So I am wanting to get some audio talk to put on my Ipod for my commute into work and I am so confused. Can I only download podcasts from the actual Itunes store? Also, I have found such things as RSS - can these audio files be downloaded and put into Itunes? Sorry if these seem like dumb ques but I have no clue!!
That is what itunes would want you to think. Many blogs allow you to down their blogs as mp3s. If not.. You can capture your own. You can use freeware such as audacy to record audio you are playing on your computer. If you install the Lame encoder you can export your audio as an mp3, all for free. You can then add the mp3s to itunes by import. I am not a huge fan of itunes. The leading audio managers are Media Monkey and WinAmp. The two have completely different UI philosophies. MM has a busy UI while WA is more like itunes and has an uncrowded UI but it does a great deal more than itunes.
OK so is there anything in particular I should be looking for in an audio posting that I want? Will I be able to convert any RSS audio file into Itunes using the method you described above?
If you can download a file that is best. Next best is if you can hear the audio on your computer you can record it. Nothing to look for other than topics you would want to hear.
As previously posted, you record the audio as you play it. I Suggested using audacity but there are other free apps that will allow you to record what your computer is playing.
Is there a program (free) that is an alternate for Lame? I tried it last night but its telling me I have to pay as its not free.
Where are you looking? Probably you found it at the top of the Google hits where you must pay Google to be there. You should know those are ALWAYS bad deals. It can be gotten for no cost but not through that site. This is where you should have looked. This is on the audacity site. It tells you step by step what to do. On that site, they don't charge you money to download something given away. How do I download and install the LAME MP3 encoder?
Thanks for the reply. Most posters to not give feedback. In this case I knew it would work but with most cases the suggestions are only a good guess. It helps to get feed back in those cases. You might want to further compress podcasts down to 30 or below bit rate. Mine has no bit rate settings. Mine defaults to 128, which happens to be OK for what little I use it for. I suggest downloading the free trial for dbPowerAmp. Someone might know how to alter the Lame plug in but I don't. I suggest downloading at least a dozen encoders. Lame and AAC would be no brainers I would also get helix and maybe the Microsoft and a few more that look interesting to you. AAC and Lame avg bit rate are the best for heavy compression that play on an ipod. The human voice can be faithfully reproduced at very low bit rates because the highest pitch we can make is only about 2 kHz. That is coming from a soprano. A man's talking voice is probably only 1 kHz or less. The higher the pitch the higher the bit rate needs to be to faithfully capture it. I would also rip your CDs on the freebie. I consider it to be the best ripper out there (most of the time) then EAC which in some cases is superior. What is nice is it uses a professional tag database and not freeDB. It also comes with a handy tool for reading the tag info in audio files that you have the encoders for. This tool and the converter that works in File Explorer both work after the 30 days.
Thanks for the suggestion. I really just needed it for small 20-30 interview shows on the sports sites I like - gives me something to listen to about my fav teams. I actually put all my cd's into Itunes on my PC and just waiting for Boxing Day coming up to invest in a nice little Ipod so I can then listen to all my music via home theatre.
itunes is great for tag data but doesn't have a great ripper. Whether you can hear the difference with your equipment is a completely different story. Many people prefer to over kill the quality of their audios just in case they get better equipment. Even itunes will let you burn CDs so you can play what ever on your HiFi system. There you should be able to hear the difference. Try playing a itunes burned CD then the original. If you can hear a difference you might want to reconsider. Music ripped with a quality ripper can be imported into itunes.
That I am not sure about. I am also not sure about the actual dock station used to hook-up the Ipod to the stereo recvr. Right now I have Denon rec'vr that is approx 6 yrs old, so no offical Ipod hook-up. I would have to get a dock (that charges the Ipod at the same time) and the wires then connect it via the open slots at the back. Not sure if that would be digital or just analog sound.
Analog... Pipe your head phone jack to the Aux jack in the back. You can get the cord at Radio Shack in the US. It is a common enough jack. Your receiver only takes analog input, your speakers only play analog. That type of connection will maintain what fidelity you have, I suspect it is low. Going with any dock is unnecessary and using a cheap one will ruin the sound. Your receiver has a better amp than probably any docking stations even if it isn't a good receiver. There are loads of garbage out there. You can get away with murder with a docking station to amp because only persons that don't know anything buy them. It may be a bit less loud but you can compensate with increasing the dbs with normalization. I don't know if itunes normalizes or not. You might also boost the loudness by using other jacks in the back. A warning start on with low volume. The Aux boost the least. My amp is 40 yrs old and plays the ipod just fine, much better than yours for sure!
