2010 iPod + iPhone Buyers' Guide

Article

Ask iLounge 9-29-05

Author's pic

By Jerrod H.

Contributing Editor, iLounge
Published: Wednesday, September 28, 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:

Is there any way to rename an iTunes playlist? Currently, I have to create an entirely new Smart Playlist if I want to change the name.

- Gary

A:

Sure! Simply highlight the song in iTunes’ “Source” column. Click on its name in the Source column once more, and after about a second, the name of the playlist will change to a text entry field. Into this field you can type the new name of your playlist, and hit enter to finalize it.

This will work for both manual and smart playlists, as well as your “Library” and any iPods you have displayed in the source column.

On a closely related topic, you can edit the criteria of any existing Smart Playlist by highlighting it in the “Source” column, and choosing “Get Info…” from iTunes’ “File” menu.

Q:

I own a 20GB iPod, and I have more music than I can fit on it. I recently added a few CDs to my library, and I noticed that the artwork I downloaded for them seems to be added to the iPod. I was wondering if the album art I have downloaded is in fact being transferred to my iPod, and if so, is it easy to take it off?

- Jeff

A:

If your 20GB iPod is the type with a color screen, you’ll find the option to “Display album artwork on your iPod” in iTunes’ “Preferences” window (your iPod must be plugged in to see this).

However, unchecking this option will not do exactly what you’re asking. Doing so will prevent the tiny iPod-optimized versions of your album art from being transferred, but this is insignificant compared to the fact that the full-size, iTunes-displayed versions of the graphics are embedded in the audio files themselves - regardless of the album artwork setting in iTunes’ preferences. As a matter of fact, they’re there regardless of whether or not you even have an iPod with a color screen capable of displaying art.

Considering standard 300-pixel square album art images and an average song at 4 minutes, 128kbps, the proportion of your music library taken up by embedded album artwork is only about 0.7%. If you could recover this disk space by stripping the images out the songs as they transfer to a 20GB iPod, the capacity you would gain would only be equivalent to only an extra 30 songs or so. Since this is so insignificant compared with the 5000 songs a 20GB iPod will typically hold, we recommend that rather than fighting iTunes’ modus operandi, you take a look at our Guide to Synchronizing the iPod for a look at ways to best manage iTunes libraries larger than your iPod.

If you do decide that having album art isn’t worth the song capacity you lose, you always have the option to delete all art entirely, from both iTunes and the iPod. To do so quickly, simply highlight your Library, choose “Select All” from the “Edit” menu, and choose “Get Info” from the “File” menu. Then, simply un-check the album art box, and click OK. (Touch nothing else, or you’ll lose a LOT of tags!)

Q:

I have a 5GB first generation iPod model that works still brilliantly. In fact, I find it has by far the best sound (loudest and clearest) of my three iPods. Is there any way I can add storage to this model iPod? Its battery seems to be fine, but can this also be upgraded?

- Mike

A:

Yes, both can be significantly upgraded. Several companies offer hard drive upgrade services, and even more offer iPod battery upgrade services and/or do-it-yourself kits.

TechRestore is one option (HD, battery), but be sure to check our iPod Directory for a comprehensive list of companies from the “Battery Manufacturers,” “Battery Replacement Services,” and “Repair Services” categories.

Q:

If you have song credits at the iTunes Music Store that were acquired through a promotional offer, can they be applied towards the purchase of an album? If so, at what rate? The reason I ask is that several albums have digital booklets, videos, and/or “Album Only” songs. If I have 10 single-song credits (retail value $9.99), why can’t I seem to be able to pool them and purchase an album worth the same value?

- Jeremy

A:

Unfortunately, the iTunes Music Store simply doesn’t have this capability.

Why? We’re not entirely sure. It could be a licensing issue, or it could just be that Apple doesn’t want to lose more potential revenue beyond that lost from the free credit that has been provided.

Q:

Using iTunes 5 on Windows XP, the search field’s drop-down search-narrowing feature no longer works in either in my Library or in the iTunes Music Store. I’d like to get it to work so I can select from artist, song, etc. Any ideas?

- Bob

A:

In iTunes 5, the drop-down type/field limiting feature from iTunes 4.x has been replaced by a new “Search Bar.”  This Search Bar should appear at the top of your library or the Music Store, after you’ve already entered a search term. From here, you can click on “Artist” to limit your already-entered search term to the Artist field, click on “Podcasts” to limit your search to your podcasts, etc.

If you’re not seeing this feature, try using the “Show Search Bar” feature available in iTunes’ “Edit” menu.

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Ask iLounge Archives:

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

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

See the rest of the Archives...

Next: First Looks: iDuo, FlexPed, myTune FM, Portectorz, TruePower 4G & More

Previous: Apple Expo Paris 2005 Roundup

Comments

1

What colors do iPods ome in?

Posted by Jalink on October 2, 2005 at 4:12 PM (PDT)

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