Easier way to convert MP3 to AAC

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Level 1

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Easier way to convert MP3 to AAC

First off, let me say that I am well aware that the second generation Nano will NOT play MP3 files. I have about 25 GBs of MP3 files that play perfectly on Winamp, Itunes, my Creative MP3 player, and on my 30 GB Video Ipod, but for some reason, Apple did not design the 2nd Gen Nano to be able to play these files. They either don't play at all or skip ahead to the next song half way through.

I've found that the only solution to this is to convert all of my MP3 files to AAC, or re-rip them through Itunes. However, this becomes an extreme inconvenience considering how much work and time it takes to either re-rip or convert 25 GBs worth of music. Once I add them to my library, I then need to select all of the MP3 files I want to convert. I click on "convert selection to AAC" and it makes AN ADDITIONAL COPY. This means that I need to buy a second hard drive just to store the AAC files. To make it more difficult, Itunes places the additional copy of each song directly below the original MP3 song. That means I have to manually select EVERY OTHER song in my library in order to copy it to my Nano.

So I basically have two questions:

1) Should I be able to play MP3 files on my Nano? Keep in mind that they work perfectly on a 30 GB Video Ipod.

2) Is there an easier way to convert my MP3 files that doesn't require me to hold down the Ctrl key and select every other track in Itunes? Maybe a third party program to do the conversion?

It seems ridiculous to me that Apple would design a digital music player that couldn't correctly play MP3 files, especially when multiple other products can play them just fine, including their own. Thank you for your time, and I apologize for the long-winded post.

-Dan

P4, Windows XP Pro

Posted on Jan 14, 2007 6:34 PM

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Answer 1

GFF

Level 4

3,654 points

Jan 14, 2007 7:00 PM in response to genistas

The nano can play mp3 music files. but make sure that the mp3 is lowercase.. TO convert the music files to AAC (which i like cause it makes the file more compressed) Simply go into itunes and go to the menu bar above go into EDIT menu adn choose SELECT ALL. that highlights all your files in itunes. go to the ADVANCED menu and choose convert selection to AAC.

That will convert allth e music files to AAC. its that easy though depending on the library size it will take awhile. i knwo what i described what to do is something you have tried but it really is the easiest way. to manage more beter select maybe a gig or so in a special playlist you convert at a time adn then delete the mp3 files......smaller playlist means not so cumbersome.:)

For some softwrae then simply google a search for some software that might do this ...though it might cost ya for the software as i found

the capped words is only meant to direct you in finding what i describe not to yell. 🙂

GFF:)

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Answer 2

Jeff Bryan

Level 9

61,797 points

Jan 15, 2007 3:11 AM in response to genistas

"Should I be able to play MP3 files on my Nano? Keep in mind that they work perfectly on a 30 GB Video Ipod."

Any file playable on a video iPod is playable on a nano. No need to convert anything.

Just a note about converting files. If you value sound quality, re-rip them don't convert them. Compressing an already compressed file will make the sound quality worse.

The mp3 file you already have are copies of the original. If you convert those to another format (say AAC), and delete the mp3 files from iTunes, you'll end up with a set of files that are a copy of a copy.

Not good at all.

" Is there an easier way to convert my MP3 files that doesn't require me to hold down the Ctrl key and select every other track in Itunes? Maybe a third party program to do the conversion?"

I'm puzzled by this. Why do you want to convert every other track? my guess would have been that you want to convert all of them.

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Answer 3

genistas Author

Level 1

0 points

Jan 15, 2007 9:36 AM in response to Jeff Bryan

I do want to convert all of them. the problem is that after the conversion, I end up with a library with twice as many files. Instead of grouping all of the newly-created AAC files together at the bottom, it places each new AAC file directly below the old MP3 file. Therefore, in order to copy the AAC files to the Ipod, you have to hold Ctrl and select every other song (the AAC files) and then drag them to the Ipod. If I wanted to just delete the MP3 files from my library, I'd still have to select every other song in order to select just the MP3 files.
For example, after I highlite a selection of songs and convert them to AAC, my library will basically look like this:

Song 1.mp3
Song 1.AAC
Song 2.mp3
Song 2.AAC
Song 3.mp3
Song 3.AAC

Maybe the better question is whether or not there's a way to group the songs by file type.

You also mentioned making sure the mp3 files are lowercase. Does this mean the entire filename has to be lowercase? That could be a pain to fix too.

Thank you for your help!

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Answer 4

GFF

Level 4

3,654 points

Jan 15, 2007 9:41 AM in response to genistas

no not the entire song title. what i meant by lowercase is the extension of the file type. like .mp3 instead of .MP3..earlier someone had posted on here that his file names were uppercase adn they were mp3 adn they wouldnt play on his ipod. hmmmm never read whether changing it to lowercase helped but do a search here.

GFF

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Answer 5

KaeBFly

Level 6

8,191 points

Jan 15, 2007 9:44 AM in response to genistas

In regards to the deleting the MP3 files after AAC conversion....assuming you want to do it immediately after the conversions have been completed, it shouldn't be a pain. Since the conversions (unless you are doing them one at a time as opposed to highlighting all of the tracks you want to convert)are still highlighted even after the conversion process is complete, you can simply right click (or go to File) and select delete. I have done this myself so I know that it's a painless process if you are choosing to make the deletion at that time.

As far as grouping the conversions seperately, although iTunes doesn't do it for you, if it's really important to you, you can go into the "Get Info" section and add (AAC) to the end of the track name if you want a way to seperate the two. But since you don't seem to have much patience that may be a time-consuming option you aren't interested in.

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Answer 6

Chris CA

Level 10

82,482 points

Jan 15, 2007 9:51 AM in response to genistas

Maybe the better question is whether or not there's a way to group the songs by file type.
Couple of way.
Right click on the column headers and tick Kind.

Or you can create a smart playlist.

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Answer 7

genistas Author

Level 1

0 points

Jan 15, 2007 11:43 AM in response to genistas

Thank you, I can't believe I never thought of just right-clicking the selected mp3s right after conversion, or arranging by filetype. That's one problem solved.

Now, I checked my mp3 files and they all have lower-case extensions (as seen by Windows explorer and Itunes). So I guess my final question is this: has anyone else seen this problem on the 2nd Gen Nano before? I still find it hard to swallow that two thirds of my 25 GB .mp3 music collection needs to be converted in order to play properly on this device, when I've never had any problems playing them on computers, creative mp3 players, .mp3-ready CD players, DVD players, or on other Ipods. Is there any chance it's defective?

Thanks again for all your help!

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Answer 8

Chris CA

Level 10

82,482 points

Jan 15, 2007 1:02 PM in response to genistas

I still find it hard to swallow that two thirds of my 25 GB .mp3 music collection needs to be converted in order to play properly on this device,
Converted to wwhat?
The iPod and iTunes will play mp3 files just fine.

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Answer 9

KaeBFly

Level 6

8,191 points

Jan 15, 2007 2:43 PM in response to genistas

What problems are you having exactly? I personally have never had a problem playing any of my .mp3 music in iTunes or on any of my iPods so I'm not sure if that's an iPod issue or if somehow it's a file issue. I tend to convert a lot of my files to AAC (IF the mp3's are larger in size) solely for the sake of fitting more of my vast collection on my iPods but the only files I have had trouble with occasionally playing on the iPod are MPEG files.

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Answer 10

Chris CA

Level 10

82,482 points

Jan 15, 2007 4:18 PM in response to KaeBFly

I tend to convert a lot of my files to AAC (IF the mp3's are larger in size) solely for the sake of fitting more of my vast collection on my iPods
Note that AAC and MP3 at the same bitrate are almost identical in file size.

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Answer 11

KaeBFly

Level 6

8,191 points

Jan 15, 2007 4:50 PM in response to Chris CA

I'm aware of this, but in my case my MP3 files will be signifcantly larger than an AAC 128kbps converted file would be.

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Answer 12

Chris CA

Level 10

82,482 points

Jan 15, 2007 4:56 PM in response to KaeBFly

So the original files you have are MP3 at a higher bitrate and you are converting them to a lower bit rate AAC?

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Answer 13

KaeBFly

Level 6

8,191 points

Jan 16, 2007 9:21 AM in response to Chris CA

Yes. That is exactly what I am doing. Despite what some have stated, the lower bitrate (in my case) does not significantly affect the sound quality of my tracks on my iPod...at least in no degree that bothers me. I retain the original MP3's of tracks that were obtained digitally on my hard drive with back up copies on CD's so like I said, my use of AAC is purely for the sake of space on my iPod. I'm not an audiophile that stresses deeply over the compressed files quality as long as the sound is good enough to be comfortably enjoyed on my nano. If I were, I would never have bothered with a small GB player like the nano...I would have opted for maximum GB to compensate for higher bitrate files. Of course, this is all my personal preference. For some, it works and they are happy. For others, it wouldn't be an acceptable choice.

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Answer 14

GFF

Level 4

3,654 points

Jan 16, 2007 3:06 PM in response to KaeBFly

im in the same boat as Kae I on my own preference convert my mp3 files to AAC simply for space on my ipod nano. I have read deeply into this whoel talk about file integrity with AAC vs mp3 and then at what bitrate is the level of perfection of attaining pure sound quality. after getting dizzy headed i finally said If im going to worry about such things then ill go back to CDs which most state is the perfection in sound quality.....(even im unsure about that:-O )so for everyday listening as long as it sounds good and isntmuffled adn sounding lieka wind tunnel then im happy. 🙂

GFF

congrats kae on level 3 :-D

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Answer 15

genistas Author

Level 1

0 points

Jan 17, 2007 7:03 AM in response to Chris CA

I'm sorry I didn't make myself more clear. I'm confusing this with another post somewhere else where I was told by numerous people that I need to convert them to AAC. Anyway, here is the problem I'm having.

When I try to play .MP3 files on my 2nd Gen Nano, most of them stop part-way through and skip ahead to the next song. Others simply don't play at all. I'd say only about a third actually play correctly. The funny thing is that they play PERFECTLY in Itunes, Winamp, Windows Media player, and on about a half dozen other devices, including other Ipods. I've tried reseting the Nano, Restoring it to the latest operating system, and recopying all the files to the device, all without success. It does play AAC files without a problem though. On some MP3 files it stops in random places, while in others it seems to stop in the same place every time.

Again, I apologize for not being more clear. Any ideas?

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