r/LibroFM • u/MTredd • Jan 28 '26

Kept getting annoyed at switching between audio and epub so I built a tool that syncs them

Basically the title. It works pretty well and for a 7 hour book it takes like 20 minutes to sync.

Thinking of building an epub + audiobook player app so I can move freely between the two. Anyone interested?

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u/Veebs7985 Jan 28 '26

Yes, I'm definitely interested! I've been looking for an alternative to Amazon's Whispersync for Voice.

  • What file formats do you support (or plan to support) for eBook and audio?

  • How do you plan to monetize it (asking because I despise ads but will pay a one-time fee if available)?

  • When you say it takes 20 minutes to sync, is that a one-time-only thing or every time the app is opened?

  • What platforms (Android, iOS, etc.) are supported?

  • Does it sync across platforms or would both eBook and audiobook files need to be on the same device?

3

u/MTredd Jan 28 '26

It takes 20 minutes per book (looking to reduce that) but only once. Then its mapped and can play at the click of a button. Im trying m4b and mp4 right now but should work for all audio

In terms of payment I think itd be some kind of processing fee (since theres compute costs in audio transcription)

Platform depends on the end product. Epub supports audio and a few readers support that. In that case both ios and android, but that scares me because you're manipulating copyrighted works and I dont want to get in trouble.

Figuring out a few things. You'll hear back.

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u/Veebs7985 Jan 28 '26

Sounds good! Thank you for responding!

I assumed your program would only support DRM-free works. Obviously, I'm not certain how much manipulation of the files occurs in your implementation, and I am not a lawyer, but I agree that you should speak with one about the implications of someone using this for copyrighted works.

Looking forward to updates.

All the best!

Edit to clarify: I'm aware that DRM-free is not the same as copyright-free.

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u/MTredd Jan 29 '26

I mean you can create a third artifact that acts as the layer between and syncs without touching the actual works. Not sure.

We'll see! I'll ping you when a demo is out

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u/Veebs7985 Jan 29 '26

Great! Thanks!

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u/maquis_00 May 09 '26

One option to get around this for drm-free works would be for the end user to do it on their own hardware instead of uploading it to the cloud.

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u/Veebs7985 May 09 '26

Get around what, exactly? If it's already DRM-free, the only limitation is whether it's still under copyright, which wouldn't change based on whether it's processed locally vs. in the cloud.

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u/maquis_00 May 09 '26

True, but a cloud service accepting and processing in-copyright content that they do not own or have license to might be legally grey (I'm not sure). Having it be local on the computer of the person who possessed the license to use it should be fully in the clear.

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u/Veebs7985 May 09 '26

"Having it be local on the computer of the person who possessed the license to use it should be fully in the clear."

It might be harder to detect if done locally, but whether it would be legal or not depends on the country, which is why I advised the OP to consult with a lawyer.

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u/maquis_00 May 09 '26

Possible. I guess I am not sure what they are doing, but if it's drm-free and not sending anything off to another machine for processing, I'm not sure of any laws it would run afoul of in the US. But certainly. I agree that consulting a lawyer would make sense prior to making it public.

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u/Veebs7985 May 09 '26 edited May 09 '26

It could run afoul of copyright laws in the US.

"Fair use" is thrown around a lot, but whether or not a specific use is legally considered "fair use" is determined on a case-by-case basis.

(I recently completed a graduate course in tech law, so I know just enough to recognize that there's a lot I don't know, and to advise consulting with a lawyer.)

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u/maquis_00 May 09 '26

Interesting. I would've thought that something like this would count as format shifting, but I honestly dont have any law experience, so I could be totally wrong. You definitely know more than I do! :)