all the colors.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Catlady

I just looked at the site, and it is showing as in stock in all the colors.

Now the coupons aren't working. LOL

[mmread]

I finally went through my junk email and I saw that one of my request for one of my audiobooks (.wma format) is ready to download from the Digital Library powered by Overdrive. I have until the 28th to download it. My fuze+ does not arrive until Dec 2.

What should I do? I do have an 8G Micro SD card that I was planning for the fuze+. Do I just download the .wma file directly to the fuze+? Do I download to my pc and then drag it to the Micro? I don't plan to listen to it until Cmas time. How do I do this right so I don't have to worry about DRM and a 21 day time limit.

If there is a better forum place to ask this question? I have not received any notifications for any ebooks from the Digital Library to download. I will post those questions in the Jetbook/Libre Forum.

Thanks

[jj2me]

Originally Posted by mmread

[...]

I have until the 28th to download it. My fuze+ does not arrive until Dec 2.

...

Do I just download the .wma file directly to the fuze+? Do I download to my pc and then drag it to the Micro? I don't plan to listen to it until Cmas time. How do I do this right so I don't have to worry about DRM and a 21 day time limit.

You need to load it using the OverDrive Media Console app (or Windows Media Player, but it's easier using the OverDrive app), with the Fuze+ plugged in to the PC. The OverDrive app works in conjunction with WMP (invisibly to you) and the Fuze+ to allow the DRM'd WMA to be playable on your Fuze+.

You click on the Transfer button in OverDrive, and follow the popups. On one, you'll have a drop-down that will list the Fuze+ and if you click on the tiny down arrow on its right, you'll see the micro SD as an alternative destination (assuming you have one installed when you connect the Fuze+.

I don't have the Fuze+, so I can't say exactly where you load the files. I've read that the Fuze+ is not like the Fuze, nor like the Clip or Clip+. It may not have the resume capabilities that those of us love in our Clips and regular Fuzes, I don't know. Some think it is based on the Sansa View's firmware, and not the previous gen Fuze's.

Before connecting the Fuze+ to your PC, you'll need to have the Fuze+'s USB mode in "Auto" or "MTP" (not "MSC"), if it offers such a mode. It's probably in "Auto", so you could skip this step and likely be ok.

The OverDrive app loads the audiobook files into the Music folder ("\Music\<authorname>\<booktitle> in the Clip, Clip+, and Fuze by default. All of us Clip/Clip+/Fuze owners have to correct this by clicking on "Advanced Options" button during the OverDrive "Transfer" sequence of steps and changing the destination directory from "\Music\..." to "\Audiobooks\...". If the Fuze+ doesn't have an Audiobooks folder, then try to put them in "\Podcasts\...". You're doing this so you get the resume function (picks up where you left off listening), which you don't get for files in Directory "\Music\...".

Download on the 27th and you'll be ok. It'll be active on your PC for 7 or 10 or whatever days thereafter, within which period you can transfer to MTP devices.

Again, I don't know how the Fuze+ works, whether it will always resume even if you go off and play music and then come back, or whether it has an Audiobooks folder, or Podcasts folder. It it doesn't have any of these, or doesn't seem to resume properly, you'll have to ask in the Sandisk Sansa Fuze+ forum.

[mmread]

I posted in the Sansa Fuze+ forum per your suggestion. So to download today or tomorrow, should I use the download "to PC option" or the "to mpa option"? I read in the Sansa Fuze forum that podcast is for .aa files. Now I just read from another poster that she returned her Fuze+ because she could never got library abooks to work. I hope somebody has the Fuze on sale tomorrow.

[jj2me]

Originally Posted by mmread

I posted in the Sansa Fuze+ forum per your suggestion. So to download today or tomorrow, should I use the download "to PC option" or the "to mpa option"? I read in the Sansa Fuze forum that podcast is for .aa files. Now I just read from another poster that she returned her Fuze+ because she could never got library abooks to work. I hope somebody has the Fuze on sale tomorrow.

Not sure what you mean by "download "to PC option" or the "to mpa option"?" You need to install the OverDrive Media Console app first (your library should have a link right on the download page for the book), before you download any audiobook. Once OverDrive Media Console is installed, your download should offer to save or open with OverDrive; choose to open with OverDrive. Then OverDrive opens and suggests a place on your PC to store the audiobook--you can just use their suggested location (My Media in Vista) and later change the default place where it goes if you want. Then it downloads the audiobooks. Later when you get your Fuze+ and connect it to your PC, you can open OverDrive again and click on the audiobook and click the Transfer button to begin the loading sequence.

There are a limited number of new Fuzes anymore. You can Google for "Sansa Fuze" and then on the results page click "Shopping" on the top row. I've seen refurbished 4GB Fuzes for $30 occasionally, and new for $50 or so (like here), and 8GB for more.

[SeaBookGuy]

I have never had a Sansa before - I assume the book goes in the "audiobooks" folder, but does the Clip+ read individual folders? I'm used to creating a (unique) folder first on the player, but not sure if the Clip recognizes that?

[jj2me]

Originally Posted by SeaBookGuy

I have never had a Sansa before - I assume the book goes in the "audiobooks" folder, but does the Clip+ read individual folders? I'm used to creating a (unique) folder first on the player, but not sure if the Clip recognizes that?

Yes, you can create folders in any of the Clip/Clip+/Fuze, but only the Clip+ and Fuze have an option to access content via folders. The Clip doesn't. (I'm saying this because you said both "Clip+" and "Clip" in your post.)

In order to get the nice resume function on the Clip/Clip+/Fuze, the user needs to ensure that audiobooks either go under the Clip+/Clip/Fuze topmost folder "Audiobooks" (plural), or each file is tagged as "Audiobook" (singular). (Similarly, podcasts go under folder "Podcasts" or are tagged as "Podcast" to get resume.) I'd suspect you can also create folders of your choosing under "\Audiobooks\...", because that's what the OverDrive app does--I think it creates a folder by author, then book title, e.g., "\Audiobooks\John Grisham\The Appeal\The Appeal.wma".

[SeaBookGuy]

Thanks -- I have a clip+ on its way to me. I'm excited as it holds 4Gb of Overdrive books that I understand don't "expire" (I further understand that on the Fuze they do)? I'm also interested in the Enhanced Audible playback, where 4Gb should be plenty for those large(r) files.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by SeaBookGuy

Thanks -- I have a clip+ on its way to me. I'm excited as it holds 4Gb of Overdrive books that I understand don't "expire" (I further understand that on the Fuze they do)? I'm also interested in the Enhanced Audible playback, where 4Gb should be plenty for those large(r) files.

Hmm. I thought the audio books would expire, since the Clip+ has a calendar and clock. But I haven't used mine with Overdrive; I've only loaded the free Librivox recordings.

[jj2me]

Originally Posted by SeaBookGuy

Thanks -- I have a clip+ on its way to me. I'm excited as it holds 4Gb of Overdrive books that I understand don't "expire" (I further understand that on the Fuze they do)?

OverDrive audiobooks don't expire on any of the Sandisk Sansa players, nor on Creative, Zune, Sony, ... There may be a player that they do expire on, but I don't know of any. They expire on the PC.

You can also load OverDrive audiobooks on a micro SD card installed in the Clip+. Look for a drop-down that shows the Clip+, and drop it down to see and select the external micro SD card as the destination.

[SeaBookGuy]

Thanks - WMA audiobooks do expire on my Cowon D2, and I've heard of them expiring on other players; they didn't on my Cowon I5 that had an internal calendar/clock. Great to hear that using the SD card is also an option - I don't often switch between books, but with some longer ones my ADD does kick in at times!

Now for a shameless plug -- please feel free to check out the Audiobooks forum at Goodreads (I'm one of the mods).

[mmread]

I just came back from the Shack. One store had a red Fuze. One salesman there said that he really likes his Clip+ for his audiobooks. He did not know anything about the Fuze or Fuze+. Nobody answered me over at the Sansa Forum.

In my Digital Library, I have the icon choices for download. I will follow your suggestion and do overdrive first.

[mmread]

jj2me.

THANK YOU!!!! I did it. It took me forever. The red fuze has an old firmware. I did not update to the current one on their website. I just downloaded to your instructions. After the holidays, I will update. I am very happy that I did not get the Clip+. The Fuze is small already. I think I would loose the Clips. I am envious that I don't have a clip to attatch to me but I will find something. The wheel is hard to get used to go up and down. I even presetted 2 FM stations. I am so glad that I don't have to deal with CDs. I'm going to take a breather before I figure out how to do a download for the Libre.

[jj2me]

mmread,

Glad to hear it. You actually got that all sorted out surprisingly quickly, being new to audiobooks on an MP3 player. The purchasing decision, then from a Fuze+ to a Fuze, a new app and all the various details and differences we're subjected to with each new device and app, forum searching, etc. You really didn't want to lose that audiobook that you've been waiting five weeks for!