LibriVox

Perry_Rhodan · Joined: 16 Oct 2008 Posts: 5 Location: Porto Alegre, Brazil

Hello everyone!

I would like to suggest an extra, optional work in the flow of this project. After an audio book is completed, the book text could be synchronized to the audio in the MP3 and OGG files. Using the LRC format (see link below), the people that download the audio books could read the book along, if their audio player support this additional information (and there are plenty of plugins available for different mp3/ogg players, as well as portable media players). Currently, the LibriVox project makes the original text available, so someone could read the book at the same time that he listens to it. But there are some problems, for example: supposing he does not listen the file to the end, and decides to continue listening it some other time; he would have to search for the point in the text that he stopped reading. With synchronized text, the player would display the text in the exact point where the audio is at.
What are the disadvantages?
The most obvious potential disadvantages to the users are:
they will have to find a player or a plugin that support the LRC files in order to have the synchronized text working. A problem not that big: the mp3/ogg still work without the plugin, so the people can still listen to their audiobook; they just won't see the text along.
you may have to download extra files (the LRC) and associate them with the mp3/ogg. Some plugins allow you to save the LRC inside the mp3 file. I don't know if the same can be done to ogg files, and I also don't know whether most players support embedded lyrics or not.
The only disadvantage for the LibriVox project that I can think of is that the text must be synchronized after the audiobook is complete. This task cannot be done simultaneously, since it depends on the timing of the audio. Also, it is not completely necessary, since the users already have the book available That's why I suggest it as optional.
Why do it?
Because it would be cool. Wink

In order to make it happen, some guidelines should be defined. For example, what must be the width of the text being synchronized?

Link to information on the LRC format: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LRC_%28file_format%29

Thanks,
PR aka Mauricio

Great Plains · Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 8:37 pm Post subject:

I was brainstorming some way to do something like this. My idea was to create something like an LRC file, but instead of syncing each line of "lyrics", it would simply be a time stamp for the start of each paragraph. Then the entire paragraph could be highlighted or marked as it was being read. This could be done using Javascript on a web page with a built-in flash MP3 player.

But it sounds like a lot of work, both to set up and to create the LRC files.
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Perry_Rhodan · Joined: 16 Oct 2008 Posts: 5 Location: Porto Alegre, Brazil

RuthieG · Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 9:56 pm Post subject:

Great Plains · Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 10:04 pm Post subject:

I think if we time-stamped each paragraph, it would be do-able.

I was looking at some of the LRC programs, and they make it pretty dead easy to do. You just press a hot key when the cursor is reached in the audio, the time stamp is inserted, and the cursor advances to the next line. I'm not sure they're optimized for prose, but it could work.
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RuthieG · Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 10:15 pm Post subject:

Perry_Rhodan · Joined: 16 Oct 2008 Posts: 5 Location: Porto Alegre, Brazil

Jc · Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 10:56 pm Post subject:

I think it's a good idea. Would be a neat thing to offer.
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coolkma · Joined: 24 Oct 2008 Posts: 1

Here I put a video demonstrating an Aesop Fables tail with synchronized text.
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=kNuuAgoxSiY
Sorry for the Chinese part of the video. I hope that would trigger more interests of bringing synchronized texts to Librivox. Smile

I use Cool-Karaoke to do the tagging. ttplayer should be a good tool on M$ Windows to do the tagging; however, English version of it does not seem to be available.

Librivox + time-tagged text would be perfect for language learners, reading and listening on portable devices, etc.

uther · Joined: 01 Jun 2006 Posts: 41

Hi guys,

Long time no Vox Smile

I did a Helen Keller biography project back in 2006 and it appears that this has *already* turned into an audio/visual project by someone:

helenkellerbio.blogspot.com

Here's also a description of it too...

http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/technology/2008/001509.html

I am just amazed that it ended up being used in this way... Glad too!

- M

RuthieG · Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2008 11:57 am Post subject:

What a splendid use of your recording - I would be proud as punch if one of mine was used in this way. Very Happy

Ruth
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Starlite · Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2008 12:38 pm Post subject:

That is a truly amazing use of our LibriVox recordings!! Cloud Nine

You have every right to be 'proud as punch' as Ruthie put it!!

Esther Very Happy

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hugh · Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2008 1:22 pm Post subject:

there are plans with OpenLibrary.org to incorporate audio with their texts.

Let me chase that up a little.
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slattery · Joined: 01 Jan 2010 Posts: 5

I've synchronized two books so far, and created a free online tool for viewing such content:
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: http://reader.dinglabs.com/
As a Man Thinketh: http://reader.dinglabs.com/#b:=http://content.dinglabs.com/book/thinketh

Here's a demonstration video regarding playback: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IG00lyK01pQ

I would love to see a day when all LibriVox content were accessible in such a format!
Has there been any thought lately on making this happen?
I'd love to collaborate.

Jc · Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 6:08 pm Post subject:

I don't think there has been much going in that direction.

Your online tool is absolutely splendid! How much time did you put in it? Did you use a specific program?

I think something like that will need some time to set up, and to integrate into the LV process. We would need a new set of tools/programs, a new set of skills, volunteers to make the LRC files, and potentially, PL-ers for these files.

Maybe one could start a thread in the Other Projects forum, and see if we can get people to jump on the bandwagon.

I think the main issue would be to get a good (free) tool to create the LRC files. The ideal would be one where you would only need to click on a line to indicate the beginning, and clicking on the next line would indicate the end of the previous line and the beginning of the next.

I've done a couple of subtitle files before, and found that they were very painful to use, because I had to pause the video at every line.
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