Couple of Noob iTunes questions

[poo]

Have decided to bite it and go back to iTunes. There are many reasons I didn't want to, but for me, the reasons I should outweighed them - so it's done.

I have everything in Apple Lossless.

I would love to know if there is a simple way to "shuffle fill" or "auto fill" an iPod photo (in the same way you can with an iPod shuffle) when your library is bigger than the space on the iPod?

Second, I also have a couple of shuffles. I know they aren't the best sounding player around, but I really don't care - they are perfect for my application. The problem I am having is that now I am using Apple Lossless (which you can't play on shuffles) I have to transcode to AAC via iTunes at 128kbps (there is no option available to change the bitrate). The transcoding isn't an issue - but the quality now is - it sounds horrible

Any suggestions for improved sound quality on the shuffle? I don't need it to be lossless, but at least 192kbps would be nice...

 

[bowraboy]

Smart playlists & auto sync is the way to load your Photo.

I re-encoded my favourite lossless music to 320kbps (drag them into a normal playlist) & load my shuffle with that. I have them unchecked & have all my other playlists with 'match only checked items' selected.

 

[grawk]

I use AAC 224 or MP3 256 for the shuffle

Smart playlists really are your friend. Set size limits and which playlists to pull from

 

[poo]

Thanks guys - sounds exactly the sort of thing I'm after - but how do I get the higher bitrates you refer to? Do smart playlists somehow allow to transcode from apple lossless at higher rates Or do you do this manually somehow?

 

[Bizzel]

IIRC, there's an option to disable 128kbps transcoding on the iPod settings page (the one that shows you the disk space).

 

[krmathis]

Smart playlists is what you are looking for.
Example picking the most player track/album, your latest additions, and the top rated once. Limited to a maximum library size, fitting inside your iPod.

 

[poo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bizzel /img/forum/go_quote.gif IIRC, there's an option to disable 128kbps transcoding on the iPod settings page (the one that shows you the disk space).

Yes, but with a shuffle, if you use lossless (which shuffles can't play) there doesn't seem to be any alternative but to use 128kbps transcoding...

 

[Will2007]

Quote:

Originally Posted by poo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes, but with a shuffle, if you use lossless (which shuffles can't play) there doesn't seem to be any alternative but to use 128kbps transcoding...

Not so; you can do what you want to do. I have a Shuffle (1st Gen, and there's nothing to complain about regarding its sound quality) and a 160GB Classic. I load the Classic with Apple Lossless and the Shuffle with 320 kps AAC.

Here's how to convert those Apple Lossless files to 320 AAC. First, you have to go to the "Edit" drop down menu and select "Preferences." Choose the "Advanced" tab and then the "Importing" tab within it. Change the AAC encoding setting to "Custom" and select 320 kps and pick your sampling rate (I use 48,000 kHz). Save those settings.

Now, go back to your library and highlight any songs you want to convert from Lossless (it won't alter your original Lossless files, it will merely make a copy of them in the 320 kps AAC format) to AAC, and select "Convert Selection to AAC" from the main "Advanced" tab in iTunes (not the same "Advanced" tab as the one under "Edit" and "Preferences," just the one in the main tabs). Now, instead of converting them to 128 kps AAC, iTunes will convert them to 320 kbs AAC from now on.

All the files you selected will be added to your library as 320 AAC files. Use smartlists to pick them up for syncing to your Shuffle. It works. I do it.

Good luck.

 

[blessingx]

And of course the Shuffle will play WAV, though it would fill up quick.

And depending on your OS, the Applescripts in my sig have a ALAC to AAC workflow option.

 

[poo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Will2007 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Here's how to convert those Apple Lossless files to 320 AAC...

Thanks heaps for your reply - very helpful indeed! This is pretty close to what I am after. I think if I can figure out a way to combine what you suggest with smart playlists and possibly applescripts I will be set!

Only problem I have with your suggestion is the duplication of files in AAC format (would be better for me to have them transcode straight onto the shuffle). I presume with applescripts there would be a way to transcode a random selection of files, then copy those files to the shuffle and delete from iTunes and the hard drive. It also means I have to remember to switch back to ALAC when ripping CDs.

I have no experience with apple scripts, so this might be a steep learning curve...

 

[Will2007]

Quote:

Originally Posted by poo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks heaps for your reply - very helpful indeed! This is pretty close to what I am after. I think if I can figure out a way to combine what you suggest with smart playlists and possibly applescripts I will be set! Only problem I have with your suggestion is the duplication of files in AAC format (would be better for me to have them transcode straight onto the shuffle). I presume with applescripts there would be a way to transcode a random selection of files, then copy those files to the shuffle and delete from iTunes and the hard drive. It also means I have to remember to switch back to ALAC when ripping CDs. I have no experience with apple scripts, so this might be a steep learning curve...

You're welcome.

Yes, you will have duplicate files in your library. I rename my lossless files by changing the artist tag to **** (ALAC) to distinguish it from my albums/songs by the same artist in 320 kps. This helps with smartlists and organizing my iTunes library.

I don't think it is possible to transcode straight into the Shuffle. iTunes requires that you sync from a playlist to get songs from iTunes onto the Shuffle. Without some sort of hack, you can't send tunes straight to it. I've learned to live with the duplicates for my Shuffle. I just tag them differently.

 

[poo]

Well I've had a little time to investigate and play with the options suggested. Still haven't worked out a perfect answer or solution for what I am after with the shuffle, but it is great to know there are a few ways to get quality audio on to it via iTunes. I will keep investigating these options - especially apple scripts.

I have decided to change direction a little with how I actually use my shuffles. I now have a really tidy lossless library sorted, but my lossy library is a bigger mess than I can begin to explain and will take ages to sort out.

I noticed while looking at the lossy library that I have heaps of albums downloaded that I haven't had a chance to listen to, many of which I had forgotten all about. I download a lot of music to decide if I want to buy or not, and in a few cases I seem to have downloaded albums planning to check them out, but have since bought them before listening anyway!

So my shuffles will be used to auto fill from a smart playlist of recent downloads. Tried it today and found a few great songs - with the only problem being the lack of knowing who they are by in some instances...

Really appreciate the help guys - thanks!