2017-07-17 15:12:39

Hi guys,
so, recently, I bought some audioplays from Audible. Unfortunately though, some of them were only in mono.
I am a bit disappointed, since I know for a fact, that they weren't produced in mono. I called the Support of Audible. But the guy on the phone didn't really Sound like he would believe me. I am planning to call them again. But my question is now, have you encountered something similar?
The Plays in question are:
Doctor Who - the hornets's nest 1
Doctor who - Paradise of death
Doctor who - The ghosts of N-Space.
Maybe someone here even has them, and can confirm, that they are in Stereo...

2017-07-17 16:20:59

Hi,

I encountered that problem earlier and Audible should already know this problem. Since Audible only selled audiobooks for a very long time, they seem to mess up with the release profiles sometimes, converting a radioplay with the profile of an audiobook which results in a mono radioplay. Anyway, I always wrote an email to them, telling them the specified title and when I bought it, and that it's a radioplay which usually is in stereo, but only is in mono on their site, which they should look into. I never called them though, they always answered that they forwarded that to the required location and one or two days later (sometimes faster, sometimes slower) the radioplay was in stereo. Keep in mind that you'll have to re-download the audiobook from their site from time to time to check it out, and that the file size doesn't actually has to be different, due to the usage of their encoding/encryption algorithm.
Best Regards.
Hijacker

2017-07-17 16:59:22

Yes this sometimes happens. It's 64 Kbps AAC, which IMO is only just adequate for an audio play. However stereo files should be available for plays Audible knows about, including their own dramas.

As for the titles in question: tell me about it! Ghosts and Paradise are stereo and they're mono on Audible. Bloody annoying! Hopefully, if you tell them, they'll upgrade it. Then I can get stereo files and that would for sure make me very happy.

Just myself, as usual.

2017-07-17 17:36:00

Well, it's good to know, that I am not the only one, who has these problems, and that they get more feetback from other people as well. I just called them again. And this time, the lady I had on the phone sounded much more professional. She will send me an EMail, as soon as she has an update on the files. She even gave me an extra credit xD.

2017-07-18 00:17:31

64K ACC is the best you get for audio plays and the like from audible? I am betting the fact that the format is ACC is making it real easy for Apple to offer books from audible up on the ITunes store. One thing that audible could do to bring me over quicker is have alot higher bitrate as an option. It is worth noting that if I had just a bit more to budget out for intertainment accounts, audible may be up there in my list of accounts, but that is a side note though. I guess it supprises me that they have their shows like that in a pretty low bitrate.

All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring; Renewed shall be blade that was broken, The crownless again shall be king.
DropBox Referral

2017-07-18 01:00:51

That's wrong. The best quality Audible offers, they call it AAX+, is 126 KB/s stereo AAC, which is at least enough to enjoy radioplays offered by Audible, as well as Audiobooks. It's not as much as other portals offer, but it's enough to accept it in exchange for the really low prices offered when using one of their abonnements.
Best Regards.
Hijacker

2017-07-18 01:17:43

Correction noted. LOL. Why are they having problem with some of their plays then if they can and do offer better?

All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring; Renewed shall be blade that was broken, The crownless again shall be king.
DropBox Referral

2017-07-18 06:29:58

I think it's because about 90% of their content are audiobooks. And with an audiobook, it is not really important, if it's mono or stereo.
When it comes to audioplays, I only buy them there, if I can't find them anywhere else.

2017-07-18 15:48:18

Correct, 64 kbps mono and 128 kbps stereo, i.e. two low-complex streams. No doubt iTunes is made happier by AAC, but of course it's a standard and not a bad choice either. If you use ffmpeg and know your activation secret, you can turn your "enhanced" (.aax) files into m4b files, which are basically iTunes audiobook format MPEG4 containers with chapter marking metadata. Any player that plays AAC audio files can then play them.

I'm with ThePlayer. Buy from Audible if you must, which in practice means a lot more than I'd prefer to especially for dramas, as in this case. But to be sure, once you have learned to decrypt your files, it suddenly becomes worthwhile, and a superior alternative to ripping it yourself from old cassettes. And really, that's just how the copyright maximalists prefer it. sad

Just myself, as usual.

2017-07-18 20:44:34

I found a program which does all the conversion stuff for me, and since I think 126 kb/s is enough to enjow a radioplay and audiobooks without missing something important out, I'll stay with Audible. I mean, only 10 bucks for everything you want with an abonnement is just amazing.
Best Regards.
Hijacker

2017-07-19 06:43:34

The price is ok, that is true. But I don't think, it could count as an excuse for low quality. I mean, every other company, which sells Audioplays, offers it in 256 KB/s. And especially, when it comes to Audioble's AAX, that shouldn't be too much to ask. I found a few of the plays that I bought also on some other place. A place, where you can, well let's call it, just take the stuff. And that version had a much better quality then the version from Audible. And if I would work for Audible, I would feel sort of ashamed. LOL. I mean, you want to get people away from obtaining stuff in a way, that excludes paying, right?