iTunes 12 - Imported CD, cannot classify file as audiobook

Question

iTunes 12 - Imported CD, cannot classify file as audiobook

Hello,

I'm on a Macbook Air running OS X 10.10 and iTunes 12.0.1.26.

I import audiobooks and talks for my daughter and I to listen to while we travel and as educational aids. I switched to a Mac and iPhone due to how easy this was. I'd like to see Apple add a 1.75x speed option for playback in iTunes, Apple TV and the iPhone for audiobooks but otherwise was pretty darn happy with how this worked. I was so happy with it I switched my company to Macs, iPhone and iPads.

I've recently updated my Macbook Air and to the OS and ITunes version listed above. I then tried to use my normal procedure of importing a CD or file then change the media type to audiobook. This would move the file into the audiobook section of iTunes and also allow faster playback on the iPhone. When I imported some files last night this did not work. Additionally some mp3 files already in iTunes could not be changed from music to audiobook. Taking features away is frustrating.

Hope this is a bug and not an intentional decision.

MacBook Air (13-inch Late 2010), OS X Yosemite (10.10)

Posted on Oct 21, 2014 11:11 AM

Reply

Answer 1

PhilSck

Level 1

0 points

Oct 22, 2014 2:31 AM in response to Patrick Pickles

Hi Patrick,

I had the same problem. It worked after making a new AAC-Version of each track. It had the same properties except for being "coded by iTunes 12.." instead of "coded by iTunes 11.." like the old ones. Maybe that works for you, too.

Phil

Reply

Answer 2

PeterVL57

Level 2

304 points

Oct 22, 2014 3:07 AM in response to Patrick Pickles

I've send feedback to apple about this and suggested they would add an option in the CD-import-screen to pre-select music, audiobooks or podcasts so you can decide at importing in which category you want the audiofile to be placed.

Reply

Answer 3

prof_jbk

Level 1

4 points

Oct 29, 2014 8:39 AM in response to PhilSck

I still have this problem. I agree that taking away previous functions is more than frustrating. I changed my files to AAC, and it still doesn't work. I don't get the option to play at a faster speed anymore. LAME.

Reply

Answer 4

turingtest2

Level 10

274,970 points

Oct 29, 2014 9:42 AM in response to Patrick Pickles

Hold down alt/option as you right-click > Get Info. This should give you the old style Get Info dialog from which you should be able to make the change of media kind.

tt2

Reply

Answer 5

prof_jbk

Level 1

4 points

Oct 29, 2014 1:49 PM in response to turingtest2

I think I've figured out the solution.

When you first right-click to --> get info, the old version of iTunes allowed you to change the genre to audiobook.

The new version has two places to change the file types. One is "genre" in the details tab. This will not change the file to audiobook. The windows version of iTunes allows you to change to audiobook here (mac does not even allow it now), but it does not work unless you also go to the Options tab and change the "media kind" from music to audiobook.

Then it will convert it to true audiobook format, as before, and it performs (at least for me) like audiobooks should. That is, when playing the audiobook on iPhone in the music app, you can skip forward/back by 15 secs., and you can change the playback speed, as before.

Reply

Answer 6

turingtest2

Level 10

274,970 points

Oct 29, 2014 2:30 PM in response to prof_jbk

Genre is any text you like. Media Kind is what determines how iTunes treats the content.

tt2

Reply

Answer 7

Oct 30, 2014 5:12 AM in response to turingtest2

Thanks for all the replies. Answers and the workaround I found are below. Seems like a needless change that hampers the functionality of the Apple experience.

Well this issue was with iTunes 11 and 12 encoded files so re-ripping was not my solution. I did find a workaround.

I'd like the option to change media kind to be available for all files, all the time. There is no reason for this flag to be disabled.

I access the file information using cmd-i . Using the combination turingtest2 suggested did not change my options.

The issue is with being able to change the Media Kind. I'm aware that we can specify Genres for the music library but I'm not confused about the two.

Solution:

1. Rip files as mp3. Then the option to change Media Kind is available. This does not work if you don't have original media or are unwilling to transcode. I am not so found option 2.

2. AudioBookBinder can be found in the app store. It's a free app that did such a great job that I sent a donation over to the dev. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/audiobook-binder/id413969927?mt=12

This seems like a business decision, it certainly isn't technical. I really hope this was a mistake making users less productive is no bueno.

Reply

Answer 8

Whywutt

Level 2

177 points

Oct 30, 2014 8:23 AM in response to Patrick Pickles

May be a long shot, but have you tried renaming the file to an m4b file rather than an m4a and tried re-importing?

Reply

Answer 9

Dec 18, 2014 2:08 AM in response to Patrick Pickles

you are wrong the advice 'alt/option' solution works:

1) open file menu

2) hold (alt/option)

3) click "Get Info"

4) profit:

Reply

Answer 10

jlfunder

Level 1

0 points

Dec 26, 2014 5:41 AM in response to _Silmaril_

It seems that the PodCast solution sort of works. This is clearly a problem with iTunes in iOS8. Worked fine in IOS7. I tried many solutions on the computer (even downgrading to previous version of iTunes). By going to Options and changing media to Audiobooks the mp3 files disappeared from the Music list and showed up in the Audiobook list but when you try to play them the system locks up and you later find they have been deleted. Same if you try an alternate player like Ecoute. Change the order of operations or doing it multiple times did not help. AudioBook Binder may work but it seems to take hours. I couldnt wait. Making the MP3 files into Podcasts works. they show up in the podcast App (or Ecoute) with their artwork and play correctly. But they totally disappear from iTunes 11 on the computer. totally. The only way to delete them is to use the 'slide sideways' feature in the phone. It is pretty strange but works for me. The IOS8/Yosemite combo is a disaster. I cant wait until they fire the folks responsible and move on with something simple and less buggy.

iPhone 5- IOS8.1.2/ MBAir OSX 10.10

Reply

Answer 11

mactwit

Level 1

8 points

Dec 28, 2014 5:46 AM in response to Patrick Pickles

Patric, I had the same problem, and not the forst time. the mp3 files were not even selectable. It is an obvious glitch. I have rebooted the computer and then I was able to select and go to options and change my mp3 to audiobook.

Reply

Answer 12

Jan 21, 2015 6:11 AM in response to _Silmaril_

I have had the same infuriating problem; I'm afraid the Alt+Get Info technique doesnt solve the problem…

Note the greyed out Media Kind checkbox

Reply

Answer 13

turingtest2

Level 10

274,970 points

Jan 21, 2015 6:43 AM in response to Jason W-D

There may be a permissions issue. Media Kind is stored in the database, not in any tags, but iTunes won't change the media kind for an item marked as read only, or for which your account doesn't have the correct security permissions. In iTunes for Windows both System and the user account need full access rights. I imagine something similar is true for OS X.

tt2

Reply

Answer 14

Jan 21, 2015 8:29 AM in response to Jason W-D

Hi,

Do you have iTunes match? If so, you will need to turn it off to make changes to media kind

Jim

Reply

Answer 15

jpau00

Level 1

8 points

Jan 31, 2015 7:02 AM in response to turingtest2

Thanks for that. iTunes was classifying my audiobook as music and I could not find any way to change it. Fortunately the old interface is still available...for now.

It is beyond me why Apple insists on destroying the functionality of it UIs with each upgrade. I hold out as long as possible on updating OS, iOS and iTunes for this very reason.

Reply