m4a vs. mp3.....

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Level 1

50 points

m4a vs. mp3.....

So my 30GB iPod is basically packed full. Every time I want to add something new I have to delete something else, or at least remove it from syncing. I saw how you can convert your selction to m4a or to mp3. Does this have any sort of effect on the size of the audio file (is one bigger than the other)? Also is there a difference in sound quality from one or the other? If there is a size difference it would make sense for me to condense all my stuff into the smaller format.

iMac 20" 2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo MacBook 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo iPod 30GB, Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Posted on Feb 8, 2007 2:34 PM

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Answer 1

Feb 8, 2007 3:42 PM in response to 30stones

MP3 and AAC (.m4a) are the same size when encoded at the same bitrate.

The general consensus is that AAC sounds better than MP3 when encoded at the same bitrate.
For example, a 4 minute song encoded at 128kbps AAC would be about 3.8MB in size. To have the equivalent audio quality in MP3 format, you'd need the song encoded around 192kbps... which would make the file larger than 3.8MB.

So... all that aside... what format and bitrate are your songs in now?

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Answer 2

30stones Author

Level 1

50 points

Feb 9, 2007 9:26 AM in response to Rich Fleming

I'm pretty sure almost all of my songs are in mp3 format. I have noticed that the songs in AAC format such as the ones purchased from iTunes do sound a lot better.

So here is my next question. I selected all of my songs and tried to convert the selection to AAC. The problem is that it basically makes 2 of every song in my library (one is the origianl mp3 and the other is the AAC). How do I tell which is which so I know which ones (mp3s) to delete? Is there a way to batch all of the AAC files to a new folder so I can have them seperate right from the get go?

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Answer 3

Rebus

Level 1

56 points

Feb 9, 2007 9:34 AM in response to 30stones

Select 'Music' in the Library

Go to 'View' menu > View Options

Select 'Kind' and click OK

Click on the 'Kind' column to sort. All your mp3s should now be grouped together.

Select them and delete.

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Answer 4

30stones Author

Level 1

50 points

Feb 9, 2007 9:40 AM in response to Rebus

Awesome.

Thanks I didn't know you could distinguish your music formats.

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