"Convert higher bit rate songs to 128 kbps AAC" can it be changed?

[mark2410]

hi, itunes now offers the ability to on the fly change sang bit rated down for putting on on ipod.  since my little shuffles cant play alac ive been keeping an entire library for them but its a mammoth pain.  what id love to do is use the on the fly changing to just keep one but 128k is far too low. 
 
is there any way at all any one has found to be able to change it so it down converts things to 320k?
 
i would be eternally grateful to anyone who can help

 

[Caphead78]

I have the same problem but I really don't think it can be changed (grr apple, I just want a convert all ALAC to 320 kbps MP3 option). The closest thing you can do is have duplicates of everything in your library (i.e. one in ALAC one in MP3) and then use smart playlists to separate. Then you can set your iPod to sync with only the lower bitrate playlist.
 
Quote:

hi, itunes now offers the ability to on the fly change sang bit rated down for putting on on ipod.  since my little shuffles cant play alac ive been keeping an entire library for them but its a mammoth pain.  what id love to do is use the on the fly changing to just keep one but 128k is far too low. 
 
is there any way at all any one has found to be able to change it so it down converts things to 320k?
 
i would be eternally grateful to anyone who can help

 

 

[Caphead78]

Fail, double post for my 500th 

 

[blessingx]

No, but falls iTunes Match 256 kbps AACs should take care of you.

 

[mark2410]

Quote:

No, but falls iTunes Match 256 kbps AACs should take care of you.

erm how?  256 is lower than i want but mostly its not going to still allow me to have the ALAC files on the normal ipod but the reduced bit rate files auto re-encode on the fly for syncing with the shuffle.  like i said it offers the ability to do this but only do down convert to 128.  are you suggesting apple is changing this?

 

[DougofTheAbaci]

iTunes Match backs up all your music to the cloud as 256 Kbps AACs. You can download these tracks to any iOS device. It won't help you as you have a shuffle which barely has an interface, let alone a means for connecting to the net.
 
iTunes does not allow you to change the "Convert higher..." setting. I've heard of people using third-party software to manage it or converting all their higher-bitrate tracks to something smaller and keeping both versions (lossless for desktop use, lossy for portable use). I wish iTunes would allow you to change it, or it was something you could change through a hidden preference but so far it seems we're SOL on this one.

 

[blessingx]

The Shuffle does cause possible complications in the iTunes Match scenario, we'll have to see how it's implemented and if files can be transferred within the ecosystem. Sorry for implying it was an easy fix. 256 AAC should be very comparable to 320 MP3 though.
 
When I struggled with the same issue a couple years ago, I used the below. Only available on OS X though. Believe it should work with Shuffle, but never tried. 
 
http://dougscripts.com/itunes/scripts/ss.php?sp=losslessaccworkflow
 
 
 

 

[mark2410]

ah no im not using osx, i do have an osx machine but its not really useable for much.
 
its just so infuriating that itunes offers the ability to do exactly what i want but it only allows such a crappy low bit rate and will not allow you to change it.  i cannot fathom for what reason apple wont let you change that level.

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

I don't think they're "not letting" you do anything, Mark. They're just serving their market, which is not audiophiles but mostly people who acquire their music from iTunes at 256kbps, and they're giving them the opportunity to convert it on its way to an iPod to 128. I'd love to have a 256 on the fly conversion, myself, and I imagine if they get enough feedback they'll offer it...or maybe not. They seem to be heading for the cloud now. A G4 iPod Shuffle anyone?
 
P

 

[blessingx]

Also considering the time it takes to convert, copy and delete, even with Apples solution it's not a huge jump from highlighting tracks, converting, organize by date, copy, then delete yourself. It's why I eventually gave up on the above AppleScript shortcut. Cool, but about the same as doing manually. Course the one situation... the Shuffle... is where there is a difference with dumping tracks on the player due to order (or lack of GUI). Unless you shuffle all the time. Hey that name! Sorry Mark. Refurbished Touches are cheap and opens up iTunes Match.

 

[mark2410]

Quote:

I don't think they're "not letting" you do anything, Mark. They're just serving their market, which is not audiophiles but mostly people who acquire their music from iTunes at 256kbps, and they're giving them the opportunity to convert it on its way to an iPod to 128. I'd love to have a 256 on the fly conversion, myself, and I imagine if they get enough feedback they'll offer it...or maybe not. They seem to be heading for the cloud now. A G4 iPod Shuffle anyone?
 
P

erm yes they do offer on the fly down conversion to 128.  in itunes go to the ipod, summary then in the options box its there.  just tick it and it will do it.

 

[mark2410]

Quote:

Also considering the time it takes to convert, copy and delete, even with Apples solution it's not a huge jump from highlighting tracks, converting, organize by date, copy, then delete yourself. It's why I eventually gave up on the above AppleScript shortcut. Cool, but about the same as doing manually. Course the one situation... the Shuffle... is where there is a difference with dumping tracks on the player due to order (or lack of GUI). Unless you shuffle all the time. Hey that name! Sorry Mark. Refurbished Touches are cheap and opens up iTunes Match.

well no.  the little 1G shuffles serve their purpose and as they may well be the best hp out apple have ever done and for their size and huge power i dont think there is an equivalent out there.    the 5G ipod suits me perfectly most of the time but its huge and the tiny but great 1G shuffle is perfect for when i need small.  certainly a touch is the very antithesis of what i want in a DAP.

 

[blessingx]

Fair enough and I agree that headphone out was quite nice. I'm one of those people who gets a decent percent of their audio content from the web so can't imagine giving all that up to go back to a non-networked player, but we each have different uses. Not sure there's a solution for your situation, but again it's not a huge jump over taking the steps manually. 

 

[mark2410]

well for networked id much sooner use spotify which really is quite the marvel.  not sure id be able to survive just using streaming and using my phone in place of a separate DAP.
 
i just still find it absurd that no one has found a way to hack the 128k re-encode to something else.  surely it must be 1 simple line of code.

 

[DougofTheAbaci]

If it's not something Apple has scripted or made as a hidden preference somewhere then there's really nothing you can do.