Ask iLounge 12-14-07

Article

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 thinking of asking for the iPod classic this holiday season. My iPod video broke and is out of warranty. I was wondering if you think it would be a good idea to wait until next year before buying in case they come with a better version? Or do you think it’d be better to just buy now?

- Anna

A: This is a question that comes up very frequently in our iLounge Discussion Forums, and the usual answer is that if you’re waiting for the next release of a product, then you’ll always be waiting, because there’s always going to be something better coming along eventually.

That having been said, however, the reality is that the iPod classic was only released this past September. Although Apple does not normally provide any kind of road map for product releases, past iPod models and their release dates provide enough insight that it’s reasonably safe to assume that we’re not going to see any significant updates to the iPod classic line before next fall at the very soonest.

For example, the fifth-generation iPod was released in October, 2005, in a 30GB and 60GB capacity. September 2006 brought a minor upgrade to this line in the form of an 80GB model, and some minor improvements to battery life and screen brightness. It was not until just this past September that a major update occurred in the form of the iPod classic (or the sixth-generation iPod, if you prefer).

So while the decision is ultimately up to each end user, this is probably a very safe time to purchase an iPod classic, since it has been out for long enough that most of the problems have been worked out in recent firmware updates, yet not so long that a new device is right around the corner.

One word of caution, however: If you used the TV output features of your fifth-generation iPod and had invested in accessories already for this purpose, you will very likely find that most of these will not be compatible with the iPod classic. With the release of the 2007 iPod models, Apple has limited the video output to the Dock Connector only (rather than the headphone port) and only for accessories that include a specific Apple authentication chip. Therefore, if you plan to purchase an iPod classic and use the TV output capabilities, you will also need to factor in the cost of a compatible TV output cable such as the Apple Composite AV Cable (iLounge rating: C). Unfortunately, these accessories are currently somewhat limited, although we suspect that more will appear in early 2008 as third-party accessory manufacturers begin to incorporate the necessary hardware to enable video output on the 2007 iPod models.

Note that this only affects video accessories. The iPod classic remains compatible with pretty much all of the same audio accessories (ie, speakers, car kits, etc) that were supported by the fifth-generation iPod.

Q: If I get a new iPod, can I transfer music from my old one to the new one?

- Amanda

A: You can definitely transfer your music from one iPod to another, although this may be a bit more complicated if you have not been maintaining your library in iTunes on your computer already.

If you have your library in iTunes and are using automatic synchronization with your existing iPod, then transferring your music to the new iPod is literally as simple as plugging it in and going through a very brief setup wizard to select automatic synchronization. The content of your iTunes library will be automatically transferred to the new iPod, and you can even use both iPods at the same time, with the same iTunes library.

On the other hand, if you have been managing your iPod content manually, and your music is therefore only on your iPod, the process may be slightly more complicated—basically you will first need to recover the content from your iPod back into your iTunes library, and then use that information to reload the content onto your new iPod.

With the exception of content purchased from the iTunes Store, iTunes itself does not provide any means for transferring content from an iPod back to your iTunes library. Fortunately, there are a number of third-party utilities that fill this void, and this process is discussed in much more detail in our tutorial Copying Content from your iPod to your Computer.

Essentially, once you have recovered the content from your old iPod, and loaded it back into your iTunes library (a process made extremely simple by some of the tools described in the above article), you would then simply connect your new iPod to your iTunes library, and load the content from there normally.

Q: I have a second-generation iPod nano and I have recently purchased an 80 GB iPod classic for home stereo use. I want to transfer the existing nano iTunes playlist to my new classic but, once transferred, I also want to convert the songs in that playlist from a 128 kbps bitrate to Apple Lossless for better sound quality. Does it matter, in terms of sound quality, whether I carry out that conversion using the iTunes preferences or would it be better for me to re-digitize my entire CD collection to iTunes from scratch?

- Parker

A: This actually matters a great deal. Converting a 128kbps audio file to any higher bitrate will not result in any improvement in sound quality—merely a larger file size at the same quality. In other words, there’s no point in even bothering to do this—you won’t get any improvement in audio quality.

Low bit-rate audio formats such as MP3 and AAC accomplish their small file sizes through the use of what is known as “lossy” compression. Essentially this means that the music track is analyzed, and certain audio content is discarded completely from the resulting file. Most of the time, this discarded content is in frequencies that cannot be heard by the average person using average equipment, and therefore is unnoticeable by most people. Of course, the higher the bit-rate, the more information is retained, which is why there is much debate about the quality of different bit-rates—something that is almost always a completely subjective decision based on your own ears and the equipment that you are using to listen to your music.

For comparative purposes, an original CD audio track is encoded at 1,440 kbps, or 1,440,000 bits of data for each second of audio. On the other hand, a 128kbps MP3 file only contains 128,000 bits of data for each second of audio. This means that in a 128kbps MP3 file, you have effectively lost 1,312,000 bits of information per second. This has been stripped out of the resulting MP3 file during the initial conversion process, and is never coming back. Therefore, converting this 128kbps MP3 file back to an original CD audio track is basically going to insert 1,312,000 bits of dead air into each second of audio—you’ll end up with a larger file with no actual increase in sound quality. In short, you can’t get data back that wasn’t there in the first place.

On the other hand, as their name implies, lossless formats such as Apple Lossless compress the audio stream without losing any data. The result is a smaller file at the equivalent quality of the original CD. The resulting file sizes of Apple Lossless files vary depending upon the original source, since some audio files will compress better than others, but on average they’re usually around 50-70% of the original CD track. Further, since these are lossless formats, they can be used to burn audio CDs, or re-convert to other audio formats in the same way the original audio CD could be—all of the original audio information is present, it’s merely compressed into a smaller file size (in much the same way that a ZIP file works).

So if you’re converting to any higher quality format, whether it’s Apple Lossless or simply a higher bit-rate MP3, you should always re-rip from a lossless source (ie, the original CD), since there’s absolutely no point in doing the conversion otherwise.

For more information and discussion about the various digital audio formats and the relative merits of each, be sure to check out our Digital Audio Formats forum in the iLounge Discussion Forums.

Q: I like to play video concerts on my iPod just for the music, but the video drains the battery too fast. If I set the the iPod to TV out so that the video doesn’t show up on the screen, will this extend the battery life?

- Dave

A: This will extend the battery life, although on a hard-drive based iPod it will not be as much of an increase as you might expect.

The two major sources of battery drain on the iPod classic and prior models of hard-drive based iPod are the LCD backlight and the hard drive. Setting your videos to play audio only via the “TV Output” option will increase battery life by preventing the backlight from turning on, but will still have an impact on the hard drive.

The problem is that the hard-drive based iPod models conserve battery power through the use of a memory buffer—when listening to a playlist, the hard drive spins up, loads a certain amount of data into the buffer, and then spins down and goes to sleep. This means that most of the time the iPod is playing music from the memory buffer rather than accessing the hard drive. Since the buffer is a finite size, however, the larger the original source track, the less information the buffer can contain—therefore the hard drive has to be read more often to refill the buffer.

For normal 128kbps music tracks, the buffer can hold approximately 30-60 minutes of music on a fifth-generation iPod or iPod classic. However, a video file is significantly larger, and even if you are not playing the video portion of the file, it still needs to be read into the iPod’s buffer. The result is that the hard drive needs to spin up considerably more often—generally every 5-10 minutes depending upon the bit-rate of the source video itself.

This same scenario applies to higher bit-rate audio tracks. For example, Apple Lossless and AIFF tracks have a dramatic effect on battery life as compared to 128kbps MP3/AAC tracks.

So while you will see some battery savings from not having the backlight on, the increased hard drive access is still going to drain your battery at a much faster rate than if you were listening to audio tracks.

If battery life is a primary concern, you may want to consider extracting the audio portion of these video tracks and transferring it to your iPod as a separate audio-only track. There are a number of video/audio editing tools out there that can be used to accomplish this for non-DRM-protected videos.

Note that this will not be a factor on flash-based iPod models such as the 2007 iPod nano (with video), or the iPod touch or iPhone. These models have no hard drive and are therefore more power-efficient in this regard. Unfortunately, these models also do not offer the ability to enable the TV Output feature without connecting a compatible accessory. If you tag your tracks as “Music Videos” and fill in the artist/album track info, you will be able to access them through the iPod’s “Music” menu to listen to the audio portion only. This avoids the need to enable the “TV Output” feature when you only want to listen to the audio, although it unfortunately does not change the way in which the iPod reads in the track information, since the video information must still be read in to play back the audio.

Q: I have a iPod nano and I was wondering where if they have Bluetooth headphones for nano? I am looking for wireless. Are the headphones ear buds?

- Cely

A: None of the current iPod models provide any direct Bluetooth support, although there are a number of third-party iPod-compatible accessories that provide both the Bluetooth adapter to connect to the iPod and the headphones themselves.

One such model that we’ve recently reviewed is the iSkin Cerulean F1+TX Wireless Headset and Transmitter (iLounge rating: B-) which provides an adapter to connect to the iPod Dock Connector and a set of earbud-style headphones.

A complete list of reviews on Bluetooth and other wireless iPod accessories can be found in our Bluetooth/Wireless Home Audio Accessory Reviews.

Q: I just purchased the Universal Dock along with the Apple Component AV cables. When using the 30-pin connector from the Universal Dock and plugging in the RCAs into the back of my stereo, I’m still having to use the volume control on my iPod. I didn’t want this as I wanted to ensure I’m getting the best quality possible without amplifying my music twice? Is there a setting on the iPod for disabling this?

- Paul

A: Actually, the Apple Universal Dock does not amplify the iPod output - it merely attenuates it. In other words, the output volume of the iPod is not increased - a volume control is merely provided to allow the user to decrease the volume.

This has created some confusion with regards to the newer Apple accessories and recent-model iPods, as it is easy to assume (incorrectly) from this behavior that the iPod is not sending a fixed line-out signal through the Dock Connector. In reality, however, the line-level that comes out of the Dock Connector is fixed, and with most iPod accessories the volume control setting on the iPod will have no effect. The issue here is that specific Apple accessories such as the Apple Universal Dock and iPod Hi-Fi are able to read the iPod volume setting. In this case, the iPod still outputs a fixed line-level signal via the Dock Connector, but the connected accessory reads the volume setting from the iPod and adjusts its output level accordingly.

As one would expect, in the case of speakers such as the iPod Hi-Fi, this will involve amplification by the speakers themselves (in the same way that a volume control works on any speaker system). The Universal Dock, however, does not include any amplification hardware, and simply acts as an attenuator to allow the user to reduce the volume output level. This is the Dock itself performing this function—the output from the iPod itself remains constant.

Bear in mind that this volume control function only works with very specific iPod accessories—thus far only a few accessories made by Apple themselves take advantage of this iPod-based volume control function. Most third-party speakers and Dock Connector audio accessories will completely ignore the volume setting on the iPod.

For example, if you connect your iPod to an older Dock Connector based audio accessory (such as the fourth-generation iPod Dock), you will discover that the volume control on the iPod itself has no effect—the older Docks do not read the volume from the iPod, and therefore simply ignore it. Further, if you compare the audio output levels between the older Dock and the Apple Universal Dock, you will discover that the maximum volume setting on the Apple Universal Dock is equivalent to the fixed volume output from the older Dock.

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Ask iLounge Archives:

5-9-08: About iPod battery life and charging, Using Apple FM Radio remote on older iPod models, Scan and Fix dialog using iPod on Windows Vista, Preserving iTunes metadata when reinstalling Windows, Importing multiple tracks into iTunes, About iTunes and ID3 tags

5-2-08: Transferring digital camera movies to iPod, Reordering and shuffling playlists, Transferring playlists between iTunes libraries, Importing audiobooks, Correcting tags on CD import, Burning CDs with longer gaps

4-25-08: Finding Duplicates in iTunes, Setting files to open in iTunes automatically, Resetting authorizations, 1G iPod nano and voice recording, Syncing a library larger than your iPod capacity, Grouping multi-disc albums

4-17-08: Ripping CDs to external hard drive, Zeppelin speakers and USB port, Bluetooth stereo on iPhone, Converting TV shows to iPod, Audio recording on iPod touch, Wireless security on iPod touch

4-10-08: Transferring LPs to iTunes, Movie Rentals and 5G iPod, New iPod models on older Macs, Maintaining Playback Position on iPod, Importing CDs on multiple computers

See the rest of the Archives...

4-3-08: Using several iPods on one computer, Renaming imported CD tracks, iM7 and iPod nano, Burning different CD types, Purchasing from iTunes while travelling, Importing CDs on MacBook Air, Sending photos from iPhone

3-28-08: iPod capacity and bit-rates, International iTunes Gift Cards, iPhone charging accessories, Moving iTunes purchases to another computer, iPod touch and third-party tools, iPod videos play only audio

3-21-08: Basic DVD conversion, 5G iPod and subtitles, Slideshows on iPod touch, Using the Voice Memo function, iPod classic TV output quality, iPod Dock Connector extender cables

3-14-08: About Skip Count, iPhone alarm clocks, 5G firmware updates, Cleaning up after a library move, Syncing new playlists to iPod nano, Authorization of multiple iTunes Store accounts

3-7-08: Transferring MP3 files to new iTunes library, iPhone ringtones on Windows, Wired remotes for iPod classic, Sharing iTunes with multiple users on one PC, iTunes library and Time Capsule, Chargers for 3G iPods

2-29-08: Finding iPhone Backups, Contact Display on iPhone, Automatic vs manual iPod management, iTunes CD burning restrictions, iTunes movie rental expiry on iPods, Downloading podcasts to iPhone

2-22-08: Upgrading your iPhone, Recovering data from corrupted iPod, Recreating default playlists, Syncing iPod Games from more than one computer, Problems playing purchased TV shows on iPod, Output settings when playing movies from iPod to TV

2-15-08: Setting up an AirTunes network, Shuffling music, Playing podcasts sequentially, Firewire support on modern iPods, Recovering Mac-formatted iPods on Windows, Recovering iTunes library from a virus

2-7-08: Transferring music from iPod touch, Voice recorders for 2007 iPods, Cover Flow on 5G iPod, Renaming your iPod, iTunes and iLife, Organizing music transferred from the iPod

1-31-08: Apple TV AirTunes Support, iPod Games on 5G and classic, Keeping videos only on iPod, Syncing iPod using checked songs, Charging with Universal Dock, International iPod and iTunes Store use

1-18-08: Macworld Expo 2008 Special Edition: Questions about the new iTunes Movie Rentals and Apple TV features, including Time Capsule and the Apple TV, Renting HD Movies from iTunes, Transferring rented movies to and from the iPod, Fifth-generation iPods and movie rental support, AirTunes support on Apple TV Take Two.

1-10-08: TV output quality, iPod windows driver installation errors, Connecting iPod to portable DVD player, Syncing games, iPhone charger compatibility, Reformatting iPod for Mac

1-3-08: 2007 iPod models and speakers, Video resolution vs bit-rate, Preventing auto-deletion of podcasts, Videos with no sound, Using iTunes Store when travelling abroad, Transferring videos to iPod, Importing Audiobooks

12-27-07: Your First iPod, Differences between iPod models, Accessory compatibility, Converting DVDs for iPod, New iPods and older computers, Earphone Recommendations, Troubleshooting iPod Problems

12-21-07: Other space on iPod, Search feature on iPod touch, Adding third-party ringtones to iPhone, iPod suddenly shows no content, TV Dock compatibility, Artists appearing more than once on iPod

12-14-07: New iPods - Buy now or wait? Transfer music from an old iPod, Convert MP3 to Lossless, Listening to videos and battery life, Bluetooth headphones for iPod nano, Universal Dock and line-out volume

12-7-07: Using Compilations settings, Re-syncing iPod after hard drive replacement, Locating iTunes Plus tracks, New iPod firmware - video output and iPod Hi-Fi support, Mac-formatted iPods, Cover Flow on iPod, iPhone screen goes blank when on a call

11-29-07: Photo resolution on the iPhone, Obtaining video content for the iPod touch, Restoring older iPod models, Sharing iTunes library on a single computer, Transferring iTunes via external hard drive, Auto-deleting played podcasts

11-22-07: Syncing games to iPod, Removing album artwork, Replacing files in iTunes library, Limiting volume on iPod, Preventing iPod sync when connecting with iTunes, Skipping audiobooks when shuffling songs

11-16-07: iTunes and Vista, iPod classic video output (revisited), Transferring iTunes from PC to Mac, Organizing Music Videos in iTunes, Using newer iPods with older OS X versions, Sorting photos on iPod

11-9-07: Editing calendar on iPod touch, Multiple iTunes libraries on one computer, Creating an iTunes Store account without a credit card, Burning CDs with track names, iPod/iPhone remote control, iPhone TV output from Safari

11-2-07: TV Docks for new iPod models, Calculate song file sizes, iPhone backup and restore, Sync selected content with iPhone, Universal Dock compatibility, Managing podcast synchronization

10-26-07: iTunes Plus, Play Slideshow on iPod nano, Activate TV out on new iPods, Recover Mac iPod in Windows, Add descriptions to TV shows, iTunes not opening when iPhone is connected

10-18-07: iPod and Windows Autoplay, Reinstalling iTunes, Manually Managing Videos, iPod charging accessories, iPod touch power and sleep modes, Resyncing recovered iPod content

10-11-07: Managing a class set of iPods, New firmware and older iPods, Windows ME support, Sorting artists by last name, 3G iPod car audio compatibility, Resetting iPod language

10-5-07: iTunes WiFi Store, Videos with no sound, Managing video content manually, Tagging TV Shows, Renaming iPod, Flash support on iPhone, Removing multiple artwork images, iPhone and multi-recipient SMS, US/UK iPod compatibility, Photo storage on iPod touch

9-27-07: iPod classic audio quality, New iPod models: features and accessory compatibility, Transferring music from iPod 5G to classic, iPod nano voice recording, Storing multiple bitrates in iTunes

9-7-07: Special Edition on the new iPod lineup - users most common questions answered about the new iPod lineup and new iTunes release, including accessory compatibility and new software features.

8-30-07: Playing single tracks, iPhone sleep timer, Deleting iPod content, TV shows do not appear on iPod, Manually sorting playlists, Fitting content onto audio CDs, Car line-out solutions

8-23-07: Set Video Kind within files, Authorization and iPod transfer, Chat Clients for iPhone, Importing CDs for gapless playback, Tethering iPhone, Burning Purchased Tracks

8-16-07: Managing podcasts, Bookmarking audiobooks, No artwork in Cover Flow, Storing iTunes content on two hard drives, Sleeping with an iPod, ROKR sunglasses and iPhone, Selling an iPod

8-9-07: Playing Podcast episodes in sequence, Recording radio in iTunes, New iPod with songs already on it, Authorized Computers, Sync iPod with a new computer, Transferring a Windows iPod to a MacBook

8-2-07: Syncing the iPhone to more than one computer, Transferring iTunes music to the Blackberry, Continuous video playback on the iPod, Problems editing track info in iTunes, Transferring content from iPhone to computer, Video playback from the iPhone, Sending MMS messages from the iPhone

7-26-07: Transferring photos from iPhone, Using iPhone speaker and dock, Song volume adjustments in iTunes, Transfer from a Mac-formatted iPod in Windows Vista, iTunes Other category and TV show syncing, Printing track lists from iTunes

7-19-07: Importing MP3 CDs, Using two iPods on one computer, Showing current track in Windows Messenger, iPod nano accessory compatibility, Keeping content only on the iPod, Transferring between two iTunes libraries

7-12-07: Sorting in iTunes 7.3, Joining CD tracks, Selecting TV Shows for sync, Recovering photos from iPod, Tagging multiple video tracks, iPhone activation requirements

7-5-07: Managing your iPod content with Smart Playlists, External hard drives and iTunes, Problems getting CD info from CDDB, Grouping by Album Artist, Using iPod as a removable hard drive

6-28-07: Manual mode and preventing auto-sync, Transferring iTunes library, Burning, ripping and sound check, Saving your place in multi-track audiobooks, Renaming your iPod, Resolving lost iPod content, Drivers and Software for 4G iPods

6-21-07: Smart Playlists for Podcasts, Incorrect track info when importing CDs, Deauthorizing computers revisited, Problems transferring purchased tracks, Transferring photos from iPod to computer, Deleting On-The-Go playlists, Songs not appearing under Artist name

6-14-07: Problems syncing re-ripped MP3s in iTunes 7.2, Grouping albums with multiple artists, Radio tuners for older iPod models, Managing Podcasts, Using an iPod on Mac and Windows, Selecting items for synchronization, iTunes not showing full iPod capacity

6-7-07: Using two iPods with the same library, Converting to AAC to Apple Lossless, Corrupt iPod errors, Sound Check and Crossfade, Exporting from iMovie to iPod and Apple TV formats, Copying from DVR to the iPod

5-31-07: iTunes Plus DRM-free music, Using iTunes songs in Windows Movie Maker, Storing notes on the iPod, Restoring the iPod, Synchronizing Watched TV Shows, Adding music from a second library, Viewing iPod menus on a TV screen

5-24-07: Storing artwork on an external hard drive, Nike+iPod kit and treadmills, Setting up a new iPod with an existing library, Using the iPod as an alarm clock, iTunes fails to transfer all tracks to the iPod, Syncing selected items to iPod, Identifying iPod models

5-17-07: Converting e-books for iPod, Problems Syncing Selected Playlists, Normalizing volume between tracks, iTunes truncating long filenames, Sorting tracks properly within albums, Pausing and remember playback position on the iPod

5-11-07: Video conversion: iPod vs Apple TV format, Automatically adding music to iTunes, Finding iPod-compatible music online, Organizing tracks on the iPod, Bluetooth speaker accessories, iHome speakers

5-3-07: Tagging content for your Apple TV, Organizing your Music Videos, Duplicate copies of your iTunes library files, Using the Universal Dock line-out, Problems restoring your iPod, Power adapter compatibility, Unlocking your iPod's volume limit

4-27-07: Transferring purchased content between iTunes accounts, FireWire/USB connections, External batteries, Problems turning off iPod, Sharing iPods on the same computer, Sorting tracks when importing CDs

4-19-07: iPod widescreen mode, Transcoding lossy formats, Locating missing music files, Assigning artwork to multiple tracks, Transferring iTunes purchases, Playing single tracks

4-12-07: Converting DVDs to iPod, Resetting Screen Lock, Moving an iTunes library to a new computer, Deleting songs manually from an iPod, Compatibility with overseas accessories, Finding accessories for the 5G iPod, Speakers for charging a 3G iPod

4-5-07: Playing iPod through iTunes, Preventing Apple Remote from controlling Universal Dock, Resetting iTunes authorizations, Transferring podcasts from a secondary computer, Finding music by composer tags, Sorting tracks on the iPod Shuffle

3-29-07: iPod photo transfer performance and accessories, Sorting photos on iPod, Syncing music and contacts from two different computers, iTunes video storage and formats, Converting AAC to MP3, Burning MP3 CDs

3-22-07: Album artwork and Other storage on the iPod, Storage size of iPod Games, Multiple iPods on the same computer, Etymotic Earjacks, Charging iPod while recording audio, Syncing TV Shows to iPod, Properly Tagging Albums

3-16-07: Converting Windows-formatted iPods for Mac use, Importing Calendar and Contacts from Outlook, Moving iTunes content to another hard drive, Recovering Playlists from iPod, Recording Lectures, Calculating iPod Storage

3-10-07: Understanding the new sort fields in iTunes 7.1, Smart playlists and rating preference, RSS feeds for new iTunes content, Checkboxes and synchronizing music to small iPods

2-22-07: Hiding the iTunes Store from view, Restoring iTunes' "Recently Played" smart playlist, Restoring an iPod's missing free space, Using third-party A/V cables, Apple TV and Wi-Fi network protocols, Authorizing iPod games

2-1-07: Windows Vista iTunes issues, Music Video organization in iTunes, Removing songs from Shuffle play, Sorting albums by year

1-17-07: iPhone Questions, Apple TV Stereo Connections, Car Stereos with USB ports, Now Playing screen on TV, Locating playlists a song belongs to, Playing podcasts sequentially

12-29-06: Charging iPod video with old AC adapter, Identifying iPod generations, Preventing iTunes from accessing the store, Accessing and playing video with DLO HomeDock Deluxe, Nike+iPod Sport Kit compatibility

12-14-06: Searching the comment field in iTunes, Buying an aux-in cable for the car, Making a recent top 25 playlist, Multiple genres per song, Radio Charts in iTunes

12-9-06: Gifting specific items from the iTunes Store, Linking to photos from the iPod's Notes feature, Properly listening to iPod music in loud places, Using Mac-formatted iPods with an XBOX 360

12-1-06: iTunes visualizers, Programs stored on iPod, Converting music en masse, Charging second-generation iPod shuffle, Adding chapter markers to videos

11-23-06: iPod deals, Continuously playing videos on iPod, Getting replacement iPod manuals, Finding size and playtime of a group of tracks, Fixing podcasts that reset iPod

11-16-06: Extracting audio from videos, Transferring albums to iPod easily, Using iTunes Store gift cards, Dealing with a scratched iPod backing, Recovering contacts from iPod

11-10-06: Volume limit on iPod shuffle, Preserving On-The-Go playlists between syncs, Storing Audiobooks in proper iTunes library, Apple Lossless on iPod shuffle

11-3-06: iTunes Store displayed in foreign language, All tracks begin where they were last stopped, Converting tracks to mono in iTunes, iPod wakes up and plays tunes on its own, Greatest Hits album won't show on iPod

10-26-06: Loading TiVo/DVR TV Shows on iPod, Accessing iTunes music with a Media Center PC, Leaving an iPod in the car, iPod Hi-Fi remote control, Tagging tracks just added to the library

10-20-06: Disc capacity & song quality tradeoff, iPod sleep behavior explained, Ordering albums by year on iPod, Using an iPod while charging via USB, Restoring a deleted playlist in iTunes

10-12-06: Displaying singles in iPod's Artists menu, Party Shuffle not advancing tracks, Two+ iPods on one computer - revisited, Finding songs not in any playlist, Returning to beginning of iPod shuffle playlist

10-5-06: Only one song plays at a time in iTunes, Playing interactive booklets, Resetting iPod's language, Shuffle anywhere on iPod, Isolating MP3 songs from AAC

9-28-06: Suppressing 'Explicit' tags in iTunes Library, Restoring the 'Purchased' playlist, Differentiating 5G 30GB models, Album Artist on iPod, Just for You in iTunes 7

9-21-06: Splitting "hidden" tracks from other songs, Multiple iTunes libraries, Movie trailers in the iTunes Store, iTunes-fetched artwork on iPod, Isolating Music Videos from songs in iTunes

9-13-06: iTunes 7 issues: Preserving library upon upgrade, Authorizing games for iPod, Audio severely distorted with static, Album artwork retrieval problems, Enhanced podcasts menu

9-7-06: Reverting to former iPod software updaters, iPod crashes and loses library, iPod not storing advertised song capacity, Cleaning out one's iTunes Library safely, Deleting Album Artwork en masse

8-30-06: Unchecked songs in smart playlist, Connecting iPod to car Aux-In jack, Deleting songs from iTunes, Filling iPods completely, Playing only one song in iTunes

8-25-06: Quickly erasing duplicate songs, Replacing iPod's front panel, Excluding videos from playlists, Using albums in smart playlists, Album art missing from iPod

8-17-06: Tags disappearing on play, Third party headphones on iPod, eAAC and eAAC+ codecs, Creating random batches of songs with smart playlists, Transferring iTunes Music Store tracks

8-9-06: Size of Smart Playlists, Changing an iPod's file system format, Backing up iTMS video purchases, iPod not automatically disconnecting, iPod shuffling problems

8-2-06: Airport Express not working under "Multiple Speakers", Tuning radio remote in 0.1 increments, Ordering albums properly, Video podcasts on older iPods, Multiple album artwork files per track on iPod

7-27-06: Exclamation marks near playlists, Artist column on far left of library?, Songs in multiple playlists, No options in for iPod slideshow music, Song numbering in iTunes' Library

7-20-06: Speaker icon next to currently-playing song, Sound lost in one headphone channel, Finding songs not in any playlist, iPod mini shuffling by album, Removing contacts and calendars from iPod

7-13-06: Maximizing battery life, Slideshows from an iPod nano, Trouble with iPod's volume meter, Powering two devices from one car power port, Smart playlists and sort order

7-6-06: Custom EQ on iPod, Viewing large text files on iPod, Buying an iPod from overseas, Finding iPod setup files online, Lossless vs. Lossy audio files

6-28-06: Unlocking an iPod, Creating a list of albums in iTunes, Restoring missing menu items on iPod, Converting video to iPod, Increasing the iPod's volume

6-21-06: Preserving select podcasts, Locating tracks in playlists, Automatically ejecting iPod after transfer, Microphone for iPod mini, Tracks missing when browsing via "Artist"

6-15-06: Backing up Smart Playlists, Using 4-pin Firewire ports, Viewing hidden data in iTunes, Recording direct to iPod from cassette, Synchronizing a folder of files between computers using iPod

6-7-06: Browsing albums by Genre, Fixing "Library Locked" message in Mac iTunes, Using generic AV cables for iPod TV display, Finding a simple iPod mount for the car, Transferring iTunes Library to a new Mac

5-31-06: Converting WMV video clips to iPod, Party Shuffle on iPod, Burning an MP3 CD from WAV files, Best iPod for running?, Identifying unknown track information

5-25-06: Independent left & right volume controls, Serial numbers on iPod installation?, Dealing with two-disc albums, iPod shuffle headphone jack problems, and the latest new iPod rumors

5-18-06: Organizing Compilations on iPod, Using the iPod's Notes features, Transferring large amounts of photos via iPod Camera Connector, Removing extra Album Art images from songs, Resolving discrepancies between iPod and iTunes smart playlists

5-11-06: Creating a simple, kid-friendly iPod interface, burning multiple playlists at once, viewing iPod photos on an Xbox 360, including multiple genres in one smart playlist

5-4-06: Videos not displaying on iPod, Using the iPod's power adapter overseas, Creating a "Most Played this Month" playlist, Editing iTunes-created playlists on the iPod

4-28-06: iLounge Week in Review podcasts, Creating iPod videos, Made For iPod, New and unpublicized additions to the iLounge site, Publicizing your company to the iLounge community

4-20-06: Shuffling podcasts, extracting files from iTunes, transferring Music Store downloads, battery life and high-bitrate formats, preventing repeated songs while shuffling

4-13-06: Protecting the iPod's Dock Connector, On-TV iPod menu navigation revisited, Contacts and calendars from PC to iPod, Dealing with the 5 iTunes account per iPod limit

4-6-06: Converting MIDI files for iPod, Purchasing iTunes tracks from another country, Unexpected track transfers on sync, Selling an iPod: with or without music, iPod prematurely advances track.

3-30-06: Disable CDDB track information, viewing more iTunes data on the screen at once, locating replacement iPod parts for self-repair, deleting genres from iTunes' pull-down menu

3-23-06: Browsing Composer-tagged classical music on the iPod, Cleaning iTunes' Source list with Folders and sorting, Setting the poster frame for a video file, Queueing TV episode conversion in HandBrake

3-16-06: Half-star ratings in iTunes, Importing photos from iPod Camera Connector, iTunes Videos on other devices, Preventing unchecked videos from syncing, playing a CD while importing

3-9-06: The easiest iPod for audiobooks, removing photos from iPod, determining iTunes library statistics, setting a specific song as an alarm

3-2-06: Removing intro/outro material from songs, Organizing Compilations in iTunes & iPod, Determining what playlists a song belongs to, Printing jewel case inserts from iTunes playlists.

Shop in the loungeStore for iPod + iPhone Accessories.

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