HT204310: Convert a song to a different file format with iTunes

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rudolph pitman

Q: Re: How to convert a song to a different file format

Ok, so after "converting" a few thousand songs from one format to another, how does one delete all the old files? Manually???

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Apr 6, 2015 12:07 PM

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Q: Re: How to convert a song to a different file format

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  • by Limnos,

    Limnos Limnos Apr 6, 2015 1:09 PM in response to rudolph pitman
    Level 9 (54,101 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 6, 2015 1:09 PM in response to rudolph pitman

    Yes, manually. You can view in column/list mode and sort by various attributes and select a range of file to make this easier if you have your files grouped in a fashion to aid in doing this.

  • by rudolph pitman,

    rudolph pitman rudolph pitman Apr 6, 2015 8:52 PM in response to Limnos
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 6, 2015 8:52 PM in response to Limnos

    There does not seem to be any way to sort files that allows grouping of those with the new format.

     

    I am supremely glad that I stopped the process after about a dozen conversions, because this is an extremely inelegant procedure. I am frankly shocked that Apply hasn't made mass conversion (rather than mass "create new version") user-friendly.

     

    So much for using Apple lossless. I am forced to stick to WAV.

  • by Chris CA,Solvedanswer

    Chris CA Chris CA Apr 7, 2015 2:53 AM in response to rudolph pitman
    Level 9 (79,555 points)
    iPhone
    Apr 7, 2015 2:53 AM in response to rudolph pitman

    Sort by Date Created. All the new songs all be at top or bottom.

    Or sort by Kind.

     

    May I ask what format you converted the songs from/to and why?

  • by rudolph pitman,

    rudolph pitman rudolph pitman Apr 7, 2015 2:52 AM in response to Chris CA
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 7, 2015 2:52 AM in response to Chris CA

    Sweet! I had to find/add the Date Added field to my columns menu (didn't realize there were submenus of selectable fields), but once added, I could sort by date created and confirmed that this will work after I mass batch.

     

    I originally imported all music in WAV format, from my CD collection. My laptop USB connects to an asynchronous DAC on my NAD amp. So in the end I get high fidelity music that I can easily scan and make playlists from.

     

    But now I will convert to Apple lossless for two reasons: 1) smaller files in Apple lossless (WAV doesn't compress at all); and 2) so that I can manually add artwork to the many discs that for one reason or another weren't recognized with Get Album Artwork.

     

    Glad it can be done, but ****, Apple should make this far more automated (like via a 'Convert to Different Version' menu item next to 'Create New Version').