Re: Prepping for new iPod

1. Ephpod and the iPod don't care what your FILENAME is, they only read
"ID3 tags" for information.  Tags are bits of data inserted into the
song file itself that specify what the track title, artist, album, etc.
are.

In CDex you can specify that the tag information is written to the mp3
as it is created, and you can probably have that information downloaded
from the internet automatically before you rip. If you have a choice,
write ID3v2 type tags, as they allow longer data strings. (longer
titles, etc.).

To verify that a pre-existing tag is correct, you can play an mp3 in a
program like Winamp 2, open the playlist manager, right click on the mp3
file and select properties. You can see that tag information there. Most
other mp3 programs will show you this as well.

2. As for bitrate, I tell all my friends to encode at MP3 128kbps for a
good balance between quality and filesize. I tend to encode at 192 cause
I think it sounds a little richer, but the filesizes are larger.=20
=A0
R.U.U.
=A0
___________________________________________
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Richard U. Uhl
Research Analyst
American Viewpoint, Inc.
300 North Lee Street, Suite 400
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
Tel:=A0=A0 703.684.3325
Fax:=A0 703.684.9295
www.amview.com
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-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Timothy Luoma
Sent: Tuesday, May 13, 2003 8:44 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [ephpod] Prepping for new iPod



Sorry for the long and slightly off topic post, but having lurked a
couple=20
days it seems like this group would be able to help.

I am anticipating my first iPod sometime in the next week or so (Windows

version).  I have very little of my CD collection "ripped" so I want to
get=20
started so I will have something to listen to on the iPod when it
arrives. =20
I have two main questions.


1) The first one is easier, I think.  What do folks suggest as the best
way=20
to store the files?  Is it better to store songs like this:

c:\music\Diana Krall\When I Look In Your Eyes\2 Devil May Care.mp3
or
c:\music\Diana Krall - When I Look In Your Eyes - 2 Devil May Care.mp3
or some other way?

(I assume the iPod is smart enough not to just show me "2 Devil May=20
Care.mp3" if I used the former method, assuming that the Artist/Album=20
information was written in the file somewhere.)

I kinda like the idea of having them all in one folder, but I can
imagine=20
it becomes a mess when you have 15GB worth of mp3s


2) I have CDex (http://cdexos.sourceforge.net/) for making Mp3s, but the

vast array of options is somewhat overwhelming for me.

The default setting seems to be for the "Lame mp3 encoder (version 1.30,

engine 3.92 MMX)" however there are several others.

Then there are a slew of options

Version: MPEG I or MPEG II or MPEG II.5
Bitrate Min/Max (32 to 320 kbps)
Mode: Stereo/J-Stereo/Forced Stereo/Mono
[ ] private [ ] checksum [ ] original [ ] copyright
Quality Normal q=3D5, q=3D2, q=3D9, very high quality, and a bunch of =
--alt-=20
presets
VBR method ("VBR old" seems to be default)
VBR Quality ("VBR 2" seems to be default)
Ouput Samplerate auto/48000/44100/32000

	Now I know everyone is different, and from what I see via Google
there are=20
a lot of hard core folks who are using really high bitrates and have a
very=20
specific set of preferences.  I'm not so high tech as to sit down and
try=20
and minutely compare.  I just want to be able to listen to music I like=20
when I'm driving to work or biking or when I'm at home.

	I have learned that VBR means "Variable Bit Rate" and that the
Quality=20
setting and Bitrate will control the size and sound quality.... but I=20
haven't found anywhere to tell me what are acceptable settings for a=20
"regular guy listener".  Can someone point me towards a resource or
share=20
their thoughts?  Is MP3 what I should be using?  (I see references to
AAC=20
popping up but I'm not even clear that the Windows iPod can use them
yet).


	Thanks very much for your patience and help.  As I was searching
around=20
for Ipod information, it was clear that ephpod was the way to go.  I'm=20
looking forward to trying it out, hopefully soon!

	TjL




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