Hopefully, I can address every point you've identified.
iTunes cannot process Flac files, so it cannot convert them. I assume (and I could be wrong) that the ability to handle Flac files would require a licence to use the Flac codec. Since Flac is a minority format, one would have to consider whether paying for such a licence would be money well spent. Every manufacturer has attempted to introduce its own format, in order to gain kudos by setting the standard etc. and older mp3 players often played only their own format and mp3s. MP3 is the default format that all portable audio players can play, hence the generic term MP3 Player.
The quality of mp3s has improved, by using a higher Bit Rate. Store bought songs are now sold in higher mp3 format. In addition, Apple has its own higher quality format as well, but that format may not be usable on non-Apple players.
So, to get those pieces of music onto your iPod, you would need to follow my previous suggestions.
iTunes is four things:
- a database (or catalogue) of your music. It lists everything you add to it. The music is not "in" iTunes. Instead, it's kept in the location it was in when you added it to iTunes
- a music management tool. It allows you to edit the tags used in audio files that give you information about the music. Consider this: your computer deals with files. A document is one type of file, while an audio file is another, each one of which has a filename. Audio files tend to have filenames that indicate the name of the song. But that doesn't give you everything you might want when playing the song. So audio files have tags, which hold precise information about each part of the song, but don't interfere with the song itself. Once added to iTunes, those audio files become "songs". Each song is tagged to have the song name, performing artist, album title, composer and more. A lot of this information is used by people listening to classical music. I certainly use it. That's how one listens to the complete Four Seasons by Vivaldi, by one orchestra, even when you have two different copies on your iPod.
- a management system for iPods, to enable management of the IPod and its content
- an audio player. It can play all the music that it has listed in its database. When iTunes is used to play a song, it uses the file that you added to its its source.
Once files are added to your iTunes programme, they are known as songs. Using the term iTunes Library (which I always do), clarifies exactly what one is referring to, which is the sum of all the music listed in the iTunes programme, as well as Podcasts and audiobooks. Many users simply refer to "iTunes", which means the reader has to determine whether the writer means:
- the computer programme known as iTunes
- the iTunes Store, where some users buy their music
- the music that they've purchased
It's a minefield.
The only thing that iTunes changes are the fields that you personally edit. Those fields are used by other audio file players, so they should all read those same tags and supply you with the same information. That said, iTunes has additional tags that it alone uses. For example, iTunes can tell you how many times you've played a particular piece of music and it notes any rating that you've assigned to the song. That information is not used by other audio players. If you don't wish to make use of it, you don't have to - simply don't use it. But, as I previously mentioned, I recommend using basic information such as song title, artist (performer) and album title. Some fields may be populated, but you can simply ignore them.
There is an option in iTunes (the programme) to create an alternative (lower quality) version of your Library onto an iPod, in order to save space on the iPod. This does not change the original file, only the copy it puts onto your iPod. A Sync (synchronise) does not "change" the music or the file for that music.
More to come in next post....