2010 iPod + iPhone Buyers' Guide

Article

Ask iLounge 12-8-05

Author's pic

By Jerrod H.

Contributing Editor, iLounge
Published: Thursday, December 8, 2005
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:

What do I do if my iPod doesn’t appear up on my computer when I plug it in? It refuses to appear in either iTunes or My Computer (Finder, on the Mac), and doesn’t appear in the iPod Software Updater. The iPod appears to be working fine on its own. Help!

- Many Ask iLounge readers

A:

There are a multitude of possible issues here, involving both hardware and software. Before tweaking any software configurations, try the following trivial hardware-related ideas first, in order.

- If you’re using an iPod nano or 5th generation iPod, make sure you’re using USB. These models will not do data transfer over Firewire.

- If you’re connecting via a USB or Firewire hub, try removing it from your chain. Unpowered hubs, especially, can cause connection issues with any power-hungry device.

- Similarly, if you’re connecting to a USB or Firewire port on the front of your computer, try the ports on the back, instead. Often, PC manufacturers will not provide power to the ports on the front, occasionally causing issues with certain iPods.

- Try a different iPod cable, if you have an extra. We’ve discovered on several occasions that device connection problems were the fault of a flaw in the cable we were using.

If none of these hardware ideas resolves your issue, you can try the following software idea (again, we’d do them in this order):

- Reset your iPod, using the procedures found here: (iPod/mini/nano) (shuffle)

- Install the latest version of iTunes from Apple’s website. iTunes comes with several mostly invisible “helper” programs that help the PC monitor itself for iPod connections. Often, reinstalling or upgrading iTunes can resolve missing or damaged “helper” services.

- Under normal iPod problems, we’d usually recommend “Restoring” the iPod, but if you can’t mount your iPod on your computer, you’re not likely to be able to do this. Download the latest iPod Software Updater and give it a try, but chances are slim that the program will see your iPod, if the rest of your computer can’t.

Clearly, you can logically short-cut some of these steps, if, for example, you know that your iPod mounts on other PCs. If you can’t resolve the issue with any of the ideas above, your iPod is likely faulty, and you should take it to the nearest Apple Store Genius Bar or call 1-800-MY-APPLE for service. Good luck!

Q:

I know that iTunes can rip to Apple Lossless, but can it also rip to .wav as well?

- Damon

A:

Absolutely. Whether you’re on a PC or a Mac, simply navigate to iTunes’ Preferences → Advanced → Importing, and change “Import Using” to “WAV Encoder”. The “Automatic” settings should suffice, here, though you’re free to change the sample rate, sample size, and number of channels in the “Settings” pulldown menu.

If you’re temporarily using this importing setting, don’t forget to change it back when you’re finished, as your hard drive will fill up quickly should you forget to return to a compressed format!

Q:

I just purchased a new fifth-generation iPod, and it won’t automatically disconnect from my computer when it finishes syncing. I seem to recall my other iPods doing this… has the feature been discontinued?

- Corey

A: Not at all… your iPod is likely in “Disk Mode,” which enables your iPod to stay connected to your iPod so that it can be used as any other hard drive for storing data. If this doesn’t interest you, you can allow automatic disconnects by simply disabling the “Enable Disk Use” option found in iTunes’ iPod Preferences window.
Q:

I just bought a 4GB iPod nano. I like having the flexiblity to manually manage my own playlists and songs, since I have a very large library on my computer. I am noticing, however, that my playcounts and ratings that were set on the nano are not transferring to the library on the computer. Am I doing something wrong? Is there a way to preserve this functionality yet keep the management manual? Thanks!

- Craig

A:

Yes, and in fact, it’s how we’ve been using our smaller iPods for a long time. The solution is to use iTunes’ “semi-automatic” syncing mode, if you will. Rather than choosing “Automatic” or “Manual” mode, select “Automatically Synchronize Selected Playlists.”

Then, instead of manually managing your iPod directly, you’re free to manually manage the playlists which are automatically synchronized to the iPod. It’s a work-around, but it works quite well.

What happens in this mode of operation if you want to simply load the iPod with music that’s not in any specific playlist? You can’t - but it’s certainly reasonable to make one more playlist for such tunes. We have two such playlists for songs without normal playlists: one for short term iPod tracks, and one for tracks we’d like to keep on the iPod for a long time.

Want to keep these nano-specific playlists organized together? Put them into a playlist folder (File → New Folder):

image
Q:

I’m interested in using my fifth-generation iPod in the car using a TEN Technology FlexibleDock and a new Griffin SmartDeck for Dock Connector. However, it doesn’t appear that there is any way to connect multiple dock connector accessories at once. Do you know of any company that offers a splitter of some sort, that allows both a simple charger and an I/O device to be connected at the same time?

- Mark

A: Unfortunately, we’re not aware of any solution exactly like what you propose, but if any of the clever accessory vendors are reading this, we’d certainly be interested as well!
Q:

I have been in the market for a docking system for my home theatre. After reading several of the reviews on sound docks and such, I realized that I don’t need an expensive docking solution, but rather just a simple cable that has the iPod connection as the male receptacle on one end, with a set of either RCA outs. Has anyone made such a cable yet?

- Al

A:

You’re right. For a low-tech solution, if you’re not interested in keeping your iPod standing up and charged while playing to your home stereo, you’re not going to need any sort of accessory outside of a simple 1/8”-to-RCA “Y-Cable” such as this one available for only $8 from XtremeMac.

As you suggest, an iPod-to-stereo cable can lead to superior audio quality; were you to simply plug the above cable into the iPod’s headphone jack, the audio sent to your speaker system would ultimately be amplified twice, which is usually deterimental to the quality of the audio you hear. It’s generally better to connect to your stereo using the iPod’s unamplified “line out” port built into its 30-pin Dock Connector. This line out port is accessible with any of the docking station accessories currently available, or through a smaller, more portable option like SiK’s Imp or SendStation’s PocketDock accessories. Nyko also makes a Stereo Link cable for this purpose.

Share Share This Article & Win an iTunes Gift Card. Click Here to Enter.

Submit A News Tip



Ask iLounge Archives:

11-13-09: Syncing different contact info with two iPhones on the same computer, iPod shows no content, Syncing music and videos in playlists, Exclamation marks next to tracks in iTunes, Playing podcasts on 3G iPod shuffle.

11-6-09: Storing iPod software updates, Playing an iPod continuously, Transferring play counts to a new iTunes library, iPhone backups, Klipsch S4i earphones

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

See the rest of the Archives...

Next: The iPod Year in Review 2005: Year of the iPod, or iPod Decade?

Previous: Reader Editorial: iTunes Price Changes - Beginning of the End, or Natural Evolution?

Comments

1

Al,

I’ve been using the cable manufactured by Nyko and it has great performance. The cable can be seen here:
http://www.nyko.com/nyko/products/?i=44
The result is so good that I actually bought three of these cables and leave them permanently plugged to the AUX input of my systems (in the living room, bedroom, etc) so that it is easier to dock the iPod each time I want to play it through one of these systems (aux. connections are usually on the back, which makes it uncomfortable to plug and unplug quickly).

Posted by Luciano Guimaraes on December 9, 2005 at 4:21 AM (PDT)

2

How to export playlists independent of filename?

I’ve spent a lot of time on my playlists (1000’s of songs), and i wanna reconstruct my library now and keep my playlists. But i notice that when i export a playlist it’s dependant on filename. I wanna be able to export and import a playlist independent of filename.

More details: wanna podcast my itunes library over my network (for my psp). But discovered to podcast you can’t have spaces in the filename. SO i wanna rename all my files so they don’t have spaces. But it seems like if i do that, my playlists wouldn’t work anymore unless i update each song which i don’t want to do.

Posted by sixty9 on December 9, 2005 at 9:17 AM (PDT)

3

1) For the guy whose iPod isn’t visible: my wife had a problem with her old g3 iBook where the USB port was worn and not making a strong enough connection with her shuffle.  Plugging it into a hub (or later, an extension cable) fixed the problem.

2) With regards to your phrase “the audio sent to your speaker system would ultimately be amplified twice, which is usually deterimental to the quality of the audio you hear:”  Audio is quite often amplified more than once and it does not necessarily degrade sound.  While it’s true that decreasing the amount of processing generally improves sound, many sources, such as record players, require a primary amplification stage (called a pre-amplifier, despite the fact that is just an amplifier) to bring the recorded music up to the level expected by stereo input, with some amount of EQ added to “season” the analog signal.  Your stereo does this internally, so that when you switch from record to CD to FM to tape monitor, you don’t have to have your hand on the volume control.

The iPod is amplifying the signal exiting its digital to analog circuit, and it’s doubtful that this amplification is discrete between the line-out pins and the volume control.  They’re almost certainly the same signal, delivered in parallel, with only a digitally controlled variable resistor to “turn down” the level of volume exiting the headphone jack and another resistor to assign the proper line levels from the sync port.

Thus, using the sync port isn’t necessarily better sound than the headphone jack, but it does have a few features that make it more convenient.  First, the sync port locks the connection in place, decreasing disconnections during movement, a common problem I’ve had with pretty much every headphone-based device since my first Walkman.  And second, it provides a level of volume that is standardized, providing assurance that the signal will be amplified similarly to that of a CD player without added clipping or hiss.  On most good stereos, the same can be achieved by dialing the iPod to 90% of its volume…with the added bonus of being able to adjust the line-in volume for content that’s overly quiet or loud even after Soundcheck.

In short: line out cables give you flexibility, volume assurance and added features, but not necessarily better sound.  Only buy one if you want the flexibility.

Posted by dasmegabyte on December 9, 2005 at 3:44 PM (PDT)

4

my ipod is a u2 edition and recently it will not allow me to add or update.  it tells me there is not enough room to update files…i have tried to reset it but it doesn’t work. is it possible that 18.5gb of the memory is locked or frozen? how can i reset it to clear out all files and start with an empty ipod?

Posted by tfrick on December 9, 2005 at 5:41 PM (PDT)

5

I have the wrong album covers on my iPod while everything is fine in iTunes. What is going on???

Posted by MaximeG on December 9, 2005 at 9:08 PM (PDT)

6

Wow, even a veteran like me didn’t realize that the iPod would auto disconnect if Disk mode wasn’t used.

Posted by Galley in Greenville, SC on December 11, 2005 at 9:18 AM (PDT)

7

Any ideas on how to extend the range (and improving the signal quality) on a Griffin Roadtrip ? Any chance of adding a simple external antenna ?

Thanks

Posted by pjrebordao on December 12, 2005 at 8:11 AM (PDT)

8

How can I share my cuurent iPod library of music housed on my Mac with my PC laptop? I use a Mac and home (cause they’re better!), but my employer has provided me with a Dell laptop for work. I want to share my library on my PC for listening via my laptop when my iPod isn’t handy. However I want to maintain the Mac as the “home” library. Will podworks let me do that or do I need another application?

Thank you.

Posted by mkruhs on December 12, 2005 at 7:10 PM (PDT)

9

HELP! I can see several songs listed under my itunes folder in itunes but I do not hear anything on the ipod itself. I did an auto update and checked off which songs from the library. I watched it load each song but I cannot hear anything. I hit play and pause to make sure I didn’t have it paused, I increased the volume, etc. How do I know these songs are really on the ipod and please, how do I hear them. This is my daughter’s Christmas present and I have been working on this for 5 hours now!!!

Posted by klenta on December 25, 2005 at 7:45 PM (PDT)

10

I have a u2 30gb ipod. I had 886 songs in Windows Media Player and on the ipod. All was well for over a year. Two weeks ago I set up a playlist for a party and tried to import the playlist, it did not transfer on to my ipod. I was told to connect to itunes and import my library, which I did. Then I had many issues which I worked through. The ipod has been restored, and the software updated to the latest version and no songs!
When I connect to my pc, it does not recognise the device. After a while it does, and when I try to sycn all my songs, it runs for while then displays the following message:

Please check \Device\Harddisk2\DR5 and make sure a disk is inserted and that the drive door is closed.

I have tried different ports and have the same message, at different songs, so it is not a corrupt file. I have called the ipod support and they have not been able to help. Has anyone had this problem before, or do you have any suggestions for me.

Many thanks, Braddles

Posted by Braddles on January 23, 2006 at 3:41 PM (PDT)

11

I have a 40g 3rd generation ipod.  Used an iBook to keep it updated.  I recently gave the iBook to my son, and bought a new pc notebook computer.  I was hoping to download my music & audiobooks from my ipod to my new pc.  Unfortunately, when I plug the ipod into my USB port, I get a message saying that this iPod needs to be reformatted for use on this PC.  How do I get around this?

Posted by ngerman on April 2, 2006 at 4:33 PM (PDT)

12

my computer crashed a few months ago right when we moved into our new house, && it was JUST MY LUCK that i lost my itunes cd. i downloaded the itunes from the internet, but i’m assuming since my ipod serial number isn’t in the computer, my ipod isn’t showing up on my computer. how do i put my serial number into itunes? it never asks for it.
but i’m also not a genius on figuring these things out :]
—>lola.

Posted by lolaxxtrendy on October 15, 2006 at 10:53 PM (PDT)

13

IMPORTING INTO I-TUNES FROM LAPTOP?
my laptop hard disk died and I have had to buy a new drive and reload windows & the application software (incl. iTunes). When I connect my iPod, iTunes wants to delete it/wipe it clean as “it can have an existing relationship with anoth computer and then one with this computer”.  Now computers are very clever, but not so that it would realise it is ther same computer with a new hard drive installed. Does anybody out there in iPod Land want to assist damsel in distress? Well there is no namdel in destress… but I am so maybe you would help me synch iTunes with what is already on my39 Gig harddrive. Thankyou very much grin

Posted by Nick Lockhart on December 2, 2006 at 10:54 AM (PDT)

14

I have synchronized tv shows to my ipod. On i tunes when connected it shows the tv shows but i can not access them on the ipod. What am i doing wrong or is there something wrong with my ipod? Everything else works just fine.

Posted by HENSEL on July 10, 2008 at 8:35 AM (PDT)

If you have a comment, news tip, advertising inquiry, or coverage request, a question about iPods or accessories, or if you sell or market iPod products or services, read iLounge's Comments + Questions policies before posting, and fully identify yourself if you do. We will delete comments containing advertising, astroturfing, trolling, personal attacks, offensive language, or other objectionable content, then ban and/or publicly identify violators.





What's new at iLounge? Subscribe to iPodweek!
Each week we giveaway three (3) iTunes Gift cards.

Recent News

Recent Reviews

Recent Articles


Shop for Accessories: Cases, speakers, chargers, etc.