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[SGroth]

I'm using version 20.0.20 and whenever I import .m4b audiobooks they get sorted into the video section.
I even configured the import to set the media su type to "Audiobooks", but this doesn't change the situation.

Any suggestion?

Thanks,
Stephan

[glynor]

You did one of the two steps you want to do.

M4B files are, internally, just MP4 files with a different extension.  So sometimes MC will mis-detect them as video files.  It doesn't always happen, but sometimes it does.  It is easy to fix.

1. Change the [Media Type] field in MC from Video to Audio.
2. Change the [Media Sub Type] field, if needed, to Audiobook.

If it happens to you a lot, and annoys you, you can add a Tag on Import rule that will auto-apply both of these properties.

PS. To JRiver folks, it would be good to just auto-apply both of these things to any MP4 file that has the M4B extension as they're extremely unlikely to be anything other than an audiobook.

[glynor]

The [Media Type] field controls which top-level Media View the files show up under in the Tree.  [Media Sub Type] is used for a bunch of other things (though it is good to set this on audiobooks because then Bookmarking works properly for those files).

More details:
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=90260.msg620230#msg620230
http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Media_Views
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=85215.msg582342#msg582342

[SGroth]

OK, I changed the media type manually to get the audiobooks sorted in the correct section. 
I also added the mentioned rule to set this attribute on import.

Just my question:
M4B is a special file extension for audiobooks. Why are they "recogniced" as video?
Shouldn't they always get identified as audio (media sub type Audiobook)?

Thanks,
Stephan

[glynor]

MC basically never believes the file extension because files are often mislabeled.  Instead, it does analysis on the file itself when imported to determine the actual file type.

The problem is that M4B files are not a "thing".  They're just "mis-labeled" MP4 files (same goes for M4A, M4P, and all of Apple's other weird M4x file extensions).  Internally, there is no technical difference between a MP4 file and a M4B file (except the M4B file happens to contain no video track).

They should probably add a rule to override this behavior for M4B files, since they're almost always going to be audiobooks.  I think there is a similar rule for M4A that automatically assigns them as Media Type audio.

But, either way, you can do it yourself easily enough.  If you have trouble getting the Tag on Import rule to work, just yell.

[Matt]

I can't explain why M4B would get imported as a video.  We have it categorized as an iTunes file type that's audio.  Strange.

[glynor]

Some M4Bs contain multiple, timed artwork images and chapters. Maybe these confuse it?

[Matt]

Could you provide one of the files that miscategorized to matt at jriver dot com?

Thanks.

[SGroth]

I could upload a file, the smallest I have is about 100mb.
If your mail account allows this size, I can send it to you via mail.

The problem seems not to occur in the latest version 20.0.21.
I have no clue what changed between 20.0.20 and 20.0.21 regarding this.

I also recogniced, that MC plays the m4b files via Quicktime even if they are not with any DRM.
This is not the expected behaviour, because this way I can't choose the desination (zone).
If possible the m4b file should be handled just like an audio file but with the extras of the Media Sub Type Audiobook for the Bookmark.

All my audiobooks are converted via MarkAble2 (Win) or AudiobookBuilder (Mac) just to have a single file and the nice bookmarks synced on all iDevices.
You could easily build an audiobook with one of the tools and then try to import it. And yes, all audiobooks have the cover art included within the build process.

Let me know if I should send you an example (100mb) via mail.

Thanks,
Stephan

[Matt]

Let me know if I should send you an example (100mb) via mail.

Please do.

Thanks.

[Matt]

It's really strange, because that file you emailed imports as audio (correctly) for me.  And it plays no problem.

Have you made changes in Options > File Types?  Are you running the latest MC20?