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iTunes 9.1 to Bring eBook Support, Genius Mix Enhancements, Automatic Bitrate Conversion?

i understand it means more space on devices, but why in the world go thru all they did to increase music pricing 30% for "itunes plus" @ 256kbps so we can scale them back to 128kbps??

so far the only feature i enjoy with multiple formats is the HD/SD video downloads from itunes. but it makes more sense with video than music, in my opinion...

and i wont be happy with slower sync times. its enuff that my iphone has to create a back-up every time i connect
 
I doubt this is what it means. But, have any of you ever heard of HD-AAC? Taken from Macworld Website:

HD-AAC is based on the MPEG-4 SLS (Scalable to Lossless) standard, an extension to the MPEG-4 audio standard jointly developed by Fraunhofer and Infocomm Research. The encoding process HD-AAC preserves every bit of information in the uncompressed original music track, providing lossless compression of 24-bit music content. That's compared to the 16-bit, 44.1 kHz quality found on CDs -- hence, Fraunhofer's "better than CD" claim.
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The HD-AAC encoding process embeds a core layer that can be played on existing music players and mobile phones that support the standard AAC format, such as Apple's iPod and the iPhone. The fully lossless signal will be available for playback in future devices that feature an HD-AAC decoder, according to the company. HD-AAC files can also be streamed to multiple devices at varying bitrates to help maximize the sound quality under varying network conditions.
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Macworld
 
LoganT said:
For anyone who uses Apple Lossless and regular AAC on their iPod. Consider making a new library instead of a playlist. When you open iTunes hold the option key and click "Create New Library". You'll have to open and close iTunes and hold down option to switch back to your other library. But that might be easier than what people are doing now.
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This isn't really practical, because if you want to edit song tags you have to load each library separately and do the edits twice. When both versions are in the same library, you can highlight both versions of the tracks and make the changes once.

I am constantly editing ID tags in tracks, indicating extensive information about the music traits, dates, release history, and which of my friends and family likes each track using their initials... all in the Notes field.
 
bitrate conversion on sync

To me, this has long been the 'missing feature' of iTunes. I could care less about genius/mixing but while I want decent AQ on my library there's no point over a pair of earphones. Heck, I'd be happy (happier?) with 64kbps.
 
A nice if small step

What I really want to see is:
-far less chrome—far far far less chrome, show me my ****
-for playlists that I open in new windows to not collapse when I click on the same playlist in the main window
-keyboard shortcuts for all the minor things that are accessible by right click—such as podcast descriptions
-integrated lyrics search
-separate displays for spectrograph, time, and activity—I often want that info simultaneously, damn it
-nonmodal info windows, more like an inspector
-tag based genres, I have a large and diverse library with very fine gradation between and across genres, dude.
-far better algorithms for genius playlists—it seems to think that time period is a far better indicator of complementary music than mood, bpm, or style. For example, choosing a genius mix based on Phil Collins "In the Air Tonight" gives me nothing but late seventies to late eighties classic rock…which is aggravating, I think some And One tunes would be far more appropriate than Irene Cara or the Bangles

But I guess I'll settle for ebook integration and genius mix editing.
 
ozzyman500 said:
Apple, I want those 256 bitrate files on my iPhone thank you.

Looks like no 9.1 for me.
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Yeah, no doubt. But the article did say the ability to downgrade sound quality, giving the wording it seems optional.
 
for all those freaking out about the downsampling, it will be optional.

They already have this feature for use with the Shuffle only. You can turn it on or off. If I remember correctly, you can even choose what bitrate a file must before downsampling is initiated. If you don't want 256k files changed, then select a higher threshold and only your 512k and up will change.

This is the best kind of improvement apple can make. It will help many and in NO way hurt those who don't want to use the feature.
 
tiguk said:
Really? It was my understanding that any of the iPod or iPhone OS devices really weren't capable of decoding and outputting the audio to a high enough quality to warrant storing at high bit-rate/quality. Therefore, aren't you just wasting space on your device by insisting on using high quality on these devices?
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I don't know anything of the technical specifications, but I can tell you that I can hear the difference—especially in subtle music that wasn't a victim of the Loudness War. I don't know if this is because my iPod is capable of playing back high bitrates or if its because the conversion process is damaging the sound. Either way it seems better to me to not down sample.
 
bitrate auto-conversion

Finally! I have requested this so many times ever since I upgraded from the First Gen Shuffle to a full iPod and lost this option. I can finally delete the non-lossless copies of the CD's i've imported and stop keeping 2 copies of everything!!!!!
 
ozzyman500 said:
Apple, I want those 256 bitrate files on my iPhone thank you.

Looks like no 9.1 for me.
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Because someone with 256kbs tracks must take their audio fidelity very seriously, and won't accept compromises...:rolleyes:

Seriously, it will certainly be an optional feature. And, as it is now on the shuffle, it only converts big, lossless files.
 
bluesloth said:
for all those freaking out about the downsampling, it will be optional.

They already have this feature for use with the Shuffle only. You can turn it on or off. If I remember correctly, you can even choose what bitrate a file must before downsampling is initiated. If you don't want 256k files changed, then select a higher threshold and only your 512k and up will change.

This is the best kind of improvement apple can make. It will help many and in NO way hurt those who don't want to use the feature.
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Exactly, it's optional on the ROKR and Shuffle since Day 1. Now several years later, I can enable it on my iPhone, horray!
 
Sky Blue said:
Lossy conversion to lossy conversion..that sounds hideous.
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Some of us won't tolerate anything other than lossless in our iTunes libraries so it would only be one lossy conversion.

I haven't listened to anything under 192 kbps in years so automatic conversion to 128 is unacceptable to me. If it can't be configured I won't use it.
 
Bregalad said:
Some of us won't tolerate anything other than lossless in our iTunes libraries so it would only be one lossy conversion.

I haven't listened to anything under 192 kbps in years so automatic conversion to 128 is unacceptable to me. If it can't be configured I won't use it.
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I agree, if I can't set the rate I won't use it, why does Apple always give us half a feature, I mean how much harder would've been to give us the ability to adjust the rate, I hope they have.
 
Stratuscom said:
Does this mean iBooks for the iPhone?
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dernhelm said:
I wonder if this means that they will support the iBookstore on the iPod Touch and iPhones as well?
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I guess I'd been assuming all along that there would be an iBooks application for the iPhone/iPod Touch. I am now curious whether there will be a desktop application for reading those books on one's Mac (not that that would be my preferred device for reading).
 
Scarpad said:
I agree, if I can't set the rate I won't use it, why does Apple always give us half a feature, I mean how much harder would've been to give us the ability to adjust the rate, I hope they have.
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That level of configuration would be nice, if they've been reading my enhancement requests, that will be there too :)
 
Truffy said:
To me, this has long been the 'missing feature' of iTunes. I could care less about genius/mixing but while I want decent AQ on my library there's no point over a pair of earphones. Heck, I'd be happy (happier?) with 64kbps.
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I don't think you would. I have some audio books in 64 kbit/sec, and even with spoken words only I find it annoying and distracting from the book content.
 
ungraphic said:
Great, more bloat.

Could apple release a simple MP3 only application? I dont see why it needs to suck up ram and CPU. VOX is great and id ditch itunes for good but it doesnt have a library.
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That application wouldn't be able to play anything that is purchased on the iTunes Music Store, so I think this is very unlikely to happen.
 
Great - didn't think iTunes could get anymore bloated.

My fanboy friends - u have issue with flash but none with iTunes being such a resource hog?

Hmm
 
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