Syncing Question

[dreamlife789]

I am thinking of getting an iMac and getting all my content on it from iTunes like music, movies, and more because it's got such big storage capacity.

I then want to be able to sync specific sets of content to different devices.

For example, all my music to my iPhone, all my action movies to my iPad, and all my comedy movies to my Macbook Pro.

How do I go about syncing different sets of content to different devices all from the same iMac? And, is this a good way to manage my content?

 

[rkaufmann87]

I am thinking of getting an iMac and getting all my content on it from iTunes like music, movies, and more because it's got such big storage capacity.

I then want to be able to sync specific sets of content to different devices.

For example, all my music to my iPhone, all my action movies to my iPad, and all my comedy movies to my Macbook Pro.

How do I go about syncing different sets of content to different devices all from the same iMac? And, is this a good way to manage my content?

That is all managed in iTunes. When you connect a device then you set what media in iTunes you want to sync it with. For example I have a 16GB iPhone I sync some favorites onto it but it's only 16GB. I also have an older iPod I can store a lot more music on, at one point I had my complete 50GB music library on it.

 

[Tomorrow]

How do I go about syncing different sets of content to different devices all from the same iMac? And, is this a good way to manage my content?

I'm currently syncing two iPhones and three iPods to the same iTunes account on my iMac. Within iTunes, when you connect a device, you're able to select which content gets sync'd with that device, and they don't have to be the same.

 

[dreamlife789]

I'm currently syncing two iPhones and three iPods to the same iTunes account on my iMac. Within iTunes, when you connect a device, you're able to select which content gets sync'd with that device, and they don't have to be the same.

So you set it not to sync automatically in iTunes?

 

[rkaufmann87]

So you set it not to sync automatically in iTunes?

Care to re-write your question, it doesn't make any sense the way it's written and your question has been answered.

 

[dreamlife789]

Care to re-write your question, it doesn't make any sense the way it's written and your question has been answered.

Say I have 100 videos and 10,000 songs in iTunes. These are all on my iMac.

I want to transfer all the movies to my Macbook Pro. I don't want any of the songs on my Macbook Pro.

I want all the songs on my Macbook Air. I don't want any of the movies on my Macbook Air.

Whenever I connect a device to iTunes, it starts syncing automatically.

This is difficult if I only want Mystery Science Theater 3000 movies on my iPad for example.

So, on my iMac, I uncheck the box "Sync iTunes automatically" and then I just manually check off each media item I want to sync with each new device I connect?

 

[finlaycarson]

Syncing automatically has nothing to do with it - it only means that it will sync what you have previously decided to load up to that specific device whenever it is connected. Next time you connect something, cancel the sync and go into the submenus of that device in itunes, then check what content you want to be on it.

 

[Tomorrow]

So you set it not to sync automatically in iTunes?

No, it's set to sync automatically.

Say I have 100 videos and 10,000 songs in iTunes. These are all on my iMac.

I want to transfer all the movies to my Macbook Pro. I don't want any of the songs on my Macbook Pro.

I want all the songs on my Macbook Air. I don't want any of the movies on my Macbook Air.

Why would you do this? I don't see a benefit in it.

Whenever I connect a device to iTunes, it starts syncing automatically.

This is difficult if I only want Mystery Science Theater 3000 movies on my iPad for example.

No, it's quite simple.

Connect your iPad to iTunes. In the left sidebar of iTunes, click on your iPad. Select which movies you want to sync to your iPad. iTunes will remember this setting, and sync only those movies to your iPad. Your other iDevices will have their own settings and are unaffected by the settings you choose for your iPad.

So, on my iMac, I uncheck the box "Sync iTunes automatically" and then I just manually check off each media item I want to sync with each new device I connect?

Close - you leave "Sync iTunes automatically" checked, and do everything else you mentioned. HINT: it's much easier to do with playlists.

 

[Spudracer]

Question already answered but I'll chime in with my opinion. Managing content for multiple devices is one of the things iTunes does really well and seamlessly. If it didn't, I don't imagine Apple would have been nearly so successful with it.

We have three iPhones, three iPod Nano's, and an iPad running off a single iMac / iTunes database. It's soooo easy. This is why I don't mind the closed Apple ecosystem that all the Wintards love to bitch about. The closed approach has some real value for those of us who just want to get things done without a lot of fuss.