2010 iPod + iPhone Buyers' Guide

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Ask iLounge 11-23-06

Author's pic

By Jerrod H.

Contributing Editor, iLounge
Published: Thursday, November 23, 2006
Category: Ask iLounge

Ask iLounge offers readers the opportunity to get answers to their iPod-related questions from a member of the iLounge editorial team. We'll answer several questions here each week, and of course, you can always get help with more immediate concerns from the iLounge Discussion Forums. Submit your questions for consideration using our Ask iLounge Submit Form. We reserve the right to edit questions for grammar, spelling, and length.

The most asked question at iLounge.com:

How do I copy music from my iPod onto my computer?

Click here for the answer.

The second most asked question at iLounge.com:

How do I put DVDs on my iPod?


For converting DVDs, web video, TV shows and home movies to your iPod, iPhone or Apple TV, we have a three-part series outlining the best formats, settings, and various tools to use for converting all types of video content for use on these devices.

The Complete Guide to iPod, Apple TV and iPhone Video Formats

The Complete Guide to iPod, iPhone and Apple TV Video Conversion (Mac)

The Complete Guide to iPod, iPhone and Apple TV Video Conversion (Windows)

Top five questions most recently asked by iLounge readers:

Q: What are the best speakers to use with my iPod? (15, 76-79, and 90-92)

Q: What are the best headphones to use with my iPod? (10, 72-75, and 90-92)

Q: I really want to get a nice case for my iPod. Do you have any suggestions? (36-37, 54-67, and 90-92)

Q: How can I connect my iPod to my car stereo? (14, 32-35, 68-71, and 90-92)

Q: Are there any batteries that I can use to extend my iPod's battery life? (82-83 and 90-92)

A: Answers to these and many other questions can be found in two places. Our Free iPod Book 3.3 provides a complete report card to all of the iPod accessories we've reviewed as of summer 2007, as well as over 125 iTunes and iPod tips & tricks. Further, our new 2008 iPod & iPhone Buyers' Guide has accessory tutorials at the page numbers listed in parentheses above. These and other publications in our Library are free downloads, developed by the editors of iLounge!

And now, for this week's Ask iLounge column:

Q:

I’m interested in buying a couple iPods as gifts for this Christmas, and I’m wondering if there are any major deals I can take advantage of tomorrow. Has iLounge heard of any? Thanks!

- Jackie

A:

From what we can see from Black Friday advertisements, there are very few significant, outright price reductions on iPods themselves. No doubt due to both the iPod’s popularity and Apple’s control over pricing, this isn’t surprising. However, some retailers are selling iPods along with gift cards either for the store or for iTunes. Also, you may be able to find great deals on some iPod accessories. Check out a Black Friday website like bfads.net for store-by-store deal listings.

Update: MacRumors has obtained information about Black Friday deals at the Apple Retail Stores, including discounts on iPods.

Q:

I like to use my iPod at the gym, where the treadmills have recently been upgraded with video screens with inputs. I can leave my iPod in the tray, and watch its video on a much larger screen! The problem is, my video podcasts, TV shows, and music videos only play one at a time, and it’s a huge pain to restart the videos while I’m jogging. Is there a way to keep them playing continuously?

- Anonymous

A:

You’ve discovered a major difference between the iPod’s “Music” and “Videos” main menu items. In “Music”, no matter how you access your content, the playback is automatically continous and sequential. In the “Videos” section, playback is only continuous in the “Video Playlists” menu item.

Therefore, to enable sequential playback of videos, you’ll need to first create a playlist containing these videos, just as you would for music. Then, access this playlist from the iPod’s “Video Playlists” menu, and the videos will play together without any intervention required. In fact, you can also mix and match music and video in these playlists, and the iPod will play back all content in order, regardless of its type.

You can use this technique with certain smart playlists to make management of your video content easier. For example, although all of your video podcasts are already automatically collected under one menu, you can collect them into a playlist automatically so they can play automatically:

Similar playlists can be used to collect Music Videos, TV Shows, and other video content for continuous playback.

Q:

I have recently purchased an iPod Nano, and the only instructions that came with it are in German and French. Can I get the instructions in English so I can get this set up for use?


- Marylou

A:

No problem! Apple has a web site dedicated to the online distribution of its product manuals. The iPod section of this site can be found here. Simply begin by either entering your iPod’s serial number, or selecting your iPod from the items below, and Apple will list all relevant manuals for your iPod model.

Q:

I’d like to be able to select a group of tracks in iTunes and find out how their total file size and play time. Is this possible? Now, no matter what I have selected, the total at the bottom is for the entire Library or playlist I’m in.

All I can do now is create a new playlist for this purpose only, but I’d like a better solution, if you’ve got one.

- John

A:

You’re right - this is an iTunes behavior that can’t really be changed. In general, to find the playtime or file size total of a group of tracks, you have to create a new playlist.

However, Mac users can take advantage of this simple AppleScript from Doug’s AppleScripts for iTunes. Put this script in your “~/Library/iTunes/Scripts/” folder, launch iTunes, and select a group of tracks. Then, you can select the “time+space” script from iTunes’ Scripts menu.

The script will then allow you to total the file size and play time of either the tracks you’ve selected, or of all checked tracks.

Q:

I have an odd question about some podcasts. Recently, episodes from two of my podcasts (“This American Life” and “NOVA ScienceNOW”) have been causing my iPod 5G to reset. As soon as I attempt to play the episodes, the screen goes dark, and the silver Apple logo comes on the screen. Even old episodes that previously played fine on the iPod are causing this to happen, and it’s only happening with those two podcasts (out of the dozen or so that I subscribe to). Is this a problem/bug with my iPod? How can I fix it?

- Jason

A:

This is a known bug in the current iPod firmware, and, thankfully, it’s easy to work around.

The bug involves single-channel (mono) encoded podcasts, and the iPod’s equalizer. Quite simply, if the equalizer is activated, attempting to play any mono podcast will reset the iPod. Until the bug is fixed, you can avoid this problem my disabling the iPod’s equalizer before playing these podcasts.



Ask iLounge Archives:

10-30-09: Authorization problems with iPod touch, Changing Grid View background in iTunes, iTunes library and Music Folder are different sizes, Older iPods and firmware updates, Reconciling two different iTunes libraries, Syncing multiple devices to one iTunes library

10-23-09: Using a laptop with an iTunes library on an external hard drive, Transferring YouTube videos to iPod, iPod touch accessibility settings, Disabling Shake to Shuffle on iPod nano, Purchased songs fail to download from iTunes Store, Charging and powering off iPhone

10-16-09: Moving iTunes to a new computer, Transferring contacts from Blackberry to an iPhone, Disabling iPhone Backups, Using AV cables for audio only, Problems syncing photos to iPod touch, Memorex iFlip and iPhone compatibility

10-9-09: iPhone OS and external keyboards, Adjusting ratings in a remote iTunes library, Excluding tracks from Genius Mixes, Moving iTunes library out of My Documents, Playlist folders on iPod touch, Refreshing random Smart Playlists

9-25-09: iTunes 9 and Shopping Cart, Restoring iTunes to an external hard drive, Using an HTTP Proxy over 3G, Problems transferring movies from iTunes to IPhone, iPod touch shuffle mode, Using an iPhone without a SIM card

See the rest of the Archives...

Next: Ask iLounge 12-1-06

Previous: iPod Overseas Report: Tokyo, Japan 11/2006

Comments

1

I have a 2005 ipod and I can not het it to turn on or do anything. I have tried to charge it over night and the only thing it will do is show the apple on th screen…can you help?

Posted by Celeste13 on December 1, 2006 at 9:51 AM (PDT)

2

Can I control the order of my photos in my different photo albums. I would prefer they just go in order from newest to oldest but I find photos I just added show up in the middle of the album. This is on the Touch which I am very impressed with. Also my date and time reset often and it appears tied to Podcast syncs. I stopped all of my subscriptions to Podcasts but still face resets about 1/2 the times that I sync.  THANKS !!!

Posted by ShawnK on January 30, 2008 at 6:59 AM (PDT)

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