Ipod Video 30gb

[jonnypb]

Hi,

I'm thinking of getting the ipod 30gb video and wondered if people think this is a good buy? (I've always been anti ipod until I saw someones ipod video)

All my music collection at the minute is mp3 and I don't want to convert it to AAC so can ipods still play mp3's

Also they have these in the apple store for £143 for a refurbished model with a 1 year warranty - has anyone bought one of these or would you recommended spending the extra £40 to buy a brand new one?

Thanks

[ukbootlegs]

i was also anti ipod

i have had an iriver for a cpl ofyears and love it

bought the 60gb video ipod and adore it

yes it can play mp3 and DONT USE ITUNES it is ****

use anapod explorer from redchairsoftware.

fantastic s/w and just $25

[Dave W]

It will play all your existing mp3's.

If you have seen one and heard one and like it, then go for it.

With regards to the refurbed ones, as long as they aren't scratched to death you should be fine with the one year warranty. Go for it I doubt you'd be unhappy with it.

[jonnypb]

Originally Posted by ukbootlegs

i was also anti ipod

i have had an iriver for a cpl ofyears and love it

bought the 60gb video ipod and adore it

yes it can play mp3 and DONT USE ITUNES it is ****

use anapod explorer from redchairsoftware.

fantastic s/w and just $25

what is the battery life like for you? And is it a battery that you can replace yourself?

Is anapod a drag and drop piece of software?

thanks

[ukbootlegs]

yeh anapod is drag and drop

gives you a windows explorer interface

free version to use is on the redchair site

[extremelydodgy]

I don't see what's so bad about iTunes, If you actually learn how it works it's a brilliant piece of software. And you can drag & drop onto iTunes. The only people I can see it really affecting are those who steal most of their music, which are invariably badly tagged.


That said, some really good alternatives exist. Yamipod (and a couple of others exist) don't need anything installed on a PC at all. They work entirely off the iPod. The interface is like a mini iTunes and you can drag & drop onto the program.


J.River Media Center is undoubtedly one of the most powerful media management systems available. This was my favourite as it supports a huge variety of players (UMS such as iAudio X5, MTP such as Zen Vision M and of course the iPod) in a single package, as well as offering some very powerful library management and playback features. Yet for all that, it's pretty accessible and doesn't require you get your nerd on like Foobar.


Bear in mind that badly tagged or untagged tracks will give you issues in any program as the iPod expects tracks to be tagged.

[PJTX100]

iTunes is a strength, not a weakness, of going the iPod route. I have a relatively large collection (15000+ tracks) and it easily and intuitively organises them.

I have the 30Gb iPod vid and I have no complaints so far.

Be aware the iPod will not play mp3s gaplessly. But it's not alone in this respect.

[PJTX100]

Originally Posted by extremelydodgy

Bear in mind that badly tagged or untagged tracks will give you issues in any program as the iPod expects tracks to be tagged.

Agreed. Tagging is everything. I never add anything to iTunes until it has a full set of tags.

[ukbootlegs]

agreed files must be tagged properly

i always tag them when i rip my cds or convert from one format to another

in fact i even bught mp3tag to help with this as it is amazing.

i dont agree with your stealing music comments tho

i download lots of live bootleg music, hence my nickname, and this is extremely rarely tagged

i dont like itunes coz i prefer windows media player and windows explorer

i can continue down this route with anapod

just my 2pence

[jonnypb]

so does the music need to be in aac to play gapless?

I have quite a lot of mp3's which i'd like to play gapless - this might be a downfall

[PJTX100]

Originally Posted by bubble502

so does the music need to be in aac to play gapless?

I have quite a lot of mp3's which i'd like to play gapless - this might be a downfall

Not sure about AAC. Sony ATRAC is supposed to be gapless.

You can also load some (unofficial) firmware onto the iPod such as Rockbox which plays MP3s gapless apparantly.

Or you can re-rip the CD as one track.

I have quite a lot of CDs which likewise I'd prefer to be gapless but, though the gaps are a pain, it hasn't proved a showstopper for me so far. I view an iPod as an on-the-move device and thus it has its compromises. If I want to listen to the album definitively I'll play the CD on my home setup.

[linkster]

Originally Posted by bubble502

what is the battery life like for you? And is it a battery that you can replace yourself?

I've just bought a Belkin rechargeable backup battery which reportedly adds 5 hours extended video time. I didn't like the idea of buying one which needed 4xAAs at a time - just burns cash. Shall let you know if it's worth the money (just over £21).

[captain747480]

Originally Posted by bubble502

Also they have these in the apple store for £143 for a refurbished model with a 1 year warranty - has anyone bought one of these or would you recommended spending the extra £40 to buy a brand new one?

I recently bought 2 Refurbished iPOD Mini's direct from Apple.

Both work OK and you would not know they'd been previously owned.

With the 1 year Warranty there's no reason not to buy.

One word of warning, don't buy one as a gift because it doesn't come in proper iPOD packaging just a plain brown box with 'Re-conditioned' on the side.

[JeffB]

Originally Posted by bubble502

so does the music need to be in aac to play gapless?

I have quite a lot of mp3's which i'd like to play gapless - this might be a downfall

Gapless playback isn't possible on the iPod in any format. You could import the cd as one long track using the advanced/join tracks function in iTunes, but many people (including me) find this a poor alternative to "true" gapless playback.

[jonnypb]

Originally Posted by JeffB

Gapless playback isn't possible on the iPod in any format. You could import the cd as one long track using the advanced/join tracks function in iTunes, but many people (including me) find this a poor alternative to "true" gapless playback.

can it not play gapless using the rockbox firmware? if you put this firmware on will it invalidate any warranty?

Thanks