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Some user questions about iTunes

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dferigmu

macrumors 6502
Original poster
I just got my new Powerbook and I'm about to get an iPod. I'm new to the iTunes Music Store and just had some basic user questions:

1. When you buy a song, how many times can you burn it? What happens if you burn it too much? Don't you own the song after buying it?

2. Does it make sense to download songs at a higher quality than 128 kbps? If I listen to my music on my PB, on my iPod, or on a stereo through a burned CD, will there be a clear difference between 128 kbps and something like a 320 kbps song? Does it make sense to download songs at a higher quality?
 
dferigmu said:
I just got my new Powerbook and I'm about to get an iPod. I'm new to the iTunes Music Store and just had some basic user questions:

1. When you buy a song, how many times can you burn it? What happens if you burn it too much? Don't you own the song after buying it?

2. Does it make sense to download songs at a higher quality than 128 kbps? If I listen to my music on my PB, on my iPod, or on a stereo through a burned CD, will there be a clear difference between 128 kbps and something like a 320 kbps song? Does it make sense to download songs at a higher quality?
Click to expand...

1. As many times as you like. You can only burn the same identical playlist a certain number of times. I think if you change the playlist and change it back you can burn again.

2. Depends if you can hear the difference. You cannot download songs from iTMS at more than 128kbs, but I rip at 160kbs.
 
dferigmu said:
snip ..
Don't you own the song after buying it?
Click to expand...
Had to chime in on this one. The answer is no. You don't own the song. You own a license to that song in accordance to the Terms of Service that you agreed to prior to purchasing said license.

The license does allow you to burn the song as many times as you want, provided it hasn't been burned more than 7 times in an identical playlist.
 
ftaok said:
Had to chime in on this one. The answer is no. You don't own the song. You own a license to that song in accordance to the Terms of Service that you agreed to prior to purchasing said license.

The license does allow you to burn the song as many times as you want, provided it hasn't been burned more than 7 times in an identical playlist.
Click to expand...

What does it mean to "own" the song? You certainly don't "own" a song you buy on a CD either, from the perspective of copyright law. You aren't allowed to make copies of CDs and give them away to all your friends any more than you are with the iTMS. iTMS gives you rights that may actually exceed the rights you have when you buy the physical CD, such as sharing over a network.

If you burn a CD from the iTMS, you "own" that CD just as much as you own a CD you bought from the store.
 
As for the quality question, it's going to depend on you. I have friends that will happily listen to 64 kbps MP3s, which I find unbearable. I can tell the difference between 128 kbps and 320 kbps immediately, but I still use iTMS often. The quality hit is worth the convenience and the ability to buy just one song instead of a whole album. That said, I NEVER buy whole albums on iTMS because I'd rather pay extra and get a full quality CD with liner notes and a jewel case.

So anyway, many people can tell the difference between 128 kbps and 320 kbps, some can't really. If it you can tell the difference, and it bothers you, just buy CDs. Otherwise you'll love the iTMS.
 
mduser63 said:
As for the quality question, it's going to depend on you. I have friends that will happily listen to 64 kbps MP3s, which I find unbearable. I can tell the difference between 128 kbps and 320 kbps immediately, but I still use iTMS often. The quality hit is worth the convenience and the ability to buy just one song instead of a whole album. That said, I NEVER buy whole albums on iTMS because I'd rather pay extra and get a full quality CD with liner notes and a jewel case.

So anyway, many people can tell the difference between 128 kbps and 320 kbps, some can't really. If it you can tell the difference, and it bothers you, just buy CDs. Otherwise you'll love the iTMS.
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I do agree with you about buying CD's.

I have a question about iTMS downloads and CD tracks though. Is it not possible to download songs off the iTMS at a higher quality than 128 kbps? Also, what's the sound quality of tracks on a CD? And how much more space do higher quality tracks take up on a HD or iPod?
 
dferigmu said:
I do agree with you about buying CD's.

I have a question about iTMS downloads and CD tracks though. Is it not possible to download songs off the iTMS at a higher quality than 128 kbps? Also, what's the sound quality of tracks on a CD? And how much more space do higher quality tracks take up on a HD or iPod?
Click to expand...

Well, I suppose you could say, double the bitrate, double the size. I'm not sure that's mathematically correct, and doesn't account for VBR, but it's close enough.

You cannot buy at higher than 128. Some of us still hope Apple eventually offers something higher like 196.

A CD isn't exactly measured in bitrate, which is a function of compression. But a typical CD track, uncompressed, might be 800-1200 kbps I think. Depends on how much of the bandwidth is used by the sound. Keep in mind, most of that is inaudible to humans, so that's why it can be reduced so much with only a slight degradation in sound.
 
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