As promised, here is a quick tutorial on creating ringtones for a Treo 700p on the Sprint network.

The Treo 700p on the Sprint use AAC audio format for ringtones. As some people know, AAC is the audio format used by the iTunes store and similar to the mp3 format. The main advantage of the AAC format is Apple's propriety DRM. Thus Sprint may sell protected ringtones to their subscribers.

The method described in this tutorial will help you convert audio files and install them on your Treo 700p. The tutorial does not focus on creating protected AAC ringtones, yet will help you to achieve professional level ringtones playable on the Treo 700p.

The tutorial centers on readily available tools, yet is slightly Windows centric and requires several off-shelf applications (listed below). I will focus on open source tools on multiple platforms in the near future.

Application Used in this Tutorial

• Windows
  • Nero Wave Editor
  • Quicktime Pro
• Treo
  • Resco Explorer
  • Voice Memo (Standard Treo Application)
  • Filez

Choose and edit you Ringtone

1. Open the audio file in Nero Wave Editor.
2. Select a 20 to 45 second portion of the audio and crop. Highlight the portion by clicking and dragging in the display window. Select Edit > Crop. This part requires finesse and may take some time.
3. Select All; [Crtl+A]
4. Increase the volume 3 to 5 decibel. Again, this step is an art. Just watch your levels and avoid the topping out the red zone; Volume > Volume Change...;
5. Use the band pass tool to filter out the low bass, which may distort through the Treo's speaker. A good starting point is 250 Hz to 300 Hz; Enhancement > Filter Toolbox
   
   
6. Use the Noise Reduction feature to get rid of the static and distortion caused by increasing the volume. You may use the standard settings or choose the preset "Reduce LP Hiss"; Enhancement > Noise Reduction
7. Save As a WAV file.

Convert WAV to AAC ringtone

1. With Quicktime Pro, open the wave file.
2. Select File > Export
3. Select export set to "Movie to mpeg-4"
4. Click the [Options] button next to that and select Audio from the drop down box.
   
   
5. Use the following settings to reduce the file size and maintain a quality ringtone.
   • Data rate: 32 kbps
   • Channels: Mono
   • Output sample rate: 32.000kHz
   • Encoding quality: Best
   • Select [Ok]
   
6. Give Export dialog a file name like a MyRingtone_AAC.amr. The amr extension is important for the next part. I add AAC in the filename just as a reminder of the file's true format.

Copy your AAC ringtone through your SD card

1. With a card reader, copy the AAC file with the amr extension to you SD Card.
2. Place the SD card in the Treo
3. With Resco Explorer, navigate to your ringtone file on the SD Card and open. The file should open in the Treo's Voice Memo application. It will not play since it is not a true amr file. But you use Voice Memo to copy to the Treo's ringtone folder.
   
   
4. Select Voice Memo > Copy to Ringtone
   
   
5. You may delete the voice memo now; Voice Memo > Delete memo
6. Using Filez search the internal memory and locate the ringtone. It should have a name similar to "TON-{name}" and a Creator ID, "HsTo". If you did not delete the voice memo, then you may see amr file as well. Select the "Details" and change the type from "AMRf" to "AACf" keeping case in mind.
   
      
7. Now, open the Treo's sound folder and play your ringtone. You may also change the ringtone name and remove the amr extension.

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