515 Crew

[Bullet Tooth]

its all pretty straightforward. what do you find unbelievable?

[TooManyHumyns]

question...
everytime i plug my ipod(touch) into my computer to charge, the set time on it changes to some wacky time...for instance if it is set to 9:30pm and i plug it in, it will immediately change to 7:13am....
anybody have any idea as to why this may be happening....my computer clock is accurate, its not that big of a deal...i just change it back, but is there something i can do to fix this?

[robdigi]

Restore the iPod. Plug it in, and click "Restore" on the Summary screen in iTunes. The Summary screen is the one with a picture of the iPod. This will erase everything on your iPod, but you can sync everything back onto it once you've restored it. Once you've restored, choose "set up as a new iPod" rather than "restore from backup", because it's likely the software glitch that is causing the incorrect time is stored in that backup.

[Nick]

iTunes sucks on Windows. Truth. Use it to load yr iPod and play your music in another app if you need to- ideally Foobar (http://www.foobar2000.org/) if you know your shit.

Yeah...foobar is nice. I like how customizable it is.

Media Monkey is also great and what I use most.

[joseph]

so i ...obtained a 30g ipod. ive loaded about 15g(i dont know these terms) on it from my own cds. i started playing with mediafire a little.

but my current issue is how do you make rar? files into ... songs for itunes?

and i know nothing about digital music but the ipod sounds like complete shit. is there a way to change the quality of the downloads? im sure its just that its an mp3(i dont really know what this means) instead of an... actual file?

[robdigi]

sound quality is determined by the type of encoding used. if you aren't creating the MP3s yourself, chances are they are going to sound like shit due to shitty encoding. look for stuff labeled V0 or 320kbps. these are higher quality encodes. the best way for a layman to go is just rip your own stuff using iTunes, and set the quality to "high", rather than using the default settings.

RAR files are like containers, the music files are inside. just like a ZIP file. download a freeware RAR utility. http://lmgtfy.com/?q=freeware+rar+utility

[joseph]

sound quality is determined by the type of encoding used. if you aren't creating the MP3s yourself, chances are they are going to sound like shit due to shitty encoding. look for stuff labeled V0 or 320kbps. these are higher quality encodes. the best way for a layman to go is just rip your own stuff using iTunes, and set the quality to "high", rather than using the default settings.

RAR files are like containers, the music files are inside. just like a ZIP file. download a freeware RAR utility. http://lmgtfy.com/?q=freeware+rar+utility

i will try the rar files since ive kind of made the zip files work. somehow?

im using itunes cause its on the computer. i didnt even think to look for a quality type thing.

thanks

[robdigi]

also, use good headphones. the ones that come with ipods are cheapo and will sound bad no matter how you encode your music.

[joseph]

i dont use headphones. i got a fm modulator? for the van and i plug into computer speakers at work. its iffy but its better than listening to these people talk.

[robdigi]

well, that's gonna sound bad too. those things never work very well unless you are in the middle of nowhere... too much interference from real stations.

[joseph]

i took it to south dakota last weekend. i only had to change the preset twice. ive done it 3 times since i got back to dsm last night. is there a better way to play it in a vehicle?

i dont expect it to sound anywhere close to my actual stereo just kinda surprised that the cds dont sound like cds

[Big Fat Retard]

You might try to mess around with the EQ settings in the ipod itself. They have several of them. You just have to find the right one.

Also in the itunes program, you can customize your eq for each song or album if you want and you can give a song or album a volume boost.

[Insomni]

I agree that itunes is a laggy whore, and so I use Winamp. There's a plugin for Winamp that lets you sync your ipod(and most other devices) with it. Winamp is also skinnable, which I like. It's not as custumizable as Foobar2k, but hell of a lot less work.

[DaVo]

Anyone used DoubleTwist by DVD Jon. I've been playing around with it when syncing my pre but it seems to hide files just like iTunes. Sorry I'm a control freak and want to be able to do access my media files through the standard drag and drop usb drive. Since it will sync iPod, even Apple users can dump the memory hogging iTunes. Think of iTunes without the iStore and the rest of the iCrap.

However it is suppose to be the rosetta stone of media programs and may solve a lot of head aches. What it does is it reads what files can be played on the device and converts the files to a format that can be played on that device. It will also sync your iTunes and WMP playlists. There is also some social networking/media sharing option which I haven't played with. I'm guessing that it is streaming but could be very interesting. Especially if you have a number of machines on different networks. Like streaming your files on your work computer from home or elsewhere. Oh and get this it can import and sync youtube video.

Right now it's in beta and I'm not sure if it will be open source or not. However if it performs the way it's supposed to, it maybe worth it paying out.

http://www.doubletwist.com/dt/Home/Index.dt

[Nick]

You can get near CD quality MP3s by ripping your own CDs with dBPowerAmp. It is the best and easiest ripper I have found. It has LAME encoding built in (which is sweet) and is super easy to use (unlike programs like EAC, which can be a bitch to set up).

It tags all your MP3s very nicely too. All you do is put the CD in, type in the tracklisting, album title, genre, etc. and when you rip it, it does the rest.

To get V0 rips (best quality MP3s with reasonable file sizes) with LAME encoding, you simply choose "Extreme" quality then hit "rip." It will put it in a folder of your choice.

As for the FM transmitter audio quality with your iPod....that is always going to be present, even with the best quality MP3s. That's because it is taking the music (which has already been degraded from the original recording by converting to MP3) and transmits the signal across FM radio (which further degrades the quality) and then sends it to your speakers. So it is like taking a shitty dubbed tape, dubbing it off again, and then playing it in your car stereo. If you listened to the same MP3s straight through your iPod with headphones, they would probably sound just fine.

[joseph]

If you listened to the same MP3s straight through your iPod with headphones, they would probably sound just fine.

i hate headphones. always have. and its illegal to drive with headphones but you already know this cause....

[Nick]

If you listened to the same MP3s straight through your iPod with headphones, they would probably sound just fine.

i hate headphones. always have. and its illegal to drive with headphones but you already know this cause....

Then there really isn't a way to play your iPod in your car other than FM transmitter, unless you have an MP3 jack that goes directly into your stereo. Unless you have a fairly new car or stereo, this probably isn't the case though.

[joseph]

its not like i was expecting an ipod to sound decent, let alone good. i mean most of the crap played on radio stations are mp3s anyway. i just hate wearing headphones and isolating myself from my surroundings. im not 15 anymore.

[Nick]

its not like i was expecting an ipod to sound decent, let alone good. i mean most of the crap played on radio stations are mp3s anyway. i just hate wearing headphones and isolating myself from my surroundings. im not 15 anymore.

I don't care for headphones either. But they are essential when I am at work or at the gym.

[Shane]

How can you use headphones at work when you spend all day inside your patrol car?

Goddammit, I did it too.

[joseph]

so im using the ipod at work with headphone speakers on my desk. i only get 1 speaker to work. i tried some headphones same problem. is there a cheat to cleaning the headphone jack without taking it apart?

[Hank Fist]

jesus christ, joseph, get a fuckin' walkman.

[joseph]

right. i know how to clean those. you just wrap the headphone cord real tight until it makes contact. doesnt work with this ipod.

technology doesnt like me.

[robdigi]

blow out the headphone jack with compressed air or computer duster - if you still see lint or anything in there, fish it out with a toothpick or similar tool. 9 times out of 10 what you're experiencing is caused by lint or debris in the jack.. the other time it is usually caused by putting too much lateral pressure on the plug and damaging the internals of the jack.

[joseph]

blow out the headphone jack with compressed air or computer duster - if you still see lint or anything in there, fish it out with a toothpick or similar tool. 9 times out of 10 what you're experiencing is caused by lint or debris in the jack.. the other time it is usually caused by putting too much lateral pressure on the plug and damaging the internals of the jack.

i tried it. no dice. looking at the tabs they look like they need cleaned. suggestions? i dont want to scrape much but i dont think a cotton swab will fit in there

[robdigi]

I doubt the problem is due to dirty contacts... unless you've been storing poop in your headphone jack. Never ran into that problem out of the thousands of iPods I have serviced. Try putting pressure on the headphone plug from various directions and see if the other channel comes back.. if that's the case, time for repair or replacement.. the jack is broken.

Sometimes it looks like the jack is clean but debris can get packed in the bottom of the jack pretty solidly. Use a needle or something strong to dig it out. you won't do any damage unless you pry really hard... there's nothing you can damage at the bottom of the jack aside from the liquid submersion indicator which shouldn't matter much if the ipod is already out of warranty. If it's in warranty, just take it to the dang Apple store.

[joseph]

I doubt the problem is due to dirty contacts... unless you've been storing poop in your headphone jack. Never ran into that problem out of the thousands of iPods I have serviced. Try putting pressure on the headphone plug from various directions and see if the other channel comes back.. if that's the case, time for repair or replacement.. the jack is broken.

Sometimes it looks like the jack is clean but debris can get packed in the bottom of the jack pretty solidly. Use a needle or something strong to dig it out. you won't do any damage unless you pry really hard... there's nothing you can damage at the bottom of the jack aside from the liquid submersion indicator which shouldn't matter much if the ipod is already out of warranty. If it's in warranty, just take it to the dang Apple store.

it was a free ipod, a buddy bought it cheap and was kind enough to borrow it to me. the battery barely lasts 2 1/2 hrs. if i had some spare money id just buy a dock cause my speakers sound like crap anyway but the metal building i work in barely gets radio reception.

i will head out to the warehouse now and see if i can find a needle or something.

[joseph]

so i got a flashlight and a toothpick. where the point of the plug makes contact with the ipod(trying to explain is weird) in the ipod the gold(copper?) is worn of in a circle. if i push the connector real hard itll work but im assuming because the gold isnt making contact when i push it (real good) it makes contact with the outer part. so im guessing im just out without a replacement.

[robdigi]

if the battery is poor but everything else looks good superficially, you can get it replaced for 60 bucks. make an appointment to have it looked at and tell them the battery sucks. don't mention the headphone jack. they will swap the whole ipod for the price of a battery.

[joseph]

i will keep it in mind.
THanks