Problem with .m4b files on iPod
Hi,
I wonder if anyone can help me with a confusing and frustrating issue. I have a G5 30 GB video iPod, using the latest iTunes and firmware. On it, I have files from my ripped CDs as well as songs purchased from iTunes. Also podcasts, video and audio. Playing all of these different kinds of media work just fine on my iPod.
I also have bought courses from the Teaching Company [www.teach12.com] in .m4b format. The files are 96 kbps. They don't play well, and only on the iPod. Playing the files in iTunes is always fine, so the files themselves seem okay.
I find that the iPod tends to skip an entire file, or several. It's like it tries to play it, and then decides it doesn't like the file and gives up on playback. I can sometimes work around this exasperating behavior by hitting PAUSE just after I tell the iPod to play the file. If I catch it before it decides the file is bad, and pause playback, then things work. I can un-pause and then the file plays perfectly. There is never any problem with playback if I can just get it to start on the file. If I do nothing it will skip some random number of files and then play the next one.
If I have previously listed to part of the lecture in the .m4b file, so that the bookmark is set some distance into the file, I think it has a higher chance of working. But I could be wrong about that.
How can I get past this problem? Has anyone else seen it?
Many thanks for any light you can shed on this.
Chris
HP Pavilion Windows XP
I wonder if anyone can help me with a confusing and frustrating issue. I have a G5 30 GB video iPod, using the latest iTunes and firmware. On it, I have files from my ripped CDs as well as songs purchased from iTunes. Also podcasts, video and audio. Playing all of these different kinds of media work just fine on my iPod.
I also have bought courses from the Teaching Company [www.teach12.com] in .m4b format. The files are 96 kbps. They don't play well, and only on the iPod. Playing the files in iTunes is always fine, so the files themselves seem okay.
I find that the iPod tends to skip an entire file, or several. It's like it tries to play it, and then decides it doesn't like the file and gives up on playback. I can sometimes work around this exasperating behavior by hitting PAUSE just after I tell the iPod to play the file. If I catch it before it decides the file is bad, and pause playback, then things work. I can un-pause and then the file plays perfectly. There is never any problem with playback if I can just get it to start on the file. If I do nothing it will skip some random number of files and then play the next one.
If I have previously listed to part of the lecture in the .m4b file, so that the bookmark is set some distance into the file, I think it has a higher chance of working. But I could be wrong about that.
How can I get past this problem? Has anyone else seen it?
Many thanks for any light you can shed on this.
Chris
HP Pavilion Windows XP
