iPod Questions

Ern Dog

audiobliss wrote:

Ok, so I've ripped just about all MY CD's in Apple Lossless and uploaded them to my iPod. I LOVE it! However, I'm running out of space too quick. QUOTE]


How many cd's are we talkin' here because 80gb is a **** load of memory. I'm asking because I was planning on buying a 30gb soon, but may rethink this.

Holydoc

Ern Dog,

If you choose to utilize the video feature at all, 30gb is too small. I would highly recommend the 60 or 80gb.

If you plan to exercise heavily with it, then even the 30gb is too large. Get a Nano.

audiobliss

disneyjoe7 wrote:

You're asking if you need to make Nice sounding music from not so nice music? Ok I won't say it but..... Y**

Why is Apple Lossless worse than MP3? It's supposedly better, is it not?




bobman - Thanks. However, I already deleted my entire library and have already begun RE-ripping them as MP3's at 320kbps. Yeah, I hate the extra time it's taking...but hopefully I'll be able to fit a LOT more songs on it.

holydoc - Definitely sounds like a neat case. I started researching them online but finally decided I'll just have to pick one out in person. Can't make any real decisions based on pictures.

Oh, and...PLEASE don't say that about AAC. I've ripped about 1/4 of my CD's in MP3 already. I guess I could rip them ALL THREE times, eh? lol

ern dog - I ripped all my CD's in Apple Lossless the first time, so each song took up about 20mb. If you're not that big on quality it might not be that big of a deal. However, that was about 107 CD's, and it took up just a little over 40gigs. Since I'm also putting Dad's CD's on it (he has about that many, too), I wanted more space than that.

I'm currently ripping it all to MP3 at 320kbps, so just hang tight a day or so and I'll let you know how much space it takes up that way.

ledhed

The deal with AAC is that it gets better quality at lower bitrates.

HERE is all the info you need.

EDIT: Also, I believe AAC has a smaller file size than MP3 at the same bitrate

audiobliss

ledhed wrote:

The deal with AAC is that it gets better quality at lower bitrates.

HERE is all the info you need.

EDIT: Also, I believe AAC has a smaller file size than MP3 at the same bitrate

Don't you even dare start talking about that now. LOL

I just finished ripping all my CD's to my computer in MP3's at 320kbps and updating my iPod. I now have more songs that I had previously (now 1771) taking up just 15.45GB. Opposed to over 40GB when encoded in Apple Lossless. I'd say I have about 110 CD's on it so far.

pblanc

1 minute of music in an uncompressed format such as .wav takes up more than 10 MB of storage. Obviously, that is why compressed formats were developed. A lossless format such as FLAC, Monkey's Audio, or Apple Lossless preserves all of the musical info of the uncompressed file with some reduction of file size. Apple claims that Lossless files are about half the size of .wav files but in my experience Lossless files are still 60-65% of the .wav file size. Theoretically, however, there is absolutely no degredation of audio quality compared to the redbook CD with a lossless format.
mp3 is a flexible and good compressed format. Audio quality improves with higher bitrates but so does file size. Using a variable bitrate will modestly improve audio quality for the same file size compared to constant bitrate. I would also strongly suggest using the LAME encoder for mp3 files.
To my ears, AAC has better quality for any given bitrate than even LAME mp3. Better still is mpc or Ogg Vorbis but these formats have limited applicability with many portable devices. One option is to store all your music as Lossless files in iTunes but have several different iPods for different genres or subdivide your music libraries into multiple different playlists. You can then load one or two playlists of uncompressed music files to your iPod as your mood suits and change the iPod contents every few days or so in an easy fashion by just changing the playlist(s).

Ern Dog

Audiobliss,
I guess what matters most (at least to me) is how it sounds. What is your take on:

AAC vs MP3 @320kbps vs Apple lossless

Is there a big noticeable difference between each format?

disneyjoe7

I tried both of those formats 320kbps and Apple lossless. Apple lossless for me all the way, couldn't tell between a CD or Ipod during a playback comparison.

disneyjoe7

But then again I don't carry all my CD's on my Ipod, only a select dozen or so.

audiobliss

Ern Dog - I may not be of much use to you, because I've never heard an AAC file, and I haven't compared Apple Lossless and MP3@320 back to back. It's been at least 24 hours since I've heard an Apple Lossless file, if not longer, so I won't even attempt to compare the two formats. However, from briefly listening to the MP3's @ 320kbps, I'll be completely satisfied for my uses.

I guess now would be a good time to say...your mileage may vary.

My purpose for my iPod is to put every CD in our house on it, and use it in my car and on trips. Sound quality is THAT big of a priority, since I won't be using it in my main rig, haha.

Willow

what you can do as well to save a tad more space is choose the option to remove the large gap between songs. I did that on my nano and was surprised on how much more I could add. If only I could remember how I did it!

audiobliss

Holydoc wrote:

Doesn't add that much bulk (thus you can still place it in most docks) which was one of the reasons I bought it. That and the fact that it gives you complete protection. One drawback of the case is that it is made of a rubbery plastic that tends to collect dust if placed in your pocket. Since I have a white Ipod with the clear case, the dust does not cause much of a problem (i.e., it is not noticable). However I have heard that the black cases tend to draw a lot of dust.

Have you experienced your case yellowing any? I'm pretty much all set to order this case (as I have yet to find a store that has it in stock), but I read one review that said their clear case was beginning to yellow.

markmarc

For good sound quality use eaither AAC or Apple Lossless. Any other format the compression is too great and you lose sound quality. Why go back to listening to 1970's FM when you can treat your ears to 2006/7.

Holydoc

audiobliss wrote:

Have you experienced your case yellowing any? I'm pretty much all set to order this case (as I have yet to find a store that has it in stock), but I read one review that said their clear case was beginning to yellow.

No yellowing at all. Not saying it will not, just saying that mine has not yellowed at all.

I bought mine direct from Iskin.

Holydoc

Girlfriend did not like her Iskin because she had to remove her IPOD from the case to fit into her dock at work. She replaced hers for a case that could be easily removed and put back on. Iskins are not easy to remove and put back on.

audiobliss

I think I'll spring for it. I've not seen one in person, but I've also not seen anything that looks like it'd do any better.

Thanks for the info.

audiobliss

Ok, I got another question, now that I have a clear iSkin on the way. (Thanks for the info on the cases...you know who you are...)

How do I send a video file to my iPod? I've taken some video clips with my Canon digital camera, and I'd like to put them on my iPod. I've read that files have to be in either MPEG-4 or QuickTime format to work with iTunes, but I don't know what format they're in; I just know that they open with WMP. If they're not the right format, what can I do to convert them so I can get them on my iPod?

Thanks!

Mike682

The Canon video file is most likely an avi file. As far as converting to mpeg-4 or quicktime, I'm not sure. Someone here should know..I'm actually interested in this same question.

Holydoc

Audio and Mike,

Go to the link below. Anything and everything you ever wanted to know about Ipods and Itunes are revealed there. There are entire forum areas just dedicated to uploading movies.

Enjoy!

http://forums.ilounge.com/

audiobliss

I just received my clear iSkin today! And I love it!! It's much better than I could have even imagined! It covers the whole thing, isn't bulky, doesn't add much weight or thickness, and still allows complete functionality of the iPod.

I read a few folks say it was hard to install/remove...I don't really think so. I suppose it takes longer than with conventional cases, but it isn't difficult, and I installed mine in probably about 20 seconds or so. I also read a few folks say the iSkin made it harder to use the click wheel; I also haven't found that to be the case. I think it's just as easy, if not easier (the click wheel is just a tad too sensitive), than without the case.

Thanks for the recommendation! I couldn't be happier!!

Holydoc

Glad you like it. I know I could not imagine my Ipod without it.

dkg999

Just got an 80gb iPod today through a vendor discount at work! Thanks for all the good info. in this thread, I had some idea of what to do. Loaded the music I had already purchased via iTunes using AAC. The little ear-pods that come with it suck. Using the Grado SR80 headphones, sounds pretty good! I'll be ordering the iSkin and the Grado SR60 iPod headphones. Hopefully the battery in the 80gb will be able to get me through a 10 hr. flight! My previous MP3 player only lasted about 4 hrs.

szhleppy

dkg999 wrote:

Just got an 80gb iPod today through a vendor discount at work! Thanks for all the good info. in this thread, I had some idea of what to do. Loaded the music I had already purchased via iTunes using AAC. The little ear-pods that come with it suck. Using the Grado SR80 headphones, sounds pretty good! I'll be ordering the iSkin and the Grado SR60 iPod headphones. Hopefully the battery in the 80gb will be able to get me through a 10 hr. flight! My previous MP3 player only lasted about 4 hrs.

Let us know what you think of the Grado SR60 headphones. I'm using Shure for now...they are comfortable enough but seem to be missing the boat with SQ.

dkg999

I actually decided on the Sennheiser PCX250 headphones that have the noise cancelling and are more of a closed earcup design, and fold up to stuff in my backpack/mobile office. Hopefully they are in the same SQ range as the Grado SR60. I have Grado SR80 and SR225 headphones at home and love them!

audiobliss

Awesome, dkg999! Be sure and let us know how you like those headphones. I've been eyeing their non-noise cancelling cousins, the PX 100W's. The look to be very similar, so I'd be interested in reading your thoughts on the PCX250's.

I can't really decide what headphone to go with, but I want something that sounds good, is light, portable, and not too expensive. You know...the perfect headphones...that don't exist...:p

Sansui

Holydoc wrote:

This is the case I bought for mine:

http://www.iskin.com/

Nice thing about these cases is that they completely cover all parts of the IPod while still allowing you to hook up to the universal charger without removing the case.

I second that motion!

brettw22

I got my case from iFrogz here:

http://ifrogz.com/

I don't care about all the various chargers etc because I don't use them personally. This case you can remove the band and have access to the charger port, hold, and headphone jack or just leave it on and have them covered up. Plenty of colors to choose from and while a lil thicker than some of the standard silicone cases, this one doesn't feel cheap and worthless.