You’ve heard of audio books, or recorded books before, haven’t you? Many people, even the ones who use them daily, remain tongue-tied when it comes to answering correctly the following questions.

Why? My guess is that audio books in general are so convenient to use. Many of us prefer to venture into the scenes of an audio book without delay more willingly. Spending our precious time researching every detail about its creation remains a distant “maybe”.

On the other hand, there are a few details about recorded books you want to know.
What for?
‘Cause knowing them makes it easier for you to navigate around audio books with more confidence. Your improved “shopper’s education” to make the right choice is worth it.

I admit I used to be unaware of even the basic terms about audio books myself. So, I asked questions to get answers.

Guess what? I’ve found them. And I’d love to share them with you so you can save time researching the same questions. If you’d like to know the answers to the following basic questions about audio books, keep on reading.

What’s an audio book?

An audio book is a book in audio format. It is a “fun replacement” for a physical hardcover or paperback book you’d read from cover to cover. Instead, you grab-n-read books on CD, books on tape, or MP3 books versions.

What formats do audio books come in?

You can get recorded books on tape, books on CD, and MP3 books. From an old-fashioned cassette player to modern and sleek MP3 players, audio books keep you company on-the-go where traditional book reading is simply unsuitable.

What’s an MP3 book?

MP3 books are still audio books. But a clever compression technique reduces the file size to take up less recording space. Besides that, MP3′s are portable and easily downloadable. Storing them is a breeze when compared to piling up stacks of cassettes or CD’s.

How can recorded books in MP3 format be played back?

You can play MP3 audio books on any MP3 portable player. You can also play them on your home PC (need to have Windows Media Player or similar). Playing MP3′s on a laptop or MP3-enabled cellular phones is the latest trend. If you don’t have an MP3 player, but have a CD player, you can burn MP3 files to a CD using your computer. You’ll need special software to do that. Search Google for “free software to burn CD’s” .

What does “unabridged audio book” mean?

Good question. An “unabridged” audio book is narrated (or told) word for word. It’s the printed book equal in audio format. Nothing’s missing. Nothing’s added. As a result, they are longer than “abridged” versions.

What’s an “abridged audio book” version then?

It’s similar to the printed original, but shorter. The word-for-word narration from the previous example is not exact. “Abridged” also means shortened, cut. Keep that in mind if you are looking for the original version.

What are “dramatized audio books”?

Dramatized audio books are stage-like, “play-life” versions of printed books. You get all the bells and whistles: full cast, music and sound effects. Some people prefer it; some would rather get a simple, told version by an experienced narrator.

Is there a difference between having the author of the physical book tell the audio version, or is it better to have a professional narrator do the job?

Some authors are gifted for both writing and telling their own book. Others are better off leaving it to professional “voice-over calibers”. If you can, listen to a sample of the recorded book that catches your interest. It’ll help you decide if the narrator resonates with you. Some people swear that half the beauty of an audio book is the voice-over quality.

Where’s a good place to start for a novice interested in recorded books?

An excellent place to start is to pick up a favorite story you already know about, but would like to “read” as an audio. About the length, pick “abridged” audio books to start with to cut down on time they take to play back. Once you become more skilled with recorded books, you got to check out “unabridged” editions as downloadable audio MP3 books as soon as you can.

Once a beginner, Lou Smith shares the riches he’s found in Audio Books He offers you a special invitation to get free Recorded Books as gifts now. You can listen to MP3 books samples right away.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lou_Smith

It may seem like old hat, but many individuals and organizations still have dated audio collections on old analog formats like 8-track, reel, microcassettes, standard cassette tapes and digital tape like DCC or DAT (digital compact cassette and digital audio tape respectively.) With technological advancements, there is a growing need for audio transfer services to get old music and speech moved into modern audio formats.

Damage and Corruption of Tape

Traditional tape recordings can develop problems as they age, especially those that have seen heavy use or weren’t carefully stored to protect them from contaminants and environmental conditions. As these tapes are often mishandled over the years they’re far more likely to suffer a loss of quality or breakdown completely.

Tapes simply don’t age well, and their condition certainly doesn’t improve. As time progresses, problems can arise with magnetic tape such as “Sticky shed syndrome” or “vinegar syndrome.” Technical names aside, the result can lead to a complete loss of the original recording. That’s why it’s a good idea to back up analog recordings with audio transfer services.

Outdated Tape

For every bad tape and lost recording there are tapes in excellent condition. With advancements in technology older formats become obsolete and as they break down people have been left without the equipment to play the tapes. For many formats, only used models are available and can come at steep prices. There will come a time where equipment won’t be available at all.

Otari, Inc. is the only manufacturer still providing reel to reel tape decks. Elcaset, DCC and the better known 8-track players are no longer being manufactured. Parts are no longer in circulation and must be stripped from other machines. Over time, even that will become extremely difficult as the machines disappear from the market. While professional audio transfer services have these units available to move audio for customers, it’s best to change formats as quickly as possible once your old audio has been moved.

Recordings – Music & Speech

While the professional sector has accumulated a lot of analog audio over the years, there are millions of recordings – both music and speech – that have never been converted to a digital format. These analog recordings range from local bands that were never signed to speeches made by friends, family, colleagues, teachers, historians and more. Anyone who would like to listen to those pieces would need some dated technology, or have the audio transfer done to digitize the speeches and music.

Audio transfer services can help individuals and organizations reclaim content and recordings that have been lost to time including oral histories, interviews, sermons, audio journals, speeches and more. Much of the analog content that’s floating around out there is a part of someone’s history, and audio transfer can preserve that.

Audio Transfer and Restoration Service Providers

If something has been recorded, then there is likely some measure of importance to that particular piece. That audio should be transferred into a digital format as soon as possible. While a recording might be fresh, the tape could still be aged which could cause even new audio to degrade. Because of the variety of analog formats, it’s necessary to do a little research into a variety of audio transfer services. Some work with only limited formats while others have access to all the necessary equipment to handle outdated and rare analog formats.

While it’s entirely possible to transfer your own audio, the quality of the transfer will be limited by the equipment and how the content is handled. For better quality and to ensure the integrity of the audio, it’s best to use professional audio transfer services. Most services use professional grade equipment with external audio interfaces that provide the optimal transfer of quality, far superior to a transfer made using a standard home PC.

Physical damage and issues with tape can cause the most problems, and a professional audio transfer service has the engineering experience to handle a tape properly, repair it if necessary, and transfer the audio. Should the defects of the tape create problems in the audio, the engineer might be able to use restoration software to repair the audio, restoring it to the original quality of the recording.

Aging Digital Formats

While it’s important to backup and transfer analog audio recordings, mini-disc and digital tape formats that are becoming obsolete should be transferred as well. Some formats are already quite obsolete. DCC comes to mind here. The manufacture of Digital Compact Cassette players was halted in October of 1996 and there aren’t very many units out there.

Very few mini-disc players are being produced now and DAT has been discontinued. In fact, Sony stopped manufacturing DAT machines at the end of 2005. It’s important to transfer audio sooner rather than later and over time, even professional audio transfer services will have a difficult time converting tape recordings and mini-discs to a digital file format due to a lack of support for the equipment.

Audible Forensics provides audio tape transfer services in addition to audio enhancement and restoration services. We can also repair broken cassette tapes and are capable of transferring many audio formats including reel to reel, 8-tracks, and microcassette to CD or a digital file format.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeff_Montero