Ask iLounge 12-5-08

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:

I recently bought an Apple TV, and am loving the ability to display my photos from my Mac in my living room when friends and family come over. I was wondering, though, if there was a way to save my slideshow settings so that I can have specific music play on each slideshow like I can in iPhoto, rather than having to go back to my Apple TV settings each time. Somebody told me the Apple TV was supposed to take the settings from iPhoto (like which music is supposed to play), but mine doesn’t seem to be doing this. I’m using the latest version of iPhoto ‘08 and the Apple TV. Any suggestions?

- Shirley

Actually, this is possible, but only if you’re a Mac user with iPhoto. This is one of the features in iPhoto and on the Apple TV that is not well-documented, but the key is to create an actual slideshow in iPhoto and sync that to your Apple TV, rather than using a standard iPhoto album.

To do this, go into iPhoto and begin creating a new album as you normally would, by selecting File, New Album. However, when the New Album dialog box appears, select Slideshow from the buttons which appear at the top to create a slideshow instead of a normal iPhoto album.

Give the slideshow a name, and if you had already selected items to include in the slideshow before choosing the New Album option, be sure to check the box to include selected items in your new Slideshow.

Your new Slideshow will appear in a separate section in iPhoto below your albums.

Selecting your slideshow from the iPhoto source listing at the left-hand side will bring up an interface where you can customize your slideshow in terms of the transition effects, music, timing and so forth. Note that you can also specify individual transitions and whether the Ken Burns effect is used on a per-slide basis.

Once you’ve customized your slideshow to your liking, simply synchronize it to your Apple TV as you would for any other album—it will appear in the iTunes Photos tab for your Apple TV like any other album would.

Once synchronized, selecting your slideshow for playback on your Apple TV will immediately begin playing back the slideshow with your chosen settings from iPhoto, rather than presenting a photo browser like your standard albums do.

Note that if you have selected music for your slideshow, this music must be available when you are playing your slideshow. As long as iTunes is running on your computer when you view your slideshow, the Apple TV will be able to access the music directly from your iTunes library. Ideally, however, you should simply ensure that any music tracks or playlists you’ve selected are synchronized to the Apple TV. iTunes does not do this for you automatically, so you will need to confirm this yourself. If you’re syncing all of your music to your Apple TV, then this will not be a problem. Otherwise you will need to ensure any tracks or playlists you’ve selected for your slideshow are included in your “Selected Playlists” settings for your Apple TV.

I have a question about the “Other” category on the Summary screen in iTunes. All I’m putting on my iPod is music yet the “Other” section keeps getting larger. I’m sure I had 29 MB before I started and now I have 54.4 MB with 1.16 GB of music. What the heck is filling up the “Other” folder? Also, do you have any suggestions as to the best size of artwork for my music library? I’ve been using 500x500 from Amazon but can I use a smaller size?

- Anonymous

The “Other” category represents anything on the iPod that iTunes does not specifically recognize as audio, video, or photo content. This also includes the iPod database itself, which of course grows to contain your track information as you add more content onto your iPod. The other common item included in the “Other” category is your album artwork.

iTunes creates a separate database on the iPod to store your album artwork in order to speed up access when viewing your tracks. Artwork images from iTunes and within your MP3/AAC files themselves are converted by iTunes and stored in this separate database. Since iTunes does not recognize these files as audio, video, or photos, they’re simply listed in the “Other” category.

Artwork is stored on a per-track basis, since you could technically have a different image for each track. Since these images are resized by iTunes for the iPod screen, the amount of storage taken up will depend on the model of iPod you are using, but ranges from about 23 kb per track on the first and second-generation iPod nano to just under 400 kb per track on the iPhone or iPod touch. You can find more detail on this in a thread in our iLounge Discussion Forums titled Photo Storage on the iPod - The Gory Details.

This leads into your next question on artwork size. The short answer is that the optimal size for your artwork is going to depend on where and how you want to view it. As already mentioned earlier, iTunes resizes your artwork to fixed resolutions for each specific model of iPod regardless of the original artwork size. However, despite this, the artwork that is embedded in your MP3 or AAC files will be at whatever size you originally stored it. Therefore, using higher-resolution artwork if you’re only concerned about viewing it on the iPod will simply be wasting space, as the artwork image takes up space in each media file, but doesn’t actually get used by the iPod.

Consider that the highest-resolution iPod display is presently found on the iPod touch and iPhone, and even this is only 320 x 480, which means that the square artwork image display is only 320 x 320.

Of course, if you’re viewing artwork regularly using the Cover Flow view in iTunes, or you have an Apple TV, you’ll want to keep it in the highest resolution possible. The Apple TV has a 1280 x 720 display, so you’re looking at an on-screen artwork resolution of approximately 500 x 500. The optimal resolution on your computer in iTunes will depend upon your screen size and resolution; if you’re using a higher-resolution display such as an Apple Cinema Display with a 1920 x 1280 resolution and plan to regularly use full-screen Cover Flow view then you’ll want to use a much higher resolution than if you’re merely occasionally flipping through your albums in grid view on a 1280 x 1024 laptop screen. Just to give you an idea for comparison, tracks purchased from the iTunes Store come with 600 x 600 resolution artwork, which for the most part renders very well on a 1920 x 1280 display in full-screen view.

Thanks for the article on how to transfer the iTunes library to a new computer. I have an iPod touch that I sync with a PC running Windows XP. I recently bought a Mac and want to move my library to the Mac and sync my iPod touch with the Mac from now on. Your article clearly explains how to move the music/content in iTunes from one computer to another, however I am wondering about transferring all the applications I have bought for my iPod touch and their data from my Windows PC to my Mac. Further, will my Contacts and Calendar information on the iPod touch be lost when I move from the Windows PC to the Mac. I understand that the iPod touch may have to be restored in order to sync with the Mac.

- Denis

Firstly, the good news is that you do not need to restore your iPod touch for use with your Mac, as the iPod touch and iPhone use a completely different synchronization protocol from the older iPod models. The click wheel iPods use a “disk mode” for synchronization where the disk-level format of the iPod is important. With the iPod touch and iPhone, however, synchronization is handled through other methods, and there are not platform-specific sync issues.

As mentioned in the article on transferring your iTunes library, iPod touch and iPhone applications are stored in a sub-folder named “Mobile Applications” with your iTunes library database itself. If you have copied your entire library database over, these applications will still be there, and will continue to sync with your iPod touch in the same way as your music and other media content. The only catch is that you will need to make sure you specifically authorize your new Mac for your iTunes Store account, since this information is computer-specific and iTunes will not transfer applications to your iPod touch unless your computer is authorized for the account that was used to purchase them. You can do this simply by choosing Store, Authorize Computer from the iTunes menu and entering your iTunes Store user id and password.

As an aside, if you no longer plan to use iTunes on your Windows computer, be sure to DE-authorize that computer by selecting Store, Deauthorize Computer before uninstalling iTunes or getting rid of the computer.

Your contact and calendar information, on the other hand, is going to a slightly special case. If you have been synchronizing your contact and calendar information from Windows Address Book or Microsoft Outlook on your Windows PC, you will need to transfer it back to Mac OS X Address Book and iCal on your new Mac. On the other hand, if you were not synchronizing your information with your old computer but only using it locally, then you can continue to synchronize your iPod touch with your Mac and just leave calendar and contact synchronization unconfigured and iTunes will leave any existing information alone.

In either case, synchronization of this information will be off by default when you connect your iPod touch to the new computer, and you can leave it off until you’re ready to deal with it. If you do want to get your information from your iPod touch into your Mac Address Book and iCal applications, iTunes can do this for you quite easily, however. When you first enable contact and/or calendar synchronization, iTunes will recognize that you already have content on your device and ask you if you want to transfer it from your iPod touch to your computer.

Selecting “Merge Info” will copy your calendar and contact information from your iPod touch or iPhone back to your computer, merging it with any information that may already be stored in your Address Book or iCal applications. From that point on you can then continue syncing your information as you normally would.

I have an 16GB first-generation iPod touch and I want to upgrade to a 32GB second generation model. What’s the best way to transfer everything over? Do I need to make any changes on the old one before I sell it?

- Brian

If you have been synchronizing your information automatically from iTunes with your current iPod touch, there’s actually nothing you need to specifically do to switch over to a new model. Your media content and applications will already be in your iTunes library and can simply be synchronized automatically with the new iPod touch the first time you connect it.

On the other hand, if you have been synchronizing content with your iPod touch manually and you do not have your media content on your computer, you will need to recover it from your iPod touch and place it back in your iTunes library so that it can be synced to the new device when you get it. Our our iPod 201 article, Copying Content from your iPod to your Computer provides more information on how to do this.

If you are synchronizing your contact and calendar info with your computer already, the same logic applies, as iTunes will simply sync this out to the new iPod touch in the same way as for your current unit.

If you have any third-party applications on your existing iPod touch, this data is not automatically synced when you reinstall these applications, however it is normally backed up by iTunes, and you can restore this backup to your new device, which will include all of your applications and settings. This will also include your contact and calendar information, so even if you are not presently syncing it (ie, if you’ve entered it directly on your device), this will be restored to the new device as part of the backup from the old one. You will be prompted to restore the backup of your old iPod touch the first time you connect the new one.

That having been said, you should confirm that you have a current backup of your current iPod touch before you restore it to the new one. You can force a backup by right-clicking on the iPod touch within iTunes and choosing the “Backup” option, and you can confirm the date and time of the last backup by going into your iTunes preferences and looking at the “Devices” tab.

In terms of cleaning up your old iPod touch before selling it, you basically just need to connect it to iTunes and perform a “Restore” operation on it to erase all data and settings and return it to its factory configuration.

This method of erasure if more than sufficient for most users as your data is erased for all intents and purposes as far as most normal users would be concerned. However, if you’re very concerned about sensitive data that may have been stored on your device, you ca. initiate a secure erase instead by going into the iPod touch Settings application and choosing General, Reset, Erase All Content and Settings.. This will perform a secure erase of your device by overwriting all memory segments, but will take about an hour to run.

In our opinion this is not strictly necessary for most users, as it would take a determined tech-savvy user with advanced forensic tools to recover information even from a normally-erased iPod touch or iPhone. At the same time, if you don’t mind letting your iPod touch spend an hour doing this it certainly can’t hurt.

I just bought the game “Phase” again since I got a new computer, but it won’t put the game on my iPod! It says the game could not be copied to my iPod because I am not authorized for it on this computer!

- Matt

Often when you purchase content from the iTunes Store for the first time on a new computer, the computer is still not automatically authorized for that iTunes Store account. With music and video content, this authorization frequently happens the first time you play the content, but of course with games that’s not an option, as you can’t “play” them in iTunes—they’re only downloaded for transfer to your iPod.

In this case, you simply need to manually authorize your computer by selecting Store, Authorize Computer from the iTunes menu, and entering your iTunes Store user id and password. Once you have done this, any content purchased with that account should transfer to your iPod without any problems.

As an aside, note that when you buy a new computer you do not need to purchase your iPod Games again unless you cannot recover them from the previous computer at all (ie, you’ve lost the files on the original hard drive). You can simply copy any iPod Games from the iPod Games folder on the original computer (located under your “iTunes” folder) to the new computer, and import them in the same way as you would for any other type of media content. You can also transfer any purchased games that are on your iPod back to your computer by ensuring your computer is authorized for your iTunes Store account (as above) and selecting File, Transfer Purchases from the iTunes menu. This will search your iPod for all content purchased with any iTunes Store account for which your computer is authorized and transfer is all back to your computer, including music, videos, games, and iPod touch or iPhone applications.

Why do songs I delete from iTunes keep showing up on my ipod nano? How do you delete the song from the actual ipod?

- Kris

The most likely cause of this problem is that you have set your iPod nano to “manual” mode, which means that it is not actively syncing content from your iTunes library to your iPod nano, so changes you make in your iTunes library will not be reflected on your iPod. In this mode, your iTunes library and your iPod are treated as two independent libraries.

You can check the manual setting by connecting your iPod and looking at the “Summary” tab for it in iTunes:

If the checkbox labelled Manually manage music and videos is selected, then your iPod is in manual mode, and you will need to manage the content on your iPod directly via iTunes. To do this, simply click on the small triangle to the left of your iPod nano (in iTunes) and it will expand to show the different categories and playlists of content on your iPod:

From here, you can select content and manage it as you normally would in iTunes, including modifying file information or deleting tracks. You can also add, remove and manage playlists from here, directly on your device.

Alternatively, if you would simply like to return to automatic synchronization, where your iPod nano does mirror the content of your iTunes library, simply UNcheck the box to Manually manage music and videos in your device’s summary tab as shown above, and then click “Apply” and your iPod will sync with your iTunes library. Note, however, that this will remove anything that is not already in your iTunes library, so before doing this you should ensure that you do not have any content that is stored only on your iPod and not in iTunes itself.

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Ask iLounge Archives:

6-26-09: Recovering a dead iPod touch after 3.0 update, Battery Percentage Display on iPhone 3.0, Options hidden after 3.0 update, iPhone locked after 3.0 update, Managing videos on iPhone, iPod classic accessory compatibility

6-12-09: Conserving power on iPhone, Syncing iPhone Notes, Syncing Apps on new iPod touch, Block pop-ups in Safari, Syncing new iPhone, Playing multiple albums

5-29-09: Sorting tracks in iTunes, iPhone Bluetooth Headset Dock, Recovering Mac-formatted iPod on Windows, Screen damage on 4G iPod nano, Syncing purchased tracks back to iTunes, Managing a class set of iPods

5-22-09: Syncing iTunes content between computers, Importing music into iTunes, Re-transferring apps from a new iTunes library, New iPods and charging accessories, Using multiple iTunes libraries

5-15-09: Starting out with an external hard drive, Syncing playlists manually, Recovering lost iPod serial number, Music count vs Playlist count, Multiple iTunes Store accounts on the same computer, Optimizing album artwork

See the rest of the Archives...

5-8-09: Organizing audiobooks, Problems transferring purchased items back to iTunes, Keeping played podcast episodes on iPod, Transferring iTunes library to a new computer, iPod shows no content, Using a new iPod with an existing iTunes library

4-24-09: Playing iTunes purchases on a non-networked computer, Finding iPod manuals online, Sharing an iTunes library between separate user accounts, Equalizer on iPod shuffle, Recovering content from Apple TV, Screenshots on iPod touch

4-17-09: Converting tracks to higher bit-rates, Using iPod with non-iTunes content, Using iTunes with an external hard drive, Expired rentals don't delete on iPod, Using only part of a song, Restoring 4G iPod stuck on AC adapter icon

3-27-09: Transferring iTunes library from XP to Vista, Using iPhone as an alarm clock, Splitting iTunes library across two iPods, Recovering iPod onto a computer with an existing iTunes library, Purchased TV Shows stuck in downloads folder, Tagging tracks as Audiobooks in iTunes 8

3-20-09: Using two iPods on a single computer, iPod shuffle 2G/3G accessory compatibility, Displaying TV Show seasons separately in iTunes, Playing iPod through secondary computer, Stopping iPod playback on iPhone, iPod touch 2G and Dock audio

3-13-09: iPod touch vs iPhone, Storing music only on your iPod, Problems transferring rented content, Managing content manually on iPod shuffle, iPod lyrics display, Playing video out to TV from iPhone

3-6-09: iPhone playback on other computers, Games on iPod classic and 5G, Transferring iTunes tracks to SD cards, Group compilations on iPhone, Transferring your iTunes library, iPhone Car Integration

2-27-09: Problems transferring iTunes content to external hard drives, Using an iTunes library database from an external hard drive, Converting Palm address book for iPod touch, How iTunes organizes music videos, Preventing iPhoto from opening when connecting an iPod touch

2-20-09: Video docks for 5G iPod, Connecting an old iPod to a new iTunes library, Downloading iTunes 8 on another computer, Erasing a used iPod and starting fresh, Recovering photos from an iPod, Tracking purchases in iTunes

2-13-09: Waterproof cases and sound quality, Upgrading to iTunes Plus with a manually managed iPod, Reinstalling games on the iPhone, iPhone 3G Dock options, Fixing album artwork problems, Display iTunes Applications category

2-6-09: iPod nano voice memo format, Buying iPods abroad, Skipping a playlist when shuffling, Adjusting playback speed of music tracks, Not all TV Shows syncing to iPod, Checking and unchecking multiple items in iTunes

1-23-09: Synchronizing contacts to iPod touch, Pairing iPhone Remote app, iPhone call audio via Dock Connector, Recovering iPhone apps, New iPods and charging, Remote control of Windows via iPhone

1-16-09: Creating Smart Playlists based on other playlists, Transferring or syncing an iTunes library between two computers, Converting Mac-formatted iPod to Windows, Using Artist and Sort Artist fields, Using an iPod on more than one computer, Importing audiobook CDs as audiobooks

1-2-09: Parents controls on iPod touch, Running iTunes from an external hard drive, Search feature on 5G iPods, Syncing videos to iPod touch, Safari problems on iPod touch, Other content on iPod shuffle

12-19-08: Keeping podcast episodes, iPod and TV USB inputs, Converting PC-formatted iPod to Mac, iPod touch e-mail accounts, Backing up iTunes to a hard drive, Managing and syncing iPod touch On-The-Go playlists

12-12-08: Classifying videos in iTunes 8, Sharing music between iPods, Sharing apps between iTunes libraries on the same computer, iH9 and iPhone compatibility, Recreating Purchased folder, Locating Music Videos

12-5-08: Creating custom slideshows for Apple TV, Optimal album artwork size, Transferring iPod touch from PC to Mac, Upgrading to a new iPod touch, Authorizing iPod Games on new computer, Managing iPod content manually

11-21-08: iPod keeps resetting, Organizing iPhone apps, iPod touch video accessories, iPod-compatible online music sources, Reordering playlists manually

11-14-08: Cover Flow on 4G iPod nano, Setting up iPod touch without Internet access, Internet radio for iPod touch, Apps button missing on iPod touch, mm50 speakers and new iPod models, Including Year field on iPod

10-31-08: iPod charging accessory compatibility, Adding tracks to multiple albums, Removing pre-installed games, Transferring contacts from iPod touch to a second computer, iPod touch accessory compatibility, iPod synchronization to a new computer

10-24-08: Importing folders with M3U files, AV cables with 2008 iPods, Moving iTunes libraries between computers, Unknown albums after importing music, Newly added tracks don't show up on iPod

10-17-08: Backup up your iPod, iPods and viruses, Using an iPod on Mac and Windows, Managing photos on an iPod manually, Adding iTunes Shared Music to iPod, iPod video out

10-3-08: Displaying lyrics on iPod touch, Calculating playlist sizes, Transferring tracks to iPod in manual mode, Purchasing older iPod models, Using iPhone without phone service, Shuffle modes

9-26-08: iTunes HD TV episodes showing up twice, Shure MPA-3C and iPod touch, Synchronizing iPod to a new iTunes library, Problems updating iPhone applications, Managing iTunes media files on an external hard drive, Managing multiple iPods on one computer

9-19-08: Removing Genre column in iTunes 8, Syncing TV Shows by playlist, Recovering Mac-formatted iPod on Windows, Recovering photos from iPod, XtremeMac Luna X2, iPod flash memory capacity, Restoring older iPod models

9-12-08: Managing iPhone Backups, iPod disk mode and deleted items, iPod Plays only single tracks, iPhone and T9 predictive text, Copying ratings and play counts from iPod to computer, Automatically retrieving CD information and album artwork

9-5-08: AV output from iPhone 3G dock, New playlists not appearing on iPod, Transferring music on iPod touch from multiple computers, Resetting iTunes Store authorization counts, Editing tag information, iPhone task applications

8-29-08: Disabling data on iPhone 3G, iTunes Plus and Apple Backup, Deleting photos from iPod, iPhone v2.0 and TV Out accessories, Consolidating multiple iTunes libraries, Restoring iPod touch from backup

8-22-08: Cleaning up applications in iTunes, Playing back all songs on iPod, Excluding podcasts from Smart Playlists, Bookmarking tracks, Playing tracks back at a consistent volume level

8-15-08: Transferring play counts back to iTunes, Playing iPod while charging, Customizing iPhone alerts, Syncing movies to iPod nano, iTunes not recognizing new CDs, Sudoku reviews

8-8-08: iPhone and SIM card contacts, Syncing iPhone contacts, Hiding SMS previews on iPhone, Playing iPod touch on secondary computer, Syncing photos to iPod, Resuming interrupted iTunes WiFI Store downloads

8-8-08: iLounge Editor-in-Chief Jeremy Horwitz responds to reader questions on all things iLounge, including technical issues related to iPhone 3G, and behind-the-scenes editorial issues

8-1-08: iPhone Edition: Switching between apps, Car charging accessories, Activating older iPhone models, Sending MMS, App Store in wrong language, Excel and A2DP support

7-25-08: MobileMe on iPhone for Calendars only, Buying iPods for International use, Voice recorders for 4G iPods, Free Music for iPod, Problems transferring purchased content to iPod, Playing AAC files in Windows Media Player

7-18-08: Ask iLounge iPhone v2.0 Edition: Installing apps on multiple devices, Converting videos for iPhone 3G, Activating first-gen iPhones, Saved photos on iPod touch, Push e-mail support

7-4-08: Recovering a corrupt iPod, Hard cases for iPhone, Reimporting CDs into iTunes, iPod shows only Other content, Managing multiple audio formats in iTunes, Optimum iPod video output cables

6-27-08: Creating Smart Playlists for Purchased items, Keeping place in multi-track audiobooks, Backing up iTunes before a reformat, iPod Games on 5G and classic, Editing CD tracks before import, Getting Album Artwork automatically

6-20-08: Third-party iPod management tools, Transferring large files on iPod, Shuffling On-The-Go Playlists, Removing played podcasts from iPod, Continuously playing one track, Moving iTunes from PC to Mac

6-13-08: Artists not appearing on iPod, Unchecked items do not play in iTunes, iTunes shows incorrect CD track information, Podcast support on older iPod models, Upgrading to a new iPod, Photo albums on iPod touch

6-6-08: Downloading YouTube videos onto iPod, Selling old iPod models, Fit iTunes Window to Screen, Handing down an iPod, Dock Compatible iPod cases, Problems transferring music from iPod to Mac

5-30-08: Burning iTunes purchases to an MP3 CD, Playing iPhone via computer, Pre-loading a gift iPod on another computer, Music Video playlists on Apple TV, Music videos on 2G iPod nano, Importing existing MP3 and WMA files into iTunes.

5-23-08: Finding and backing up purchased music, Syncing duplicate tracks to iPod, Restoring 4G iPod and AC power, Syncing iPod to a laptop when travelling, Finding photos on iPod, Storing a large iTunes library in multiple folders

5-16-08: Using the iPhone with integrated in-car Bluetooth, Problems with iPods and depleted batteries, Transferring content to a new iPod, iPod displays audio but no video, Removing photos and album artwork from iTunes, Overdrive Media and iPods

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

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

Next: The Complete Guide to Backing Up your iTunes Library

Previous: Transferring your iTunes Library

Comments

1

How do you turn off ‘shake to shuffle’ on the ipod nano 4th generation?

Posted by zoe on December 6, 2008 at 9:53 PM (PDT)

2

HI! WAS INTRESTED IN PURCHASING AN IPOD, BUT I WANTED ONE WITH THE MOST GB’S FOR MY MONEY, BUT ALSO ONE THAT WILL PLAY MY MUSIC, PHOTOS, AND MOVIES/DVD’S TOO? WOULD THE IPOD CLASSIC DO ALL OF THESE WELL? IF NOT, WHICH ONE WOULD BE THE BEST? THANK YOU!
CASSANDRA

Posted by CASSANDRA RAYFORD on December 8, 2008 at 8:32 PM (PDT)

3

Is there any app that will enable me to create a list on my Windows XP computer and transfer it to the iPhone - and then edit it on the iPhone and transfer it back to the computer? If any app of that type exists the developer could go after the Pocket PC market

Posted by Dewaine Osman on December 13, 2008 at 3:33 PM (PDT)

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