I have been fiddling around with an interesting find, an Audible .aa file, part two of three in a book, that causes the player to freeze in several situations. The file is a Format 3 file, an eight hour part, about 65MB.
I prefer Format 3 .aa files, since for the spoken word, the quality-versus-filesize compromise is ideal, since the Bobster keeps his Sansa stuffed like a Thanksgiving turkey. Format 3 means half the space, and as Audible terms it, “FM” audio quality. This way, I can keep a quiver full of audiobooks available for review when I am in the mood.
The v2 e200 shares the same processor as the new generation Sansas, the Fuze and Clip / Clip+, yet it has the unique position of Format 3 support. I have spoken with Audible regarding the migration to Format 4 and Enhanced Audio only for the Fuze / Clip, but there never seemed to be a firm consensus on the reason for this limitation, as I recall. Lo and behold, with the latest Audible Manager client, if you try to transfer a format 3 file to the Fuze, you’ll get a warning flag.
I forgot all about the issue, since the e200v2 firmware is “frozen in time” with the 03.01.16 build, and it’s quite stable- plus I get to enjoy more audiobooks from Audible. Yes, you can transfer mp3 format files at bit rates as low as 16kb/sec, but I am quite happy with the unique .aa format, a hybrid type. I’d tell you what’s in there, but the Men In Black would have to neuralize me later.
If you have a file corruption as I have, here is what I found: SanDisk logo freezes on startup, device hangs on restart after playing the file, if the file is loaded, the menu will freeze while trying to load the track, and in all cases, the backlight stays illuminated. Bizarre and cool, I tell you. Never seen that before. Running file system utilities on the Sansa, all appears nominal too.
I verified the condition by alternately plicking the file from the device, and normal happy Sansa bliss is restored. It’s just this particular file.
In any case, your best solution is to open the Audible Manager, and delete the bad track from the device. Then go to the online library, select Format 4 or Enhanced (if available), and enjoy the book part in higher quality. If you are interested in file size, you can keep the other parts of the book in their more-efficient format.
Bob :smileyvery-happy:
