2010 iPod + iPhone Buyers' Guide

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Ask iLounge 9-28-06

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By Jerrod H.

Contributing Editor, iLounge
Published: Thursday, September 28, 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 in iTunes 7.0 that the “Explicit” label for songs I’ve purchased from the iTunes store now transfers into my library. Is there any way to remove this label? I can’t figure out how to get rid of it. I don’t need it for parental controls, and I almost find it offensive to constantly look at in my own library.

- Sarah

A:

As a matter of fact, there is. In iTunes 7, Apple allows users to choose whether or not they’d like to display these “Explicit” tags, as well as other content ratings, such as those for TV shows and movies. To access this feature, simply open iTunes’ Preferences window, accessible through the Edit menu. Then, uncheck the “Show content ratings in library” option, and click “Ok.”

With this option deselected, the “Explicit” indicators will cease to display next to song titles in your library and playlists.

Q:

I recently installed iTunes 7.0. I used to have a playlist under the Store menu that was labeled “Purchased.” For some reason it is no longer listed. Can you tell me how I can bring that playlist back?

- E. Caribe

A:

Unfortunately, the “Purchased” playlist is a fairly special playlist, in that only iTunes can properly create it - if deleted by the user, there’s only one way to appear again under iTunes’ “Store” source area: download more items from the iTunes Store.

Once you’ve downloaded another item from the store (whether paid, or free content), the Purchased playlist will reappear, but there’s one problem: older purchases are no longer collected there.

How can one restore the contents of this playlist? Unfortunately, there’s no perfect way to exactly recreate it. Here’s how we approximately restored ours when we accidentally deleted the playlist - it’s the best way we can think of:

Create a new smart playlist with the following conditions:

When you see the contents of this playlist, you’ll be mostly pleased: all of them will have been purchased from the iTunes Store. This will capture both iTunes’ audio and video files, as well as digital booklets. Next, simply drag the contents of this file into the empty “Purchased” playlist iTunes just created, sort by “Date Added,” and you’ve mostly restored your Purchased playlist.

Why then, do we claim this to be a sub-optimal solution? This method of collecting purchased content doesn’t exclusively single out music purchased with your iTunes account, as does iTunes’ standard “Purchased” playlist. Instead, if you happen to share iTunes-purchased content with your family under iTunes’ 5-computer allowance, this playlist will capture these items as well.

Q:

Is there a way to tell which version of the 30GB iPod one has? They look virtually identical to me, and I’d like to know which I just purchased.

- Lee

A:

Absolutely. Although nothing has changed with respect to the exterior appearance of the 30GB iPod, there are several ways to tell the difference between the original fifth generation iPod and the newly-released “enhanced” fifth generation (or 5.5G) iPod.

First, and most obvious if you still have the iPod’s packaging, is that the newest iPods feature iTunes’ new movies feature on the box: the packaging of enhanced 5G iPods features Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Carribean playing on the iPod on one side of the box, and the audio track “Dani California,” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, playing on the other.

Second, if don’t have the packaging anymore and the iPod is functioning, the enhanced 5G iPods have a “Search” functionality built into their Music menu, while even fully-updated original 5G iPods do not:

Finally, if the iPod is no longer functional, and you don’t have the packaging, you can still identify the iPod precisely: the new enhanced fifth generation iPod models have serial numbers which end in WU9, WUA, WUB, or WUC.

For more information on how to identify which model iPod you own, check out this excellent support document on Apple’s website.

Q:

I have several CDs that have guest artists featured with the main artist in several songs on the album. I’d like to list both artists such that either one would show up in a search. For example, I have a song which is sung by both Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra, and I list the artist as “Tony Bennett & Frank Sinatra.” This way, either artist will appear when I search in iTunes.

The problem is that on my iPod, if I select Tony Bennett as the artist I want to play, “Tony Bennett & Frank Sinatra” is considered a different artist, so that song will not play in the group. If I define the whole album as a “Compilation”, the tracks stay together on the iPod, but in an entirely different menu. Is there any way around this silly, annoying issue?

- Patrick

A:

Unfortunately, no. However, there is a bit of hope for the future: iTunes 7 just made available an “Album Artist” field to all tracks in your computer’s library, which accomplishes exactly what you want—it links songs together as an album, when the artist tags aren’t exactly the same, and when the album is not technically a Compilation. For example, in your case, you’d tag the arist field of the tracks as you currently are (“Tony Bennett with Frank Sinatra”), while tagging the Album Artist field with “Tony Bennett,” linking this track with the rest of his.

The new feature makes the proper organization, tagging, and browsing of such albums much better in iTunes, but unfortunately, the iPod cannot yet make use of this “Album Artist” tag. In the meantime, you’ll have to restort to using the old, suboptimal Compilation trick, On-The-Go playlists, or smart playlists (Artist contains Tony Bennett) to accomplish the continuous, comprehensive artist playback you’re looking for.

Q:

In the previous version of the iTunes Music Store, I would look at the “Just For You” section, and find a lot of great new bands, but since updating iTunes, I can’t find it anymore. What happened?

- Spencer

A:

The “Just for You” feature, still in beta phase of testing, is still accessible at the iTunes Store, but must be turned on using a text link at the very bottom of the Store’s main index:

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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: Ask iLounge 10-5-06

Previous: Ten Rules for Buying Apple Products

Comments

1

Patrick,
My brute force solution was to change the artist to the primary artist.  I haven’t tried this but it sould work provided you have the iPod capacity to burn - Copy the songs in question and attribute a copy to each artist.

Posted by Elcoholic in So Cal on September 29, 2006 at 10:59 AM (PDT)

2

I just updated my iTunes library to the 7.0 version.  I had to reauthorize the iPod to pick up the purchased music, but there are still four songs in my iTunes library that aren’t showing up on my iPod.

Is there any way to access the iPod library so that I can do a compare and contrast?  As it stands, I can’t do anything with the library except scroll up or down.

Thanks!

Posted by watertiger on October 1, 2006 at 1:25 PM (PDT)

3

Hi!
  I have recently put a lot of Dane Cook material onto my iPod and iTunes. Is there a way for me to make it so that the name “Dane Cook” appears on the main menu, so I don’t have to go through all the other menus?

Thanks in advance!

Posted by gssport on October 1, 2006 at 8:03 PM (PDT)

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