Very Basic Music Syncing Problem From Complete Idiot

[IanKay]

Hi,

I just won an iPad2 a couple of weeks ago and have spent all my free time during this time uploading my entire CD collection to my computer with the intention of transferring it over to my new toy. I never realised what an arduous process this would be, but I finally finished yesterday and was happy that the folder size was only 10.3 Gigabytes. Having won a 16GB iPad, I thought this would be fine. I hadn't downloaded any apps, so there was plenty of room. However, when it came time to adding the songs to iTunes, I soon found that the vast majority of them had to be converted from WMA format into whatever weird format Apple recognises. I had to leave the computer running all night in order to complete this process. Now to my dismay I see that at the bottom of the iTunes page it's saying 19.14GB! I've been too scared to try and transfer them over now because of this. Here are my oh so dumb questions:

1. Is this file size figure (i.e. 19.14 Gigs) accurate or can I ignore it?
2. If it is accurate and I tried to transfer them over, what would happen when the iPad reached it's capacity?
3. Are there any ways around the problem I have illustrated here?

One final question if you don't mind...

4. In addition to the horrendously large file size, iTunes has written right next to it '8.4 days'. Does this pertain to the entire collection's playing time or how long it will take to transfer to the the iPad? If it's the latter then I can't think anyone in their right mind would bother!

I apologise in advance if my problem(s) has been answered a thousand times before and/or if I've posted in the wrong place. Rather than admonish me I'd simply appreciate a quick (and helpful!) response. You can then feel free to delete this entire post if you wish.

Thank you.

Ian Kay

 

[richsadams]

Welcome to the forum! There are a lot of great people here willing to lend a hand anytime. Often using the search feature (in the toolbar at the top of every page) will lead you to the answers you're looking for. If not, feel free to post a question in the appropriate area.

Please take a moment to view the information linked below my signature to get the most out of your iPad as well as our forum.

With respect to your questions...

1. The file size is no doubt accurate but without knowing what type of file type you opted to save your music to it's difficult to say why it's any larger than the original.
2. When you transfer music files to the iPad you have the option (your iPad's summary page in iTunes) of converting higher bit rate songs to 128 kbps AAC. That may allow you to transfer much larger files to the iPad in a much smaller format. I say "may" because again, I've no idea what the current file type is. For instance a 3 minute song at 320 kbps is about 7MB. The same song saved at 128 kbps is only about 3MB. So if you saved all of your music at a high bit rate but transferred it to your iPad at 128 kbps, a lot more will fit. In any case, when you select music to transfer to your iPad you can watch the Capacity meter at the bottom of iTunes. If you tried to transfer more than the iPad could handle you will get a message saying so.
3. See #2
4. 8.4 days is the time it would take to play all of the songs in your music library. The time it takes to transfer won't be that long.

FWIW here's what I do. My music library is too large to fit on my iPad and there is some music that I just don't want to have on it (holiday music, etc.) So I've created several playlists in iTunes specifically for my iPad. That way I can add/subtract music for my iPad as I go. More here:

iTunes 10: Playlists

Apple - iTunes - Learn about the features of iTunes 10.

FWIW no one will think that you're an idiot...just new to the iPad. We were all there once!

BTW, I moved your post to the iPad Help area where you're likely to get a better response to your questions.

Hope that helps, welcome again and enjoy!

 

[DefBref]

1) Its accurate.
2) It will transfer over as many as it can
3) Yes, you can select an option to convert and transfer them at a lower bitrate.
4) LOL Its the total playing time.

Next time use itunes to rip your cds in the first place, will save you having to convert them.

Do you really need all your music on your ipad, putting that much on, leaves little room for anything else (apps, movies etc) and it just becomes a gigantic ipod!

 

[IanKay]

Thank you both for your very rapid replies.

Having checked the iTunes folder on my laptop I can see that the former WMA files have indeed been changed to AAC audio (.m4a).

Taking on board what you said about the ability to tranfer the music to the iPad at a different bit rate, it begs the question, why does a higher bit rate exist in the first place? Does higher bit rate = higher quality? If so then no matter which way I turn it's going to be a compromise.

DefBref, you asked if I really need all the music on my iPad. No, I don't need it, but I do want it! Without wanting to be lynched by all of you genius iPadians (or whatever you call yourselves), if I hadn't won the thing then I'd never have contemplated buying it. So yes, it essentially will double for a big iPod, but with my original plan I'd still have had approximately 6GBs free with which to play around with apps and all manner of other stange and magical thingies. Hopefully I still will. I just need to fight my inherent lazy streak and actually READ the instruction manual before attempting to use it. 'Course, that's why I came here in the first place. I wanted all of you to just give me the relevant information without having to go to the trouble of reading tons of material that I'll never use or remember! Ha ha!!

Anyway, I appreciate the feedback from you both. I'll either get it working or drop it in the hat of the next homeless person I see.

Best wishes,
Ian

 

[richsadams]

Thank you both for your very rapid replies.

Having checked the iTunes folder on my laptop I can see that the former WMA files have indeed been changed to AAC audio (.m4a).

Taking on board what you said about the ability to tranfer the music to the iPad at a different bit rate, it begs the question, why does a higher bit rate exist in the first place? Does higher bit rate = higher quality? If so then no matter which way I turn it's going to be a compromise. <snip>

Hi Ian. To answer your question(s), yes. Like a picture where more pixels equal higher resolution more bits of data equal higher audio quality. The bottom line with regard to what level of compression you're willing to accept (if any) when listening to your music is your call of course...all ears are not created equal, nor is all music. How and where you listen to music and on what equipment also needs to be factored in.

I answered a member's similar question here:

http://www.ipadforums.net/off-topic/29728-anything-goes-thread-142.html#post320906

This thread isn't really the time or place to go into details (and there are a lot of them) but if you want to understand more about the process I'd suggest starting with this little article and then move on from there:

MP3 vs AAC vs FLAC vs CD | Stereophile.com

If you don't have time to read the whole article right now, this sort of sums things up:

What does all this mean? 
Basically, if you want true CD quality from the files on your iPod or music server, you must use WAV or AIF encoding or FLAC, ALC, or WMA Lossless. Both MP3 and AAC introduce fairly large changes in the measured spectra, even at the highest rate of 320kbps. There seems little point in spending large sums of money on superbly specified audio equipment if you are going to play sonically compromised, lossy-compressed music on it.

It is true that there are better-performing MP3 codecs than the basic Fraunhöfer—many audiophiles recommend the LAME encoder—but the AAC codec used by iTunes has better resolution than MP3 at the same bit rate (if a little noisier at the top of the audioband). If you want the maximum number of files on your iPod, therefore, you take less of a quality hit if you use AAC encoding than if you use MP3. But "CD quality"? Yeah, right!

Hope that helps and enjoy your new iPad. There's a short learning curve with anything new so give it a little time. In the end I think you'll soon find that it's going to turn out to be far better and more versatile than you ever expected!

 

[IanKay]

Rich,

I'm repeating myself, but thank you sincerely for taking such time and trouble to help me. Your advice has allowed me to do what I initially wanted and I've managed to fit my entire music collection onto the iPad with room to spare. I truly appreciate what you've done for me and wish you the best.

Kind regards,

Ian

 

[richsadams]

Rich,

I'm repeating myself, but thank you sincerely for taking such time and trouble to help me. Your advice has allowed me to do what I initially wanted and I've managed to fit my entire music collection onto the iPad with room to spare. I truly appreciate what you've done for me and wish you the best.

Kind regards,

Ian

Excellent to hear Ian (pun intended )...glad we could help.

Enjoy your music and your new iPad!