OverDrive WMA Audiobook and iTunes?

Just open the Overdrive Help tab and search on "transfer" or "iTunes". Among other things it will tell you:

You'll get selections that explain the WMA files work fine and will walk you through it.

"If you plan to transfer OverDrive WMA Audiobooks, OverDrive WMA Music, and/or OverDrive WMV Video to a portable device, you may want to verify that the portable device supports content delivered in the DRM-protected Windows Media format... many OverDrive WMA Audiobooks and OverDrive WMA Music titles can be transferred to Apple devices (where permitted by publisher)."

Plug your iPod or mobile device into the USB port and open iTunes and Overdrive. Note that you must click the Manually manage music box in the mobile device summary window of iTunes. Then click the book, music or video in the Overdrive list and click the Transfer button. Select some or all the chapters you want to transfer.. It will find the mobile device and begin.

Some find the mobile device transfer confusing. To load or delete a WMA or MP3 book onto an Apple mobile device do the following.

1. For Windows versions, you must first do a security update of Windows Media Player (even though you won't be using it) using Internet Explorer at http://drmlicense.one.microsoft.com/indivsite .

2. Open iTunes, plug the mobile device into the computer USB port and open the Overdrive Media Console.

3. Highlight the mobile device in the left hand menu of iTunes and insure the "Manually manage music and videos" box is checked in the Summary Tab.

4. Highlight the book you want to transfer in the Overdrive Media Console and click the Transfer Button. A window opens permitting you to click the boxes for parts of the book you wish to transfer.

5. After the book has been transfered, when you click the disclosure triangle (arrow) to the left of the iPod, iPhone, or iPad in the Device section of the left hand menu of iTunes, MP3 books will show up under the Music subsection and WMA books will show up in the Books subsection. Once the mobile device is disconnected from iTunes, MP3 books will show up in the Songs list and WMA books will show up in the Books list.

6. To remove a book from a mobile device plug the device into the USB port and open iTunes. Click the disclosure triangle to the left of your iPod, iPhone, or iPad in the Device section of the left hand menu of iTunes so that you can see the device’s subcontents. For an MP3 book select the Music subsection, right click on the book and choose Delete. For a WMA book, select the Book subsection, right click on the book and choose Delete.

Many libraries worldwide now use Overdrive Media Console. Here is where you can see if your local library does.

http://search.overdrive.com/

As noted in paragraph 5, above, it works with both MP3 and WMA files. Overdrive converts WMA files as it transfers them to Apple mobile devices.

You can download the software, search for books and see tutorials, etc., without an account at the website of any library that uses Overdrive, however, you need a library card to download books. Below is my local library site. Note the software and guided tour are at the bottom of the left hand menu.

http://washoecounty.lib.overdrive.com/539A4B98-B41A-49DE-8EC1-A22F66E4C0F6/10/41 9/en/default.htm

Cornelia, as you have noted by now, Macs can only download MP3 audiobooks; not WMA. Bummer.

The Windows version of Overdrive does convert WMA to MP3 format in order to move ebooks to Apple mobile devices. Unfortunately, the Mac version just won't deal with WMA. Though there are lots of audio conversion programs out there for WMA<>MP3 conversion, the security stuff on audiobooks prevents them from working.

One thing I need help with is that after I get the WMA onto my ipod, I can't get it over to itunes. This means I need to keep the manual sync turned on. Anything I download to itunes won't go over to the ipod and vice versa. Once I turn manual sync off, my book disappears off the ipod.

Is there any way to get the book to itunes?

Brenda, you and Cornelia seem to be fighting city hall. There is no way to put converted WMA audiobooks on iTunes. ITunes is only the highway by which you move them from Overdrive to portable devices. That is done by an internal Overdirve conversion from WMA to mp3 provided the audiobook is authorized to be used on Apple portable devices.

Once you set the portable device to Manual Sync in iTunes, leave it on Manual sync. Everything will sink (podcasts, photos, etc.) except music. After using the Syncronize button in the iTunes portable device Summary tab, manually sync music by going to the Music tab and clicking its Sync button. If the book is too large for the portable device storage, the amount of music will be reduced so there is room for the audiobok on the device.

In other words you need to Sync twice: once with the Summary tab Sync button and once with the Music tab Sync button.

Cornelia, when you check out an ebook, you choose whether it expires in 7, 14 or 21 days. After that it won't open on Overdrive or a portable device. The security features also lock it if transferred manually.

If you would take a few minutes and watch the 2-3 minute video tutorials in the Overdrive Media Console Guided Tour (videos) at http://www.overdrive.com/Solutions/Libraries/tour/MenuWelcome.html it would answer all these issues.

Thanks for the clarification that I can't put these WMA books into itunes. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything.

So to summarize, when I hit "transfer" in OverDrive, it makes me have my ipod connected and downloads directly to the ipod. It skips itunes, which is why it requires manual sync. Now that I know how to sync my music while in manual sync, I'm happy.

As far as the expiring of the books, when I download them from my county library site (LibraryToGo), it asks me to pick a checkout duration. I then download it OverDrive. From there I only have the checkout duration time to download to my ipod. HOWEVER, once I get it to my ipod, it doesn't expire. It only expires in OverDrive.

I don't know if it works like this with every service, but I would expect it to. Please try it with your service and see if it expires on the ipod.

As I said in my 5 August post, After the expiration, the audiobook will fail to open in both Overdirve and any portable devices.

You set your prefered expiration period in the preferences of you library ebook account. However, you have the opportunity to adjust the expiration term for each book.