iPod-- explain some stuff to me

[sjcaguy]

hey guys. i've got a new iBook coming in the mail (i'm a switcher!), but before i buy an iPod (and i'm definitely waiting to see what happens on Friday's event. Too bad I'll be traveling cross-country during much of the day) i have some questions.

do i have to do anything to my music to put it on the iPod? in reading other threads it sounds like you have to encode using (i think) aac? is that right? so i guess i'm just wondering this: can you use the mp3's without doing anything to them, or do you have to encode/compress/alter in any way?


forgive me if i've missed something here.

[mystixman]

yep, you can use any format you want, except for proprietary windows formats.

[Flowbee]

If your music is in mp3 format, it's good to go. In iTunes, you have a choice of ripping your cds into mp3 or AAC. You can have a mix of mp3 and aac files on your iPod, and it will play them without a problem.

My iPod is about 70% mp3 and 30% aac.

[johnnyjibbs]

Yep. By connecting your iPod to your iBook using the included Firewire cable, you can instantly download all your tunes onto your iPod, whether they are in MP3 or AAC. As Mystixman said, Apple doesn't support Microsoft's proprietry WMA so if you have lots of tunes on your PC that are in this format you'll need to convert them to MP3 first (easier said than done).

I choose AAC because it allows better quality than MP3 for smaller file sizes. As for WMA, well I've never understood how to get a playlist going in Windows Media Player... (and I'm a recent switcher too!)

[patrick0brien]

-sjcaguy

Here's what will happen:

You have a music library in iTunes.

1. Plug in the firwire end of the iPods cod into the computer.

2. Plug the dock end into the dock of the iPod (or the iPod directly)

3. Sit back and watch

4. iTunes will launch on it's own and download all of the songs in your iTunes library, mirroring it.

5. Have fun!