I've decided to finally make the switch from minidisc to mp3 for my music listening (and recording) pleasure. Determining which mp3 player to purchase is enough of a challange, but then where to obtain music and what format is another.

With ipod you can only download songs from itunes... and they are not really mp3s, right? And therefore cannot be played on another mp3 player? Then there are songs you can download and play on one player but not another? and in some cases for only a number of times? And cannot be copied? And if you miss a membership payment they all vaporize?

Then there's the subject of DRM, which I guess encodes these "mp3s" with specific limitations, but DRM can be removed? As you can see, I'm confused.

Anyway, I would like to have my mp3s playable whenever and wherever I choose, just like I did with my 45's... and ever with my minidiscs for that matter.

Any help appreciated.

Glenn

Glenn, use a small laptop, with Winamp to play your MP3's, Wavs, WMA. and any other format..I would also use VanBasco to play SMF's...You can select any song directly from your explorer window and they will play immediately...

By far the best way to work..ipods are a visual pain..same with DVD players...nothing beats the laptop..

Glenn, my personal choice has been the iPod. IMHO, I think it's the best player on the market. Too bad MS dropped the ball with the Zune because the form factor is terrific. I also have a 1 gig flash memory mp3 player that I use at the gym, it's no comparison to the iPod.

Couple of thoughts on the iPod. As I recall you can move music downloaded from iTunes around, it's not limited to one computer or iPod. (you may want to check out http://ilounge.com) Once you download music you can burn them to CDs legally. iTunes uses the AAC format. There are inexpensive I think (I paid about $20) file conversion utilites that can convert the AAC to MP3.

Not only do I use the iPod for music, but I also download podcasts both video and audio. (itunes has thousands). Podcasts cover everything from news programs to learning jazz piano. There are even some video sessions of Wynton Marsalis rehearsing with his band. I have a 30 gig model and it's got every bit of music I own, plus the podcasts and I still have about 10 gigs of space left.

[This message has been edited by Stephenm52 (edited 02-07-2007).]

Rip your cd's. Keep the cd's! Original cd's are very reliable, as opposed to burned cd's, which ten to vaporize over time. Rip the mp3's and you can do whatever you want!



------------------
Bill
smallGig.com
:::
As a songwriter, I need feedback on songs posted! Thanks!

Glenn, forgot to answer your other question...There are a lot of free sites[shared] to download free tunes..There are others for a small annual fee[$20]..

And you can also record your own, and save as MP3's..All within the same laptop..

Glenn
My MP3s now reside in my laptop which can be run through an amp, my home stereo or headphones.

I still use the Creative Nomad Jukebox (as you have seen me do) on jobs. But that model is obsolete and out of production now. But Creative has a variety of other MP3 players, similar to the Ipod and not restricted to Itunes.

For portability and personal use, the new, tiny MP3 players seem ideal. On gigs, the laptop is becoming my first choice for MP3 playback.

WinAmp is a very user friendly program where you can create and load customized playlists from your library.

There are a number of ways you could go, but the above seems to work fine for me.

Eddie
Eddie

[This message has been edited by btweengigs (edited 02-07-2007).]

Ipod, no doubt. I've got 2 Ipods myself, and I use them on my gigs.

Luis Santos

I've heard some of these sites (Kaza?) were plagued with viruses... maybe that's no longer the case, or the 'for fee' sites are safer?

There are some Russian sites available that charge as little as 60 cents for a complete album (in Mp3 format). There has,
of course been some question as to the legality - they do conform to all legal
standards in Russia. I have used some of them with no problems.
You can also purchase individual songs
ranging in price from 5 to 15 cents.
Bruce

Fran....correct again

So did Josef Stalin..... Legal standards in Russia!! What a joke. They are the world's center for piracy, hacking, spam and cyber-crime.

And now ex-Russian premier Gorbachev has the nerve to ask Bill Gates to show mercy to a Siberian teacher for using pirated WinXP copies in his school! Apparently he got caught and is sentenced to a Siberian labor camp. Gorbachev wants Bill to 'show mercy' and drop the charges.

I say Bill should say OK ONLY if the Russians show mercy, and stop using Siberian labor camps. Mercy is a two-way street.........

iTunes.
iPod.
Can't go wrong, and you CAN play MP3's of all formats. iTues can convert them to play in it's software.
Never, EVR had a problem with the software. Limewire, OTOH, has been a suspect in a few virus queeires around this house.
Stick with a proven winner - pay for the songs and enjoy !

I, too, endorse the iPOD. With iTunes, you can rip any CD and add the songs to your iTunes collection. You decide whether to convert the song to the proprietary Apple format or to convert it using the standard MP3 format. The Apple format provides the same sound quality as MP3, but in a smaller file size. If you download an MP3 from anywhere, you can easily import it into your iTunes library, as an MP3 file. If you purchase a song from the iTunes store, it will be downloaded in Apple's format. Of course, you can then use your purchased songs to make a CD -- a good backup process. And, if you want, simply rip that CD and import them as standard MP3 files. You can put your purchased songs on up to 5 computers. You can make 7 CDs of a purchased CD or songs. But if you mix the songs up, you can make as many CDs as you want. I currently have almost 9,000 songs on my iPOD, which conveniently fits in my shirt pocket. I can play it anywhere, including through my car stereo. I mostly like to listen, via the ear buds, at night before I fall asleep when there are no other distractions and one can really "listen" to the music without the noise disturbing anyone else. One final point, I'm getting along in age and my eyes aren't what they used to be -- and I have fat fingers! Other MP3 players have VERY SMALL text and controls and were much harder to use than the iPods, but they are a lot cheaper.

[This message has been edited by Joe Waters (edited 02-08-2007).]

[This message has been edited by Joe Waters (edited 02-08-2007).]