Overdrive Media Console

With an intuitive interface, OverDrive Media Console allows you to download and enjoy WMA and MP3 Audiobooks on most Windows® and Mac computers. Use OverDrive Media Console to navigate, play, and bookmark OverDrive media titles, and to manage and customize your media library. OverDrive Media Console includes a built-in Transfer Wizard that allows you to transfer titles to your supported portable player in just a few clicks. For audiobooks that may be burned to CD, OverDrive Media Console includes a Burn Wizard that allows you to burn to a title to CD without installing any extra software. Note that OverDrive Media Console for Mac and OverDrive Media Console for Android support MP3 Audiobooks only.

Features of OverDrive Media Console include:

• Multi-part download management...
  

  OverDrive media titles are often divided into 'Parts' in order to make downloading quick and easy. OverDrive Media Console allows you the flexibility to specify Parts for download. This enables you to begin using a title as soon as a Part has finished downloading, and return to download the remaining Parts later. Alternatively, if only a given Part of a file is of interest, you can simply download that desired Part.

• Media library management...
  

  OverDrive Media Console automatically creates, maintains, and displays a comprehensive library of downloaded media in a logical folder hierarchy. As titles are added to your collection, they are automatically moved into the appropriate folder(s). The organization system is also customizable, allowing you to create and name new folders to suit your needs. Within each folder, titles can be sorted by title, creator, date acquired, and date last played.

• Navigation of titles with MediaMarkers...
  

  Most OverDrive titles are divided into Parts, and Parts are then sub-divided into logical sections (such as chapters, for audiobooks). The beginning points of these logical sections are MediaMarkers, which are displayed as hyperlinks. When you click on a 'Part', the MediaMarkers associated with that Part are displayed in the right-hand portion of the 'OverDrive Media Explorer' window. Simply click on a MediaMarker to jump directly to, and begin play at, the desired section of a title. OverDrive Media Console also includes the conveniences of skipping back 15 seconds and advancing to the point furthest played.

• Easy transfer of titles to portable devices for listening on-the-go...
  

  OverDrive Media Console includes a built-in Transfer Wizard that allows you to transfer titles to supported portable devices in just a few clicks.

• Easy transfer of audio files to CD...
  

OverDrive Media Console was designed with accessibility in mind. It has been tested with the most popular screen reader applications and includes shortcut keys for the most common commands. To read the OverDrive Media Console Accessibility Guide, which includes instructions for using OverDrive Media Console and a list of shortcut keys, click here.

To review system requirements and download the free OverDrive Media Console, click here.

Note that upgrading or uninstalling OverDrive Media Console will not affect any content that you have previously downloaded; all items in your 'Media Library' will be maintained through either process.

OverDrive Media Console is a free download. To download OverDrive Media Console, click here.

OverDrive Media Console supports the following operating systems:

• Mac OS® 10.4.9 (or newer)
  Note that OverDrive Media Console for Mac supports MP3 Audiobooks only.
• Microsoft Windows 7
• Microsoft Windows Vista®
• Microsoft Windows XP
• Microsoft Windows 2000
• Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (ME)
• Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition (SE)

OverDrive Media Console for Windows Mobile supports the following operating systems:

• Windows Mobile 6
• Windows Mobile 5

OverDrive Media Console for Android supports the following operating systems:

• Android v1.5 (or newer)

On Mac:

To use OverDrive Media Console for Mac you will need to have Apple iTunes v7.6.2.9 (or newer). iTunes v8.1.0.52 (or newer) is required for use with the iPod shuffle.

OverDrive Media Console for Mac supports MP3 Audiobooks only, and transfers titles to Apple devices only.

On Windows:

To use OverDrive Media Console on Windows, you will need to have Windows Media Player 9 Series (or newer) installed. To download Windows Media Player, click here.

To transfer MP3 Audiobooks to an Apple device, you need to have iTunes v9.0.2 (or newer) installed. To download iTunes, click here. On Windows, iTunes v9.0.2 (or newer) is required in order to transfer MP3 Audiobook to an Apple device. On Mac, iTunes v7.6.2.9 (or newer) is required. iTunes v8.1.0.52 (or newer) is required for use with the iPod shuffle.

To transfer MP3 Audiobooks to a Zune device using OverDrive Media Console Transfer Wizard, you must have OverDrive Media Console v3.1 (or newer), Zune application v3.0 (or newer), and Zune device firmware v3.0 (or newer) installed. Before you can transfer MP3 Audiobooks to a Zune using the OverDrive Media Console Transfer Wizard, you must close any program to which your Zune is connected. To download the Zune application, click here.

On Windows Mobile:

To use OverDrive Media Console for Windows Mobile, you need to have a Windows Mobile 5 or 6 device.

On Android:

To use OverDrive Media Console for Android, you need to have a device running Android v1.5 (or newer).

Upgrading OverDrive Media Console will not affect any content that you have previously downloaded; all items in the 'Media Library' will be maintained through this process.

Use MediaMarkers as follows:

On Windows and Mac:

1. Open OverDrive Media Console.
2. Double-click a title in the Media Library.
   The 'OverDrive Media Explorer' window is displayed.
3. Select a Part to display its MediaMarkers.
4. Select a MediaMarker to start play at that point in the Part.

On Windows Mobile:

1. Open OverDrive Media Console for Windows Mobile.
2. Select a title in the Media Library.
3. Click the 'Play' button.
   The 'Media Explorer' window is displayed and the file begins playing.
4. Select View > Navigation.
   Parts are displayed on the left-hand side of the window, and the MediaMarkers for the selected Part are displayed on the right-hand side of the window.
5. Select a Part to display its MediaMarkers.
6. Select a MediaMarker to start play at that point in the Part.

On Android:

1. Open OverDrive Media Console.
2. Select a title in the Library.
   The 'Player' screen is displayed.
3. Select 'Contents'.
   The title's Parts are displayed.
4. Select a Part to display its MediaMarkers.
5. Select a MediaMarker to start play at that point in the Part.

You can navigate directly to a desired point in a title using 'Parts' and 'MediaMarkers'. For ease of download and use, MP3 Audiobooks are divided into Parts, and Parts are then divided into logical sections (such as chapters). The beginning points of these logical sections are MediaMarkers.

Most versions of OverDrive Media Console allows you to choose how titles begin playing. OverDrive Media Console for Mac does not support this functionality.

The following options are available:

• Option 'Automatically resume from most recently played point' sets OverDrive Media Console to begin play of titles at the point in the title where you either clicked 'Stop' or exited OverDrive Media Console while the title was playing. Note that this is the default setting for OverDrive Media Console v3.2 (or newer), OverDrive Media Console for Windows Mobile, and OverDrive Media Console for Android.
• Option 'Automatically resume from furthest played point' sets OverDrive Media Console to advance to the furthest point to which the title was ever played.
• Option 'Automatically play from beginning' sets OverDrive Media Console to begin play at the earliest point in the earliest Part of the title.
• Option 'Disable auto-play' turns off the auto-play feature. When you launch a title in the OverDrive Media Explorer window, the title will not play until you click the 'Play' button.

To change the point at which audiobooks start playback in OverDrive Media Console for Windows:

1. In OverDrive Media Console, click Tools > Options:.
   The 'Options' dialog box is displayed.
2. Under 'Media Explorer auto-play options' select the desired media starting point.
3. Click 'OK'.
   The 'Options' dialog box closes. Going forward, playback will be handled according to the option specified.

To change the point at which audiobooks start playback in OverDrive Media Console for Windows Mobile:

1. In OverDrive Media Console for Windows Mobile, click Menu > Options:.
   The 'Options' dialog box is displayed.
2. Under 'Media' [Pocket PC (Touch screen)] or 'Media Explorer auto-play' [Smartphone (Non-Touch screen)] select the desired media starting point.
3. Click 'OK'.
   The 'Options' dialog box closes. Going forward, playback will be handled according to the option specified.

To change the point at which audiobooks start playback in OverDrive Media Console for Android:

1. In OverDrive Media Console for Android, select Menu > More > Settings.
   The 'OverDrive Media Console Settings' screen is displayed.
2. Select the drop down under 'Auto-Play Options'.
   The auto-play options are displayed.
3. Select the desired media starting point.
   The 'Auto-Play Options' screen closes. Going forward, playback will be handled according to the option specified.

Additionally, MediaMarkers allow you to link to, and begin play at, specific sections of audiobooks. For information on MediaMarkers and other features of OverDrive Media Console, click here.

Burn a title to CD using the Burn Wizard in OverDrive Media Console v3.2 (or newer) for Windows or OverDrive Media Console v1.0 (or newer) for Mac as follows:

1. Place a recordable CD into your recordable CD drive.


2. In OverDrive Media Console, highlight the title you wish to burn and click the 'Burn' button.
   The OverDrive Media Console Burn Wizard is displayed.


3. Verify that the correct title is displayed on the first screen of the Burn Wizard and click 'Next'.
   The 'Confirm' screen is displayed.


4. In the 'Confirm' dialog box, select the Part(s) you want to burn by checking the box(es) next to the Part name(s).


5. Click 'Next' to begin burning the file(s) to CD.
   The Progress screen is displayed. While you can click 'Cancel' at any point while the OverDrive Media Console 'prepares' the file, it is not possible to cancel the process once the file starts burning to CD.


6. If you have selected more than one Part to burn to CD, the Burn Wizard will prompt you to enter a new CD as each Part finishes burning. When all Parts are successfully burned to CD, the Burn Wizard displays a 'Success' message.


7. Click 'Finish' to exit the Burn Wizard.

If desired, you can put the OverDrive Media Console Burn Wizard in 'Test mode' to complete a test of the burn process. Completing a burn in 'Test mode' simulates the burn process, allowing you to test the CD compilation for errors before actually burning any data to disc.

In order to test the burn process, complete the following:

1. Place a recordable CD into your recordable CD drive.
2. In OverDrive Media Console, highlight the title you wish to burn and click the 'Burn' button.
   The OverDrive Media Console Burn Wizard is displayed.
3. Verify that the correct title is displayed on the first screen of the Burn Wizard and click 'Next'.
   The 'Confirm' screen is displayed.
4. In the 'Confirm' dialog box, select the Part(s) you want to burn by checking the box(es) next to the Part name(s).
5. Click the 'Options:' button.
   The 'Options' dialog box is displayed.
6. Check the checkbox next to 'Test mode (simulate burning)'.
7. Click the 'OK' button.
8. Click 'Next >'.
   A message is displayed, informing you that a 'Test mode' burn will begin.
9. Click the 'OK' button.
   The Progress screen is displayed. The 'Test mode' burn completes, returning you to the 'Confirm' dialog box.

If the 'Test mode' burn completes without error, and you wish to perform an actual burn, complete the following:

1. Click the 'Options:' button.
   The 'Options' dialog box is displayed.
2. Uncheck the checkbox next to 'Test mode (simulate burning)'.
3. Click the 'OK' button. You can now burn the title to disc.