[macvoiceover] Re: Marketing:Fw: [VICUG-L] Leaveraging Digital Technology for Books in an iTunes World.

$19.95 for this book as MP? I could understand if it were human- narraged, I mean those cost way mnore. But this? 

Jane


On Jun 26, 2007, at 8:26 AM, David Poehlman wrote:


I thought this would be of interest to some.

----- Original Message -----
From: "George Cassell" <apolloseven@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <VICUG-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, June 25, 2007 12:17 AM
Subject: [VICUG-L] Leaveraging Digital Technology for Books in an iTunes 
World.




Leaveraging Digital Technology for Books in an iTunes World.


Press Release.
Friday, June 22, 2007.
ArcheBooks Publishing (www.archebooks.com) announced today the release of its first "mBook," an Audio Book recorded in MP3 file format. However, this MP3 Audio Book isn't simply a narrated novel with audio files compressed from traditional CD format into the MP3 format -- no, the narrator itself is a digital creation. This is an example of state-of-the-art Text-To- Speech (TTS) technology, using natural sounding human voice engines created and 
commercially licensed to ArcheBooks by NeoSpeech (www.neospeech.com).
ArcheBooks' first mBook title is "A Prophecy Forgotten" by M. B. Weston, an epic Young Adult fantasy/adventure novel, and one of ArcheBooks' hottest selling hardcover titles. "We chose A Prophecy Forgotten to launch this new program for two key reasons," explained Publisher Robert Gelinas, "One, the popularity of the book leverages a fantastic buzz around this first book of The Elysian Chronicles, renowned by parents and teachers for its 'clean' nature and great appeal to kids and adults alike. And two, we believe this kind of Audio Book technology is perfect for the 'iPod Generation,' who has no comfort-zone issues with downloadable entertainment content, organizing playlists and tracks -- in this context a complete novel and its chapters -- 
and enjoying that content while on the go or anywhere."
Ralph Wolf, ArcheBooks EVP of Sales and Marketing added, "This is a perfect example of the emerging virtual-media entertainment world of today, where the physical media of the CD, the plastic cases, the printed matter, etc. are no longer needed -- just the content, in a conveniently downloadable format for enjoyment on universal digital playback platforms, whether that be an iPod, an iPhone, a Zune, MP3 player, a laptop, whatever. There is no waiting for a book to be delivered by the postman, UPS or FedEx. It's never 
out of stock or backordered, no shipping charges -- just the instant
gratification of immediate enjoyment."
"Immediate Enjoyment" is a relative term, but close enough when you consider that in MP3 format, a 300 page 98,000 word book in hardcover, comprising over 10 hours of audio, now fits nicely in 75 megabytes of uncompressed data, or 64 megabytes downloaded in a compressed Zip file. For the DSL and Cable Internet users, that's a download of five to ten minutes. For the 
dial-up user, they'd better be prepared for a wait of up to an hour.
"Another serendipitous facet of Audio Books in MP3," said Mr. Gelinas, "is 
that the dynamic audio range needed for voice is far less than that of
high-fidelity music. Music is normally recorded in a 64 KHz spectrum,
whereas voice traditionally has been more than adequate with far less, as telephone systems have been for decades. The smallest MP3 sampling rates are 
able to achieve dramatic compression ratios yet maintain a clean crisp
sound. Hence, goodbye 6 to 8 CDs to listen to an entire book--hello eight 
minute download."
Free samples of mBook MP3 files are available on the ArcheBooks website 
(www.archebooks.com). Both the Prologue and Chapter 1 of A Prophesy
Forgotten are available to sample for free, approximately 40 minutes worth 
of audio.
Mr. Wolf noted, "Admittedly, a computer generated voice isn't a voice-over professional or actor performing a reading of a novel. Rather, thanks to our friends at NeoSpeech, it's a very natural-sounding human voice that reads in a very neutral, dispassionate manner. For some people it's a voice that takes a few minutes to get used to hearing, but once you do, and the images of the story begin to form in your mind, the voice is no longer the primary 
stimulus of the entertainment experience, rather the talent of the
storyteller who wrote it. And the price of the mBook reflects the
distinction from professionally narrated works as well, with complete,
unabridged mBooks priced as much as half the price of traditional Audio 
Books."
ArcheBooks invites everyone to visit its website and experience the mBook for themselves. Mr. Gelinas said, "Good storytelling is good storytelling, whether that be found in a printed book, in an eBook, or listening to an 
Audio Book. The mediums that serve as the vehicles to share that
storytelling content with a wide variety of audiences must be flexible and adaptable to each new communications platform in the ever-evolving digital 
age we live in."


http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/6/prweb534793.htm





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