2010 iPod + iPhone Buyers' Guide

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Ask iLounge 8-25-05

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By Jerrod H.

Contributing Editor, iLounge
Published: Thursday, August 25, 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:

How do I delete “On-the-Go” playlists from my iPod?  I have a 60gb iPod and can’t find anything that points me in the right direction.

- Bill

A:

Only the active On-the-Go playlist (i.e. the one since your last sync with iTunes, if you haven’t saved it) can be deleted by navigating to the “On-The-Go” playlists in the “Playlists” menu, scrolling to the bottom, and choosing “Clear Playlist.”

If you’ve already synchronized with iTunes, or chosen the “Save Playlist” option in the iPod’s “On-the-Go” playlist menu, the “Clear Playlist” option is no longer available. To delete On-the-Go playlists in this case, you’ll need to synchronize with iTunes, manually delete them from the “Source” column, and re-synchronize.

Note: The “Clear Playlist” and “Save Playlist” options are only available if you (1) have a 4G iPod or newer, or (2) have updated your 3G or mini iPod to using the iPod Software Updater 2004-11-14 or later.

Q:

I rip my CDs into iTunes 4.9 using a Windows XP computer equipped with an HP 300n DVD/RW drive, but try as I might, I can’t rip at any speeds higher than 16X. The drive is billed as a “16X/10X/48X” drive. How do I get to the 48X speed? Also, the burn speed is also showing 16X, even though I am careful to only use CDs rated at 48X speed. Now, here is the really puzzling thing: when I translate my ripped MP3 songs to AAC, the translation ALSO happens at 16X speed! How can that be? When translating one format to another, both the source and destination files are on my fast internal hard drive. Is the 16X speed a limitation of iTunes? What do I have to do to get faster service?

- Chris H.

A:

When iTunes for Windows was released, one of its main selling points was that it was a free jukebox allowing full-speed ripping and burning. iTunes itself does not limit speeds in either case.

There are a few contributing misconceptions here. The first is the true meaning of your drive’s “16X/10X/48X” designation:

  • 16X when burning CD-R discs (which answers one of your questions);
  • 10X when burning CD-RW discs;
  • and 48X when reading CDs.

Similarly, your drive will burn DVD+R discs at 4X and DVD+RW discs at 2.4X. Note: All of these speeds are “peak” speeds, and cannot be sustained full-time.

But why does your PC still import & encode at only 16X, when we just said your drive can read discs at 48X? The answer is simple. The speed that Apple reports when importing a CD is the speed of the combined process of importing (reading) and encoding to AAC/MP3. Encoding is taxing on a computer’s resources, and a frequent bottleneck when importing CDs. In this case, it appears that your computer is only fast enough to import at 16X. Thus, you’ll never see the combined import & encode process go faster than that.

Q:

I recently purchased a Griffin iTrip FM transmitter for my 10-month old first generation iPod mini. Should I expect the battery to be drained at a higher rate when using the iTrip? I have noticed that after fully charging my iPod and then using the iTrip for a period of about 30 minutes, the battery has drained to half of its capacity! Is this typical, or is my battery starting to show signs of aging?

- Anonymous

A:

The iTrip does, in fact, draw power from the iPod, and you should expect to see (minor) degradation in battery life. However, your specific case sounds extreme. It sounds like your battery may have begun to degrade, or that it’s just not accurately reflecting its power level. Because your iPod is still in warranty, you may be eligible for a replacement iPod if your iPod only lasts for 50% of its quoted battery life. To find out whether there’s really a problem, leave your iPod in repeat mode on any playlist (without the iTrip), and see if it dies in less than 4 hours (half of the 1st-generation mini’s quoted 8 hour life). If it does, contact Apple (or go to an Apple Store) and see what they can do.

Q:

I used to have my iPod named “Mine.” After running the Restore utility, it’s back to being “IPOD.” How can I change it back?

- Chris M.

A: There are two ways to assign a custom name to your iPod. The first should have happened automatically the first time you connect your iPod to iTunes (where the setup wizard allows you to specify a name).  However, if that doesn’t happen, it’s super easy to do yourself after the fact. Simply connect the iPod to your computer and open iTunes. In the “Source” column, highlight your iPod. Click on it again (once) and the name shown will change to a text entry field. (TIP: This is also a great way to quickly change the name of any playlist or quickly re-tag any item shown in your iTunes library). Note that the name you enter here should show up (1) in iTunes, (2) on the iPod, and (3) on a Mac in the Finder, but will likely display correctly in Windows Explorer, which will truncate it to eight characters.
Q:

Is there a such thing as a dock-to-dock extension cable? I’d like to have something that will allow me to keep my iPod in its protective case but still plug into cradle-like devices like the JBL On Stage II or the Bose Sound Dock. I understand that the device wouldn’t look as good, and the iPod might have to rest on side of the device, but that would be better then having to remove it from the case every time I want to use such devices. Any ideas?

- Jeff

A: We’re as surprised as you are, but unfortunately not: no company, to our knowledge, manufactures a female-to-female dock connector. We’re not in a position to say whether it’s due to a lack of company interest or to Apple’s control over the female connector specifications, but it’s unfortunate in either case.
Jerrod Hofferth is an iLounge Contributing Editor, with frequent contributions to our iPod 101 and 201 tutorials, plus occasional hardware and software product reviews. As “azdude_40gb,” he also serves as an Administrator of the iLounge Discussion Forums.
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Ask iLounge Archives:

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

10-9-09: iPhone OS and external keyboards, Adjusting ratings in a remote iTunes library, Excluding tracks from Genius Mixes, Moving iTunes library out of My Documents, Playlist folders on iPod touch, Refreshing random Smart Playlists

9-25-09: iTunes 9 and Shopping Cart, Restoring iTunes to an external hard drive, Using an HTTP Proxy over 3G, Problems transferring movies from iTunes to IPhone, iPod touch shuffle mode, Using an iPhone without a SIM card

See the rest of the Archives...

Next: Beginner's Guide to Changing iPod Graphics

Previous: First Looks Special: Griffin iFM Radio, Remote, and Recorder

Comments

1

I can only rip about 5 albums to iTunes before the rip locks.  I then have to shut down iTunes and re-boot the computer.  My Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Saxman

Posted by Saxman on August 26, 2005 at 5:48 PM (PDT)

2

Sometimes iTunes brings songs in with long titles and cuts of the endings? How can I stop it from cutting off the endings? Also if I add 100 songs all with Viva LE Tour as the first phrase how can i delete the first 3 words and leave the rest of the information intact?

Thanks,
Greg

Posted by madman91 on August 27, 2005 at 10:17 AM (PDT)

3

When I hook up my iPod’s usb to the computer, I get a “corrupt file” caption balloon stating, “The file or directory \iPod_Control\Device\SysInfo is corrupt and unreadable.  Please run the Chkdsk utility”.  How do I run this utility or check the iPod?

Posted by pueblo on August 31, 2005 at 12:48 AM (PDT)

4

My computer and Itunes will not recognize that my ipod is hooked up so I can not update it, I just bought a new cable and now I can only charge my ipod but it still does not recognize the ipod being hooked up

Posted by Anthony1d on August 31, 2005 at 5:24 PM (PDT)

5

I want to be able to charge my ipod video 30Gb in my room from an electrical socket, what accessories do i need to accomplish this as so far i’ve found i need a dock, a cable running from the dock to the socket and a socket adaptor (UK) is this right, cant apple make a simpler dock.

Posted by xanderw on April 25, 2006 at 11:53 AM (PDT)

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