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iTunes Plus Upgrades Now Available on a Per-Track Basis
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Reasonable argument for upgrade price
One could successfully argue that you're paying for the additional bandwidth and processing Apple is doing to provide you with the unlocked, higher quality (more bandwidth needed to deliver it to you) track. That's just one reasonable argument.
One could successfully argue that you're paying for the additional bandwidth and processing Apple is doing to provide you with the unlocked, higher quality (more bandwidth needed to deliver it to you) track. That's just one reasonable argument.
Warning! Upgrade version may be different
I went to upgrade Simply Red's "A Song for you". Apple offered an upgrade version so I got it. However it was a live version of the song with a different arrangement and time. I think Apple should ONLY offer upgrades on the SAME version of the SAME song.
I like both versions, so I will keep it, but Apple should be more careful~!
I went to upgrade Simply Red's "A Song for you". Apple offered an upgrade version so I got it. However it was a live version of the song with a different arrangement and time. I think Apple should ONLY offer upgrades on the SAME version of the SAME song.
I like both versions, so I will keep it, but Apple should be more careful~!
I upgraded some songs and it went from 128 to 256 kbps.
That does make a difference although I wish they had gone up to at least 320 kbps.
I am not a real audiophile, but I do care about sound.
With good speakers you need around 320 kbps to get real close to a CD quality 44.1 16-bit recording.
You will hear a clear difference on well recorded stuff between 128 and 256 kbps too.
Last time I tested this seriously I needed 320 kbps to really start to struggle to hear a difference
especially transients on things like a grand piano or trails on strings and acoustic recordings.
On pop stuff it's pretty hard to hear it IMHO as much of the contemporary stuff is mixed so flat and often more or less without dynamics and clarity.
Can still sound "great" so I am not dissing popmusic, just that the need for higher bitrates is more apparent
on acoustuc recordings of high quality. Think for example David Sylvian, Secrets of the Beehive, if you get my drift ... ,-)
BTW: What happened to the lossless downloads?
FWIW YMMV
jtm
That does make a difference although I wish they had gone up to at least 320 kbps.
I am not a real audiophile, but I do care about sound.
With good speakers you need around 320 kbps to get real close to a CD quality 44.1 16-bit recording.
You will hear a clear difference on well recorded stuff between 128 and 256 kbps too.
Last time I tested this seriously I needed 320 kbps to really start to struggle to hear a difference
especially transients on things like a grand piano or trails on strings and acoustic recordings.
On pop stuff it's pretty hard to hear it IMHO as much of the contemporary stuff is mixed so flat and often more or less without dynamics and clarity.
Can still sound "great" so I am not dissing popmusic, just that the need for higher bitrates is more apparent
on acoustuc recordings of high quality. Think for example David Sylvian, Secrets of the Beehive, if you get my drift ... ,-)
BTW: What happened to the lossless downloads?
FWIW YMMV
jtm
I've been unhappy with the Amazon MP3 store recently.
First, searching Amazon to find MP3s is positively awful! The user interface is terrible! An internet company ought to know better and either have an advanced search or a search-with-search-results functionality.
I also don't know why it insists on VBR MP3s. I know some people like these but I'd rather get standard bitrate MP3s that are more universal and play correctly on more devices. There is no rhyme or reason, some are VBR and some aren't; doesn't matter who the artist is or when the MP3 was purchased. And the notion that you get a minimum VBR is crap, my holiday Vince Guaraldi VBR MP3s from Amazon have average bit rates of 208 kpbs and even as low as 136 kpbs for a couple of songs.
Worst of all, some of my more recent purchases seem to have blank seconds of space in front of the song. The whole song is there but it takes between three and nine seconds for the actual song to start. I thought maybe my nano was having problems decoding the VBR MP3s; but opening the song in Audacity shows the empty space is really just empty space. Its not that much work to fix each song until you realize how many songs I would need to go through and that you shouldn't have to do this with something you just paid for.
Finally, I have lots of bits and pieces of albums from Amazon because a lot of times if I want the whole album I will usually spring for the CD. iTunes "Complete My Album" gives me the chance to change my mind later. With Amazon I either need to buy the MP3 album again with the songs I already own, or spring for the individual tracks.
iTunes isn't perfect but IMO the Amazon MP3 isn't any better and in a lot of cases its actually worse. Now that iTunes is going to have an all DRM-free catalog I'll probably only buy from Amazon for those few songs that aren't on iTunes.
Mp3 is Mp3 VBR or not. They play on all devices. I've never noticed a problem with Amazon's myself and prefer to shop there since its cheaper than iTunes and the quality is the same or better, maybe on occassion its worse who knows. iTunes store is more fun to browse.
DRM isn't a problem for me
I upgraded only the songs that I wanted in higher quality. Having DRM on a song hasn't ever bothered me or interfered with my enjoyment of the music I purchased. I have an iPod and iPhone and AppleTV. All of them play my DRM content and I don't illegally share my music.
That said, I'm glad DRM is being removed. Sharing of music is what makes an artist popular. I think they should earn a living through live music performances and merchandise.
At some point, I'm sure Apple will remove DRM for free from all songs so that they won't have to manage a legacy DRM system forever for people who didn't upgrade their libraries.
I upgraded only the songs that I wanted in higher quality. Having DRM on a song hasn't ever bothered me or interfered with my enjoyment of the music I purchased. I have an iPod and iPhone and AppleTV. All of them play my DRM content and I don't illegally share my music.
That said, I'm glad DRM is being removed. Sharing of music is what makes an artist popular. I think they should earn a living through live music performances and merchandise.
At some point, I'm sure Apple will remove DRM for free from all songs so that they won't have to manage a legacy DRM system forever for people who didn't upgrade their libraries.
Maybe, but since they have to keep the DRM system running anyways for their video content, they have absolutely no incentive to do so in the near future.
It's also possible that they may be prevented from doing so by their contracts with the record labels.
I was totally against upgrading my library when I just happened to notice they changed this. The earlier policy forcing users to upgrade everything at once or nothing was absolutely outrageous, I'm glad they came to their senses.
This is a most welcomed development! Now I can upgrade my albums whilst ignoring some of my, er... dodgier purchases.
Ah, good, so I am not the only one occasionally looking through my library and having a belated "Say what?" reaction to some daft buy that I made on an out-of-sorts evening. I sometimes wonder if the cat knows my iTunes pw when I look through my purchase history.
Anyway, thanks to Apple. I am very happy about being able to pick and choose upgrades. Some of my albums I would not upgrade. Why do noise pop songs for instance? Buzz and haze are pretty much buzz and haze no matter the bitrate!
Am I the only one?
Am I the only one that still can't do this?
I've read most of the thread and no one seems to have mentioned it. My girlfriend has been able to do this since the beginning, so I know there's something weird going on but I've been waiting for a while now and I still can't. When I go to upgrade I only get 15-20 random tracks (I don't remember exactly) to chose from and 5 or 6 albums but then at the top it says like 150-200 songs available if I do them all at once.
Is there anyone else that still can't upgrade on a per-track basis?
Am I the only one that still can't do this?
I've read most of the thread and no one seems to have mentioned it. My girlfriend has been able to do this since the beginning, so I know there's something weird going on but I've been waiting for a while now and I still can't. When I go to upgrade I only get 15-20 random tracks (I don't remember exactly) to chose from and 5 or 6 albums but then at the top it says like 150-200 songs available if I do them all at once.
Is there anyone else that still can't upgrade on a per-track basis?
It is including those tracks but my point is that I can't upgrade individual tracks aside from those random 15-20. There's hundreds of other songs that I can't individually upgrade.
If you're wanting to upgrade just one track from an album purchase, that's not something that anybody can do.
Ah, it all makes sense now, thanks.
I thought there were songs missing since I only had such few albums but hundreds of songs to upgrade. It wasn't until I went through them all, that I realized some of the albums had 20 or 30 songs each, then the numbers started to make sense.