Reply With QuoteDo they play okay from iTunes?Originally Written by Cory Ander
Chart Hit [Level 6]
maybe you can help a frustrated new user. Whenever I load a new group of songs into my iPod and play them back, the music plays in stops and starts for about the first 20 to 25 minutes. So far, this has only happened with the songs I'm loading from my home recorded CDs, not the pre-recorded ones. The iPod is fully charged when this happens, and the CDs I'm loading into them play perfectly on a CD player without these stops and starts. Can anyone offer any advice or help? This is driving me nuts. And please don't do the obvious and suggest I contact Apple. They don't respond to email requests for help, the owner's manual has no trouble shooting guide, and I can NOT use their online manuals or tutorials because they're in the pdf format and whenever I try to access the manuals I'm informed I have to pay a fee! If anyone can help I'd appreciate it. thanks. 10/11/09
Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
Do they play okay from iTunes?
Underground Hit [Level 5]
I have to confess that even though I am "supporting" three different home users of Ipod touch, I don't even own one myself.:icon_biggrin:
For the benefit of the readers, you probably meant "the first 20-25 seconds", isn't it?
Let me try to guess...
What model is it? Nano, Touch, Classic?
As "user-friendly" as the Itunes software can be, it is sometimes very difficult to determine where the audio file is read from (particularly when the iPod is connected to the computer.
Is you Ipod still connected to the computer when you experience the problem?
Do the files ALWAYS skip at the same place at each listening or does it skips randomly everytime?
What software tool did you use to "rip" de CDs?
Are you sure that the audio files were ripped in MP3 format (not in WAV or any other uncompressed format)?
What type of computer are you using (MAC, PC)?
Is it from a recent model?
How's the playback of a regular CD on your computer. Do you experience the same behavior?
Have you tried to "rip" the CDs using a third party software instead?
For what it worth, is you Ipod loaded with the latest version of software? Have you tried to reset it (beware that a hardware reset may clear the content of the Ipod)?
Let's see what your answers will be on the above and, maybe it will narrow down to something...
Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
That's odd. The whole point about using PDF files (as opposed to a Word document or whatever) is that you can easily download an application to read them for free: Adobe Reader.
Adobe - Adobe Reader download - All versions
Chart Hit [Level 6]
thanks. Here goes: it's the iPod "touch" 8GB (which I THOUGHT was the latest, most reliable and user friendly). And no, I don't mean the first 20-25 seconds (though that would be just as annoying) I mean the first 20-25 minutes! It doesn't happen with every single group of songs I load, but most of them. First I load the songs into iTunes library and then into the iPod (if there's some other way to do it I'm not aware of it). Once I load the songs into the iTunes library I don't listen to them from there since computer speakers to my ears don't deliver rich sound. It sure frustrates me that when the songs go from the iTunes library into the iPod there's never any indication that there's some problem...no error code, nothing. And yes, the skips occur at the same spot every time I listen back to them, and it's so annoying I usually just remove that particular group of songs and try another. I only listen to my iPod when I'm away from home...riding my bike, sitting in an airport or on a bus, taking a walk. If I can't correct this most likely I'm probably going to resume taking my portable CD player along as a back up. I'm using a regular ol' Dell PC, not a mac. I use the Roxio Easy CD Creator to rip the CDs. And here's what you're probably most interested in: I rip the files in the WAV format, not MP3 (does that make a big difference)? And when you ask if the iPod is loaded with the latest version of software, what software are you referring to specifically? Thanks again for your time.
Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
That is the correct way.
Just try it once to see if the problems you're encountering are with the iPod or the files themselves.
Sounds to me that the problem is with the ripping of the files and not the iPod. Are you extracting from CDRs burned as audio discs? Unfortunately, these aren't always very reliable and sometimes don't work well in other drives. It's not easy for a computer to determine if it is ripping an audio disc accurately or not.
Download the latest version of Exact Audio Copy (it's free) from Introduction Exact Audio Copy . It's the best tool out there for extracting audio from CDs.
It makes a huge difference in file size! WAV files are completely lossless and uncompressed, and take up 10MB for every minute of CD audio. So, your 8GB iPod will only fit a dozen albums or so if you use WAV. Also, it may really decrease the battery life too (not sure how this works for solid-state iPods like the Touch, but it definitely does on the older hard-disk based ones and the Classic). While WAV files offer the very best in sound quality, compressed audio formats can come very close (depending on settings) and give you far much more. When you add the songs to iTunes, right-click them and select "create AAC version". By default, this will compress the song to 256kbps AAC, which is very close to WAV quality but takes up one-fifth as much space.
Underground Hit [Level 5]
Here is what I've found about the subject.
- "Problem: Some Songs Skip
If the same songs always skip, the song files themselves may be damaged.
- Rerip AIFF or WAV files into the smaller, compressed MP3 format. They may not sound as pure, but they're less likely to skip.
- Reset the iPod. Performing a reset or, as a last-ditch effort, running a restore with the latest version of the iPod Software.".
It seems that the problem comes from the ripping method you are using. There are a few methods that can be used for ripping a CD. Not all software provide you with a choice of the ripping method as it is usually transparent to users (those are: normal, by sector or burst). In some cases, a slow computer may not provide the information form the CD fast enough in order create a continuous file. Such a problem usually introduces gaps in the musical program. Doing other tasks during the ripping may also interfere with the consistency of the file. The most common mistake done when ripping is to listen to the CD at the same time a rip operation is conducted. The majority of the time, no matter how fast the PC is, the ripping will first - take longer and second - the sound file will have hiccups.
I think Bruno's suggestion about re-ripping (one song or two) using "Exact audio copy" could be something to try at first.
Also, Apple regularly issues Itunes software upgrades and less frequently firmware upgrades for the iPod. The firmware basically is a program resident into you iPod and it takes care of all the tasks and activities required to properly work by itself and interface properly with the outside world (A bit like what Windows would do for a PC).
In some rare cases, the firmware may corrupt and the iPod may behave erratically. If you Ipod is less than a year old, I wouldn't worry about this at this point, especially if you say that other files are playing correctly.
Keep us posted on your findings.
Last edited by canadiantire; October 12th, 2009 at 10:05 PM.
Chart Hit [Level 6]
thanks to everyone for their assistance here. Not 100% sure what the terms "lossless" or "uncompressed" mean but as I recall, I used the WAV format for 2 main reasons: first, the customer service representative at Audacity suggested it, and secondly, since I didn't own or plan on using a standard mp3 player, using WAV seemed to make sense. I had already figured out that there was something in the process of the songs going from iTunes into the iPod that was causing the problem, because when I play the CDs through a standard CD player, they continue to play just fine without any skips or stops and starts. I'll try the "Introduction Exact Audio Copy" and the "create AAC version" suggestion soon for future recordings, but just try to imagine how shocked I was when this started happening considering the fact that the primary reason I decided to switch from a portable CD player to an iPod was because of the skipping...only to now experience the exact same issue on the iPod also.
Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
Audacity is a free application, so I wouldn't rely on any support from the developers at all. :/
As I said earlier, CD audio takes up a LOT of file space. Even if you Zip them, they're still too large to be practical for downloading or putting on personal players.
What "lossy" formats like MP3 and AAC do is strip out some of the details in the music, which enables it to be stored at only 20% or so of the file size, or even less -- exactly how much depends on your settings, and how much "loss" your ears can tolerate. Had these formats not been invented, the download revolution which has shut all the music stores would not have happened.
Size aside, the WAV format is not well-suited to iPods, since -- having been designed long before MP3 players existed -- it doesn't support adding things like cover art, lyrics, notes, etc. What WAV is good for is if you're transferring vinyl to a computer. You can then convert it to MP3 or AAC for your iPod, but keep the original for listening or making CD-Rs.
Chart Hit [Level 6]
thanks again, Bru. Maybe YOU should design the next "audio wonder" and if so, PLEASE design it so that the use of iTunes is not involved. Since so many of you were kind enough to take the time to offer suggested solutions to my problems, I thought I'd share the result with you. Yesterday I spent about 10 hours deleting the lists of songs with the stops and starts from the iPod and re-entered them using the mp3 recording option. The first thing I noticed is that it took about 4 times as long in that format, and this morning I eagerly listened to the results for the first time. Not only did the stops and starts continue, but NOW the songs skip from one list to another mid song, from the list of "albums" to the list of "artists" to the list of "composers" and so on. And at one point I heard 2 songs playing simutaneously. I'm crying uncle and giving up. This expensive piece of worthless crap is going into my bedroom closet next to my reel to reel tape deck, my BETA VCR, my reel to reel movie projector and my laser disc player....I'll just wait for the next technology to come along and hope it's something a simpleton like myself can use. A little voice in the back of my mind told me when I bought this iPod that I'd have trouble using it and I sure will listen to that voice next time I consider an electronic item....clearly they're not for everyone. But I DID finally receive a response from Apple to my email responses for help, and their response was predicatable...referring me to their tedious online manuals and tutorials that seldom if ever mention my specific problems. I've learned my lesson. Steve Jobs I AIN'T, and I sure hope my Sony Walkman Cassette Players and portable CD players aren't clogged up with dust yet. At least they require that only ONE button be pushed to operate them. But thanks again to everyone for their time.
Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
I hate to break it to you, but iTunes/iPod *is* already by far the simplest, easiest-to-use software/media player out there -- that's part of the reason why they're so popular (the iPod *wasn't* the first portable digital audio player out there, but the first one to get everything right).
I don't see how it could possibly be made any simpler. My old MiniDisc walkman was far more of a fuss. With iTunes, all the advanced, complicated stuff (bit-rates, format, etc.) is hidden away for advanced users, whereas everything you need to get started is up-front. Put a regular CD into your computer and it automatically downloads the artist name and track titles, and asks you if you want it to be added to your library. Click on the artist name in your library, and it will take you to the iTunes store to show you what else is available. I realize this is of little use to those of us who are interested mainly in music from 25 - 35 years ago which has never been reissued on CD, but you can't fault Apple for gearing the product to the mainstream audiences of today.
Digital formats are a whole new way of handling recorded music. They open up a whole new range of possibilities, like dynamic playlists and customized albums, they are easy to share, and being able to take a huge collection of music wherever you go would've been the stuff of science fiction even 20 years ago. But you first have to learn about what they are, and how they work... much like someone would need to know the differences between an LP, a 12" single, a 45, and maybe even a 78... and how you will need different settings, and possibly different equipment to play them on. Or how cassettes, DATs, and a reel-to-reels are all tapes, but they have very different benefits and uses.
It may seem quite complicated, but I don't think it's any more difficult than older recordable formats, just different. Take the humble, simple audio cassette: for good results you need to understand recording level settings, tape formulations (type I, II, IV), length (i.e. why C-120 tapes are *not* a good investment), Dolby types, and if you really want the best sound, alignment and calibration.
I'm still not clear on how you're getting your music onto digital format in the first place. Are you recording vinyl onto a CD-R, and then extracting that on the computer? That might not be ideal...
* I know I know, CDs are obviously digital too, but nowadays most people use the word "digital" to refer exclusively to non-physical formats, so I'm going with common terminology here.
Underground Hit [Level 5]
What about passing the source of your nightmares to a current Ipod Touch user just to see where the problem resides?
The nice thing about these expensive toys is that they are interchangeable. You can actually use some of the (newer-legally-purchased) MP3s from another computer in order to test it.
After reading all these lines, I am still unsure where the problem comes from in this case (the computer or the Ipod itself).
I believe it worth giving this little extra effort before you put your new purchase to sleep.
There must be some "knowledgeable" user around you (no offense here) who could give your iPod a test drive from a different computer environment.
There's gotta be something to fix this...
Chart Hit [Level 6]
well, I DID discover 2 things I appeared to be doing wrong. Mistake number 1 was I attempted (a few times) to enter the title of the first song while it was loading. I saw the "loading" slow down when I did that and figured out it was a bad idea. Mistake number 2 was I was ejecting the CD directly after I heard the "confirmation" tone that it had finished loading.....I tried not doing that a couple of times, and I noticed that I still heard the CD spinning even after I heard the confirmation tone. I don't know if these were causing the problems or not, but I've decided to just stop trying, at least until my frustration and anger subside a bit. I STILL wish I could load songs directly from CDs into the ipod bypassing iTunes....I'm positive that when a CD plays perfectly in a CD player but skips, stops and starts when loaded into an ipod through iTunes, then iTunes MUST be the problem.
Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
But you'd still need a program to convert them to MP3 or AAC. Loading uncompressed WAV files onto an iPod is a bit like carrying around a reel-to-reel deck for portable sound. You *could* do it, but it's not the most practical solution.
Or, more likely, the problem is that your computer's drive can't read the CD correctly. If it's an audio CD-R, this is well within the realm of possibility, as audio CDs have very little built-in error correction. CDs weren't designed to be recordable or extractable; the fact that we can do it at all is something of a minor miracle.
Have you tried turning on error correction? On the Windows version, it's under the "Edit" menu, then the "General" tab, then click on the "Import Settings" button.
Chart Hit [Level 6]
if I'm able to both RECORD CDs AND make copies of pre-recorded CDs then doesn't that mean my computer's drive reads CDs correctly? But I'll try using the error correction but only after I give my nerves a rest from such technical frustration.
Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
Not necessarily. It may still have a hard time reading audio discs made on other drives. Remember how in the cassette days, someone could make a tape that sounded great on their deck, but horrible on any other? It's like that.
Then there can be other oddities... I have a commercially made CD (Thomas Dolby's "Retrospectacle") which I bought new. The disc does not have any scratches and there's no copy-protection on it or anything silly like that.
However, my Mac refuses to even read the TOC (table of contents, the part of the CD that tells the machine where everything on the disc is). I put the disc in, it spins it around for a minute, and then spits it out as if to say "bitch, what the hell is this?"
Meanwhile, my Windows PC reads it just fine.
Underground Hit [Level 5]
Do you still feel like doing this?
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