Do you prefer your podfics with chapters?

[luzula]

So I'm recording my recent longfic, and wondering if I should keep the chapter breaks, or just read on. And if I do keep the chapter breaks, should I make each chapter into a different file? The whole thing will be about five and a half hours, and there are eight chapters as well as a prologue and epilogue. So that's a little more than half an hour per chapter, on average.

I know most people probably listen by streaming these days, right? Me, I still download the files and put them on my mp3-player (yes, I'm old-school), so I don't like files that are too large, because if I lose my place, I can't find it again. But OTOH, I don't know if it will bother people who stream if I do have multiple half-hour files, and put them all in a folder on box.com? This is the way I usually do it for long podfics, though the files are usually larger.

Comments

[feroxargentea]

I'm old school too and still download files onto an old player that can't save my place, so very large/long chunks aren't helpful. But we're probably in a small minority.

[luzula]

Actually two out of four commenters on the post still use mp3-players! But we're probably not representative. Thanks for weighing in. : )

[garonne]

I have tried streaming a few times recently, but usually I also use an mp3 player. Do streaming sites not automatically start playing the next file when one file is finished? That does sound like it would be pretty annoying if it kept interrupting the story. Even if I'm just listening on my phone I usually download the file(s) and then listen using a free app where I can jump around in the file, change playback speed, the next file starts automatically when the previous one is finished, etc.

I used to prefer individual chapter files myself, precisely because of the problem you mention of trying to use fastforward to get back to my place in a hours long recording on an mp3 player... But now I don't care so much either way because I managed to find a basic mp3 player which remembers where I stopped listening in the ten most recent files. (It's called Sandisk Sansa Clip+ , this one https://www.lesnumeriques.com/lecteur-mp3/sandisk-sansa-clip-p7311/test.html. Though I see it is no longer manufactured, so now I am a bit worried about what I will do when it finally breaks!)

Can you see from the statistics of the hosting site(s) you use whether people mostly download or stream?

(Also, I'm very happy to hear you're recording your last long fic!)

[luzula]

Do streaming sites not automatically start playing the next file when one file is finished?

Hmm, yeah, I will investigate this. If it works that way, then having several files shouldn't bother people who stream.

Can you see from the statistics of the hosting site(s) you use whether people mostly download or stream?

I think I could, but I would need a paid account...

Also, I'm very happy to hear you're recording your last long fic!

Well, obviously I am. : D

[china_shop]

I'm not much of a podfic listener, so I don't have opinions either way, but could you offer it in both formats? Record it in chapters and then join them together in Audacity for streaming? Idk.

[luzula]

Thanks for weighing in! : ) I guess the negative thing about offering both versions is that I would run out of hosting space more quickly.

[regshoe]

I usually listen by streaming, but I'd prefer multiple files—it'd break it up nicely and make it easier to listen one bit at a time without having to worry about keeping my place.

(Also, hey, more FotH podfic! :D)

[luzula]

Thanks for weighing in!

Also, hey, more FotH podfic! :D

Ha ha, of course. : )

[glitteryv]

I've gotten into the habit of streaming because it's more practical for me. As it happens, I have a smartphone and unlimited data, so listening to (say) a 5-hr podfic wouldn't be a problem as far as I'm concerned.

TBH, I wouldn't have moved from downloading to an mp3 had iTunes not gone off the deep end.

THAT SAID, I do tend to download stuff that's recorded for me because I like to make sure to have an extra copy somewhere.

FWIW, I think the best compromise is what someone mentions upthread: offer options for chaptered podfic and the entire thing.

[luzula]

Thanks for weighing in! : )

FWIW, I think the best compromise is what someone mentions upthread: offer options for chaptered podfic and the entire thing.

The only difficulty with that is that I would run out of hosting space more quickly...maybe I should look into additional hosting. But I'm at least very happy that my current hosting has been so stable over the years.

[chestnut_pod]

I find chapter breaks really helpful in m4bs, if that's what you use, but not separate files for each chapter. (I second still downloading files to listen to… I wonder if this is a podficcer thing.)

Sometimes in long podfics that aren't m4bs, I add a note to the single file listing the timestamps for each chapter break.

[luzula]

I've never created m4b:s, maybe I should learn it...the reason is that my mp3-players usually can't play them, and so I've never had a use for them myself. Thanks for weighing in! : )

[falena]

I am old school too, I never stream podfic, I just download the file and load it onto my iPod via iTunes. I strongly prefer single files, no matter how big, because iTunes allows me to mark any file as an audiobook and that way the iPod will automatically remember where I left off when listening.
If I get multiple files for a single story, I just create a playlist.

This being said, I love long podfic so much I'm not that bothered by the specifics of how I get it. :D

[luzula]

Thanks for weighing in! : ) I am envious of your player automatically remembering where you left off listening...

[seascribble]

I...also do not listen by streaming mostly because I don't know how to make it work on my damn phone and I really prefer chapter breaks because otherwise I WILL lose my place.

[luzula]

Hee, you sound a bit like me, then, except that I don't have a smartphone. Thanks for weighing in! : )

[mific]

I still download podfics that I want to keep and listen to again - and yours are definitely ones I'd want to keep! I don't use a separate mp3 player, but play them mostly on my laptop using windows media player or VLC player. Ideally if you can offer mp3 chapters and also a collated m4b file, that'd be great.

[luzula]

Thanks for weighing in! : )

The only difficulty with having both mp3-files and also an m4b is that I would run out of hosting space more quickly...maybe I should look into additional hosting. But I'm at least very happy that my current hosting has been so stable over the years.

[mific]

Yeah, I've used a free mediafire account for ages to host my podfics (and everything else, like art). It's pretty reasonable with the storage space and a stable platform.

[tinypinkmouse]

I almost always stream podfics these days. But I do it in a browser window on my laptop or mobile and I might actually slightly prefer the chaptered versions (or then I'm just more used to those these days, because that's what I usually find). Sure I might need to go click on the next chapter, but that's not much of a bother, and it gives me nice places to stop at if needed, there's no way I'd easily find my place in a long podfic in one long file if, idk, I need to restart the browser or something. When I downloaded things I prefered everything in one file, because that was more convenient for me.

Honestly, though, neither is going to stop me from listening to something I want to listen to.

[luzula]

Thanks for weighing in, it's useful to me! : )

MORE DATA THAN YOU WANT

[jesse_the_k]

I'm also a downloader because I'm floating free in time and always want to have it really in my hands.

I prefer chapters because my memory sucks, and I often have to rewind to get back up to speed. If I lose my place in one giant file I may just give up.

If a file comes in many MP3s, I use AudioBookBinder which makes a single Apple-format audiobook, with a chapter location for each MP3.

Re: MORE DATA THAN YOU WANT

[luzula]

No no, this is not more data than I want. : ) I've pretty much decided to go with separate mp3 files for each chapter, it's what I prefer myself, and it doesn't look like it would really bother anyone else.