xplay, ephpod or mc9????
tanx aload!
[215 byte] By [cookie666] at [2007-11-9 13:02:59] 
Im gettin my new 15 g ipod in the next couple of days! But i dtill dont no what program 2 use! :S Could sum 1 pls level out wiv me and tell me which program, xplay, mc 9 or ephpod is the best and y??
tanx aload!
# 1 Re: xplay, ephpod or mc9????
Depends on what you want.MC9 is my favorite. Cost $40.00, but well worth it. It rips, encodes (and does these at very high quality), is the fastest synching program for the ipod, allows outstanding management of your tunes with smartlists, etc., has replay gain--it's just an incredible program, always being tweaked--for example, playcounts, and ratings, only accessible through Itunes, may in the near future be accessible via MC9. It does what you WANT mmjb to do but can't.
Ephpod is free, and does synch nicely--that's all it does. Doesn't rip, encode, etc. A good program; my second favorite out of the three.
Xplay is $30.00, and is kinda low on my list. All it does is synch, although it does this well, and allows drag and drop. But for $10.00 more you can get the all in one MC9, or use ephpod to synch only, which is free. Xplay does have a nice replay gain, better than MC9's at the moment, and if you are buying a european ipod with the volume limitation, this would be a reason to buy xplay (MC9's gain is not quite as robust, but hopefully will improve.). However, if you're buying in the U.S., the volume limitation is a nonissue...
Just my 2 cents...
dmt1 at 2007-11-15 17:05:57 >
# 2 Re: xplay, ephpod or mc9????
Cookie,I can not agree more with d.m.t.
I just got my 15gb a week ago, and first I used ephpod, which is nice and simple and free, ripped with CDex, tagged with ID3tagit, all of which are free and perform quite well.
However, I read the forums and downloaded the beta 9.1 222 version of MC9. It is awesome. It burns fantastically, look at some previous posts in the forums on ripping and volume analysis. I now burn everything at mp3 vbr and changed the custom setting to remove fast.
When I first put my music on the ipod the volume levels were wildly different, so I got MC9 to analyse the songs (which took a whole night for 1300 songs) and then re-synched so it woudl update the tags. I set the regain to 11db and now all songs are the same volume level and I can listen happily with the volume set at 55%, can go higher is outside noise is high.
Playlists are also excellent as is the tagging. I have found allmy albums online except for the last one i ripped (REM automatic...) but i entered it manually and have now uploaded to their database so it is now there for anyone else.
Cannot recommend enough. You can try both, you just have to use the updater to clear the ipod and the format it using MC9.
You get one month's trial, so I would recommend using MC9 and see hwat you think. You can always then try ephpod and see what you think.
I have never used xplay.
theflyingbeagle at 2007-11-15 17:06:58 >
# 3 Re: xplay, ephpod or mc9????
The other (soon to be) big differentiator is that MC9 will be the only program to support Playcounts and Ratings. So, the songs you listen to and any ratings you change on songs on your iPod will be automatically updated in MC9 the next time you sync and any smartlists you have based on last played or playcounts or ratings will also be automatically updated.Big enhancement that I can't wait for.
Adam
ashawley at 2007-11-15 17:08:07 >
# 4 Re: xplay, ephpod or mc9????
Hands down MC9. It's well worth the money.Doc Holiday at 2007-11-15 17:09:02 >
# 5 Re: xplay, ephpod or mc9????
What happens if you just keep re-downloading the trials? :pTekron at 2007-11-15 17:10:01 >
# 6 Re: xplay, ephpod or mc9????
Originally posted by Tekron What happens if you just keep re-downloading the trials? :p
You're cheating a very good company out of the sale that they should get.
Doc Holiday at 2007-11-15 17:11:11 >
# 7 Re: xplay, ephpod or mc9????
You can't redownload the trials unless you completely reformat your computer with a clean install of whatever you're running (ie windows XP). Not really worth it. And Doc is right--you're just ripping off a fantastic company. Shameful, in my opinion..dmt1 at 2007-11-15 17:12:04 >
# 8 Re: xplay, ephpod or mc9????
If going the free route is your only choice at the moment get Exact Audio Copy (EAC), Lame 3.90.3, and Ephpod. This will give you a great CD ripper, one of the best versions of Lame for "--alt-preset standard" (if not the best) and a great program to move those MP3s to the iPod. Ephpod will also let you create playlists for your pod. Worked great for me for a few months. In fact even though I paid for MC9 I still rip with EAC/Lame. **For instructons on using any of the above mentioned software just search this forum or hydrogenaudio.org. It's been repeated a million times.**
anthraxx at 2007-11-15 17:13:07 >
# 9 Re: xplay, ephpod or mc9????
Do any of these programs encode in AAC rather than mp3?And is AAC even worth the fuss?
Piranhahaha at 2007-11-15 17:14:05 >
# 10 Re: xplay, ephpod or mc9????
No, they don't encode in AAC. Don't know if it's worth all the fuss. Adam
ashawley at 2007-11-15 17:15:06 >
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