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Complete Version history / Release notes / Changelog / What's New for AAX Audio Converter
Release Notes 1.18.2
Empty or invalid cover image no longer terminates the conversion (#191)
Obsolete track numbering patterns removed (#167)
Release Notes 1.18.1
Adapted to interface changes of external library ATL (#166):
“Description” and “Publisher” fields are now read directly.
Update to ATL 4.20 to restore year-only date field for “Date recorded”.
Release Notes 1.18
Update to .Net Framework 4.8.
Also updated external dependency libraries (#159).
Hints to Book Lib Connect in
the auto-update prompt,
the activation code dialog
and in the documentation.
Simplified version checking for FFmpeg (#85).
Fix for series folder creation.
Support for Unicode file names in Win32 copy operation.
Typos and glitches (#81, #136).
Release Notes 1.17.1
Bugfix for 1.17: Mid-level folder for series title was created despite option off (#76).
Release Notes 1.17.0.1
Bugfix for 1.17. App would not start on some systems (#75)
Version 1.17
Release Notes
The setup package contains 32 and 64bit variants of FFmpeg. On 64bit systems both variants will be installed. However, the slightly older 32bit version will be used for most books and conversion modes because of its better performance. Only very long books to be converted in single-file mode, which are critical for memory, will make use of 64bit FFmpeg. (#39 2nd part)
The Basic Settings receive a new tab page Folder structure for all settings related to output folders, due to another increase in the total number of options.
New option in Basic Settings to preselect the behaviour if the output folder for a conversion already exists. (#59)
Support for series titles: New option in Basic Settings for books that are member of a series. The hierarchical output folder structure with author and book title layers will receive an additional middle layer for the series title, if the series information can be found in the associated meta data (download via the Audible App required). The book folder name will be amended with the book sequence number in the series. (#62)
New option in Basic Settings for a full caption with author, series (if applicable) and book title for the book folder name.
New option to add the total number of tracks to the track title tag and the track file name. (#59)
This option replaces Add Narrator in the property grid in the main window.
The narrator will now exclusively be added with the Meta tags page in the Basic Settings.
New optional AAX file date column for the list view in the main window (via Basic Settings). (#59)
Conversion order for multiple books is normally defined by the book title, independent of the sorting column. It will become by file date, if the file date column has been selected as the sorting column., but will always be in ascending order.
The installer now also offers a personal installation mode, i.e. for the current user only, when installing the program for the first time. The personal mode does not require administrative privileges. (#58)
Some additional or enhanced log messages.
A number of small enhancements and fixes.
Version 1.16
Release Notes
The setup package now contains 32 and 64bit versions of FFmpeg. The installer will select the one matching the operation system. On 64bit systems this allows for very long books to be converted in single-file mode which previously would trigger an out-of-memory exception in 32bit FFmpeg. (#48)
New option for less strict version FFmpeg checking to allow user-provided FFmpeg builds where the version string does not fully comply with release builds. (#38)
New options for allowing variable and/or reduced bitrate and thus creating smaller output files, at the possible cost of audio quality and slower conversion. (#39)
New option to prefer chapter times from embedded AAX meta if using explicit chapter names from the extra JSON file, but where the chapter times are often inaccurate.
New customization options for individual assignment of book author and narrator to the four predefined performer tags in meta data.
The Basic Settings options are spread across four tab pages now, due to the additional options introduced in this release.
The main window has been fitted with a little performance monitor which is active during conversion, in addition to the existing progress bars and status report. Two new small bars indicate the number of FFmpeg process currently running and the relative CPU load.
Better error detection and reporting if FFmpeg aborts the conversion.
More efficient parallelization in split-chapter mode for books with long chapters.
Fixed retrieval of the activation code from Audible Manager which did not work on some 64bit systems.
Fixed sorting order for multipart books with more than 9 parts, both in the list view in the main window and during conversion. (#57)
Meta data previously still handled by the TagLibSharp library has now been completely replaced with ATL.net. TagLibSharp is no longer used.
Some additional or enhanced log messages.
A number of small fixes.
Version 1.15.3
Release Notes
Bugfix in ATL.net: “Quicktime” chapters, one of the two chapter variants for MPEG4 (M4A/M4B), came out unreadable or with missing or incomplete chapter titles (#37). The bug was related to the new ATL.net buffered mode, introduced in ATL.net 3.13, and used by AAX Audio Converter in versions 1.15.1 and 1.15.2. This has been fixed in ATL.net 3.14.
Version 1.15.2
Release Notes
Bugfix: In version 1.15 and 1.15.1, conversion of only a subset of a multipart book could erroneously encounter temporary chapters without a name when initializing target directories. This triggered a NullReferenceException. Such chapters will now be ignored at this stage.
Version 1.15.1
Release Notes
Bugfix: Version 1.15 erroneously no longer set track duration as meta data for MP3 files, which is expected by some players. Brought back by reverting to FFmpeg for adding MP3 chapter meta data.
A new version of ATL.net is used which now adds MP4 chapter meta data in an efficient buffered memory mode, which is faster than working directly with the file on disk as before.
Enhancement: Temporary audio files with a track duration of zero will normally be intercepted. Under certain conditions, they can survive, though. They are now handled properly.
Version 1.15
Release Notes
Chapter meta data is now added in all conversion modes, for both MP3 and MP4
ID3v2.3 for MP3
“Nero” and “Quicktime” for MP4 (M4A/M4B)
Full chapter list for "single file" mode, current chapter for "chapter" and "split-chapter" modes, and accurate subrange for "split-time" mode.
Chapter mark adjustments:
Now available for all conversion modes
Enhanced algorithm:
to detect and handle very short silences between chapters
includes intro and outro
Improved error detection with corrupt AAX files
New special functions:
To establish compatibility with iTunes for very long books (M4B format)
To handle an AAC encoding flaw in 44.1 kHz AAX files
Slightly modified progress report, for better visual feedback, in both progress bars and the status text.
Basic settings dialog now with tab pages, as number of settings has increased again.
Bugfixes:
“Nero” chapters for M4A/M4B were often ill-formed. Apparently a bug in FFmpeg, now replaced with ATL.net (#31)
Some minor issues resolved
More or enhanced log output
FFmpeg thread association
Progress report
Version 1.14
Release Notes
New usage tip window on first start-up shows access to functions not directly visible from the main window, i.e. system and context menus.
File association for AAX/AA files (initial launch only) now runs in the background, to keep the user interface responsive.
Fix for the upper progress bar which could fall out of sync when adjusting chapter marks (version 1.13).
Max track duration for time-split mode can now be 90 min, with bugfix, as previous max of 30 min was cut to 15 min.
Activation code enhancements:
Accept activation codes from all sources, no longer abandoning search after first find.
More logical workflow/feedback for cancelling books without matching activation code.
More log output from the auto-update mechanism.
A few other minor fixes and enhancements.
Version 1.13
Release Notes
New option to detect and adjust inaccurate chapter marks, using a simple heuristic approach based on silence distribution near the given chapter mark, for "chapter" and "split-chapter" modes.
New option to disable chapter sub-folders in "split-chapter" mode, putting all generated files into the same folder. (#26)
Pseudo chapters for MP3, introduced in version 1.12 to convey accurate track duration, now receive a meaningful chapter title as well, copied from the normal ID3 title tag, as certain audiobook players try to interpret this tag. (#27)
The full chapter list, with explicit chapter names as introduced in version 1.7, is now also added to MP3 unsplit audio ("single file" mode), as ID3 chapter tags. (Supported by selected players only.)
More and improved log output for chapter processing.
Tiny enhancements and a few minor fixes.
Version 1.12
Release Notes
Significant performance boost for MP3 output and "Chapter" mode, due to a modified and enhanced workflow. "Time-split" mode also benefits.
Conversion result message box now includes elapsed time.
Meta data enhancement for MP3 output regarding track duration. Explicit duration is added as pseudo chapter data. Several media players can interpret this. Without it, those media players would estimate duration from the bitrate, with varying readings.
When running under Windows versions below 10, meta data in MP3 output will be downgraded to ID3v2.3. This enables the “Length” column in Windows Explorer on these systems to display MP3 track duration as well. (Windows 10 systems accept ID3v2.4.)
Slightly more log output again.
Fix for finding content_metadata.json if AAX file resided in the top level directory of a drive.
Additional chapter “Performance” in the manual.
Version 1.11
Option to copy original .aax file to a new location with a customizable name after conversion.
Supports long path names (> 260 characters) now for all input and output. It includes all three input methods: open file dialog, drag & drop and double click. It also extends to network drives, mapped and unmapped.
More log output again.
Minor fixes.
Version 1.10
Enhancements for “single file per aax” mode:
Named Chapters, introduced in version 1.7 for chapter modes, now also available for unsplit audio, embedded as markers (M4A/M4B format, not for MP3).
Audio file tailoring, skipping of intro/outro and skipping of continuation hints and repeated opening credits now also applied to unsplit audio.
Title name parsing allows custom order of series and book title for output.
More log output.
Minor fixes.
The installation package now includes FFmpeg.exe version 4.2.2 (was 4.1 before).
Version 1.9
Added a logging facility to track down unexpected behaviour.
Tiny enhancements and a few minor fixes.
Version 1.8
Now also allows .m4b as MPEG4 output, via Basic Settings.
Handling of named chapters with a given length of 0 ms.
A few minor fixes.
Version 1.7
Supports Named Chapters for .aax files downloaded with the Audible App.
Auto-launches the default media player after conversion.
Initial input folder set to Audible App content folder for a fresh installation, if Audible App is present.
New overview chapter in manual on AAX Audio Converter functionality and customization options.
Bugfixes:
Audiobooks longer than 24 hours now display the correct duration and convert without error.
List of loaded files in main windows now correctly sorts by columns with an underlying numerical value, e.g. file size.
For a multi-part book the program no longer assumes missing parts, although all parts were selected, but the book parts were downloaded with the Audible App.
For a multi-part book, where not all parts were selected, part folders are only created if they will contain at least two files.
Some other minor fixes and adjustments.
Version 1.6
Optional text encoding for .m3u playlist in ISO Latin 1 instead of default UTF8.
Version 1.5
New configurable options (via Basic settings):
Skipping short or very short chapters between book parts, begin and end, settable max. duration.
Version 1.4
New options (via Basic settings):
Extract book meta-info into separate cover image and text file.
Flat folder hierarchy: Combine author and book title into a single folder level.
Version 1.3.1
Release Notes
Glitch/enhancement: Trailing and leading dots in author and title tag will automatically be removed for file/folder name.
Bugfix: Folder and tag customization was ignored for single part books.
Version 1.3
Additional conversion mode:
Split book into tracks of roughly equal length, ignoring chapters.
Automatic online update feature.
Minor fixes/enhancements.
Empty or invalid cover image no longer terminates the conversion (#191)
Obsolete track numbering patterns removed (#167)
Release Notes 1.18.1
Adapted to interface changes of external library ATL (#166):
“Description” and “Publisher” fields are now read directly.
Update to ATL 4.20 to restore year-only date field for “Date recorded”.
Release Notes 1.18
Update to .Net Framework 4.8.
Also updated external dependency libraries (#159).
Hints to Book Lib Connect in
the auto-update prompt,
the activation code dialog
and in the documentation.
Simplified version checking for FFmpeg (#85).
Fix for series folder creation.
Support for Unicode file names in Win32 copy operation.
Typos and glitches (#81, #136).
Release Notes 1.17.1
Bugfix for 1.17: Mid-level folder for series title was created despite option off (#76).
Release Notes 1.17.0.1
Bugfix for 1.17. App would not start on some systems (#75)
Version 1.17
Release Notes
The setup package contains 32 and 64bit variants of FFmpeg. On 64bit systems both variants will be installed. However, the slightly older 32bit version will be used for most books and conversion modes because of its better performance. Only very long books to be converted in single-file mode, which are critical for memory, will make use of 64bit FFmpeg. (#39 2nd part)
The Basic Settings receive a new tab page Folder structure for all settings related to output folders, due to another increase in the total number of options.
New option in Basic Settings to preselect the behaviour if the output folder for a conversion already exists. (#59)
Support for series titles: New option in Basic Settings for books that are member of a series. The hierarchical output folder structure with author and book title layers will receive an additional middle layer for the series title, if the series information can be found in the associated meta data (download via the Audible App required). The book folder name will be amended with the book sequence number in the series. (#62)
New option in Basic Settings for a full caption with author, series (if applicable) and book title for the book folder name.
New option to add the total number of tracks to the track title tag and the track file name. (#59)
This option replaces Add Narrator in the property grid in the main window.
The narrator will now exclusively be added with the Meta tags page in the Basic Settings.
New optional AAX file date column for the list view in the main window (via Basic Settings). (#59)
Conversion order for multiple books is normally defined by the book title, independent of the sorting column. It will become by file date, if the file date column has been selected as the sorting column., but will always be in ascending order.
The installer now also offers a personal installation mode, i.e. for the current user only, when installing the program for the first time. The personal mode does not require administrative privileges. (#58)
Some additional or enhanced log messages.
A number of small enhancements and fixes.
Version 1.16
Release Notes
The setup package now contains 32 and 64bit versions of FFmpeg. The installer will select the one matching the operation system. On 64bit systems this allows for very long books to be converted in single-file mode which previously would trigger an out-of-memory exception in 32bit FFmpeg. (#48)
New option for less strict version FFmpeg checking to allow user-provided FFmpeg builds where the version string does not fully comply with release builds. (#38)
New options for allowing variable and/or reduced bitrate and thus creating smaller output files, at the possible cost of audio quality and slower conversion. (#39)
New option to prefer chapter times from embedded AAX meta if using explicit chapter names from the extra JSON file, but where the chapter times are often inaccurate.
New customization options for individual assignment of book author and narrator to the four predefined performer tags in meta data.
The Basic Settings options are spread across four tab pages now, due to the additional options introduced in this release.
The main window has been fitted with a little performance monitor which is active during conversion, in addition to the existing progress bars and status report. Two new small bars indicate the number of FFmpeg process currently running and the relative CPU load.
Better error detection and reporting if FFmpeg aborts the conversion.
More efficient parallelization in split-chapter mode for books with long chapters.
Fixed retrieval of the activation code from Audible Manager which did not work on some 64bit systems.
Fixed sorting order for multipart books with more than 9 parts, both in the list view in the main window and during conversion. (#57)
Meta data previously still handled by the TagLibSharp library has now been completely replaced with ATL.net. TagLibSharp is no longer used.
Some additional or enhanced log messages.
A number of small fixes.
Version 1.15.3
Release Notes
Bugfix in ATL.net: “Quicktime” chapters, one of the two chapter variants for MPEG4 (M4A/M4B), came out unreadable or with missing or incomplete chapter titles (#37). The bug was related to the new ATL.net buffered mode, introduced in ATL.net 3.13, and used by AAX Audio Converter in versions 1.15.1 and 1.15.2. This has been fixed in ATL.net 3.14.
Version 1.15.2
Release Notes
Bugfix: In version 1.15 and 1.15.1, conversion of only a subset of a multipart book could erroneously encounter temporary chapters without a name when initializing target directories. This triggered a NullReferenceException. Such chapters will now be ignored at this stage.
Version 1.15.1
Release Notes
Bugfix: Version 1.15 erroneously no longer set track duration as meta data for MP3 files, which is expected by some players. Brought back by reverting to FFmpeg for adding MP3 chapter meta data.
A new version of ATL.net is used which now adds MP4 chapter meta data in an efficient buffered memory mode, which is faster than working directly with the file on disk as before.
Enhancement: Temporary audio files with a track duration of zero will normally be intercepted. Under certain conditions, they can survive, though. They are now handled properly.
Version 1.15
Release Notes
Chapter meta data is now added in all conversion modes, for both MP3 and MP4
ID3v2.3 for MP3
“Nero” and “Quicktime” for MP4 (M4A/M4B)
Full chapter list for "single file" mode, current chapter for "chapter" and "split-chapter" modes, and accurate subrange for "split-time" mode.
Chapter mark adjustments:
Now available for all conversion modes
Enhanced algorithm:
to detect and handle very short silences between chapters
includes intro and outro
Improved error detection with corrupt AAX files
New special functions:
To establish compatibility with iTunes for very long books (M4B format)
To handle an AAC encoding flaw in 44.1 kHz AAX files
Slightly modified progress report, for better visual feedback, in both progress bars and the status text.
Basic settings dialog now with tab pages, as number of settings has increased again.
Bugfixes:
“Nero” chapters for M4A/M4B were often ill-formed. Apparently a bug in FFmpeg, now replaced with ATL.net (#31)
Some minor issues resolved
More or enhanced log output
FFmpeg thread association
Progress report
Version 1.14
Release Notes
New usage tip window on first start-up shows access to functions not directly visible from the main window, i.e. system and context menus.
File association for AAX/AA files (initial launch only) now runs in the background, to keep the user interface responsive.
Fix for the upper progress bar which could fall out of sync when adjusting chapter marks (version 1.13).
Max track duration for time-split mode can now be 90 min, with bugfix, as previous max of 30 min was cut to 15 min.
Activation code enhancements:
Accept activation codes from all sources, no longer abandoning search after first find.
More logical workflow/feedback for cancelling books without matching activation code.
More log output from the auto-update mechanism.
A few other minor fixes and enhancements.
Version 1.13
Release Notes
New option to detect and adjust inaccurate chapter marks, using a simple heuristic approach based on silence distribution near the given chapter mark, for "chapter" and "split-chapter" modes.
New option to disable chapter sub-folders in "split-chapter" mode, putting all generated files into the same folder. (#26)
Pseudo chapters for MP3, introduced in version 1.12 to convey accurate track duration, now receive a meaningful chapter title as well, copied from the normal ID3 title tag, as certain audiobook players try to interpret this tag. (#27)
The full chapter list, with explicit chapter names as introduced in version 1.7, is now also added to MP3 unsplit audio ("single file" mode), as ID3 chapter tags. (Supported by selected players only.)
More and improved log output for chapter processing.
Tiny enhancements and a few minor fixes.
Version 1.12
Release Notes
Significant performance boost for MP3 output and "Chapter" mode, due to a modified and enhanced workflow. "Time-split" mode also benefits.
Conversion result message box now includes elapsed time.
Meta data enhancement for MP3 output regarding track duration. Explicit duration is added as pseudo chapter data. Several media players can interpret this. Without it, those media players would estimate duration from the bitrate, with varying readings.
When running under Windows versions below 10, meta data in MP3 output will be downgraded to ID3v2.3. This enables the “Length” column in Windows Explorer on these systems to display MP3 track duration as well. (Windows 10 systems accept ID3v2.4.)
Slightly more log output again.
Fix for finding content_metadata.json if AAX file resided in the top level directory of a drive.
Additional chapter “Performance” in the manual.
Version 1.11
Option to copy original .aax file to a new location with a customizable name after conversion.
Supports long path names (> 260 characters) now for all input and output. It includes all three input methods: open file dialog, drag & drop and double click. It also extends to network drives, mapped and unmapped.
More log output again.
Minor fixes.
Version 1.10
Enhancements for “single file per aax” mode:
Named Chapters, introduced in version 1.7 for chapter modes, now also available for unsplit audio, embedded as markers (M4A/M4B format, not for MP3).
Audio file tailoring, skipping of intro/outro and skipping of continuation hints and repeated opening credits now also applied to unsplit audio.
Title name parsing allows custom order of series and book title for output.
More log output.
Minor fixes.
The installation package now includes FFmpeg.exe version 4.2.2 (was 4.1 before).
Version 1.9
Added a logging facility to track down unexpected behaviour.
Tiny enhancements and a few minor fixes.
Version 1.8
Now also allows .m4b as MPEG4 output, via Basic Settings.
Handling of named chapters with a given length of 0 ms.
A few minor fixes.
Version 1.7
Supports Named Chapters for .aax files downloaded with the Audible App.
Auto-launches the default media player after conversion.
Initial input folder set to Audible App content folder for a fresh installation, if Audible App is present.
New overview chapter in manual on AAX Audio Converter functionality and customization options.
Bugfixes:
Audiobooks longer than 24 hours now display the correct duration and convert without error.
List of loaded files in main windows now correctly sorts by columns with an underlying numerical value, e.g. file size.
For a multi-part book the program no longer assumes missing parts, although all parts were selected, but the book parts were downloaded with the Audible App.
For a multi-part book, where not all parts were selected, part folders are only created if they will contain at least two files.
Some other minor fixes and adjustments.
Version 1.6
Optional text encoding for .m3u playlist in ISO Latin 1 instead of default UTF8.
Version 1.5
New configurable options (via Basic settings):
Skipping short or very short chapters between book parts, begin and end, settable max. duration.
Version 1.4
New options (via Basic settings):
Extract book meta-info into separate cover image and text file.
Flat folder hierarchy: Combine author and book title into a single folder level.
Version 1.3.1
Release Notes
Glitch/enhancement: Trailing and leading dots in author and title tag will automatically be removed for file/folder name.
Bugfix: Folder and tag customization was ignored for single part books.
Version 1.3
Additional conversion mode:
Split book into tracks of roughly equal length, ignoring chapters.
Automatic online update feature.
Minor fixes/enhancements.