Ask iLounge 8-16-07

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:

Each week we receive numerous inquiries asking the same very common questions such as “How Do I Copy Music From My iPod Back to My Computer? and “How Do I Put DVDs on my iPod video?”

Although we have had tutorials on these subjects for some time, over the past few days we’ve been updating and revising these tutorials to ensure that we have included all of the current tips and tricks and the various software tools that are available.

If you’re looking to copy content from your iPod back to your computer, including music, movies, and even games and photos, be sure to check out:

Copying Content from your iPod to your Computer - The Definitive Guide

For converting DVDs, web video, TV shows and home movies to your iPod, iPhone or Apple TV, we now 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.

Part 1: The Complete Guide to iPod, Apple TV and iPhone Video Formats

Part 2: The Complete Guide to iPod, iPhone and Apple TV Video Conversion (Mac)

Part 3: The Complete Guide to iPod, iPhone and Apple TV Video Conversion (Windows)

Q: I mainly use my iPod nano for podcasts. However, if I have a large number loaded at any one time it’s easy to lose track of which ones I have listened to, especially if I mix them up a bit rather than play them sequentially. Is it possible to delete podcasts once they have been listened to? I can find no such function. Alternatively, what’s the best way of managing the playing of podcasts, other than restricting the number residing on the iPod?

- Ian

A: While it is not possible to delete podcasts from the iPod interface itself, these can be automatically removed by iTunes on the next synchronization, leaving you with a list of only those podcasts that you have not yet listened to.

The easiest way to do this is to simply select one of the “Unplayed” or “New” settings from your podcast synchronization options found under the “Podcasts” tab for your iPod device within iTunes:

From the “Sync” option at the top, you can choose to either sync all episodes, all unplayed episodes, or all new episodes, or you can further limit these selections to the only the most recent episodes, unplayed episodes, or new episodes:

In the context of podcasts, a “New” episode refers to one that you have not listened to any portion of, whereas an “unplayed” episode refers to an episode that has not been listened to completely through to the end. “New” episodes are indicated with a blue dot to the left of the episode title in iTunes, whereas the played status of an episode is indicated by a play count greater than zero (in the same manner as with music tracks and other content). This allows for more effective control over which podcast episodes are retained based on your normal listening preferences (ie, dependent upon whether you normally listen to a podcast episode through to the end or not).

Another method that can be used for more effective podcast management is to create Smart Playlists for your podcasts. This will allow you more flexibility over the content loaded onto the iPod, since you can select a different number of episodes, based on different criteria, and can also perform selections based on things like least recently added. A Smart Playlist has the added bonus of updating “live” on the iPod itself, so if you listen to your podcasts from a Smart Playlist, and use a criteria such as “Play Count” you can easily maintain a list of only unplayed episodes of each podcast without having to return to your computer and resync your iPod to update the content.

A Smart Playlist such as the following, for instance, will select the 5 least recently added (oldest) episodes of a given podcast that have not yet been listened to:

Once you listen to an episode, it will be removed from the Smart Playlist the next time you select that particular Playlist, leaving you with a list of only those episodes that you have not yet listened to. When playing podcast episodes using a playlist or Smart Playlist, the iPod will play them all in sequence if the shuffle setting is turned off (on the iPod, under Settings, Shuffle), or will play one episode and stop if the shuffle setting is enabled. This can be used for more effective control over how you want to listen to your podcast episodes.

You can combine normal podcast synchronization (via the iPod “Podcast” settings in iTunes), with the selection of Smart Playlists (which would be selected under the “Music” tab) to control how many podcast episodes are actually loaded on your iPod. The Smart Playlist will still only reflect those episodes that actually meet the playlist criteria, but all episodes selected under the “Podcast” settings in iTunes will actually be transferred to the iPod itself (and available through the “Podcasts” menu on the iPod).

The only limitation to the Smart Playlist approach is that there is presently no Smart Playlist criteria for tracking “New” episodes, so this will only work if you normally listen to your podcast episodes through to the end of each episode.

Q: I have been using my iPod nano to listen to audiobooks. I have noticed that when I stop at a particular point and listen to something else on my iPod (like a song or podcast) that when I return to my audiobook, it starts at the beginning again. I thought I read in one of the many iPod books that iTunes had a digital bookmark that prevented this from happening. Do you have any suggestions?

- Jennie

A: Yes, there is normally a bookmark within audiobooks that allows you to retain the playback position. This should be automatically present in audiobooks that you purchase from the iTunes Store or Audible.com, however if you’ve encoded your own audiobooks, you may have to enable this settings yourself.

In older versions of iTunes, it was only possible to enable this setting through a special audiobook conversion process, but the good news is that more recent versions of iTunes now allow you to specify this for any type of track rather than just audiobooks, so you could even set your music or video tracks to remember their playback position.

In order to do this, simply select the track in iTunes, and choose File, Get Info. From the resulting dialog box, choose the “Options” tab, and you should see a checkbox labelled Skip when Shuffling:

Simply place a checkmark in this box and click OK. You can also adjust this setting for multiple tracks by choosing several tracks, and then choosing File, Get Info for the group of tracks.

This will not only tell the iPod to remember the playback position of the last track, but will also synchronize the playback position between iTunes and the iPod, and in fact any other Apple device that you sync with the same iTunes library (such as another iPod, an Apple TV, or an iPhone). So you could start listening to an audiobook on your iPod, stop after a few minutes, and then sync your iPod to iTunes and pick up where you left off on your computer (and vice-versa).

Q: Do you know a possible reason why I can’t I see my album artwork in the Cover Flow View on my iTunes library?

- Robert

A: Rather than trying to render album artwork on the fly from within the actual music tracks themselves, iTunes uses a separate artwork cache for Cover Flow view. The most likely cause of missing artwork in Cover Flow view is that the information in this cache has become lost of damaged.

This cache is normally located within your main “iTunes” folder, in a subfolder appropriately-named “Album Artwork,” with two more sub-folders, “Local” and “Download” representing artwork manually added to your iTunes tracks or automatically downloaded by iTunes, respectively:

The “Local” folder is strictly a cache of your existing artwork, and is generated by iTunes from the artwork images embedded within your actual tracks on an as-needed basic. The “Download” folder contains artwork that has been automatically downloaded for your tracks from the iTunes Store. Although this is the only place on your computer that the downloaded artwork resides it can of course always be redownloaded using iTunes’ automatic “Get Album Artwork” feature.

To force a rebuild of the album artwork cache, simply shut down iTunes, and then remove the “Local” folder completely, ensuring that you also empty it from the trash. When you restart iTunes, it should rebuild the “Local” artwork cache as needed. The first time you use the Cover Flow view, it may take some time for all images to properly appear, but once the local artwork cache has been rebuilt, the Cover Flow view should work as expected.

Q: I now have so much music that I am about to start my second external hard drive on my laptop. Can songs from both discs be added to the library and will iTunes automatically select the appropriate drive when playing a selection from both drives?

- Jason

A: The simplest way to do this is to ensure that you have the “Copy files to iTunes Music Folder when adding to library” option turned OFF in your iTunes advanced preferences:

This will ensure that any tracks that you add to your iTunes library via drag-and-drop or the File, Add to Library menu are simply referenced from their original locations (ie, on whichever external drive they’re located on), rather than being copied into the iTunes Music Folder location. iTunes simply stores the full path to the original location of the file, referencing it from that location, regardless of which hard drive or other device that it is located on.

Keep in mind that when importing tracks in this manner, you will not be able to allow iTunes to manage your music folder structure for you, as it normally expects that all of your music files live in its normal iTunes Music Folder location, and will not manage any tracks outside of this folder path.

Therefore, since iTunes cannot manage the track file/folder organization, you will want to ensure that you have the tracks located in whatever organized directory structure you prefer before importing them into your iTunes library. iTunes stores the absolute path to each file, and it is much more complicated to move files around after they have been imported into iTunes, as it will lose track of their locations (resulting in broken links in your iTunes library).

Further, when deleting tracks from your iTunes library, if they are located outside of the iTunes Music Folder, then iTunes itself will not offer to delete the underlying physical file for you—you will have to find the file and remove it from your hard drive manually. Again, iTunes considers any tracks located outside of its own “iTunes Music Folder” to be outside of its control, and therefore does not manage these files in any way, other than simply referencing them.

If you prefer to use the automatic folder organization and management features of iTunes, you may want to consider purchasing a large enough external hard drive to store your entire music collection, and then simply changing your iTunes Music Folder location to the external drive and storing all of your content on there. This will allow you to take advantage of iTunes’ automatic file/folder management features, where it will keep the music files organized into a proper subdirectory structure, and also handle cleaning up any tracks as you delete them from your library.

If you do plan on changing your music folder path to another drive, the iTunes Consolidate Library function (found under the “Advanced” menu) can be used to migrate all of your music files to the new iTunes Music Folder path.

Q: Is there any way to get the fifth generation iPod to switch itself off automatically. The reason is that I fall asleep with the iPod on at night and when I wake up in the morning the battery is almost dead. Is there anything I can do?

- Andrew

A: Certainly. The simplest solution to this is to use the iPod’s “Sleep” timer, which can be found under Extras, Clock on the iPod. Select any one of the displayed clocks, and then choose Sleep Timer from the bottom of the menu. Choose a preset length of time, and the iPod will automatically stop playing and shut off at the end of this time period. The sleep timer setting will also be indicated on the “Now Playing” screen by a small clock icon with the remaining time-to-sleep shown at the top of the screen.

Alternatively, if you regularly fall asleep to the same music (or a variation thereof), a limited Smart Playlist can also be created to provide a preset amount of music to fall asleep by. A Smart Playlist like the following, for example, would automatically select 30 minutes of music from the “Slow Mix” playlist:

As with any playlist, the iPod will stop playing when it reaches the end, and then go to sleep after the normal timeout (as it does normally when it’s not playing anything).

Finally, a third option that you may want to consider is an iPod-based clock/radio such as the iHome iH8 (iLounge review: B+) or XtremeMac Luna (iLounge review: A-). Many of these offer built-in sleep timer modes with additional features such as gradual music fade-down during the sleep timer intervals. You can find reviews of these and other clock radio iPod accessories in our Speakers - Clock Radio Reviews section.

Q: I have a pair of the Oakley O ROKR sunglasses and use them in conjunction with my iPod. I just purchased an iPhone and wanted to use the O ROKRs with the iPhone but was prompted by the iPhone to enter a PIN# to complete the bluetooth pairing. Any assistance you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

- Carole

A: Most Bluetooth headsets require a PIN in order to pair with another Bluetooth device, and most use the default settings of “0000” as the PIN, so this should allow you to pair your ROKR sunglasses with your iPhone.

An important point to note, however: Although the iPhone does support Bluetooth headsets, it is presently designed only for use with a phone headset, and will therefore not provide stereo audio, or even music output through a Bluetooth-connected headset. Only phone audio will be passed to the headset. Music playback requires that the music device support the Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP), which the iPhone does not presently support.

So while you can use the O ROKR sunglasses as a Bluetooth headset for phone calls, you will not be able to listen to music through them without connecting them to the iPhone in the same way as you were previously using them with your iPod.

Q: I am wondering how much my fourth generation iPod is worth. It is in very good condition and works great.

- Ashley

A: While the selling prices of older iPods can vary based on the condition of the iPod itself and general market conditions, you may want to take a look at our Free iPod Book 3.3. Along with a plethora of information, tips and tricks on all things iPhone, iPod, and iTunes related, page 114 provides tips on selling your iPod, including a rundown of typical eBay selling prices for used iPods and other useful information on selling a used iPod.

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Ask iLounge Archives:

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

See the rest of the Archives...

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

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

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Comments

1

hello:

Q1: do you know why I can’t add my own artwork to the streaming radio stations I play?

for instance i made a little trimmed customized logo variation for smoothjazz.com, but i can’t drag the jpeg into the artwork well or the pop up window.

well says: album artwork not modifiable.
the pop window from clicking the well says: no artwork available.

Is there a way to customize that art (and for others such as the NPR stations I listen to for streaming news and programs)?

(PS: can i just say i really HATE the corporate fascism of apple which now force-requires an itunes account in order to match my own private CD cover ART which is out there in the public domain. I won’t open an account out of principle.) It never used to do that and I think it stinks. Therefore:

Q2: What is the best way to get/match/hold (stick) my album cover art into itunes?

Thanks so much for your advice and tips. This is a great site.

Posted by Macster on August 20, 2007 at 3:30 PM (PDT)

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