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MP3s/IPOD?
EmmaDandy
23-08-2006
Can soneone please give me a bit of information on these?
Interested in getting one, want to store my songs from cd's and download off the internet. I have a laptop with windows XP. Quite confused!
tiggerkid
23-08-2006
What sort of information are you interested in?
EmmaDandy
23-08-2006
Anything and everything really, are they as simple as they seem?
Migster
23-08-2006
Bought a Samsung YP-Z5 recently. It's very similar to an iPod but has a much longer battery life, a slightly bigger screen and beat the iPod in a recent group test in What Hi-Fi Sound & Vision magazine.

I haven't downloaded any music from the internet yet, but have put a few CDs on it. This is very easy as you can do it all using windows Media Play (version 10 or higher). Just stick in a CD, 'rip' it and then transfer.

I expect the iPod works in much the same way (maybe not with MS Media Player though as it's a competitor to Apple), though I believe for downloads you have to use iTunes i.e. can't use any of the other download sites.
tiggerkid
23-08-2006
They are simple enough but I'm still not really sure what information you are after. Finding a suitable MP3 player very much depends on your needs. Are you after small size? Good brand? Is price very important to you? Do you need it to play videos? And so on.

iPods are certainly very popular choice but some people don't like the fact that you can only use them with their proprietary software. So, they opt for other things that are simple plug-n-play. It's your choice really. All depends on your needs and budget.
EmmaDandy
26-08-2006
I want to spend around £50 - £80, not interested in playing videos just putting my cds on it and donwnloading...a small one would be great. Any ideas?
forzajuve
26-08-2006
Here's a couple I've just found on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...onics&v=glance

The reviews sound pretty good. My mobile phone is a Samsung and the MP3 function on that is excellent - so I'm guessing a dedicated MP3 player would be top quality.
2GB would store 300-400 songs easily.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...onics&v=glance

Again the reviews read pretty well. The pink colour might not suit your taste - but there is a blue version on Amazon.
I know Archos are one of the market leaders in the Portable Video Players so I guess they would be able to make good MP3 players. The 3GB would be good for around 500 songs.
EmmaDandy
01-09-2006
Seriously though, are they that simple to use?
pww
02-09-2006
I bought the kids an iPod nano each last Xmas and soon had to buy my own! Lots of people slag them off but I really don't know why, ok you have to use their own iTunes software but it is so easy. You just rip your cds into it into a master library and then set up playlists for each iPod and you just drag and dop from the library. You can then set up your iPod to automatically update to your playlists when you plug it in. Downloading songs from iTunes puts them straight into the library too. Songs cost 79p each or an album is usually £7.90, that includes new releases.

If you are looking for something that is really simple it may be for you. Amazon currently sell 1GB nanos which hold 250 songs for £88 and 2GB nanos (500 songs) for £112.

Others will tell you about the alternatives but we find that the iPod is great for us.
Terminator
02-09-2006
Completely agree with pww - iPods are really simple to use - and so is the iTunes software. The only thing I did with iTunes was set it to copy my CD's to MP3 format and not to Apple's ACC format, this way I can burn CD's for use in the car as I've got an MP3 headunit.
moisie
02-09-2006
In terms of the iPod and it's software you have to realise that Apple view them as one product. If you look at the adverts they end by mentioning iPod + iTunes. Apple's goal is to have one seamless experience, they don't want it to be viewed as you connecting a device to a computer, then having to get the software to work with it and so on. With a DVD player you don't just put in a disc and play it, Apple want you to see iTunes as an extension of the iPod but on a bigger screen with more options etc.

If you don't like their combined solution then fine, choose something else and tailor your own solution combining hardware and software as you see fit. There is nothing wrong with either route.

I would also add that it's not Apple's AAC format. Anyone can use AAC, AAC is essentially MP4. Fairplay is Apple's DRM which they happen to use with AAC for the iTunes music store, just like playsforsure is Microsoft's DRM which they happen to use with their own WMA. Apple have heavily promoted and helped in the development of AAC but it is by no means solely "theirs".
EmmaDandy
03-09-2006
So, with a regular mp3 can you download from any site?
Also, do they require batteries?
Pablo Diablo
03-09-2006
Originally Posted by EmmaDandy:
“So, with a regular mp3 can you download from any site?”

You can put any downloaded track on an iPod too (as long as it's not DRMed WMA) - don't know why people say you can't cos I've been using AllOfMP3 with my iPod for two years.
Quote:
“Also, do they require batteries?”

iPods have built in batteries that you charge either from your computer or with the supplied plug. Most other MP3 players I've seen require batteries.
Last edited by Pablo Diablo : 03-09-2006 at 18:14
luvsnail
05-09-2006
Originally Posted by The New Skykid:
“You can put any downloaded track on an iPod too (as long as it's not DRMed WMA) - don't know why people say you can't cos I've been using AllOfMP3 with my iPod for two years.”

The vast majority of legal download sites use WMA though, so if you use an iPod you're pretty much locked in to the iTunes Music Store.

And it's not right to say you can put "any downloaded track" on an iPod. Personally, I also use AllOfMP3 for music downloading, but when checking out I always use either the high quality Ogg Vorbis format or the CD quality FLAC format. I know for a fact that neither of these can be played on the iPod.

With the iPod, you're basically restricted to using either MP3 or AAC files. Some iPod models will also play Apple Lossless files and PCM wave files.
Pablo Diablo
08-09-2006
Originally Posted by luvsnail:
“The vast majority of legal download sites use WMA though, so if you use an iPod you're pretty much locked in to the iTunes Music Store.

And it's not right to say you can put "any downloaded track" on an iPod. Personally, I also use AllOfMP3 for music downloading, but when checking out I always use either the high quality Ogg Vorbis format or the CD quality FLAC format. I know for a fact that neither of these can be played on the iPod.

With the iPod, you're basically restricted to using either MP3 or AAC files. Some iPod models will also play Apple Lossless files and PCM wave files.”

You can play Ogg Vorbis and FLAC but you need to install iPL on your iPod.
Embrace
08-09-2006
I have an iPod shuffle - it's small and light - see picture here - it's the one on the right

Mine holds around 240 songs and I paid £69.99 for it at Argos. I'm sure you'll be able to get them cheaper somewhere now though. Some people don't like them because they have no screen, but hey, I wanted it for music and not for watching anything. If you like your music you'll know the name of the song that's playing.

It's easy to use. All I do is either download music from the internet, or import my CDs using iTunes and then just drag-and-drop the song onto the iPod icon in iTunes.
luvsnail
08-09-2006
Originally Posted by The New Skykid:
“You can play Ogg Vorbis and FLAC but you need to install iPL on your iPod.”

I love Linux and everything, but all that faffing around and invalidating of warranties just to try and force an iPod to behave like a decent MP3 player? Given that I don't already own an iPod, I think I'd be better off just buying a decent MP3 player to begin with.
JJ_
08-09-2006
Originally Posted by The New Skykid:
“You can put any downloaded track on an iPod too (as long as it's not DRMed WMA)”

Microsoft's DRM has been cracked so if you have legally brought songs from Microsoft DRM protected providers e.g. Napster, you can strip your music free to burn onto CD. Im not encouraging anything but i do feel people should have freedom over music they have legally purchased.
Pablo Diablo
09-09-2006
Originally Posted by JJ_:
“Microsoft's DRM has been cracked so if you have legally brought songs from Microsoft DRM protected providers e.g. Napster, you can strip your music free to burn onto CD. Im not encouraging anything but i do feel people should have freedom over music they have legally purchased.”

I know! I've written an article about FairUse4WM on my site! I agree totally with you about freedom over music you've bought but who knows how long this'll keep working with the apparent patch coming soon.
dslrocks
09-09-2006
Originally Posted by JJ_:
“Microsoft's DRM has been cracked so if you have legally brought songs from Microsoft DRM protected providers e.g. Napster, you can strip your music free to burn onto CD.”

Why do people insisting on burning crap sub CD audio quality files to CD?
luvsnail
09-09-2006
Originally Posted by dslrocks:
“Why do people insisting on burning crap sub CD audio quality files to CD? ”

Presumably so they can rip the songs back to their computer as MP3 files, thereby reducing the quality from "unlistenable" to "barely recognisable".
JJ_
09-09-2006
Originally Posted by The New Skykid:
“<snip>but who knows how long this'll keep working with the apparent patch coming soon<snip>”

Microsoft patched their DRM technology yesterday and soon after, an update of FairUse4WM surfaced (dubbed version 1.2)

Source: INQ
jackthom
11-09-2006
Originally Posted by dslrocks:
“Why do people insisting on burning crap sub CD audio quality files to CD? ”

I understand what you're saying, but maybe their other CD players can't handle MP3 CDs.
I have to do this if I want to play stuff on my car CD player.
lea27
11-09-2006
how can i get the songs from my windows media player onto an ipod or mp3 player.
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