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How do I record music from my CD's on a Mac book so I can use the USB port in my ct200 for playback? My iPod works when connected to the port but a USB jump drive doesn't show.
Usb port
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^Correct.
If you're ripping CD's through iTunes specifically for the CT,
go into iTunes > Preferences > Import Settings.
Import using MP3 Encoder.
Setting: Custom (Stereo Bit Rate 320kbps) Use VBR
Quality Highest. Auto Auto Normal. Click OK.
Insert CD and select Import.
Though I highly suggest not using a USB stick and using instead your iPod. In which case you need to select Apple Lossless as your import setting (unless of course you don't like the music you paid for to sound good
).I'm fairly new to iTunes, but I have done extensive listening tests on the minimum bit rate required for mp3 files to be transparent to (sound the same as) the CD's they were encoded from. I determined that 192kbps (stereo) is all that's required to produce the same quality. On several occasions since then, I've seen this number listed as "CD quality" when selecting bit rates on various encoders. I take that as a fairly good indicator that my own results are valid!^Correct.
If you're ripping CD's through iTunes specifically for the CT,
go into iTunes > Preferences > Import Settings.
Import using MP3 Encoder.
Setting: Custom (Stereo Bit Rate 320kbps) Use VBR
Quality Highest. Auto Auto Normal. Click OK.
Insert CD and select Import.
Though I highly suggest not using a USB stick and using instead your iPod. In which case you need to select Apple Lossless as your import setting (unless of course you don't like the music you paid for to sound good
As far as iTunes settings, I use the default settings (AAC encoder, iTunes Plus) that yields a 256kbps (stereo) VBR to import my CD's and have no complaints about the quality. It sounds great!
I'm rather OCD about quality, but I also realize that maximum/lossless is not always required to achieve equal results. The quality of the source must be considered, there is a point at which increasing the bit rate doesn't improve the quality any more; it just wastes space!
Try some encodes at the lower bit rates and see what you think. If you're not satisfied, then use higher rates. I have just done my 1st USB stick tests with mp3's @ 192kbps and I'm VERY pleased with the results! I expect that you will be too! Added bonus, more music can be stored on the stick!
Also, I tried the path Jedi767 gave in iTunes to change the import settings. It wasn't the same in my version (I'm on a PC, so that's probably why)!
My path is...
Select "Edit" drop down menu, click on "Preferences...", opens new window, select "general" tab (if not already selected) and click on the "Import Settings" button. This opens the "Import Settings" window. Then select your encoder and settings from the drop down lists.
Well, I'm probably going to show my ignorance on music files here. All I did to convert my iTunes music files to something that would play on a flash drive in the CT is to drag them all from iTunes into a folder on my desktop. This converted them from AAC to MPEG. I then copied them to a flash drive and plugged it into the CT USB port. They sounded great. I compared the sound from the flash drive tunes to the direct play from my iPod, and I couldn't tell any difference. Is this an inferior way of doing it? Could I be getting better sound quality using a different technique?
Leave it to Apple to make it that simple!
I'm curious about what the info is on the converted files. Could you right click on one of them, click properties and let me know?
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I've tried to convert aac files to mp3 b4 with no luck. It can't be done through iTunes because of copy protection attached to the files by apple. Older purchases, yes, but nothing recent. A multitude of programs exist claiming the ability to do this conversion, but I haven't found one that works.
Are you on a mac or a PC?
I've tried what you did, and the copies are MPEG 4! This is, I believe, the generic name for the Apple AAC files in windows. The copies only play on my computer through iTunes. I haven't tried them in the CT, but I don't think that they will be recognized. I can't find ANY other way to export from iTunes. So, I'm at a loss for exactly how to duplicate your results!
I'm on a windows PC, so maybe that's why it doesn't work?!
262 kbps is not a bit rate available for MPEG 3 encodes, the closest to that is 256 kbps! The mystery deepens!
Like I said, I'm no expert on this stuff by any means. All I can say is that I dragged the iTunes songs directly from my iTunes Music Library onto a folder on my desktop, then copied them to a SanDisk Flash Drive and they worked perfectly in the car. Here is some more detailed information the I got from the individual music file before and after conversion. Perhaps this will help to explain things. I selected an individual song and right clicked for "Get Info".
Kind: Purchased AAC audio file
size: 7.6 MB
Bit Rate: 256 Kbps
Sample Rate: 44.100 kHz
Profile: Low Complexity
Channels: Stereo
The same song converted carried a .m4a tag at the end of the name. Additional information:
Kind: MPEG-4
Size: 7.6 MB
Channel Count: 2
Total bit rate: 279
Codecs: AAC
I noticed that the converted songs did not all have the same bit rate. I checked four and they varied, 277, 279, 259, 262.
Kind: Purchased AAC audio file
size: 7.6 MB
Bit Rate: 256 Kbps
Sample Rate: 44.100 kHz
Profile: Low Complexity
Channels: Stereo
The same song converted carried a .m4a tag at the end of the name. Additional information:
Kind: MPEG-4
Size: 7.6 MB
Channel Count: 2
Total bit rate: 279
Codecs: AAC
I noticed that the converted songs did not all have the same bit rate. I checked four and they varied, 277, 279, 259, 262.
I only pay $.99 a song on iTunes.
Well, it seems that there is no conversion going on! MPEG 4 is what AAC is called outside of the Apple "universe", but it does seem that the CT can also decode AAC from a stick (NOT just from an iPod!)
I will confirm this myself next time I'm in the car. The different bit rates might be the averaging of VBR once the files are in a windows environment!
If true, this opens up nearly all (or perhaps ALL) files from iTunes being playable from a USB stick in the CT!
I will do some tests!
I do have some iTunes songs that were not purchased from Apple that I also downloaded to the stick. They also played fine. Sounds like you could just drag iTunes files directly to the memory stick and bypass the desktop since there is no real conversion going on. Makes it about as simple as you can get.
I've checked the actual files stored in the iTunes library folders and they are MPEG 4, so there is absolutely NO conversion occurring!
This is VERY good news, as I said before, as long as "protected" AAC files will play! I will try to play a purchased audiobook from the stick (they are protected files), all song tracks appear to be tagged as "purchased" and I will try those as well. If both work, there are no restrictions in playback from a stick! I'm not holding my breath on the protected files, though. Even in windows, the file info shows they are "protected"!
Well, tchris, I've tried playing MPEG 4 files from the stick and they don't even show up on the display. In fact, the folders they're in don't show up either!
I don't know what you're doing differently, if anything, but my car is doing exactly what they manual says it can do! Nothing more!!
The Pod casts I transferred work perfectly, but they are mp3's!
I don't know what you're doing differently, if anything, but my car is doing exactly what they manual says it can do! Nothing more!!
The Pod casts I transferred work perfectly, but they are mp3's!
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What if they were in the root folder? Think they would play then?Well, tchris, I've tried playing MPEG 4 files from the stick and they don't even show up on the display. In fact, the folders they're in don't show up either!
I don't know what you're doing differently, if anything, but my car is doing exactly what they manual says it can do! Nothing more!!
The Pod casts I transferred work perfectly, but they are mp3's!
OK, I deserve to be whipped and beaten. Turns out I had another folder of songs on my flash drive that had already been converted to mp3 format by my son. I told you I was a rookie at this stuff. I had asked him what I needed to do to play the songs from a flash drive, but didn't know he had gone and converted and copied to my drive. He also set up iTunes so that I can convert to mp3 from the drop down menu. Sorry for the pain and confusion. It's simple, but not as simple as dragging to my flash drive.
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