iPod and iTunes

Post by **Dave** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 4:08 am

I've never had any skips, but I only use AAC/mp4 encoded files (at high bitrate). I hear the ipod processor is optimized to decode those files.

Post by **PHILAMONSTER** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 4:22 am

thats the mac standard no? i really know nothing about that. the --aps stuff i've tested with is mp3 and from friends, just a couple tracks tho so small sample size and no rips i've done personally. i have read up a bit on various forums with peeps complaining of files twitching and distortion (but that could be anything)

what are the benefits of aac and mp4? or in plain english, why do you use that over mp3?

Post by **Dave** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 4:50 am

MP4/AAC is not a "mac" standard, it's another type of format like mp3 that is independent of any platform, unlike Microsoft's Windows Media Audio/Video formats that are controlled completely by Microsoft. Apple just happened to choose AAC it for its standard. Technically all of these things are all controlled by some licensing authority, but I don't see anyone ever making a third party Windows Media encoder.

Think of AAC as the compression algorithm and mp4 is a container the AAC file is placed inside... Like a can of Coke. MP4 would be the aluminum can with the information on it, artist, title, caffeine, etc, while the liquid inside would be the AAC audio file. The video file would be another ingredient inside the aluminum can, a fly or severed finger for instance. I guess you could put an mp3 file inside an mp4 file if you wanted to.

I use AAC because I think it sounds better, especially at middle bit rates (128-192). Even the 128 kbps mp4 tracks off the itunes music store sound pretty good.

Post by **+JuggerNaut+** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 7:25 am

Dave wrote:I've never had any skips, but I only use AAC/mp4 encoded files (at high bitrate). I hear the ipod processor is optimized to decode those files.

go figure!

Post by **glossy** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 12:14 pm

A little trick, you can burn protected media files to a audio CD, then rip them to remove the protection.

gf's Protected iTunes files

burn to audio cd

rip into AAC, mp3, whatever

Post by **R00k** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 2:01 pm

Of course I'm not trying to bypass Apple's copy protection. I merely want a safe way to back up all of our music.

Post by **Dave** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 2:03 pm

I use a raid-5 array to keep mine backed up

Post by **glossy** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 2:05 pm

R00k wrote:Of course I'm not trying to bypass Apple's copy protection. I merely want a safe way to back up all of our music.

well if your AAC files are being shitty and not letting you copy the file to other computers, only listen to it a certain number of times or anything like that, this completely fixes the problem. I mean, c'mon, you paid for it, you should get to listen to it.

Post by **glossy** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 2:06 pm

Dave wrote:I use a raid-5 array to keep mine backed up

Post by **R00k** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 2:12 pm

glossy wrote:
R00k wrote:Of course I'm not trying to bypass Apple's copy protection. I merely want a safe way to back up all of our music.
well if your AAC files are being shitty and not letting you copy the file to other computers, only listen to it a certain number of times or anything like that, this completely fixes the problem. I mean, c'mon, you paid for it, you should get to listen to it.

Well said sir, I couldn't agree more. :icon14:

Post by **R00k** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 2:13 pm

Dave wrote:I use a raid-5 array to keep mine backed up

Sure, a RAID-5 array is fine. If that's all you can afford...

Post by **Dave** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 2:20 pm

I got the cheapest raid 5 card I could get ($99) and 3 250 GB Seagate 7200.8 SATA drives. The whole set up cost just under $500 for 500 gigs of storage

Post by **PHILAMONSTER** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 2:26 pm

fucking hell that's a lot of storage. how much have you used thus far?

Post by **PHILAMONSTER** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 2:27 pm

PHILAMONSTER wrote:actually i have an itunes question now...is there any way to take what i've got on my ipod and throw it into my library in i tunes? i don't want the files to be copied to my HDD, mainly becuase they're dupes, but i just want to create an ipod specific library as opposed to my complete collection

and bump

Post by **Dave** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 2:33 pm

You can only have 1 main library, but having your ipod plugged into your computer shows up in iTunes as a separate library anyway, so creating a new library for your ipod would be redundant.

You could create an ipod playlist too, i suppose, if you mean you want to create the library without having your ipod plugged in.

I have 145 GB used, but not all of that is music

Post by **R00k** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 2:34 pm

saturn wrote:Tag and Rename is the program you'd want to use. Does an excellent job.

I spent a couple hours last night retagging and naming some of my files. This app is great - very powerful for batch operations once you learn how to use it right. :icon14:

Post by **Geebs** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 2:38 pm

There's a few skips if you listen to Apple Lossless encoded files on your ipod - specifically if they take up more than 32Mb. You can hear the difference on more complex mixes though.

I agree that MP4s sound surprisingly good at low bitrates. At over 192 kbps, though, I can't hear much difference from MP3; the file sizes are the same, and some apps I use a lot, like Guitar Rig, can't handle MP4 audio.

Post by **R00k** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 2:39 pm

PHILAMONSTER wrote:
PHILAMONSTER wrote:actually i have an itunes question now...is there any way to take what i've got on my ipod and throw it into my library in i tunes? i don't want the files to be copied to my HDD, mainly becuase they're dupes, but i just want to create an ipod specific library as opposed to my complete collection
and bump

Dave wrote:You can only have 1 main library, but having your ipod plugged into your computer shows up in iTunes as a separate library anyway, so creating a new library for your ipod would be redundant.

You could create an ipod playlist too, i suppose, if you mean you want to create the library without having your ipod plugged in.

Yea, if you install iTunes on a pc and plug the iPod in, it just reads the library on your iPod. No work involved.

Post by **PHILAMONSTER** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 2:48 pm

R00k wrote:
PHILAMONSTER wrote:
PHILAMONSTER wrote:actually i have an itunes question now...is there any way to take what i've got on my ipod and throw it into my library in i tunes? i don't want the files to be copied to my HDD, mainly becuase they're dupes, but i just want to create an ipod specific library as opposed to my complete collection
and bump

Dave wrote:You can only have 1 main library, but having your ipod plugged into your computer shows up in iTunes as a separate library anyway, so creating a new library for your ipod would be redundant.

You could create an ipod playlist too, i suppose, if you mean you want to create the library without having your ipod plugged in.
Yea, if you install iTunes on a pc and plug the iPod in, it just reads the library on your iPod. No work involved.

i know that :icon26: but a fair percentage of the stuff that's on my hdd doesn't include album art or id3 tags and doesn't have the same filename structure as what's on my ipod. my collection is kind of in disarray and i just wanted to be able to take what's on my ipod and include it in my main library instead of hunting down these sasme albums in various directories and including them individually (there are low bitrate files combined with alternately named files w/no id3 tags so i won't know what needs to be retagged/renamed and what has been, would just be easier to go from one album to the next)

if that makes any sense

Post by **Dave** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 2:59 pm

Well, given the way music is stored hidden on your ipod with cryptic file names, you <i>could</i> turn off "Keep itunes music folder organized" and "copy files to itunes music folder...", search for the hidden mp3 files on your ipod and drag them into your library. That way it will incorportate them into your main library, but it wont rename or copy them. As long as all of your ipod files are ID3 tagged, you'll be able to tell what is what

Post by **+JuggerNaut+** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 4:55 pm

glossy wrote:A little trick, you can burn protected media files to a audio CD, then rip them to remove the protection.

gf's Protected iTunes files burn to audio cd rip into AAC, mp3, whatever

that's a trick that will render lower quality at the end. transcoding is a sin.

Post by **Geebs** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 5:07 pm

just google "mp4" and a whole bunch of DRM removal stuff shows up straight away. Not that I've ever used it.

Post by **saturn** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 5:14 pm

R00k wrote:
saturn wrote:Tag and Rename is the program you'd want to use. Does an excellent job.
I spent a couple hours last night retagging and naming some of my files. This app is great - very powerful for batch operations once you learn how to use it right. :icon14:

Yup......Once I've tagged them right (getting the proper info from amazon.com, previously they used allmusic.com) + adding a review text and album jpeg, I put them in folders.

Genre>Artists>Albums - with the mp3 files renamed like "Artist - Tracknumber - Song name". I used to add album names to the mp3 name too, but the filename became too long. If you tagged it good, you don't need all that long stuff anymore.

Oh yeah, I chose iTunes not to auto-organise/rename my files. Just because I like it my way.

Post by **Giraffe }{unter** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 5:40 pm

saturn wrote:Tag and Rename is the program you'd want to use. Does an excellent job.

:icon14:

Post by **TMan** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 4:46 pm

Will try these programs, thanks.