Plex should Just buy prologue and enhance it from there; great app!
NO! The guy who writes that app keeps making it better. If Plex buys it the thing might never improve.
6 Likes
a very good point! Plex, forget I said anythingā¦
1 Like
QT files are essentially an Apple variation of mpg filesā¦ I donāt use QT files as I prefer untainted mpeg files where possible
I have used kid3 to edit chapters in m4b files
I have never tried to edit chapters in movie files mpeg or QTā¦
why donāt you try it and see?
to enable kid3 to edit chapters in m4b files you need to do the following:
- in kid3 configure, on the plugins tab:
you need to enable Mp4v2Metadata and ensure it is above the TaglibMetadata plugin - open a directory with the file to edit, select the Chapters in the list of tags
3 Click the edit button and you will then see a popup window showing the chapters in the file
which you can then edit
QT files are essentially an Apple variation of mpg files
I donāt understand what you mean by this. I didnāt say QT files. I said QT-format embedded chapter metadata included in m4b audiobooks. As opposed to Nero-format embedded chapter metadata in m4b audiobooks.
ffprobe only detects QT-format embedded chapter metadata, which means editing Nero chapters (which is what mp3tag only detects/edits) is pointless for an app like Audiobookshelf that uses ffprobe.
1 Like
For metadata canāt MusicBrainz be used the same way itās used for Music?
MusicBrainz now supports Audiobooks.
sorry, i thought you meant QT video files, I use kid3 to edit chapter data for m4b audiobook files as discribed aboveā¦
here is the output i get from ffprobe for one of my audiobooks:
ffprobe version 5.1.2-3ubuntu1 Copyright (c) 2007-2022 the FFmpeg developers
built with gcc 12 (Ubuntu 12.2.0-14ubuntu2)
configuration: --prefix=/usr --extra-version=3ubuntu1 --toolchain=hardened --libdir=/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu --incdir=/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu --arch=amd64 --enable-gpl --disable-stripping --enable-gnutls --enable-ladspa --enable-libaom --enable-libass --enable-libbluray --enable-libbs2b --enable-libcaca --enable-libcdio --enable-libcodec2 --enable-libdav1d --enable-libflite --enable-libfontconfig --enable-libfreetype --enable-libfribidi --enable-libglslang --enable-libgme --enable-libgsm --enable-libjack --enable-libmp3lame --enable-libmysofa --enable-libopenjpeg --enable-libopenmpt --enable-libopus --enable-libpulse --enable-librabbitmq --enable-librist --enable-librubberband --enable-libshine --enable-libsnappy --enable-libsoxr --enable-libspeex --enable-libsrt --enable-libssh --enable-libsvtav1 --enable-libtheora --enable-libtwolame --enable-libvidstab --enable-libvorbis --enable-libvpx --enable-libwebp --enable-libx265 --enable-libxml2 --enable-libxvid --enable-libzimg --enable-libzmq --enable-libzvbi --enable-lv2 --enable-omx --enable-openal --enable-opencl --enable-opengl --enable-sdl2 --disable-sndio --enable-libjxl --enable-pocketsphinx --enable-librsvg --enable-libmfx --enable-libdc1394 --enable-libdrm --enable-libiec61883 --enable-chromaprint --enable-frei0r --enable-libx264 --enable-libplacebo --enable-librav1e --enable-shared
libavutil 57. 28.100 / 57. 28.100
libavcodec 59. 37.100 / 59. 37.100
libavformat 59. 27.100 / 59. 27.100
libavdevice 59. 7.100 / 59. 7.100
libavfilter 8. 44.100 / 8. 44.100
libswscale 6. 7.100 / 6. 7.100
libswresample 4. 7.100 / 4. 7.100
libpostproc 56. 6.100 / 56. 6.100
[mov,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2 @ 0x5596361d55c0] stream 0, timescale not set
Input #0, mov,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2, from āUnfettered.m4bā:
Metadata:
major_brand : M4A
minor_version : 512
compatible_brands: M4A isomiso2
creation_time : 2019-05-24T18:22:31.000000Z
LANGUAGE : English
title : Unfettered
artist : Terry Brooks, Patrick Rothfuss, Robert Jordan, Jacqueline Carey, R.A. Salvatore, Naomi Novik, Shawn Speakman - editor, Peter V. Brett
album_artist : Terry Brooks, Patrick Rothfuss, Robert Jordan, Jacqueline Carey, R.A. Salvatore, Naomi Novik, Shawn Speakman - editor, Peter V. Brett
album : Unfettered: Tales By Masters of Fantasy (Unabridged)
composer : Peter Ganim, Marc Vietor, Bronson Pinchot, Jay Snyder
comment : You define life or it defines you. In Shawn Speakmanās case, it was both. Lacking health insurance and diagnosed with Hodgkinās lymphoma in 2011, Shawn quickly accrued a massive medical debt that he did not have the ability to pay. Thatās when New Y
: Twenty-three tales comprise this incredible collection, and as the title suggests, the writers were free to contribute whatever they wished. Here is the table of contents:
: Foreword by Patrick Rothfuss Introduction: On Becoming Unfettered Imaginary Friends by Terry Brooks How Old Holly Came to Be by Patrick Rothfuss The Old Scale Game by Tad Williams Game of Chance by Carrie Vaughn The Martyr of the Roses by Jacqueline Car
genre : Audiobook
date : 2014
track : 1
description : You define life or it defines you. In Shawn Speakmanās case, it was both. Lacking health insurance and diagnosed with Hodgkinās lymphoma in 2011, Shawn quickly accrued a massive medical debt that he did not have the ability to pay. Thatās when New Y
: Twenty-three tales comprise this incredible collection, and as the title suggests, the writers were free to contribute whatever they wished. Here is the table of contents:
: Foreword by Patrick Rothfuss Introduction: On Becoming Unfettered Imaginary Friends by Terry Brooks How Old Holly Came to Be by Patrick Rothfuss The Old Scale Game by Tad Williams Game of Chance by Carrie Vaughn The Martyr of the Roses by Jacqueline Car
copyright : Ā©2013 Shawn Speakman;(P)2013 Audible Inc.
Duration: 20:16:49.29, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 63 kb/s
Chapters:
Chapter #0:0: start 0.000000, end 19.963000
Metadata:
title : Opening Credits
Chapter #0:1: start 19.963000, end 3129.678000
Metadata:
title : Imaginary Friends by Terry Brooks
Chapter #0:2: start 3129.678000, end 4042.454000
Metadata:
title : How Old Holly Came to Be by Patrick Rothfuss
Chapter #0:3: start 4042.454000, end 6669.745000
Metadata:
title : The Old Scale Game by Tad Williams
Chapter #0:4: start 6669.745000, end 9913.433000
Metadata:
title : Game of Chance by Carrie Vaughn
Chapter #0:5: start 9913.433000, end 12311.822000
Metadata:
title : The Martyr of the Roses by Jacqueline Carey
Chapter #0:6: start 12311.822000, end 14896.249000
Metadata:
title : Mudboy by Peter V. Brett
Chapter #0:7: start 14896.249000, end 24191.847000
Metadata:
title : The Sound of Broken Absolutes by Peter Orullian
Chapter #0:8: start 24191.847000, end 25865.634000
Metadata:
title : The Coach with Big Teeth by R.A. Salvatore
Chapter #0:9: start 25865.634000, end 29058.006000
Metadata:
title : Keeper of Memory by Todd Lockwood
Chapter #0:10: start 29058.006000, end 32606.340000
Metadata:
title : Heaven in a Wild Flower by Blake Charlton
Chapter #0:11: start 32606.340000, end 35798.898000
Metadata:
title : Dogs by Daniel Abraham
Chapter #0:12: start 35798.898000, end 39908.830000
Metadata:
title : The Chapel Perilous by Kevin Hearne
Chapter #0:13: start 39908.830000, end 41190.757000
Metadata:
title : Select Mode by Mark Lawrence
Chapter #0:14: start 41190.757000, end 43081.186000
Metadata:
title : All the Girls Love Michael Stein by David Anthony Durham
Chapter #0:15: start 43081.186000, end 44998.690000
Metadata:
title : Strange Rain by Jennifer Bosworth
Chapter #0:16: start 44998.690000, end 50003.240000
Metadata:
title : Nocturne by Robert V.S. Redick
Chapter #0:17: start 50003.240000, end 55525.224000
Metadata:
title : Unbowed by Eldon Thompson
Chapter #0:18: start 55525.224000, end 58570.289000
Metadata:
title : In Favour with Their Stars by Naomi Novik
Chapter #0:19: start 58570.289000, end 60398.628000
Metadata:
title : River of Souls by Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson
Chapter #0:20: start 60398.628000, end 63392.609000
Metadata:
title : The Jester by Michael J. Sullivan
Chapter #0:21: start 63392.609000, end 65343.364000
Metadata:
title : The Duel by Lev Grossman
Chapter #0:22: start 65343.364000, end 65989.250000
Metadata:
title : Walker and the Shade of Allanon by Terry Brooks
Chapter #0:23: start 65989.250000, end 73009.292000
Metadata:
title : The Unfettered Knight by Shawn Speakman
Stream #0:00x2: Audio: aac (LC) (mp4a / 0x6134706D), 22050 Hz, stereo, fltp, 62 kb/s (default)
Metadata:
creation_time : 2019-05-24T18:22:31.000000Z
handler_name : ?Apple Sound Media Handler
vendor_id : [0][0][0][0]
Stream #0:1[0x0]: Video: mjpeg (Baseline), yuvj420p(pc, bt470bg/unknown/unknown), 500x500 [SAR 1:1 DAR 1:1], 90k tbr, 90k tbn (attached pic)
Stream #0:20x6: Data: bin_data (text / 0x74786574)
Metadata:
creation_time : 2023-02-23T19:52:45.000000Z
āā
āā
Edit Post
Just treat them like TV shows. Thatās how I do my audiobooks, I converted them all to .mkv, so they just have a blank screen, and set up the library as if they were TV Shows. Just do TV shows, but make it audio only.
1 Like
And require all users to convert thousands of hours of MP3 files to .mkv?
No, that was just my work around since I didnāt want to use a 3rd party thing.
I mean if Plex creates an Audibook type of library, all they need to really do at at least a basic level is take the TV Shows library, and just change it to accept audio files, .mp3, etc. They can add more features later, but just having a basic thing that worked would be great
1 Like
A major downside to that method is no AA or CP support.
Iāve lost hope for this feature but audiobookshelf has come along in leaps and bounds over the past few months and is well worth the effort to set up as we wait for a time when plex implements this feature (if ever). If they arenāt putting this on the roadmap itād be appreciated if they could just let us all know.
see 
McWankePlex Employeeās comment aboveā¦
I have not given up all hope, i installed the Audnexus agent which works well enough for most things, it doesnāt remember track progress when played on android but I can play m4b files, no chapter data support but it is better than nothing
You rang?
There is definitely some good stuff in the past month or so of this thread (as well as earlier, but didnāt have time in this forum session to go back further). I am a very passionate audiobook consumer myself and am not 100% happy with our current implementation. We are paying attention to the thread and are going to be deliberate in our planning before we move forward here. The goal needs to be something solid and dependable with a proper growth plan and support going forward. If we canāt do that, then we shouldnāt do it at all. This also means that we need a plan for both server/metadata/library as well as client/playback. There are 2 sides to the coin here for a solid solution.
So why am I jumping in here? Mainly to let you know that we are reading and paying attention here so keep the ideas and thoughts coming and we will keep the discussion going. Hopefully this means decisions and movement, but any of that would have to come next year.
15 Likes
using 3rd party metadata agent i can get the book data and cover (from Audible), what I find is missing is Plex is not retaining the progress through the audiobook if it is paused for only a few minutes when played on the android appā¦ reading chapter data in m4b files while it would be great it can come after the ability to resume playing where you last paused/stopped
if retaining book progress were fixed/implemented on the android app everything else could wait, causing books to restart is the most frustrating issue I experience on my tablet, it is fine on the windows app
I came to the forums to see if this was being worked on please asd it to the calendar as soon as you can.
2 Likes
Do you have a roadmap you could perhaps share?
1 Like
Letās seeā¦
Mandatory (required for barebones functionality):
- Support for both chapter-embedded single-file AND track-split audiobooks
- Album-Level Resume
- āContinue Listeningā section
- Watched/Listened status
Must Have (after mandatory functionality exists):
- User ability to set bookmarks
- Metadata Agent (Audnexus?)
- Composer (narrator) tag support
- Publisher tag support
Could Use:
- Inline/Nested Collections
- Track/Album Progress bars (both visible, or able to toggle between them)
- Disc Number tag support (many audiobooks have multiple āpartsā or āvolumesā)
- Series AND Series-part tag support
I see a lot of closed posts on this topic that say to go to the features and suggestions. Since there are many of them and they go back a decade, could a plex admin simply add a post directly THIS post so users can all get on the same page (pun intended)
Since this dates back over a decade, why is this not already implemented?
We get a lot of cool features and many of them we did not know existed or you created them from brilliant ideas and Plex is awesome. At itās heart, Plex is a media streaming thingy and we are simply asking for a thing to stream another kind of media.
Many years ago I asked a Calibre support person (maybe it was VLC?) about Android support and they told me they were focused only on Apple. This was before Android had grown and in hindsight it was just them being myopic. You guys have always seemed way cooler about most everything so I just ask why is this not a thing? If there are alternative options like Bookcamp which charges a fee, youād think there is also an additional market for this.
I have a few suggestions:
- Audible might be picky about data scraping and I wanted to have Goodreads considered since they could also be used for reading libraries in the future. Thatās another subject.
- The metadata that is crucial is when the book was first published and not the date Audible shows so you can read things in sequence properly. Catching series tags and chronological order is key for some things like Forgotten Realms which has 300 titles, multiple series within series, multiple authors, etc. Battletech also has the same issues and sometimes youāll have multiple authors on one book that both write alone also (thing David Weber, Tom Clancy, Brandon Anderson, etc.)
The notes from staff say this might see progress next year and I hope you can officially announce that itās being worked on or itās in the pipeline at least at the beginning of next year. I know things take time but a decade seems a long time and I guess I thought there would be more votes but Iāve not posted on the forums for maybe 5 years and I an to blame as well for that.
