WMA and iPod.
I have over 3600 songs already reaped at 128Kbps in WMA format. After having a Nomad Jukebox 3, I am thinking on buying an iPod, and I have the following questions:
(1) Do you foreasee a future version of iPod supporting WMA format?
(2) Does any of the available PC Jukebox softwares that have iPod plug-ins support automatic conversion from WMA to mp3 when ittransfer the music to the iPod?
(3) If there is, at what bit-rate shoud I transfer when using mp3 to have a similar data quality as WMA at 128 Kbps? What average file size will I get per minute of music?
Thanks so much! I am really lookinf forward to switch, but I have big resistance to changing all my pc-music to mp3 after having done the work to format in wma.
Martin.
[789 byte] By [
Tinchohs] at [2007-11-9 12:42:10]
# 1 Re: WMA and iPod.
I personally don't think it's going to happen. Just too much anomosity between Apple and Microsoft.
There are programs, to convert WMA to MP3, but you'd be better off reripping. Even if you don't you'd only have to convert once.
Converting everytime you transfer would be too much of a pain, it'd take too long.
Adam
# 2 Re: WMA and iPod.
why animosity? Just that they are competitors?
couzo at 2007-11-15 17:07:23 >
# 3 Re: WMA and iPod.
(1) Do you foreasee a future version of iPod supporting WMA format?
No. It's a competing codec with possible hardcore MS DMA enforcement in the not to distant future.
(2) Does any of the available PC Jukebox softwares that have iPod plug-ins support automatic conversion from WMA to mp3 when ittransfer the music to the iPod?
I think MC9 does this BUT I would not recomend it. Not ever. Your basically going from a lossy format to another lossy format. Your music will sound like crap afterward. You should just re-rip your CDs.
(3) If there is, at what bit-rate shoud I transfer when using mp3 to have a similar data quality as WMA at 128 Kbps? What average file size will I get per minute of music?
Like I said I wouldn't transcode to MP3 if I were you. Re-rip with Eac/Lame or MC9/Lame using --alt-preset standard (look it up).
If your hell bent on keeping WMA files try one of the newer smaller Creative prducts (Zen).
# 4 Re: WMA and iPod.
Why would you want wma when you can have AAC? I used to love to encode in wma, but with DRM and WM9+ I think that I will take a pass.
Bill McNair
# 5 Re: WMA and iPod.
Encoders for AAC seem (for the moment) to be far and few between (and not free :)). MusicMatch Jukebox includes WMA support, and that program doesn't impose DRM, as far as I know.
dcx693 at 2007-11-15 17:10:26 >
# 6 Re: WMA and iPod.
Obviously you know nothing about aac, since aacenc and fastenc have always been free, plus there is Faad or Faac. Can never remember which is the encoder and which is the player. LoL! DRM is coming to wma and I would never give Bill Gate the pleasure of going back to it. I'd love to get rid of WMP 9 but there is no media player that comes close to it, for doing what I need it to do,
Bill McNair
# 7 Re: WMA and iPod.
I have and use win media player 9 with my bro's zen.
Do you guys know that you can turn off DRM!!!
- Tools
- Options
- Copy Music Tab
- Uncheck copy protect music tab
- Click apply
Bingo.
All superior sound quality of wma 9 (compared to mp3) without any of that DRM gob####e stuff.
Incidentally, i was using aac with my winpod when i had it... had to return because of feckin european volume capping. Anyway, the best aac encoder is Nero. Its more like the future version of the psytel encoder because the guy who originally wrote it now heads the nero AAC team. Incidentally it also sounds the best. The only prob it doesnt output files with the m4a extension that the ipod needs. :@ So you gotta manually retag the files. Then when you try and transfer with ephpod you none of your music is tagged. The only way to do this properly is with db poweramp, which can encode to aac and send files across fine. However the db poweramp encoder is not the best... in all honesty its rubbish compared to the nero one. Also it doesn't support the extreme VBR setting AAC which the nero one does.
To be honest any sort of AAC on windows at the moment is a bit of a joke.
Regards,
i_wolf
i_wolf at 2007-11-15 17:12:29 >
# 8 Re: WMA and iPod.
Originally posted by Tinchohs
I have over 3600 songs already reaped at 128Kbps in WMA format.
Good look on reaping those songs :P
And yeah I highly doubt Apple will be supporting a Windows format
# 9 Re: WMA and iPod.
Originally posted by i_wolf
I have and use win media player 9 with my bro's zen.
Do you guys know that you can turn off DRM!!!
You can now, but you will almost definitely not be able to do it in the future? I think there is a good chance that the next version of Windows will be able to deleted pirated software and audio files, so WMP is something I really would like to get rid of.
Bill McNair
# 10 Re: WMA and iPod.
yeah i know what you mean southside but until someone even comes close to a media player that has everything i need like wmp then I am stuck with it!!
couzo at 2007-11-15 17:15:26 >
# 11 Re: WMA and iPod.
well, what about all this new cd copy protection in the works that hides the red book audio files and makes them unreadable to computers, and instead includes DRM bugged windows media files for your portable? i HATE windows media, but if the whole industry accually develops copy protection that can't be easily broken (like they claim), we may all be forced to use WM if we want to listen to them on a portable. and then apple would sort of be forced to adopt WM for the ipod. complete mess if you ask me.
# 12 Re: WMA and iPod.
There will always be hackers that can break copy protection and there will always be Linux. I made the decision that Windows 2000 would be the last Microsoft OS that I would buy, and I've made sure to d/l and save all of the updates so I can keep my computers going as long as possible. At some point I may have to switch to Linux, but I hope it won't be for awhile. In any case there will always be hackers that can break copy protection so I'm not worried about that ATM, but we, the consumer needs to tell the recording companies that we won't put up with defective disks.
On another note, I can't wait for them to start suing there customers. Talk about a public relations nightmare. Heck, even Jon Johansen of DeCSS fame has won his case based of fair use, so I will just love it when the record companies try to take our rights away, to make digital copies.
Oh, and the Japanese have been using the copy protection that has a data track with player at the beginning of the CD, but hey now appear to be switching to SACD's so I wondering if that will be a problem for EAC and CDex?
Bill McNair
# 13 Re: WMA and iPod.
Southside, do not fear linux, it is greatly more powerful and easier to use than windows. It is even very easy to get it to work with the ipod. (BTW, mandrake 9.1 is amazing).
I also cannot wait for the RIAA to start suing away, i have always wanted to see the RIAA battle the ALCU. I cant wait to see the RIAA get defeated for infringing on 1st amendment rights, as well as the actual copyrights. I also forsee people stopping to buy CD's because of RIAA actions.
And WMA is not amazingly far off from the mac os's and products. Do not forget that the MS corp owns a substantial portion of Apple computers. The AAC and WMA formats are way too protected and weaved by corperations to become truely popular. Part of what made MP3 so famous was its amazing technology, and the fact that noone was calling in the copyright. ITs not long before Sony (i believe is the owner, not sure) pulls back on the copyright. In this respect, OGG support is first and formost, hands down, and is arguably one of the top 2 formats there is.
# 14 Re: WMA and iPod.
(1) Do you foreasee a future version of iPod supporting WMA format?
No, its taken them a year and them some to add support for one format, and its for the newer iPods only.
(2) Does any of the available PC Jukebox softwares that have iPod plug-ins support automatic conversion from WMA to mp3 when ittransfer the music to the iPod?
Dbpoweramp will do WMA -> Mp3 conversion. Converting from one lossy compression to another is not recommend. You'll find it'll get highly distorted.
(3) If there is, at what bit-rate shoud I transfer when using mp3 to have a similar data quality as WMA at 128 Kbps? What average file size will I get per minute of music
96 WMA is about 128 MP3. I'd suggest 160-192. Average file size depends on codec, and various other options. I suggest you expierment.
btw, southsideirish.. hackers dont break copyright protections... they're called crackers. Programmers who like the challenge of breaking, or reverse engineering software protections. I see how terms get labeled.
# 15 Re: WMA and iPod.
Ah, but at the moment it's not really cracking anyway, since the copy protection used isn't really good anyway. There isn't much to crack when you just have to ignore a data track.
Bill McNair
