Wirrunna;360941 Wrote: > Posters regularly query whether they should use iTunes or some other > means of ripping and managing their music libraries, so I thought I > would write down my experience. > > In mid 2005 as a retired computer systems man with a thousand CDs > collected over the years I started looking for a better way of playing > music than a CD player. This review > http://www.silentpcreview.com/article287-page1.html got me looking and > this post > (http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=38242&view=findpost&p=337788) > sent me down the Squeezebox and iTunes Apple lossless route on Win XP. > When I found MIP the time consuming task of building playlists was > fixed. All was rosy. > > Then the iTunes problems started - the iTunes directory became huge > (>300Gb) and the library became corrupted and some music went missing > when I attempted to rebuild it, iTunes 7 point something broke MIP for > a short time, new releases of iTunes occasionally re-organized the > music library, it isn't easy to move the iTunes directory to a > different drive, there is an occasional noise at the end of iTunes > tracks (bug 4366, still not fixed) and finally I have a strong > impression that iTunes is treated as a necessary evil that has to be > endured by the SB developers. Time for a change. > > So after lots of research I bought dbPoweramp R13 and slowly started > re-ripping all my CDs to FLAC using a similar library naming structure > ([IFCOMP]Compilations\[album]\[track] [title] - > [artist][][IF!COMP][artist]\[album]\[track] [title][]) to iTunes that > works for me. My SB Music Library now consists of a series of shortcuts > that point to directories such as "FLAC Classical from xxxx" or "FLAC > from xxxx" where 'xxxx' is the location of the actual CDs - e.g. in > storage, at my house, at my son's house etc. I used MediaMonkey to > convert the remaining iTunes library to "FLAC from iTunes 1", "FLAC > from iTunes Compilations" etc. I also use MediaMonkey to convert > playlists to MP3 and load them onto my iPods. > > My advice - avoid iTunes, rip to FLAC with dbPoweramp, manage your > library with MIP and MP3Tag and use MediaMonkey to manage your iPods.
I was lucky and caught on a bit earlier to the hazards of Itunes. I like a lot about the program but don't like the proprietary stuff, the bad 128k downloads (yes they have better now) and the results of problems that would cripple your music system. I use dbpoweramp now along with mediamonkey and mp3tag. It all works great but I still try Itunes and keep up with it for my sons Touch. I use mediamonkey with my classic and the assorted rockboxed player I or my family own. If you have a problem with Itunes it can cause way too many problems with your music so now I just don't trust it much at all. Plus getting us all to buy music back then at 128 and thinking we were getting such a deal. Luckily I only bought about 10 albums before I caught on and ended up re-buying them all. Great deal. -- Nonreality -IF THE RULE YOU FOLLOWED BROUGHT YOU TO THIS, OF WHAT USE IS THE RULE.- HTTP://www.last.fm/user/nonreality ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Nonreality's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=15723 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=55209 _______________________________________________ ripping mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/ripping
