Article

Ask iLounge 2-9-06

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By Jerrod H.

Contributing Editor, iLounge
Published: Thursday, February 9, 2006
Category: Ask iLounge

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

The most asked question at iLounge.com:

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

Click here for the answer.

The second most asked question at iLounge.com:

How do I put DVDs on my iPod?


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

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

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

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

Top five questions most recently asked by iLounge readers:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Q:

I’ve noticed that in the latest version of iTunes, you can tag videos as TV shows as well as movies and music videos. However, they do not show up under TV shows on the iPod because the “Show” and “Season” tags are blank, and still uneditable. Is there any way to tag these?

- Danny

A:

Unfortunately, from what we know to be available at the time of this writing, you’re out of luck if you’re on Windows.

However, on the Mac, there is a solution that seems to work wonderfully. Lostify, a graphical user interface for the command-line utility called AtomicParsley, allows you to set nearly any video-related field on any MP4 video in your iTunes library.

After installing Lostify, its usage is simple. Copy the file out of the iTunes library, drag it onto the Lostify icon, enter the data you’d like (Show, Season, Episode number, etc.), and add the modified version of the file into iTunes’ library. After synchronizing with the iPod, these modified files properly make use of the iPod’s TV Shows multi-level navigation system. Lately, we’ve been using Lostify even for some items that aren’t TV Shows, simply because we like the additional levels of hierarchy that are only possible in that menu on the iPod.

Q:

After a hard drive failure, I used your tutorial to properly recover the songs that were on my iPod and copy them back to my Mac - thanks! Is there any way to do the same for photos which were synchronized with the iPod?

- Peter

A:

There are a few different possibilities here. If you had checked the “Include full-resolution photos” option in iTunes’ iPod preferences, then each image in the iPod’s photo library would have its full-size version stored in (and easily accessible from) its “Photos” folder. If this is the case, simply navigate to this folder on the iPod using Windows Explorer or the Mac’s Finder, and copy the files to your computer.

However, if you didn’t have this option checked, you’ll have a harder time recovering your photos, and you’ll never get the full-quality versions back again.

When it synchronizes photos to the iPod, iTunes creates three versions of each image: one thumbnail for the iPod’s “Photo Library” menu, one sized for the iPod’s screen, and one larger one for TV viewing. Each of these files are stored within special databases which cannot be manually viewed. However, Keith’s iPod Photo Reader for the Mac can do it easily.

Simply point the software to your iPod’s “Photos/Thumbs” folder, and it will work to extract thumbnail and TV-sized images, which can be saved as PICT files. To convert them to JPEG or another format compatible with PCs, you’ll need to use another image editor, but the ability to restore anything is better than nothing after a massive hard drive failure. Good luck!

Q:

I have a dial-up connection at home, and I’m having trouble with it. Every time I connect my iPod nano to the PC, I am asked if I want to update to version 1.1 of the iPod’s software. When I try to do this, my 2-hour maximum connection period times out before the download is complete, the computer goes offline and I have to start all over again.

I’ve managed to update iTunes regularly by using my office ISDN connection, but I don’t have my iPod software on the office machine. Is there any way I can complete a download over a time limited dial-up connection, or am I doomed forever to aging software?

- Debbie

A:

Indeed, the iPod Software Updater packages have become prohibitively large for many, as Apple packages the firmware updates for every iPod ever in the same download, for simplicity.

Thankfully, however, downloading them from within iTunes is not your only option. Rather, you can download the software from another computer with a faster connection—whether at the office, library, or an Apple Retail Store—from Apple’s iPod Software Updater website, and copy the file to your home PC using a writable CD, USB memory stick, or even the iPod’s hard drive itself.

Q:

Is it possible to make iTunes my default media player in Windows XP?

- Emily

A:

Assuming your Windows XP installation is up to date with at least Service Pack 1 or greater, doing so is easy.

From the Start menu, navigate to “Control Panels” and select the “Add/Remove Programs” option. Then, select the “Set Program Access and Defaults” panel. Here, you can choose to configure a “Custom” setup in which you can change the “Default Media Player” to iTunes, and, if you wish, disable access to Windows Media Player altogether.

We’d certainly do the former, but disabling access to Windows Media Player altogether may be a bit extreme, as iTunes cannot play certain file types such as MIDI, WMA, WMV files.

Q:

I’ve ripped a lot of Spanish music in iTunes, but am unable to figure out how to put diacritics (letters with accent marks, tildes, etc.) in the words.  Can you help with this so that my album and song titles read correctly?

- Anonymous

A:

iTunes and the iPod both fully support Unicode characters, so what you ask is certainly possible. Entering these diacritics is simple on either the Mac or PC - here’s how:

In each case, hold the keys where you see a “+” sign. Commas mean “let go, and enter the next letter.”

MacOSWindows
áOpt. + e, aAlt + 0225
éOpt. + e, eAlt + 0233
íOpt. + e, iAlt + 0237
óOpt. + e, oAlt + 0243
úOpt. + e, uAlt + 0250
üOpt. + u, uAlt + 0252
ñOpt. + n, nAlt + 0241
¿Opt. + Shift + ?Alt + 0191
¡Opt. + 1Alt + 0161


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...

Next: First Looks: PocketParty V2, Aural Earbuds, Cases for Apple Remote, nano, 5G

Previous: First Looks: Kensington Dock 500/Radio Duo, Icuiti DV920, Belkin TuneBase FM & More

Comments

1

With windows, use the charmap to get the diacritics

Just go to
Start menu—>Run—>type in charmap

Posted by crazyassazian on February 9, 2006 at 6:59 PM (PDT)

2

Hi, I accidentally deleted a lot of songs from my library but I haven’t synced my iPod yet so the songs are still intact in the iPod. How can I get the songs from the iPod and restore them to the library without corrupting anything else? Thanks! smile

Posted by coolieling on February 9, 2006 at 11:16 PM (PDT)

3

Hi there - I’m looking to upgrade my 3rd gen 20gb to a 5th gen 60gb. I have a griffin roadtrip and a jlb soundstage as accessories - will these still work?

I know that my pod gear small speaker that fits in the top of my current ipod wont work on the 5th gen but will the other two accessories work?

Also will I literally just be able to plug my 5th gen in to itunes and it will basically just replace my 3rd gen or do i have to do anything else to my setup? I use firewire now (pc xp) and I’ve noticed I’ll have to go back to usb for use of my 5th gen ipod. Usb was really problematic for me when i used it before - I was so glad of firewire - so now when i revert to usb will i have the same problems again? (ie. ipod only being recognised by itunes about 50% of the time and autoplay coming up)... Any one who can answer my queries is a star.
Many thanks

Posted by makemusicwork on February 10, 2006 at 10:37 AM (PDT)

4

There is a way that you can tag the shows properly now for Windows using the iPodTVShow.  There actually a discussion about it on one of the forums on this site.  I’ve also included a link to the website for the application.

http://members.verizon.net/pucklock/iPTV/iPodTVShow.html

Posted by crispyj on February 10, 2006 at 2:15 PM (PDT)

5

is there any software that can make my ipod louder.i live in the uk and think my ipod came with a limiter as its just not loud enough.

Posted by padwhar on February 14, 2006 at 12:25 PM (PDT)

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