how to put music from CDs onto an ipod?

[Ernest Burden III]

I'm buying some used equipment from someone (monitors) and he's throwing in a 1G ipod shuffle. So what do I need to do to put music from CDs I own onto that strange, white thing?

 

I'm not interested in buying songs from Apple. If I like something I want the CD, but now may want to listen to it on the ipod. Actually, my son wants it, but he has all my good CDs already.

 

Thanks in advance!

[jackb602]

Just download iTunes for free here: http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/

 

Then use it to import music from your CDs, and sync with the iPod. Since the iPod is used, you may need to "deauthorize" it from the computer it was formerly attached to. I haven't had to do this, but it should be pretty straightforward.

 

I'm with you on buying physical CDs I want to listen to. I don't think I've bought a single song from the iTunes store.

 

Jack

[Ernest Burden III]

Just download iTunes

 

I think it's included in any recent QuickTime version, no way to avoid it being installed. (editorial comment: QT is a virus).

 

Will using their software install some nastry DRM onto my computer? Meaning if I put music from a Clash CD onto the ipod will the PC then refuse to play the CD? Or call up the MPAA to suggest I should be sued for listening to my own music collection on various devices? Of course I'm on my third or fourth physical-media version of London Calling, but that shouldn't afford me any rights. Right?

[AJLynn]

Using iTunes to convert from a CD will not give you any DRM. Actually I don't have any complaints about it - it's free with no ads, unless you count the built-in interface to Apple's music store which is pretty unintrusive, and Quicktime's habit or asking you to buy it, so the only drawback is that you can't get iTunes or Quicktime separately anymore.

 

But I don't use it for conveerting CDs, for compatibility reasons - it can encode Apple's proprietary format (you can't use it anything that's not iTunes or an iPod) but it's not the best MP3 encoder, so I like Lame (an open freeware command line encoder) with one of the Windows frontends for it, like DBPowerAmp (which includes the CD ripper) or Exact Audio Copy (probably the best ripper because of its robust error checking, and it can act as a Lame front-end but I think you need to download Lame separately and configure its path in EAC). As far as settings for Lame, it's got a ton of options you can tweak but I usually just use one of its presets, like --r3mix or --alt-preset xxx (where xxx is the bitrate and you have several options, like 128 or 160).

[Ernest Burden III]

Using iTunes to convert from a CD will not give you any DRM...it can encode Apple's proprietary format (you can't use it anything that's not iTunes or an iPod) but it's not the best MP3 encoder

 

Does that mean that I cannot put music into Apples format (it;s AAC?) using QT, or that an Apple brand ipod cannot play anything BUT their format?

 

The ripper with options sounds nice, but as a start I can just have itunes read the CD and save ipod format files onto my HD to transfer to the player?

 

Sorry to be so dense to something most people already know backwards and forwards.

[AJLynn]

Yeah, you can just use iTunes to do it all - actually, I'm just a format snob And iTunes and iPod can play MP3 in addition to AAC, but they don't cooperate with other formats like WMA.

 

I meant that if you use iTunes to convert to AAC (the best quality you can get in iTunes) it will only play using Apple stuff. That probably isn't as important as it used to be, since Apple has something like 75% of the MP3 player market.

[jackb602]

There's no DRM (that I'm aware of) for CDs that you rip into iTunes. That only comes in to play when you buy stuff from the iTunes store. I didn't realize iTunes is now tied to Quicktime on the Windows side.

 

The only limitation is that your iPod will be tied to your music library on a single PC, and the sync only goes one way. That is, iTunes will send music to your iPod, but you can't transfer music from the iPod to another PC.

 

Probably my favorite thing about iTunes is the access to some brilliant radio stations, like KCRW in LA and KEXP in Seattle. They've exposed me to an enormous amount of great new music, and I get to see many more good shows as a result.

 

Jack

[Trevor Tizard]

Hi

 

I bought an iPod a while ago and copied all my CD's onto an external hard drive. All were ripped with iTunes in mp3 format at 192kbps (aparently close to CD quality) which alows me to play them on any device that will accept an mp3 file.

 

Trev

[monkeysee]

Read the manual...

[Ernest Burden III]

Read the manual...

 

Thanks. I did think of that after posting the thread. However, the manual will be written by Apple and will not reveal the downsides (if there are any) to using their software, and since I'm getting a used ipod for free, I may not get the manual at all.

[monkeysee]

It is as easy as everybody has said, however, you are "locked" into iTunes (not the store) which IMHO is no bad thing. On the format/quality side 128 bit encoding works fine and you'll get more songs on the little white stick - I (again IMHO) defy anyone to really point out the difference in quality, unless you play yor music back through ludicrously expensive headphones or speakers. I have and iPod Photo 60gb and to be honest it has been well woth the investment, and having ripped London Calling myself I can assure you that there is no DRM!

[AJLynn]

I can certainly tell the difference between a 128-bit CBR MP3 made by Musicmatch or iTunes in default settings and one done in Lame in VBR mode by somebody who either really knows what he's doing or uses a good preset.