2010 iPod + iPhone Buyers' Guide

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Ask iLounge 5-4-06

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By Jerrod H.

Contributing Editor, iLounge
Published: Thursday, May 4, 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 had put video onto my 5G iPod a few days ago using your tutorials, but when I went to play any of them, all it did was show a small, static picture in the corner of the screen, showed the title, and played the sound!

- Edward

A:

This one’s easy to fix - you’ve done everything correctly to get to this point, but there’s one setting you need to change on your iPod. Currently, your iPod is set to use its TV-Out feature, enabling it to display the movie clips on a TV using either a video-capable dock or an A/V cable. Since the iPod can only display a video using one screen at a time, the iPod’s screen is forced to show a music-like display.

To enable on-iPod video playback, navigate to “Videos → Video Settings” and toggle the “TV-Out” setting to “Off.”

Q:

Do I need a voltage converter in order to use Apple’s USB Power Adapter in Italy? Europe uses 220-240V source, and many American devices can be damaged if used directly with this voltage level.

If I don’t need the converter, will it matter if I use one anyway, just to be safe?

- Jack

A:

Apple’s USB Power Adapter (and, in fact, the overwhelming majority of their power adapters) are fully compatible with European voltage sources, and will automatically switch between them. They are certified to work with:

  • 120V - 240V
  • 50Hz - 60Hz
  • 26VA - 38VA

    • However, what you will require is a replacement AC plug that will physically fit the power jacks in Europe. The AC plugs provided in this kit from Apple works for the iPod’s power adapter, and many other Apple products. If you can locate a physical plug adapter (no voltage conversion required) from another company, it will also work fine.

    To answer your final question, you’ll be fine if you choose to use a voltage converter anyway; your power adapter will simply revert to 120V power input, as if it were in the United States again.

    Q:

    I would like to find out what songs I have been listening to the most in the last month to make a ‘Best of the Month’ playlist. However, I cannot seem to find a way to get precisely this logic into a smart playlist. Any ideas?

    - Tom

    A:

    Unfortunately, this sort of playlist isn’t technically feasible without tricking your way into it.

    By default, iTunes only records a total playcount and a Last Played date. Thus, if you played a song 45 times in January, and only once today, iTunes would only know that there were a total of 46 playcounts, and that you last played it today. Because a certain playcount is never explicitly associated with a play date, playlists which aim to track the number of plays within a certain time period are, simply, not possible.

    However, there are two choices you can make:

    First, if you’re willing to sacrifice your total playcounts, you can simply reset the playcounts to zero at the beginning of each month. This way, you ensure that a simple “Most Played” playlist, at the end of the month, reports exactly what you want it to. Simply save this track listing at the end of each month, before you reset the playcounts again, and you can keep a static “Best of XXXXXX” playlist as a lasting record for each month’s favorites.

    Alternatively, if you’d rather sacrifice the specific set of logic you’re trying to establish than the ability to retain total playcounts, you could simply revert to a much less sophisticated smart playlist that simply keeps a list of the songs you have played at all in the last 30 days, sorted by their total playcount.

    Q:

    I’m frequently away from my computer for extended periods of time, and I find the iPod’s inability to edit playlists created in iTunes a bit annoying.

    I’ve created several intricate manual (not smart) playlists in iTunes, and I’d really like to be able to make changes (deletions, additions) when I’m away from the computer. On-The-Go playlists sound like they’re close to what I want, but I don’t want to have to start fresh and create an all-new playlist on the iPod. Any ideas?

    - Jake

    A:

    You’re on the right track with On-The-Go playlists, but incorrect that using this feature will require you to start over. To create a new On-The-Go playlist, you can choose nearly any source on your iPod, including existing playlists! So, do be able to make additions to and delete from an existing playlist, create a new On-The-Go playlist by holding down the center button over the playlist you’d like to edit. Then, you’ll be able to add songs by doing the same procedure elsewhere on the iPod, or delete songs by holding down the center button on those songs which are already in the On-The-Go playlist.

    Also, the next time you synchronize your iPod, the edited playlist will be uploaded to iTunes, where you can rename it and keep it forever!

    The one thing you won’t be able to do easily is reorder songs, but with the iPod’s ability to create multiple On-The-Go playlists while away from the computer, there’s a lot that can be done!

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    Ask iLounge Archives:

    11-20-09: Sharing iTunes libraries between two user accounts, Enlarging text on iPhone 3GS, Transferring an iPod to a new user, iPhone shuffles when walking, New 8GB iPod touch models, Transferring purchases from a remote iTunes library

    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

    See the rest of the Archives...

    Next: E3 2006 Report: iPod Accessories, Nintendo Wii, and more

    Previous: Editorial: Thank you, Steve

    Comments

    1

    In response to the third question, a service like last.fm could work.

    Posted by patnakajima on May 4, 2006 at 12:50 PM (PDT)

    2

    I think another possible answer for the first question:

    Q: I had put video onto my 5G iPod a few days ago using your tutorials, but when I went to play any of them, all it did was show a small, static picture in the corner of the screen, showed the title, and played the sound! - Edward

    You may be picking your video through the Music path instead of the Video path. This is a bug of the iPod as far as I am concerned. If you want to watch video, be sure to use Videos > Whatever instead of Music > Whatever.

    Posted by Sunshine Jelly on May 8, 2006 at 6:09 AM (PDT)

    3

    I have an ipod with 7000 plus songs and have aquired another. How can I transfer all 7000 to new ipod??

    Posted by bear1016 on May 8, 2006 at 8:09 AM (PDT)

    4

    I have an older ipod and I am going to buy the nano, how can I transfer all my music from the older one to the nano?

    Posted by alwayz13 on May 8, 2006 at 6:21 PM (PDT)

    5

    I just got a nano and installed the itune software. importing from CDs takes as long as playing the song and I have that setting turned off. did I miss somthing in another setting to make it import faster. I have read the FAQ’s and didn’t find anything. the fastest speed I have had is 1.1x the computer is a pentium 4 mobil 2ghtz with 1gig of ram.

    Posted by ebean on May 8, 2006 at 10:55 PM (PDT)

    6

    are there any free games out there available for any of the ipods

    Posted by lxmstr879 in Boise on May 9, 2006 at 7:44 PM (PDT)

    7

    I have a big problem! I’ve got an Ipod Mini, and I’ve just got a new tower for my computer, and I can’t find my Ipod Installation disk…is my Ipod completley useless now?? Please help!! Thanks!

    Posted by TamUn on May 11, 2006 at 6:31 AM (PDT)

    8

    Hi, my iPod video was not diplaying videos which used to do till couple of days back. From this site, I read “-navigate to Videos → Video Settings and toggle the TV-Out setting to Off. -” and it was already set to TV-out off. Still I clicked few times to make sure it goes back to TV-Out Off. But still its not showing the videos… Any idea? I have iPod-Video-30 GB.

    Posted by urfrndme on May 14, 2006 at 8:41 PM (PDT)

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