MP3s and IPODs

[termietermite]

I've decided to get myself an MP3 player at long last.  I know little about them as I'm still firmly in the cd era myself but it struck me as a good way to have all my music with me in hospital.  Are IPODs the dog's wotsits or are other people's products better value?  Bearing in mind the fact that I have thousands of CDs so I'm not looking to download stuff from the internet, simply to transfer existing stuff from CD to player, does anybody on here have any views?

[LangTall]

In my very personal opinion Ipod's are fairly overpriced for what they offer. They do have the name, but with an MP3-player branded Creative or iRiver you can do the same, and save (in the Netherlands) approx a 100 euro's for the same possibilities.

[Robspot]

I used to have a Creative Labs player and then a Sony one and they were pretty good (the Sony music library software was crap though) but since I bought my first iPod a couple of years ago I will never change. I find iTunes really easy to use for transferring cds over. The main thing that puts iPods above anything else is the sheer range of accessories available for them. There are hundreds of speaker systems, car kits etc. that you just cannot get for the other brands.

One tip though, make sure you rip your cd's at a decent resolution. This will lead to larger file sizes but better quality. Bear in mind that the number of songs quoted that a particular player can hold is based on a low resolution file size. Ripping at higher resolution will reduce that number. My personal settings are 256 kbps stereo bit rate, with highest quality Variable Bit Rate Encoding (this reduces the rate in less complex areas and increases it during more complex areas) and 44.1 kHz frequency. Oh, and I import files as MP3 as this is playable on all systems whereas some of the Apple formats can only be played on iPods. There is an Apple Lossless Encoder setting but that generally gives you file sizes 10 times larger which was too big for the amount of music I have.

[landman]

I got fed up with so many different gadgets, so got me an iPhone.

Phone & iPod in one and not that expensive.

If you get the 16 gb version you'll have loads of room for lots of albums.

Only downside is battery life if you're on the road.

The iPhone worked a treat at LM last year, I also had a film loaded that meant the time spent at Dieppe passed by as I sat & watched Blade Runner.

Before any Apple hater's get on this yes the iPhone does work with Windows, you just need iTunes.  iTunes will also help you rip the CD's on to your pooter and you can tweak the settings for sound & volume etc etc etc.

Hope your feeling much better

Landman

[F-Troop Mom]

I am have the same questions as I shop for a gift for my husband.  Thank you this has been very helpful.

[Kev_mk3]

The main reason i bought my ipod was i was sick of having cds in the car. i have a wire from my car cd player to my glove box where i plug the ipod in and control it all from the head unit. Simple i leave the car and take it with me - therefore less things to get stolen. BUT the one night i forget to take it out my car gets broken into and its taken 

I now have a 120gb Ipod Classic and got myself a ipod video converter so any films, videos, programs i want i convert and stick on the ipod so when im on the train / bus what ever i can either watch something or listen to the music. Also has a fair bit of music on it - think ive used 8gb and ive 1000 tracks & about 8 hours worth of top gear, Australian top gear, prison break etc.

I have to say itunes IMO is utter shite but its simple to use. Drag & drop the tracks you want to the libary - plug the ipod in and click sync = done. its that simple!

Sony, Creative and few other brands do do good players but i think Apple are the market leaders for the simplicity of there product and easy use

If your not sure go to a apple store and look at the different ones the staff are really helpful Also just to add there is a store on ebay based in hongkong that sells refurbished ipods with apple warranty. I got my first one from them and never had a issue at all was at least half the price aswell

HTH

Kev

[tn*c]

My advice is to get a 120Gb Classic Ipod,

I always hated Ipods until I got one and I agree that there are a huge number of dedicated good accesories. Speakers car kits etc.

My main advice though is to use Windows Media Player to rip your collection to MP3 at 312Kbps as this is far better then most CD'd anyhow (make sure you set it up before ripping the CD's otherwise it is 64Kbps).
If you use Itunes to rip to MP3 it will inface rip to AAC which is not compatible with most other devices.

[termietermite]

Thanks for the input thus far.  I must say I was a bit put off the i-pod by this quote in a web review: "my biggest hate for the IPOD is Itunes, I rip my music and already had thousand of tracks and really don't want to have to give a credit card to Itunes so that I can start transferring my music but you have to" , which seemed to me to imply that I couldn't use Windows to download music to it.  Glad to see this does not appear to be the case.

[TobyAnscombe]

Thanks for the input thus far.  I must say I was a bit put off the i-pod by this quote in a web review: "my biggest hate for the IPOD is Itunes, I rip my music and already had thousand of tracks and really don't want to have to give a credit card to Itunes so that I can start transferring my music but you have to" , which seemed to me to imply that I couldn't use Windows to download music to it.  Glad to see this does not appear to be the case.

Debs - full of bollocks...

You can add any MP3 to iTunes and you dont have to give a credit card over to use the software. Granted the Windows version of iTunes is not as good as the Mac version but thats for the same reason that the PC version of Office is better than the Mac version....

Horsetrading!

If you have the space then in iTunes choose apple lossless as the audio format, yes its bigger than an mp3 but it also has more detail to it...

Just my 2$

[Kev_mk3]

my advice is dont buy anything from itunes as its over priced and you can get it for free if you look if you buy from the apple website you can personalise the ipod with a personal messages aswell for free

[Steve Pyro]

I've ripped all my CD's to a hard drive as lossless .wma files using Windows Media Player.  I have a Creative Zen player that uses the 'sync' feature in Media Player to drag / drop files from hard drive to the player - dead easy.

I've also got a Zune player (currently only retails in USA / Canada) that also reads the .wma files but needs it's own bit of sync software to transfer files.

[smokie]

I've got a 160Gb iPod and a 40Gb one, daughters have 80Gb and a nano. Also have had Creative Labs devices and other unbranded cheapies. The iPods are good - ease of use, plenty of software is compatible etc.

Having just reached 100,000 music tracks, I finally gave in and set up an iStore account - not to buy anything, but to grab the album art - which has worked pretty well.

iTunes is dead simple, and, having used it for quite a while, there are a few tricks which I know which make it very handy. I've also used Music Monkey and Winamp - which are both also very good, but I'd say not quite as simple.

40Gb iPod (which is a few years old now) packed up on last day of warranty (disk problem) and Apple changed it for a new one without batting an eye.

As Kev says, just walk round an iPod store....oh Kev, if only it were so easy for termie... 

[jpchenet]

I now have a 120gb Ipod Classic and got myself a ipod video converter so any films, videos, programs i want i convert and stick on the ipod so when im on the train / bus what ever i can either watch something or listen to the music

What video converter did you go for Kev. Had my 120Gb Classic for a few weeks now and have about 15Gb of space left after putting all the music on it so a few videos might be useful to fill time when travelling.

[Kev_mk3]

I now have a 120gb Ipod Classic and got myself a ipod video converter so any films, videos, programs i want i convert and stick on the ipod so when im on the train / bus what ever i can either watch something or listen to the music

What video converter did you go for Kev. Had my 120Gb Classic for a few weeks now and have about 15Gb of space left after putting all the music on it so a few videos might be useful to fill time when travelling.

this -

http://www.videora.com/en-us/Converter/iPod/

its so simple to use select the file you want to convert. leave all the settings as they are ( dont put them max or it goes a bit loopy ) and convert it once done it sticks it in itunes ready for you in your movies folder

[Paddy_NL]

I know jack about MP3 players, only own an i-Pod myself. At first, I had a 30 gig "classic" (lost that one), and now I own a 16 gig i-Touch. The touch is a big improvement on the classic as for usage, especially when you tend to use it a lot behind the wheel of a car, like I do. The touch is easier to read (bigger screen, album covers shown), and you can flick through the thing itself a lot quicker than you do with the classic. Downer on the touch is the price and the amount of space, the biggest Touch is currently only 32 gig (and still 400 euros), and if you have a lot of music (like Mark) it will be of no use as you have to pick what to put on there. Personally, I think the 3,700 songs that are on mine now (and it's full) are enough for me. Whenever I want to upload a new album, I will just throw one off that I never play anyway.

Whatever you do, never buy a car stereo that will let you control your i-pod via the buttons of the stereo itself. It's f-ing dangerous to select a song while driving on your own!