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Help Mp3 vs Mb4 on Android

Athenais S

Athenais S

Lurker
An AudioBook club I belong to allows me to choose the format I download my purchased audiobooks in. My options are MP3 & MB4.

I generally download them to my laptop (running Windows 10), so I have a back up copy, then copy the file onto my tablet for listening. My tablet is a Samsung Galaxy Tab 4.

I've always downloaded MP3 formats, because I was under the impression that MP3 was best for universal listening devices, including Android, whereas MB4 is primarily for Apple/Mac devices.

That said, I've noticed some of the MP3 files I download from this club have subpar audio- and it's not related to the tablet, as other things play fine. I recently read somewhere that mb4 formats are higher quality- is my understanding of them incorrect? Should I be using the Mb4 formats, or are they only compatible with Apple and Mac?

TIA
 
Which audiobook club are you using? If it's Audible or Overdrive, I believe they have proprietary DRM copyright protection on them. Are you using their own player apps, as they might not play on anything else.
 
Downpour. They're a division of Blackstone Audio, and their downloads are DRM free and work on any player. I do use Audible as well, but they play through their own player and download in their own format automatically to the player. Admittedly, their quality (and selection) is superior, but Downpour is substantially cheaper and I prefer them since they can play on anything; not just their player.
Not all of DownPour's audiobooks are poor quality audio-wise, but some are & i wondered if mb4 vs mp3 would make a difference.
 
Athenais S said:
Downpour. They're a division of Blackstone Audio, and their downloads are DRM free and work on any player. I do use Audible as well, but they play through their own player and download in their own format automatically to the player. Admittedly, their quality (and selection) is superior, but Downpour is substantially cheaper and I prefer them since they can play on anything; not just their player.
Not all of DownPour's audiobooks are poor quality audio-wise, but some are & i wondered if mb4 vs mp3 would make a difference.
Click to expand...
MP3 audio should play just as well on anything, and doesn't usually have DRM. However MB4, so that's definitely MB4 and not MP4? I've not heard of that. But I know there's an Apple only audiobook format M4B, which does have DRM, and can only be played on Apple platforms, like iTunes and iOS devices. And these are sold via the iTunes Store AFAIK.

I'm not familiar with Downpour or Blackstone at all.
 
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