RSS FeedDC Public Library Going Into OverDrive
Back in May we blogged about a new service by the DC Public Library allowing users to download audiobooks online and then listen to them on MP3 players, their computer, or in some cases burn them to CD. Through this same service (OverDrive) DCPL is now offering downloadable movies, music and eBooks!
Same rules apply: you have to install the OverDrive software on your PC and to listen to audio on an MP3 player, your player must accept windows media files and play DRM protected content. Right now the video and music content isn’t great (decent classic movies and classical music though), but back in May the audiobook content wasn’t great either, now it’s fantastic.
Currently this is a Windows only program, although the DCPL OverDrive website has posted the following:
At this time, OverDrive Media files cannot be used on iPods or Mac computers.
Our media titles, provided by OverDrive, Inc., use DRM (Digital Rights Management) protection technology from Microsoft Corporation. Unfortunately the iPod (and Mac) currently support neither DRM-protected Windows Media Audio (.wma) files nor Window Media Video (.wmv) files.
OverDrive, along with hundreds of online media providers, is hopeful that Apple and Microsoft can reach an agreement that would enable support for Microsoft-based DRM-protected materials on the iPod/Mac.
To review a list of devices that are compatible with OverDrive Media, click here.
You may also want to check device documentation to determine if a device supports DRM-protected Windows Media content.
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Comments
I understand your frustration monkeyrotica, but isn’s it unfair to put this one on the DCPL? Do you know of any libraries with a digital collection this large, that offer these service that work on iPods?
I ask because I’ve run some web searches and OverDrive appears to be the primary vendor to libraries. The NYPL uses OverDrive (and therefore no iPods).
Maybe in the case the problem is Apple, and not DCPL?
(please no flame war on this, I’m no microsoft fanboy… I own an iPod as my primary stereo/MP3 player)
I have used the overdrive titles for a while now (Maryland’s libraries have had them for some time) and it’s a pretty cool system. Here’s some random tips for anyone who is interested.
-The video titles are mostly old stuff or obscure indie titles you might not have heard of. But there are definitely hidden gems in the collection if you look through it, some cool feature films, documentaries, and concerts, etc.
-One neat use for the video titles is if you are a laptop owner who travels a lot and needs something to watch on the plane or in your hotel room. Before a trip, simply download a few titles to your laptop and they will remain “checked out” to your for 3 weeks, long enough for a trip. The video is near DVD quality and for the movies, in proper widescreen. Each title takes up about 1 gigabyte so you can fit plenty of titles at a time.
-If you own an Xbox 360 that is connected to the same home network as the PC you download the videos to, you can stream those videos to the Xbox connected to your TV. Although they have DRM on them, the movies use the “WMV” format, and that’s a format that the Xbox 360 can stream. Much nicer to watch the titles on a real TV set than a small computer monitor.
-The audiobooks can be useful for road trips (and a real money saver over buying audiobooks) if you have a portable device that can play them back. One such device is any cell phone that is running “windows mobile” like the T-Mobile SDA/MDA/Dash, or a windows mobile Palm Treo. Those phones can play back these DRM protected audiobook files. I suppose pocket PC devices would be able to as well.
When I moved to DC it was a cross country drive from San Diego. I loaded up my cell phone with a bunch of these free audiobooks and played them back over the phone’s speaker, it made the 2800 mile drive go a lot faster!
Lastly, the other posters are correct that it’s not the library’s fault that these don;t work on Ipods. Overdrive is, as far as I know, the only rights system out there that can work for titles that need to tie to a specific device and also “expire” after 3 weeks. I am a longtime Mac owner and apple fan, but in this case, Apple has not made any type of DRM infrastructure that would work for this situation. I wish they did!
Microsoft’s just doing for libraries the same thing they did for public schools: they came in and handed out free software and computers. Of course they’re going to take it. But just because every library in the country made the same choice doesn’t mean it isn’t dumb.
Suppose Sony spread the same kind of money around public libraries, and convinced them to make digital content eBook-restricted-only?
I’ll stick with gutenberg.org, thank you.
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It certainly makes a lot of sense to put audiobooks in a format that the dominant MP3 player cannot use. Kudos DC Public Library System! Any chances of expanding the city-wide pneumatic tube system for cuneaform tablet delivery?