[caveman]

If I buy an iPod I am led to believe that I need to use the supplied iTunes to download my PC stored mp3's, is that correct.
Is there any other way?
Does it make a duplicate of the files that I have stored in Windows Explorer or does it just use those in their original location as say foobar does. I hope this makes sense.

 

[viator122]

You can either have iTunes reference mp3 files that are already in your collection, or you can have the program copy everything over and organize it into folders by artist and album.

If you don't want to use iTunes, I believe you can use 3rd party software like ephpod to put music on your iPod.

 

[TomRemixed]

yes you have to use it in most cases but iTunes is quite simple to use any way a lot simpler than Napster

YAAAARRRRGGGGGGGGHHH!

 

[blessingx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by caveman Does it make a duplicate of the files that I have stored in Windows Explorer or does it just use those in their original location as say foobar does. I hope this makes sense.

You have a choice of having your library iTunes 'organized' or referenced.

Some use other progs (espeically on PC side), but most are perfectly happy with iTunes.

 

[slicksilver79]

My first ever apple purchase was the Ipod Shuffle. Was I impressed? You bet I was....but that ended with the Shuffle itself. Itunes is definetely the worst program I've ever used in my life. I hate its interface, loading time, its look....is everything. I just hope the Red Chair guys come out with the new Anapod Explorer soon

 

[bigshot]

iTunes is a very feature packed program. If you have a slow computer,
it's not going to work well for you. But that being said, I consider it
to be one of the best designed programs I've ever used. The integration
with the iPod and OSX and AppleScripts and third party software is
flawless.

Most people just use iTunes to load their iPod and delete files. That's
fine, but it's just a tiny fraction of what iTunes can do. By far, the
most powerful tool in iTunes is its Smart Playlsts. You can set up a
playlist that sorts your music by multiple criteria, which means that
you can create a playlist that collects together psychedelia from the
70s that only includes tracks you haven't played yet... and all the
songs start with the letter P! If your music is well tagged, it's
amazingly powerful.

I listen to a dozen different kinds of music... from country & western
to 1920s dance bands, to modern jazz, to rock, to classical and
more... Without smart playlists, my random shuffle would be
complete chaos.

And as powerful as smart playlists are, Apple Scripts are even
more powerful. If you have a Mac, you can do ten times more
than the PC folks can... see Doug's Applescripts for iTunes
page...

http://www.malcolmadams.com/itunes/

And third party software is another great source for addons.
I use several third party programs. One allows me to encode
in LAME through iTunes, another balances the volume of
the tracks to each other more accurately than Apple's built
in function, yet another allows me to quickly switch from one
music library to another, so I can maintain libraries for more
than one iPod on the same computer. Another program allows
me to download songs from the iPod to any computer, even
if I don't have the software installed on that computer. Another
streamlines tagging of files and prints out catalogs in a database
format. A search for iPod at VersionTracker.com will pull up
over a hundred useful third party programs.

If all you are going to do is just load your iPod, there are
several programs to choose from, but iTunes is definitely
the most powerful.

See ya
Steve

 

[bLue_oNioN]

Question: Is there any reason to suspect that iTunes is inferior when it comes to music playback quality?

 

[Michael1980]

I don't like the look iTunes and its crappy mp3 encoder. Apart from that it is the best for me, but people must be aware that the MacOS version is better than the Windows one.

 

[bigshot]

No reason to think that there's anything wrong with the sound output of iTunes. iTunes uses Quicktime for encoding and playback. If there is a problem, it's due to the sound card or the encoding.

Windows iTunes is the same as the Mac with the exception of support for Apple Scripts and other OSX specific features. The encoding is exactly the same on both platforms.

See ya
Steve

 

[Empty_One]

The only time I used itunes, was for the initial setup of my ipod. After that, I swithced to Anapod explorer. It's fast, easy, and does all I need it to do. I use EAC/LAME to make my mp3's, have no desire to buy music from ITMS, and feel that foobar sounds better.

Also, I like the ability to copy songs from my ipod, and the ability to transcode on the fly with Anapod if I need to.

 

[NewMexiCat]

It doesn't get a lot of props around here, but I swear by J.River Media Center to organize and manage my music on PC and iPod. It does everything iTunes can do and much more, is compatible with more codecs, is ASIO compatible, and has some pretty flexible DSP options, if you're into that.

 

[Krishna]

I second that NewMexicat.

 

[bLue_oNioN]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigshot No reason to think that there's anything wrong with the sound output of iTunes.

How does it compare to Foobar2k?

 

[bigshot]

I'm not sure what foo calls upon to play the files, but iTunes uses Quicktime for encoding and decoding. Quicktime is used extensively in the broadcast media. It sounds good.

See ya
Steve

 

[allenf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by caveman If I buy an iPod I am led to believe that I need to use the supplied iTunes to download my PC stored mp3's, is that correct. Is there any other way? Does it make a duplicate of the files that I have stored in Windows Explorer or does it just use those in their original location as say foobar does. I hope this makes sense.

If you just want to transfer your music files to and from your PC to an iPod then Anapod Explorer works pretty well - and integrates right into Windows Explorer.
Note that Anapod allows you to copy music files back off your iPod onto your PC - you get to choose the file naming convention based upon the ID3 tags stored in the files.
You will need a separate ripper to rip any CDs you have before copying them onto the iPod.