03-01-2006, 04:35 AM

hey

sorry if this has been asked and explained before but i'm new to
MP3 formatting etc.

here's the deal - i have a collection of my own personal shop bought cd's which i would like to condense into MP3 format for playing in my car stereo which is MP3 format. When you rip tracks from your cd into Itunes do they become MP3 format? If not, how do I convert them to a format that is smaller allowing me to have perhaps a few cd's with loads of tracks
condensed, and which i can keep in the car?

hope this makes sense any help would be much appreciated.

kind regards

03-01-2006, 03:19 PM

iTunes imports stuff as aac files by default. (Maybe check first to make sure you didn't already import everything as an Mp3: Select a track and hit command+i to see the filetype etc.)
You can convert them to mp3 by going into iTunes->Preferences->Advanced->Importing and choosing the mp3 encoder there.
Then select the burning tab and select 'burn mp3 cd' as the type of cd you want to burn.

Then select the files you want to burn as mp3's ctrl-click them and select 'convert to mp3'.

When you're done, add the files you want to burn to a new playlist and hit the big burn button in the right hand corner of the window.

11-19-2006, 04:05 PM

I hope it's ok that I bump this but basically what the op was trying to do is exactly what I want to do. EXCEPT the convert to mp3 option isn't highlighted for me. My dad has the same model of ibook and I can convert cd tracks to mp3 on his computer but for me the option just isn't there. I have the preferences "import using" option set to mp3 encoder and then when I go advanced convert to mp3 it won't let me select it. It won't let me control click my way there either Any idea where the problem is? As far as I can tell the settings are the same as on my dad's computer. I'd love some help as I had to reinstall my OS due to a massive crash a week ago and I lost all my old files.

11-19-2006, 04:28 PM

Originally Posted by Saje

I hope it's ok that I bump this but basically what the op was trying to do is exactly what I want to do. EXCEPT the convert to mp3 option isn't highlighted for me. My dad has the same model of ibook and I can convert cd tracks to mp3 on his computer but for me the option just isn't there. I have the preferences "import using" option set to mp3 encoder and then when I go advanced convert to mp3 it won't let me select it. It won't let me control click my way there either Any idea where the problem is? As far as I can tell the settings are the same as on my dad's computer. I'd love some help as I had to reinstall my OS due to a massive crash a week ago and I lost all my old files.

G'day Saje,

When you're in the Advanced tab and click on the Burning section, look for Disc Format and select MP3 CD. Selecting this option allows you to burn a larger quantity of songs to your disc.

11-19-2006, 07:29 PM

ok but what about when I'm downloading cds onto itune? I don't want to store them all in their original format and would like them to download as mp3. Or even convert them after they are downloaded. Any thoughts on why it won't do this?

11-19-2006, 07:32 PM

G'day Saje,

Can you please post us a screenshot of any options which are greyed out or not availabe but should be under normal circumstances...This will help us to get to the bottom of your issue.

11-19-2006, 07:37 PM

sure hang on.

11-19-2006, 07:38 PM

well that's weird. It's working now

11-19-2006, 07:46 PM

Ok another question. The ones that have converted are slightly smaller file sizes but they still say they are mpeg audio files

11-19-2006, 07:59 PM

A few factors dictate on the file size: Bitrate and compression type. AAC's will be smaller than the same song compressed to an MP3 format.

11-19-2006, 08:16 PM

But it's not an mp3 if it says mpeg is it?

11-19-2006, 08:50 PM

In my iTunes all MP3's are called MPEG Audio File's in the Kind column..

11-19-2006, 08:52 PM

oh ok great. Thanks

11-19-2006, 10:22 PM

You're most welcome!