[RerRibreLok]

Quote, originally posted by MOORHOUSE »Another thing to consider here is iTunes.
It's a great service, but what they dont tell you is that once you buy an iTunes song (in aac format) you won't be able to put it on any player that doesnt use that format.
Apple's oh so loveable way of keeping you with their brand.
Actually, you can. I used iTMS before I bought an iPod-- you burn the purchased music onto a CD (-RW strongly reccomended) and then import the songs back into your computer.
But the only downside is if you buy lots of songs often, it becomes a hassle.
But then there's Microsoft's Janus. You have to keep paying or the music goes bye-bye, and it costs $5 more per month to import onto an MP3 player. Totally worth it. Sure, you can fill a device to the max for $15 a month, but you have to keep paying $15 a month or you have no more songs. Microsoft is totally making our lives better.

[lomonel]

I believe yahoo has the same deal going with their music service.
I buy individual songs, and cdms, rarely albums and never subscribe to a music service. pointless.
I guess i know why sony allowed the acc format onto their units now, so people can use itunes tunes on their units, most those bougth from itunes are copyrighted lol, then you're out of luck.
who rips to acc format though? i never rip songs to atrac for my sony, too much of hassle.

[RerRibreLok]

I rip to AAC. It uses less space than MP3, and my Walkman phone supports AAC, so it makes my life easier.

[lomonel]

So does atrac and wma, but both those formats suck. 320 mp3 for the win.
or flac, better yet, wav.

[RerRibreLok]

Quote, originally posted by Ascariss »So does atrac and wma, but both those formats suck. 320 mp3 for the win.
or flac, better yet, wav.
Well, my ears aren't that good, but AAC doesn't sound that much worse than MP3.

[Oberjej]

You can't actually hear the differences, it's just how the music is compressed. As a side note, I've decided to get the SanDisk Sansa E250 (2GB) as a secondary MP3 player, though I have to wait a few weeks to save up the cash. (two $600 car payments due at the end of June and July)

[intmarkworkk]

Quote, originally posted by Aidan »After using both of them, i decided to go with the iPod, the creative was seriously heavy. I'll upload photos of it later, It's a white 30g video.
Thanks for your help guys!
Congrats, and great choice! I know you'll enjoy it!
Quote, originally posted by Mil »Remember to get a cover for it, you dont want any scratches!
Before you go out and buy a case, however, make sure you do a lot of research (read reviews, talk to friends, etc.). There are a lot of them that actually cause more scratches. Although they are a little overpriced, I highly recommend the iSkin eVo3. Many of my friends have them for their iPod and say it was well worth the money. Check it out here:
http://www.iskin.com/eVo3gallery/features.html

[lomonel]

Quote, originally posted by JBlair »You can't actually hear the differences, it's just how the music is compressed. As a side note, I've decided to get the SanDisk Sansa E250 (2GB) as a secondary MP3 player, though I have to wait a few weeks to save up the cash. (two $600 car payments due at the end of June and July)
depends on the player, mp3 @128 when encoded correctly sounds acceptable, but the louder you play it, the worse it sounds usually. 192 is a cut off for me, and that's only for my mp3 player, everything I have is above 192 to 320, with many songs now at 320 since even though people say you can't hear a difference, you actually can, the song has more depth at 320 than say at 192.
When space is a factor rencoded, but I wouldn't recommend it, since you are rencoding from lossy to lossy format ie mp3 to acc or atrac.
blame my sony, i've become used to higher quality sound, that is why i stay in mp3 format, usually at 192 but mostly at 320.

[boffincash]

Quote, originally posted by Aidan »After using both of them, i decided to go with the iPod, the creative was seriously heavy. I'll upload photos of it later, It's a white 30g video.
Thanks for your help guys!
Same as mine! Good choice. You'll be damn happy with the iPod. I plan to go and have a look at the Creative when it comes into my local store though, to see what it's like. Oh and if you ever want to put videos on your iPod, try Videora.

[Oberjej]

Quote, originally posted by Hornbag »Same as mine! Good choice. You'll be damn happy with the iPod. I plan to go and have a look at the Creative when it comes into my local store though, to see what it's like. Oh and if you ever want to put videos on your iPod, try Videora.
Okay, just got my Sansa (decided to splurge early), and its an excellent player. Its got a great screen, great controls, and the built-in radio is excellent. While I was shopping I also took a look at the Creative Vision:M, and I've got to say, I was incredibly disappointed. Unlike the Zen Sleek and Microphoto, the entire thing is made out of plastic and feels like a nicely made childrens toy instead of a high-end MP3 player. The buttons were also a little disappointing, and felt hollow when they were pushed. The saving grace of the thing (and the only reason I would buy it over an iPod) is the screen; it is one of the most gorgeous portable screens that I have ever seen. It is crisp and smooth, and the graphical quality are insane. Still though, the negative outweighed the positive and I would still buy an iPod over it.

[boffincash]

I really like the look of one of the newer Sansa models, but their marketing campaign is, while it all sounds like a smart idea, is just desperate and a poor example of competition. For those who don't know, go to http://www.idont.com They basicly rip the crap out of the iPod in their marketing, which I feel is wrong.
But anyway, it's a shame about the Zen Vision:M. Creative seemed to be doing pretty well latley. Do their other units only consist of plastic too?

[S.T.D.]

I've got about 300 to spend on a new mp3 player, my Creative Zen touch is horribly dated. My options have been narrowed down to a creative zen vision M or an ipod video 30g. If any one has any other suggestions, please add them.

[RerRibreLok]

It depends on your priorities. In terms of an all-around MP3 player, I prefer the iPod, mainly due to its size, and I prefer the wheel.
But considering you're already using a Zen, if your files are in WMA, it'd be troublesome to convert them to MP3 or AAC.
If you plan on using videos more, then get the Zen.

[Oberjej]

Quote, originally posted by anonms »It depends on your priorities. In terms of an all-around MP3 player, I prefer the iPod, mainly due to its size, and I prefer the wheel.
But considering you're already using a Zen, if your files are in WMA, it'd be troublesome to convert them to MP3 or AAC.
If you plan on using videos more, then get the Zen.
itunes converts the files automatically when you add them to your library.

[RerRibreLok]

Quote, originally posted by JBlair »itunes converts the files automatically when you add them to your library.
I know, but it's not the fastest thing on earth. If he's got a big library, that would be PAIN. But it'd be worth it IMO. I'm not saying this because I'm a brand-working girl/fanboy, but the iPod roxorz.

[lomonel]

can't the ipod not play wma or mp3 natively?

[RerRibreLok]

Quote, originally posted by Ascariss »can't the ipod not play wma or mp3 natively?
WMA= Windows Media Audio.
Why on earth should the iPod support WMA (btw, any MP3 player with the "Plays For Sure" label doesn't play AAC files at all, either)?
iPods do support MP3, but I use AAC (partially because most of my music is purchased from iTunes, so they have FairPlay).

[lomonel]

Hmm really? my sony now can play, mp3 vbr/cbr up to 320, that's why I asked.
wma files
CBR 32/48/64/80/96/128/160/192/256/320 kbps
VBR 40-75/50-95/85-145/135-215/240-355 kbps
acc files
i. Sampling frequency: 11.025/12/16/22.05/24/32/44.1/48kHz
ii. Supported bit rates: 16 - 320 kbps, VBR (Variable Bit Rate).
iii. Copyright protected AAC files cannot be played back. In addition, it is not guaranteed that all of AAC files can be played back even if the above conditions are met.
I personally only use mp3 files, ranging from 192 up to 320 on my mp3 player, and vbr mp3 files as well, it's too much of a hassle to convert to atrac format and takes too long. the creative does mp3, wma and wav. I am sure sony is trying to tap into the people with acc formats from itunes, mainly in europe, canada and japan, where the new DAPs are sold.
here's a review of the creative
http://www.anythingbutipod.com...#more
I am biased since I am a hardcore sony user, and always have been but each product has it ups and downs. Aidan, specifically what else are you looking for in the player? say battery wise, file playback, size of harddrive etc.

[RerRibreLok]

[quote=AscarissI personally only use mp3 files, ranging from 192 up to 320 on my mp3 player, and vbr mp3 files as well, it's too much of a hassle to convert to atrac format and takes too long. the creative does mp3, wma and wav.[/QUOTE]
The iPod does WAV, too, but the iPod doesn't support DivX and its screen supports fewer colors.
I'm hardcore Sony all the way an all, but Sonicstage the pissed the crap out of me. -___- I hate that software (I stopped using it, and minidisk players, before Sony gave up on mandading checking in and checking out and converting to ATRAC3... all hail that british guy Howard whats-his-name!).

[lomonel]

Your quote screwed up lol.
I don't use sonicstage for my player, sonicstage is poorly designed, connect player had it's early teething problems, but now works like a charm for me, fast, quick and easy.
No more checking out for me, since I am using a DAP, i just selected the files i want to transfer and drag over, as well, I can make a playlist, m3u import and then transfer it over, if some songs are not in the library of the program,they are automatically imported, and if some songs are not on the unit, they are uploaded to the unit as well.
Quote, originally posted by anonms »
The iPod does WAV, too, but the iPod doesn't support DivX and its screen supports fewer colors.
I am sure that will be taken care off with a new model.