Another ipod thread - Sorry..

1. Just how do they work? Do I put CD's onto a hard drive and transfer them like I do with a Net mini disc player?

Yes. Using either Apple's iTunes or Musicmatch you "rip" CDs to MP3 or AAC format which is stored on your hard disk. This is then transferred onto your iPod via a Firwire or USB2 cable.

2. Is there somewhere where lots of tunes are stored so I could choose a selection and download them to the ipod. - If so where? Is there a download cost etc?

Yes, but most of them seem to be available only in the US of A at the moment.

3. Are they any good compared to your average MD player.

If you are only making the comparison with headphones (i.e. not expecting it to be a music source in your main system) then the iPod stands up well to the MD players I have owned.

4. What should I look for when buying one? Extra memory ,special battery packs?

It's hard disk based so there is no extra memory to buy. Apple do offer a battery pack that takes 4 AA batteries and I have got one, but it is rather pricey at £50 considering it's just a small white plastic box with 2" cable. I also bought a second Firewire cable so that I have the docking station connected to my PC and the recharger plugged in at work. That way I have no need for the extra battery pack because I am never more than 8 hours away from a charger.
John

John

Thanks for such a comprehensive reply. I saw the itunes link on the Apple website but I could not find a price for them.

At the moment is CD via a hard drive the best option to go for?

Stevie

quote:

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Originally posted by alexgerrard:
Stevie

I would imagine that iPods will sell out LONG before Xmas - some shops I know of in Central London are already quoting January delivery.

Advertising works, I guess.

ag

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I am flying out of Heathrow on Saturday and I was hoping the D-D-Dixons may have one or the World shop sometimes has electrical bits.

If not - guess I'll have to wait a while!

Stevie

There were a couple in John Lewis watford last weekend, I enquired and he said they had sold forty on saturday!

15 gig version sans dock is around £250
20 gig with dock is £300
40 gig with dock, carry case, remote control is £400

I'm thinking of getting an ipod hopefully before christmas. I'm just going to be ripping all my cd's on to it and using it for travelling instead of my old portable cd player.

Anyway me question is, does the ipod/itunes cope with the cd's with the copy protection on them? If ipod/itunes can't cope with it out of the box I don't want any dodgy hack etc since that is probably against forum rules, just a yes/no answer if you know.

cheers

TS (you don't mind if I call you TS do you ?),

I am reluctant to give you a straight answer to your question because I haven't got one (yet). What I CAN tell you is that I have Blur's "think tank" album on mine. The first time I used iTunes/AAC and it was virtually unlistenable. With EAC/LAME it's perfecto.
I'll try Tom McRae's "just like blood" tonight and let you know if you like.

P.S. If you are a genuine music lover and have a decent PC I highly recommend that you go ahead with your purchase. My iPod has changed my life. It's fannyfuggintastic.

OK, I've just put JLB through EAC/LAME. Loads of error-correcting going on which slowed the RIP speed down to 2.5X (my new 56X drive usually RIPs at 10X) but the output seems solid enough. Not bad considering that my CDS2 wouldn't play this album before it had its PIC upgraded.

cheers Minky. Of course TS is ok since you gave the right answer to my question! I've just gone ahead and ordered an ipod so hopefully it will be here within a week. I've also just downloaded EAC/LAME so I'll set it up and test it tonight.