iPod file formats and freezing

Question

Level 1

7 points

iPod file formats and freezing

I'm at my wit's end with this issue, and I'm about to dump iTunes entirely in the hopes of that fixing my problem. My issue (and this hasn't always been an issue, just in the last year or so) is that anything not in AAC format that goes onto my iPod freezes during playback on the iPod, usually around the 30 second point. I added some new things to my library recently, and I was hopeful that because most of it was in MP4 instead of MP3, perhaps it might not freeze, but alas. As I said, older things in my iTunes library that aren't AAC format continue to work just fine on my iPod. Did something about the encoding of the different formats change? I haven't tried any other formats, but I don't think I need to, given that the two most common ones don't work on my iPod. I can't imagine what's causing this, but it's incredibly frustrating, and I really don't want to have to convert every individual song I import to AAC and then track down the original in my library and delete it so my system doesn't get bloated with extras. Also, I shouldn't have to.

iPod classic, 5th gen white, 30GB

Posted on May 1, 2015 11:10 PM

Reply

Answer 1

the fiend

Level 7

22,548 points

May 2, 2015 1:46 PM in response to dmwingon

As I understand it, .mp4 is a video format.

Apple's AAC format, also know as .m4a, is the audio version of the .mp4.

and....

So, AAC or .m4a is the same thing, and your iPod should play a file in .m4a format.

MP3 is an audio format, which your iPod can play.

But a file in .mp4 format is a video file. Since there are variations in the video .mp4 format, your iPod may not play all formats of .mp4

So something about the format you are using isn't correct. How and from where did you obtain these problem files? Are they mp3 files purchased from a store, or what?

Your iPod should have no problem playing an audio file in mp3 format (the universal audio format used by everyone), along with several other formats too. The screenshot below shows the audio formats that an iPod 5th generation can handle (the Classic did not come in 30GB capacity).

dmwingon wrote:

... I really don't want to have to convert every individual song I import to AAC and then track down the original in my library and delete it so my system doesn't get bloated with extras. Also, I shouldn't have to.

You should be obtaining your music in suitable format to begin with, then you would not need to convert anything.

Buy your music from the Apple store (it will be in AAC or .m4a format) or from a recognised store such as Amazon (they'll be in .mp3 format). Import your music from CD using iTunes, which will do so using an appropriate format. If you buy from a specialist store, in a format which the iPod cannot handle, then either find another store or use something like Audacity to convert the files into .mp3 before importing into iTunes.

dmwingon wrote:

... I haven't tried any other formats, but I don't think I need to, given that the two most common ones don't work on my iPod.

But both .mp3 and AAC do work on the iPod.

dmwingon wrote:

...I'm about to dump iTunes entirely in the hopes of that fixing my problem.

...I really don't want to have to convert every individual song I import to AAC and then track down the original in my library and delete it so my system doesn't get bloated with extras. Also, I shouldn't have to.

Just a friendly word of advice... you're not dealing with Apple in this forum, we are simply fellow users like you. Ranting like that won't help anyone, but it will hinder you.

Reply

Answer 2

dmwingon Author

Level 1

7 points

May 2, 2015 5:45 PM in response to the fiend

the fiend wrote:

So, AAC or .m4a is the same thing, and your iPod should play a file in .m4a format.

MP3 is an audio format, which your iPod can play.

But a file in .mp4 format is a video file. Since there are variations in the video .mp4 format, your iPod may not play all formats of .mp4

I have had problems with MP3s. I was mistaken about the .mp4 usage; I was getting it mixed up with .m4a. I'm looking right now at three songs I recently added by the same artist, two of which I converted to AAC. The AAC ones work fine on my iPod, but the remaining one did not. All three are showing in the Finder as .m4a. If AAC and m4a are the same thing, I don't understand why this would be happening the way it is.

the fiend wrote:

So something about the format you are using isn't correct. How and from where did you obtain these problem files? Are they mp3 files purchased from a store, or what?

[...]

You should be obtaining your music in suitable format to begin with, then you would not need to convert anything.

Buy your music from the Apple store (it will be in AAC or .m4a format) or from a recognised store such as Amazon (they'll be in .mp3 format). Import your music from CD using iTunes, which will do so using an appropriate format. If you buy from a specialist store, in a format which the iPod cannot handle, then either find another store or use something like Audacity to convert the files into .mp3 before importing into iTunes.

I really don't see why the source of the files has anything to do with this, unless different sources apply different encoding to the exact same type of file. For all intents and purposes, I am obtaining them in a suitable format -- .m4a and .mp3 -- and yet they don't play properly on my iPod unless I convert them to AAC. On my computer, in iTunes, they all work just fine, it's just the iPod that has a problem with them, which also doesn't make sense to me.

I just had a friend grab an mp3 track off a CD and send it to me, as I don't have a disc drive in my computer anymore, and that played on my iPod just fine, so now I don't know.

the fiend wrote:

Just a friendly word of advice... you're not dealing with Apple in this forum, we are simply fellow users like you. Ranting like that won't help anyone, but it will hinder you.

You must not have ever seen someone rant before, because that wasn't ranting, that was me stating facts.

Reply

Answer 3

the fiend

Level 7

22,548 points

May 3, 2015 1:14 AM in response to dmwingon

dmwingon wrote:

I'm looking right now at three songs I recently added by the same artist, two of which I converted to AAC.

Sorry, I must be missing something here... you converted two songs out of three - why? What format were they in previously?

dmwingon wrote:

The AAC ones work fine on my iPod, but the remaining one did not. All three are showing in the Finder as .m4a. If AAC and m4a are the same thing, I don't understand why this would be happening the way it is.

But if the "remaining one", that you did not convert into AAC, shows as AAC, then presumably it was in AAC to begin with. So in that case, how can that "remaining one" not play correctly when you are implying that it is in a format that the iPod cannot play (is it in mp3 format?). As I stated previously, you should import songs in the format you want. Every conversion risks adding errors, which might cause an iPod to not play the song.

I really don't see why the source of the files has anything to do with this,

Because when you...

had a friend grab an mp3 track off a CD and send it to me

...that mp3 was a conversion by someone, or a burn from an mp3 download to a CD (because commercial CDs are not in mp3 format. Even "artist mp3s" can be dodgy if produced by the "artist's friend" rather than professionally produced). While that particular track plays okay (you state), that doesn't mean that any other one will. The same thing applies if you obtain an AAC file from a friend. You don't know how it became an AAC file, do you? (By the way, just so you know, if a friend gives you a copy of a song they have purchased, but you have not, that's copyright theft. Perhaps it would be easier to buy your own copy from a reputable source.)

As previously stated, iPods will and do play mp3 files without problems. But if that mp3 has been converted by "your friend" rather than being a commercially produced mp3, then there is a chance that it may be faulty. If your friend obtained the mp3 from someone else, then you have even less idea of how much quality was put into producing that mp3.

An mp3 that doesn't play on your iPod has been badly produced, due to a lack of quality.

Start again: obtain the song in the format you want it to be on your iPod. Do not convert unnecessarily. Your iPod will play AAC files (Apple's format) and mp3 files.

Reply

Answer 4

dmwingon Author

Level 1

7 points

May 3, 2015 4:26 PM in response to the fiend

the fiend wrote:

Sorry, I must be missing something here... you converted two songs out of three - why? What format were they in previously?

[...]

But if the "remaining one", that you did not convert into AAC, shows as AAC, then presumably it was in AAC to begin with.

As I said in my previous reply, they all apparently started as .m4a, and that's what all three of them show as in the Finder. I converted songs obtained individually, and left the ones obtained en masse alone. I don't know why, laziness, perhaps, or frustration. You say AAC and .m4a are the same thing, essentially, but nothing I've experienced agrees with that.

the fiend wrote:

(By the way, just so you know, if a friend gives you a copy of a song they have purchased, but you have not, that's copyright theft. Perhaps it would be easier to buy your own copy from a reputable source.)

I'm sure this will get this entire thread deleted, but yes, I'm well aware of that. I assumed my thinly-veiled comment before about not seeing why the source of the files should matter would be an obvious statement to anyone with eyes, but apparently not. I can't buy my own copies, I have zero income (and I mean zero, not just low income and nothing to spare on media), and I don't buy full albums ever anyway. I download things I find on the internet that I like the sound of, and recently I've been gathering songs I find in mixes on 8tracks. If I can't find an existing audio file download for a song, I find the video for it on Youtube and use a conversion site. I'll look into different sites, because I'll grant you that poor conversion is likely at fault. The thing is, I've been doing this my entire adult life, and I've been using one particular site for a long time now, but this problem has only started in the last year or so. Conditions are all the same as they have been, but there's a problem now. I don't expect an explanation anymore. I'll try using a different media player that isn't a huge bloated and overloaded monster like iTunes, and perhaps reformat my iPod and reload it from scratch, and see if I can resolve this on my own.

the fiend wrote:

As previously stated, iPods will and do play mp3 files without problems. But if that mp3 has been converted by "your friend" rather than being a commercially produced mp3, then there is a chance that it may be faulty. If your friend obtained the mp3 from someone else, then you have even less idea of how much quality was put into producing that mp3.

She pulled it off a CD for testing purposes for me, because there was literally no other way for me to obtain an imported track from an audio CD. As I said, I no longer have a disc drive in my computer because I needed a second hard drive instead, and I attempted to install iTunes on my mom's laptop but the installation failed, so "my friend" was the only option left. I'd appreciate it if you'd quit with the quotation marks that make it sound like you're doubting what I'm saying.

Reply

Answer 5

the fiend

Level 7

22,548 points

May 4, 2015 1:19 AM in response to dmwingon

dmwingon wrote:

I can't buy my own copies, I have zero income (and I mean zero, not just low income and nothing to spare on media),

I'm not convinced that the copyright owner would find that acceptable. After, it's the income from the music we buy that puts food on their table.

Perhaps someone else watching this thread could offer some help. I don't believe I'll ever be able to offer you a solution or advice that you find acceptable.

Reply