Problem with seeking music

[gaanee]

Today I did a fresh install on old 3GS which is now serving as an ipod and synced the playlist from itunes. Since I got 5s, for last couple of months I was mainly using that and had created a new playlist and also added new music to the library.
Strangely, when I synced the new playlist with 3GS after reinstalling ios6, it doesn't let me seek only the new songs while playing the music. Old songs which were there in the old playlist and 3GS work fine. I have tried re-syncing and also adding songs individually instead syncing the playlist. But again, the issue with new songs, doesn't seek, when I drag on the seek bar, it starts playing from the beginning. Am I missing something here after reinstalling (authorization/permissions/account)? All the songs weren't bought from itunes and play perfectly fine on 5s.

 

[gaanee]

Is the old backup saved somewhere on the computer and where? I have tried again erasing all content and setting up as a new and sync the music, but new songs don't allow to seek, they only play from the beginning. The same songs play fine on 5s. This is very strange, does syncing 2 iphones messes it up? And how does itunes or iphone know which is new and old music?

 

[gaanee]

Ok, so I have tried downloading ios6 through itunes and setting up again, but still the same problem - New music cannot seek. Is the backup stored somewhere on the computer and how does it know new songs from old in the playlist? I also tried removing the music from itunes and adding back again but same thing... it's just strange. Any suggestions on how to fix this?

 

[gaanee]

Could it have something to do with not having the active SIM card in 3GS since I'm now using 5s. I can install apps though.. the problem seems to be only with music app.
Do I have to authorize it somewhere on the phone after fresh install? When I reformatted my computer sometime back, itunes was letting me to install apps and then I had to authorize this computer in itunes.

 

[gaanee]

Ok.. so, finally I re-encoded those mp3s to AAC using itunes and now it plays.. a roundabout solution, but it works. Still curious as to what was the issue playing on 3GS. Does the newer 5s use different codec than 3GS? Because long time back my old mp3 player couldn't play variable bit rate mp3s.
Also, using itunes, I can encode these mp3s to 320 kbps mp3s instead of .m4a. Is there any loss of quality while creating mp3 from another mp3?

 

[T5BRICK]

Also, using itunes, I can encode these mp3s to 320 kbps mp3s instead of .m4a. Is there any loss of quality while creating mp3 from another mp3?

Yes. Converting a lossy format to another lossy format will result in a reduction of quality.

If you're re-encoding things, I'd suggest re-ripping from the CD to get the best quality.

 

[gaanee]

Yes. Converting a lossy format to another lossy format will result in a reduction of quality.

If you're re-encoding things, I'd suggest re-ripping from the CD to get the best quality.

If I write a CD using mp3 and then import it to itunes as mp3, would that be a better solution than mp3-to-mp3 conversion. And is there a better way for reencoding these mp3s.. a different file format, is .m4a also lossy?

 

[T5BRICK]

If I write a CD using mp3 and then import it to itunes as mp3, would that be a better solution than mp3-to-mp3 conversion. And is there a better way for reencoding these mp3s.. a different file format, is .m4a also lossy?

MP3 -> CD -> MP3 would be two conversions and that would potentially degrade each time.

M4A is lossy.

In my opinion, there is no good way to convert from one lossy format to another. If you still have the original albums, you'll get the best quality if you re-rip your music in the MP3 or M4A format you want.