[Czilla9000]

Hi! Remember me...

I am back! MUAHAHAAHAHAHA! I took a 2 month vacation from the forums.

Anyway, I am thinking about getting a 10 GB ipod for Windows however...

I have heard a whole lot of bad things about MusicMatch, and EphPod requires MacDrive. So what am I to do? Also, what do I use to rip songs from a CD, and which MP3 encoder do I use?


I have heard that iPods WAV playback is better than the best PCD playing a CD without an amp. So how many Albums of WAVs can I fit on a 10 GB iPod?


And Whats a good firewire card?



THANK YOU!!!!

 

[Zin_Ramu]

MusicMatch is not a great piece of software IMO, however you have to remember the only thing you NEED to use it for is to transfer songs to the iPod. You can still use other software to perform to component parts of MP3, which is what I would suggest. For instance I use: winamp to play MP3s on computer, EAC to rip, Lame to decode. For a good guide on ripping and encoding check out http://www.chrismyden.com/nuke/ or read the MP3 forums at http://www.audio-illumination.org/

.wav size varies with the length of the CD, but a good estimation is 500MB - 600MB, so a 10GB Ipod could hold approximately 20 CDs.

Zin

 

[hokiefritz]

Welcome back Czilla9000. You can use EphPod without MacDrive. I do and it works great. I originally had a Mac formatted iPod, but I converted it to Windows and just deleted the iPod_Control folder before connecting to EphPod and it built the directory structure. Here's the thread on how to covert from Mac to Windows.

Using only WAV files might be overkill for portable use or it might be just right for you, I don't know. As Zin mentioned, using WAV only you'll be able to store about 200 songs. You might want to go for the 20 GB iPod if you're considering this. With high quality 192 VBR MP3s you'd get over 1000 songs easily with a 10GB iPod and 320 bit MP3s would still get you a lot more than than using WAVs.

I second the recommendation for Exact Audio Copy for making the WAV files from CD and then LAME to make the MP3s. Here's another link regarding how to do this: http://www.ping.be/satcp/eac09.htm#-

 

[HighwayStar]

Quote:

Originally posted by Czilla9000 Hi! Remember me... I am back! MUAHAHAAHAHAHA! I took a 2 month vacation from the forums. Anyway, I am thinking about getting a 10 GB ipod for Windows however... I have heard a whole lot of bad things about MusicMatch, and EphPod requires MacDrive. So what am I to do? Also, what do I use to rip songs from a CD, and which MP3 encoder do I use? I have heard that iPods WAV playback is better than the best PCD playing a CD without an amp. So how many Albums of WAVs can I fit on a 10 GB iPod? And Whats a good firewire card? THANK YOU!!!!

Oh I hate MusicMatch probably more than most, but you don't need to use. You need to install it but run EphPod after that. Check www.ipodlounge.com > forums for threads about this. I bought a cheap ($27) Addonics firewire card and it works fine.

 

[MacDEF]

The only real downside to using WAV files instead of MP3 files (apart from space issues, of course) is that your battery life will be shorter. This is true for all hard drive-based players -- the higher the bitrate/lower the compression, the less battery life you get.

 

[HighwayStar]

Quote:

Originally posted by MacDEF The only real downside to using WAV files instead of MP3 files (apart from space issues, of course) is that your battery life will be shorter. This is true for all hard drive-based players -- the higher the bitrate/lower the compression, the less battery life you get.

Mac, what's the reasoning behind that ? (do higher bitrates require more processing power ? Only thing I can think of).

 

[williamgoody]

With larger files, the buffer tends to fill up quicker, (or that which provides skip protection) So with a wave file, the data buffer would have to fill quicker and quicker, which means the hard drive spins more and more, using more power and therby shortening battery life.

 

[Taphil]

I recommend any firewire card with the VIA chipset for $20-25, or the Adaptec 4300 card for $50.

 

[HighwayStar]

Quote:

Originally posted by williamgoody With larger files, the buffer tends to fill up quicker, (or that which provides skip protection) So with a wave file, the data buffer would have to fill quicker and quicker, which means the hard drive spins more and more, using more power and therby shortening battery life.

Slaps forehead, of course. (I knew that

)

 

[HighwayStar]

Quote:

Originally posted by Taphil I recommend any firewire card with the VIA chipset for $20-25, or the Adaptec 4300 card for $50.

Taphill, we spoke of this a while back. I shyed away from the Adaptec as it stated higher hardware requirements than I have. I remembered you mentioning a $20 card. Picked up that Addonics for $27 and it works fine. Didn't catch the chipset though and it's already in the box... but it works in a 200mhz pentium, so I'm a happy man. Even the iPod User Guide states 300mhz pentium or faster. Looks like I beat the odds

 

[Czilla9000]

If wav files are too big, what MP3 compression bitrate do you suggest?

 

[williamgoody]

Most of my files are at either at a 192 or a 256 bit rate. Mant people I know swear by going 256 or 320, but to me it matters most (as it gdoes to alot of members here) what you use as an encoder. EAC with Lame is the king in my book, I wouldn't go below 192 in any event.

 

[grinch]

lame --alt-preset extreme

OR for smaller size

lame --alt-preset standard