Author Topic: Ipod vs MP3 player (Read 5444 times)

Brookenstein · « **on:** March 04, 2007, 03:07:20 pm »

Ok... I am one of those rare people out there that do not have an Ipod or MP3 player. I'm considering starting to workout again and I would like some music to accompany me. A long time ago I had this thing called a CD player, but I don't know where it is and all my CD's were ruined from those stupid plastic sleeves in the carrying case that I kept them in.

Anyway... I think I'm starting over and wondering which is better? Does the Ipod limit my choices to only music from itunes? Is there a cheaper way to get music than the .99 that itunes charges (legally)? I don't want to spend $240 filling it with music. If we have some mp3's on the computer already can I sync that with an Ipod?

I never thought I'd get so untechno savvy.... especially before I turned 30.

Hot Tub Forum · « **on:** March 04, 2007, 03:07:20 pm »

Bill75 · « **Reply #1 on:** March 04, 2007, 03:54:05 pm »

The real problem is the issue of Digital Rights Management: the scheme that is placed on some music files to limit your ability to play and copy them. The IPOD will play MP3 files with no DRM, and it will play music purchases from Apple via the itunes software. If the music you are buying does not have any DRM scheme, it will work with the IPOD. The IPOD will not play other music, nor will it play Window's media files (WMA files). My sons buy music online from Walmart, and those are not compatible with IPOD. THey use samsung mp3 players. I have also loaded MP3 files I already had on my computer to my IPOD.

If you have music on CD's you can "rip" them, which means to convert to MP3, and play them on the IPOD as well as other MP3 players. That is how I have gotten most of my music for my IPOD. I have also converted LP's (yes, I still have a LOT of them) into MP3's, but that requires more extensive software and equipment.

If you want to buy music online, your best bet might be to look at some of the sites, decide which ones have the music you like, and then buy a player that is compatible with the DRM scheme that site uses.

Most of the sites that I have seen run from 88 to 99 cents per downloaded song. The real question is finding a site or sites that has music you want to download.

The IPOD also works with books on tape from Audible.com: I use it every day to listen to books while I drive to work. Much better than listening to the latest news.......

Vinny · « **Reply #2 on:** March 04, 2007, 07:10:22 pm »

My son has an Ipod and we have MP3. The MP3 player we all have is the Sandisk 512Mb, it can hold about 200 songs of WMA (Windows Media Player) files or 100 songs of MP3. The difference is that WMA is compressed more. The Sandisk has a FM radio built into it, I think most do but the Ipod does not. The Ipod is the 30 Gig video unit.

My niece told me she has had trouble with getting MP3's to her Ipod but my son has not. He has bought some from the Itunes store but the majortity has somehow gotten onto our computer �

and he has transferred onto his Ipod.

Getting them onto the different devices is a little different. A MP3 player acts as a drive and you basically drag and drop onto the player; Ipod syncronises the songs. If it sees new songs added or songs removed it'll run the software to adjust the playlist from the Itunes player. As Bill said you can take you music collection and put it onto the computer.

I like them both but the price difference and the fact I don't need video or 7500 songs made me go with the Sandisk. At $50, it will hold 200 songs (I think I have 15 in there now) and it runs about 19 hours on 1 AAA battery. The Ipod needs to be plugged into the computer or a seperate wall socket to charge.

My advice is to buy any device with a screen. It's nice to be able to see the music you want on a screen vs pressing buttons and wondering what's hapening. I think some of the smaller Ipods don't have screens.

Musically they are the same, with the Ipod able to produce a higher volume. This is probably because of the rechargable ballery.

If you have specific questions, I'll see if I can answer them.

Chas · « **Reply #3 on:** March 04, 2007, 09:00:34 pm »

The most important thing I have to say has already been said, but it's important to know: yes, you can load your CDs onto an iPod.

Also - I don't find the cost to be very high for music. A buck for a single track isn't much, if you compare it to $15 for a whole CD at a music store or Wally World. And I may only enjoy one or two tracks anyway.

From Itunes, a whole CD is usually only ten bucks, and you can listen to music before you buy, on the chance that a whole CD actually interests you. Of course, 'Greatest Of' CDs are often a bit more, I guess because the chances are that you'll enjoy ALL the tracks. Figures.

But I like being able to arrange and edit the tunes on my Compy and then just plug in the iPod.

And don't worry about having to plug in to charge the thing. Every electronics store on Earth has an iPod accessory isle now, and there are four billion web sites selling iPod accessory items. You can pick up charge-only cables for the car, or an adpater to plug you iPod into your stereo (and charge at the same time) or you could just carry your own cord with you and plug into any USB on any computer. If you plug into some other computer, you have to take a few steps to keep the iPod from trying to sync up to the new computer, but if I can figure those steps out, you can too. Then it will charge itself up for you and let you know when its ready to go.

I think it only fair to let you know that I am heavily invested into Apple Computer, but I liked the iPod before I bought the stock...

8-)

Brookenstein · « **Reply #4 on:** March 04, 2007, 10:06:25 pm »

Thanks for the input.

I went ahead and bought the Ipod Shuffle for $79. I returned a bunch of stuff to Target that I bought on Clearance and it didn't fit... so I feel like it only cost about $40.

It is so tiny I really hope I don't lose it. My spare key to the car is missing as I type this... so I could be in trouble as I do tend to lose things.

When I told my husband he pointed out the screen issue, but since this will be mine and mine alone I don't think I'll care about skipping over songs. Also, it will mostly be for when I'm at the gym working out and my hands wont be readily available.

I agree with the price being decent for individual songs as compared to CD's I may only like a few songs on. My thing was just trying to fill it up in one swoop would be spendy. I put about 15 songs on it tonight.

As soon as my laptop gets repaired I will go through our cd's and see if any of them play (I know the majority are ruined). My desktop no longer has a cd drive in it, so I'm out of luck for a few days.

Brookenstein · « **Reply #5 on:** March 05, 2007, 02:17:27 am »

OK.... I have a question about charging it and whatnot...

How long should it take to charge with the USB the first time and each time there after?

I've had this thing plugged in since about 3, it is 11 now and it is still not charged. I don't know if it is because I'm using this ancient desktop or what, but I think everytime the computer hibernates the power to the USB is shutting off and its not charging. I left about 3:30 got home at 6:30 and no lights were on. Once I got the pc back from sleeping it went to an orange light. At some point, probably around 8:30 I went to watch tv, then fell asleep, and came back at 11 and the light is off again.

I sure hope my laptop parts get here tomorrow and I'm back up and running soon.

Bonibelle · « **Reply #6 on:** March 05, 2007, 07:31:19 am »

Does your ancient desktop have a USB 1 or USB 2..I think that will affect the speed that the Ipod can charge up. :-/

mattNY · « **Reply #7 on:** March 05, 2007, 11:04:03 pm »

USB 1 vs. 2 won't affect the charging time, just the transfer speed - USB 2.0 is 40x faster than 1.1. However, the iPod won't charge if the PC is hibernating since it's essentially turned off. Make sure your PC is on and non-hibernating for a while and it should charge fine (like when you're posting here

).

Brookenstein · « **Reply #8 on:** March 05, 2007, 11:06:19 pm »

We turned off hibernation at 8am and now 12 hours later I'm still not charged. :-/

Chas · « **Reply #9 on:** March 06, 2007, 12:06:39 am »

I don't know about the charging - I got mine already charged, and it only took a couple of hours to top it off. I have never really seen it take longer than that, even when I let the battery go real low.

I have a Nano.

As to your damaged CDs, you still 'own' them. If you could borrow them from a friend and load them, or even check them out of the public library, you could load them onto your Itunes and not be breaking any laws. You have the discs, you just cant access them.

Have you tried a CD cleaning machine?

I got one for a DVD, and it helped some. Didn't really cure it completely, but it made it better.

8-)

Tman122 · « **Reply #10 on:** March 06, 2007, 05:40:24 am »

I use MP3 and the wifey uses I-Pod. I like my FM radio on my Dell DJ Ditty but hate the Music Match software used to load and purchase music. On the other hand I love the I-Tunes software my wife uses. This is why we decided to get her the I-Pod because the software was so much easier and convieniant.

Vinny · « **Reply #11 on:** March 06, 2007, 08:55:52 am »

I hate the Musicmatch software!I just use Windows Media player now. It plays the music without any hassel.

As far as loading the devices, dragging and dropping is so easy. I don't know if other MP3's are different. I can even use it as a small memory stick.

But 30 Gig is huge on the Ipod!

Brookenstein · « **Reply #12 on:** March 06, 2007, 10:18:56 am »

As of 6 this morning... I am charged. Wahoo!

I have another question. I loaded the itunes software and bought my music on this crappy old desktop that is missing the cd/dvd burner. When my laptop is back up and running can I download the itunes software onto it and it will *know* my purchases when I log in or have I somehow screwed myself over?

SerjicalStrike · « **Reply #13 on:** March 06, 2007, 10:52:26 am »

iPod + iTunes FTW!

You can put the songs on your ipod and then transfer them to your laptop. The laptop will not have the songs you
purchased and downloaded onto your old computer.

Brookenstein · « **Reply #14 on:** March 06, 2007, 05:32:38 pm »

About an hour later the light was orange again even though I've never used it yet. :-/

I found a handful of cd's that work so I've uploaded them. I got my laptop fixed today... so besides the fact I ran my cell phone through the washing machine, things are looking up.

Hot Tub Forum · « **Reply #14 on:** March 06, 2007, 05:32:38 pm »

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