How to listen

  1. How to listen
    1. Fundamentals
    2. How to listen to LibriVox audio files
      1. On your computer
      2. On an iPod or similar MP3 player
      3. On a CD player
    3. How to 'bookmark' a place in a file
      1. Splitting mp3 files into shorter tracks
      2. Bookmark feature on software/audio players
        1. iTunes/iPods
        2. Creative Zen and Vision M
      3. CD car players

Fundamentals

There are two ways of listening to a digital audio book.

  1. If you have a high-speed internet connection (broadband, ADSL), you can listen directly via streaming audio [Note: Need how-to]

  2. Most people like to Glossary#download the files for an audio book before they listen.
    To learn how to download LibriVox files to your computer before you start listening, please click through to the How To Get LibriVox Audio Files page, then return here.

How to listen to LibriVox audio files

Now that you've got some of the MP3 or Ogg Vorbis files on your computer, you can listen to them in several ways:

On your computer

You can play them on your favorite audio player on your computer (e.g., iTunes, Winamp, Quicktime, Windows Media Player - it's highly unlikely that you don't have at least one of them on your computer but if you don't, you can download them for free), listening through your computer speakers or attached headphones.

Learn how to listen with a computer.

On an iPod or similar MP3 player

You can load the files into an iPod or other portable digital audio player and listen while you work out or walk the dog.

Learn how to listen with a digital audio player.

On a CD player

You can burn the files to an MP3 disk or audio CD and listen to them in the car or on your home stereo.

Learn how to listen with your CD or DVD player.

How to 'bookmark' a place in a file

Sometimes you won't be able to listen to a whole file. In that case, you will want your player to remember the place in the file, so that when you get back to listening, you won't have to start from the beginning of the file (a lot of LibriVox files are 20+ minutes long). There are two ways to help you with this:

Splitting mp3 files into shorter tracks

Learn how to split your mp3 files.

Bookmark feature on software/audio players

iTunes/iPods

Newer versions of iTunes (above 5 I believe) will modify MP3 files to "Remember playback position" for playback on iPods. The iPod will pick up where you left off, even if you’ve switched over to another book or music. This feature can be enabled by right-clicking a track and choosing:

Creative Zen and Vision M

All the Creative Zen V and Vision M players have a bookmark function where you can set up to 10 different bookmarks before you have to delete one.

CD car players

This may not work on all players, but try just turning off the car whilst the audio is still playing. In other words, don't press 'Stop' on the CD player. Most players will pick up where you stopped, when you start the car again.

HowToListen (last edited 2007-11-11 11:45:57 by Starlite)