2007-Oct-9 - Converting MP 3 Audio Books

MP3 audio books are ideal for most portable audio players (aka MP3 Players) for MP3 files are universal and freely adopt by all audio makers. However, MP3 files can be share; therefore it’s not an ideal file format for major audio books publishers.  Therefore, most of the larger publishers tend to produce their audio books in WMA (Windows Media Audio) format which offers certain protection.

If you're specifically looking for mp3 audio books, you will limit yourself to certain number of audio books. The audio books that you wanted may be in WMA format. You should first look for audio books by title or genre not by their file format. This will ensure that you will have the audio books that you wanted. You can then transfer your audio books into mp3 files by following the suggestion below.

Majority of downloadable audio books come in either WMA or MP3 format. Both formats will play on normal PC and MP3 players without any problem at all. However, if you wanted to transfer your downloaded audio books to Zune, iPod, or play them on normal stereo, these audio books will first require converting into suitable file format.

Zune (by Microsoft) restricted any WMA file that is not directly purchased from them; therefore, you must convert your download audio books into MP3 file format before you can play your audio books on Zune.

iPod is made by Apple a direct competitor of Microsoft, therefore, WMA files are not supported. If you wanted to transfer WMA audio books to your iPod you must first converted WMA audio books into MP3 files.

If you wanted to play your downloaded audio books on a regular stereo, you must first convert the audio books into a normal audio cd file, WAV, and then burn these files onto CDs. If your stereo system can play MP 3 files, I suggested that you burn your audio books as MP 3 files instead of WAV files. The smaller file size of MP 3 will let you burn many audio books onto a single CD.

Don’t let the extra step stopping you from listening to audio books. All you need to do is download a good audio converter program from the internet. The audio converter program will automate files conversion for you, just as its name implies.

One of the best audio converter programs that I recommend is NoteBurner. It’s very robust and easy to use. Noteburner automate the whole work flow of converting protected audio files (such as WMA) into MP3 or WAV. Therefore, you can transfer your favorite audio books into iPod, Zune or burn them to normal CDs (either in MP3 or WAV format) with ease.

You can download the trial version of Noteburner for free of charge and try using it before you buy. This is a great way to find out whether this program is right for you or not.