iTunes/AAC and other MP3 players

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I'm using the fabulous iTunes software and have ripped my entire cd collection (7000 songs) to two external hard drives using the AAC compression.
My iPod Shffle works great of course.

I've just ordered my partner an MP3 player. Couldn't afford another Shuffle so I went for an alternative, a SanDisk 512 MB. She is to use it on her pc with iTunes and the other Hard Drive.

Its just occured to me but...will iTunes and the AAC sound files work with the SanDisk? Can any MP3 players use AAC?


Thanks,
Tc
 
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Nope iPods only....still just check the specs on the player but I have not seen any others than can play
 
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badmojo

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TangoCharlie said:
I'm using the fabulous iTunes software and have ripped my entire cd collection (7000 songs) to two external hard drives using the AAC compression.
My iPod Shffle works great of course.

I've just ordered my partner an MP3 player. Couldn't afford another Shuffle so I went for an alternative, a SanDisk 512 MB. She is to use it on her pc with iTunes and the other Hard Drive.

Its just occured to me but...will iTunes and the AAC sound files work with the SanDisk? Can any MP3 players use AAC?


Thanks,
Tc


iTunes probably won't sync with that SanDisk unit, and AAC is an Apple proprietary compression format, less ubiquitous than MP3. In order for your partner to enjoy your music it may have to be converted to MP3. Itunes can do this for all songs or just selected ones. The ipod will play either AAC or MP3 so it won't matter to you. Furthermore, the Sandisk player may come with its own music manager but it won't be nearly as good as iTunes. My guess is that the Sandisk will be drag and drop.
 
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TangoCharlie
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badmojo said:
iTunes probably won't sync with that SanDisk unit, and AAC is an Apple proprietary compression format, less ubiquitous than MP3. In order for your partner to enjoy your music it may have to be converted to MP3. Itunes can do this for all songs or just selected ones. The ipod will play either AAC or MP3 so it won't matter to you. Furthermore, the Sandisk player may come with its own music manager but it won't be nearly as good as iTunes. My guess is that the Sandisk will be drag and drop.


Thanks for the replies.

How can I get iTunes to change the 7000 tunes from AAC to MP3? Will the MP3 player auto covert them or will I have to change them all on the hard drive which, I'm guessing, will take a lot of time and more space.
 
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badmojo

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TangoCharlie said:
Thanks for the replies.

How can I get iTunes to change the 7000 tunes from AAC to MP3? Will the MP3 player auto covert them or will I have to change them all on the hard drive which, I'm guessing, will take a lot of time and more space.

From the iTunes Help Section:

Select one or more songs in your library, then choose Advanced > Convert Selection to MP3, Convert Selection to AAC, Convert Selection to Apple Lossless, Convert Selection to AIFF, or Convert Selection to WAV. (The menu item changes to show what's selected in your Importing preferences.)

To convert all the songs in a folder or on a disk, hold down the Shift key and choose Advanced > "Convert Selection to," then choose the folder or disk containing the songs you want to convert. All the songs in the folder or on the disk will be converted except audio files you purchased from the iTunes Music Store. (Purchased songs are encoded using a protected AAC format that prevents them from being converted.)

Yes, it makes a new copy of the song.
 
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TangoCharlie
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badmojo said:
From the iTunes Help Section:

Select one or more songs in your library, then choose Advanced > Convert Selection to MP3, Convert Selection to AAC, Convert Selection to Apple Lossless, Convert Selection to AIFF, or Convert Selection to WAV. (The menu item changes to show what's selected in your Importing preferences.)

To convert all the songs in a folder or on a disk, hold down the Shift key and choose Advanced > "Convert Selection to," then choose the folder or disk containing the songs you want to convert. All the songs in the folder or on the disk will be converted except audio files you purchased from the iTunes Music Store. (Purchased songs are encoded using a protected AAC format that prevents them from being converted.)

Yes, it makes a new copy of the song.

Thanks

Can anyone suggest which is the best format to use with an MP3 player (exept AAC of course :-( )?
So by converting them (7000) songs, it will double or triple the used space in the hard drive?
It sounds straight-forward. Is it a wise move for a £50 MP3 player?

Thanks
Tc
 
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Go for MP3 at a minium of 128kbps. You will double the amount taken up on your computer but you can delete the AAC files when you are done converting if you want
 
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TangoCharlie
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trpnmonkey41 said:
Go for MP3 at a minium of 128kbps. You will double the amount taken up on your computer but you can delete the AAC files when you are done converting if you want

Thanks Trpnmonkey
They were all ripped at 192kbps so I guess I'll covert them to the same in MP3. I assume I can always convert them back to AAC?

All this convering, do the songs lose any quality?





Tc
 
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If you were at 192 AAC I suggest 256 MP3. There is little to no loss in this conversion because it is not expanding it (MP3 or AAC -> Wav has to decompress the audio which can cause loss) and you would not notice it.

You could convert them back to AAC but it really isn't that big of a deal. Once you have them in a format you might as well leave them there. AAC is a good format for iTunes and iPods but if you are using other mp3 players you are better off doing everything in mp3
 
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Thanks for the advice. I started 6 hours ago...it's only on bloody Asia!!! It's done Alice Cooper and AC/DC and a lort more A's (including the band 'A', lol).

Yer, it's still converting in the Mid-A's! It it suppost to take this long? I'm calculating 3 days and 3 nights to complete the conversion of my 7000 songs!

Does that sound right?

Tc
 
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TangoCharlie
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Well, 36 hours since I started the conversion and alpherbetically, it only on bloody M (Motley Crue)!! It takes about 45 seconds per track and I got approx 7000!!

Its been chugging away since 9am Saturday morning!

Is that normal?

Tc
 

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