Audiobooks

Audiobooks are folders in library/audiobooks, one folder per book (Music and the library). The files are the chapters and play in the order of their names (2.mp3 before 10.mp3).

A book continues where it stopped, a few seconds earlier so the listener finds back in. The position is saved while playing, when pausing and when the box shuts down. When the last chapter has played to the end, the book counts as finished and starts from the beginning next time. Chapters always play in order, whatever shuffle and repeat say.

On a card

Play the book and tap the card button in the player, as in Your first card, or choose Play audiobook when registering a card in the card list. Placing the card for the book that is already playing changes nothing; a paused book continues. With a reader that notices the card staying on the box, taking the card off pauses and putting it back continues (Cards).

Further actions for cards: audiobooks.restart (from the beginning) and audiobooks.set_finished (mark as finished or not).

How far back a book goes when it continues is audiobooks.rewind_sec (default 10 seconds).

Audiobookshelf

The plugin Audiobookshelf shows the books of an Audiobookshelf server next to the local ones and plays them from the server. The position is kept on the server: a book started in the Audiobookshelf app continues on the box and the other way round.

1. In Audiobookshelf create an API key (Settings → API Keys) for the user the box should use.
2. In the web page open Settings → Plugins, switch on Audiobookshelf and enter the address of the server and the key. The key is kept in a file only the box’s user can read and is never shown again.
3. The books appear under Audiobooks. On a card they work like local books.

A book that is not downloaded needs the server to play.

Download books

The menu of an Audiobookshelf book has Download to the box. The files go to cache/audiobookshelf in the Lauschkiste home. A downloaded book plays from the box even when the server is there. While something plays, the download is slowed down so the sound never stutters. Settings → Library → Cache sets the space for all downloads (8 GB by default). When it is full and remove old is on, the oldest finished downloads are removed; books in progress never are. If the server changed a book after the download, the list says so, and Download again fetches the new version.

When the server is away

The box keeps playing: the book list is kept, downloaded books come first, and the position is saved on the box and sent to the server as soon as it is back. If a book was also listened to elsewhere meanwhile, the furthest position wins and a finished book stays finished.

Moving to the box from other apps

Podcasts from other apps move over with an OPML file, see Podcasts.