Section 64. Customize Importing Options


64. Customize Importing Options

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

9 Import a Music CD into iTunes


SEE ALSO

65 Import a CD in CD-Quality (Lossless) Format

66 Convert Audio Files to Other Formats


Apple suggests that you use AAC format in its default bit rate settings to import your music CDs into iTunes. Because this is probably the format with the best balance of features and performance for most people's listening habits, iTunes is configured by default to this format. However, you can use any of several other file formats to create your new digital music filesmost likely MP3 , to take advantage of the ubiquity of MP3 CD playersbut also with the option of several high-quality lossless formats for those who prize audio quality over disk space frugality.

The importing options you can set in iTunes also determine the default destination format for when you convert audio files from other formats, as shown in 66 Convert Audio Files to Other Formats .

1.
Open the iTunes Preferences

Open the iTunes Preferences window (choose Edit, Preference in Windows or iTunes, Preferences on the Mac). Click the Importing tab.

64. Customize Importing Options


2.
Choose an Encoding Format and Bit Rate

From the Import Using drop-down menu, choose an audio file format (an "encoder"). You might choose the MP3 Encoder to create MP3 files you can burn onto a data CD that will play in the car or on a portable MP3 CD player (see 54 54 Create an MP3 CD ). You might select the AIFF or WAV Encoder options, to create uncompressed audio streams converted directly from the raw CDDA data, without any file- size reduction, for use in high-quality sound editing. Or you might opt for the Apple Lossless Encoder , which creates files about half the size of the original CDDA music, but with the same dynamic range and clarity (worthwhile if you're a hard- core audiophile).

NOTE

Apple Lossless and AIFF formats are not supported on the iPod shuffle.

From the Setting drop-down menu, choose one of the available bit ratesthe MP3 Encoder option, for example, has three different encoding quality settings from which you can choose. Most of the other formats have only a default Automatic setting and some Custom options you can tweak if you're an expert.

3.
Specify Custom Encoding Options

Choose the Custom option from the Setting menu. This option is most useful if you've selected the MP3 Encoder option from the Import Using menu; the Custom setting allows you to adjust many of the parameters of the MP3 encoding policy. For instance, you can enable Variable Bit Rate (VBR) encoding, a popular technique that saves file size by reducing the bit rate in regions of the song that don't require as much sound resolution. You can also adjust the sample rate and number of channels, as you can with other encoding formats. Other options, such as Smart Encoding Adjustments and Filter Frequencies Below 10 Hz , are likely to be useful to experts only.

Click the Use Default Settings button to return to the default behaviors for the encoding format.

4.
Turn On Error Correction

Back in the Importing Preferences window, enable the Use error correction when reading Audio CDs check box to ensure that imported CD music is subjected to several levels of checking as it's being copied and encoded. This option slows down the importing process, but on a fast computer such as a Pentium IV or a Power Mac G5, you likely won't even notice.

Click OK when you're done adjusting the settings. When you import CD music in the future, the music will be saved according to these settings.



iPod + iTunes for Windows and Mac in a Snap
iPod + iTunes for Windows and Mac in a Snap (2nd Edition)
ISBN: 0672328992
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 152
Authors: Brian Tiemann

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