You could use a conversion tool, I suppose and then just add them to the library without it importing or copying the files [from wherever you've placed the converted files on your laptop].
However, in my experience, iTunes conversion is about as quick as any. So you might not save much time that way.
You should be able to select all the tracks you want to convert and let iTunes go at it, but it'll still take a hell of a long time to go through all that music. No real way around it. Just let it run overnight or something.
Track by track? Have you tried just selecting an entire folder at a time & dropping it in? I've never had any trouble with that--the processing is still pretty slow, but at least it doesn't require babysitting. (Note that this was converting a different file format than aif, but I don't expect that should matter.)
I second 3. Set on mp3 import (high quality, please) and drop your iTunes Library folder in. Start reading Dickens. Should work out fine.
Also, if you're converting to mp3, then the LAME encoder is probably the best way to do that (though now that I think about it, I don't know if you can convert already-existing files on your computer to mp3. I've only used it to rip CDs.) There's also an iTunes plugin if you're using a mac.
You can also convert the files to aac in iTunes, which is supposedly better, but I don't really know the technical details of the difference.
re: 5
iTunes is already capable of converting to MP3 and doesn't need LAME to do it.
My understanding is that LAME is generally thought to be a great deal better than the native iTunes converter.
Rah, sorry to be dumb, but when I drag the itunes folder from the external drive, itunes copies the aiff files, even though the preferences are set to mp3.
My understanding is that LAME is generally thought to be a great deal better than the native iTunes converter.
I believe it is, but I think I've also heard that iTunes tried to improve their variable bitrate encoder by more-or-less copying LAME, so it could be much closer on quality now.
The problem with LAME is that I believe you have to either call on it from another program or through command lines, and I believe it requires WAV files for input. So you'd have to write up a script that calls on something to turn the files from aif to wav, then calls on LAME to convert wav to mp3, for every single file. Might as well just use the simple iTunes method.
but when I drag the itunes folder from the external drive, itunes copies the aiff files, even though the preferences are set to mp3.
Err... assuming iTunes works, that is.
"Rah, sorry to be dumb, but when I drag the itunes folder from the external drive, itunes copies the aiff files, even though the preferences are set to mp3."
Ugh.
Select all the tracks inside the iTunes application.
Then trigger the menu item Advanced -> Convert Selection to MP3.
Do you need help figuring out how to use your mouse as well?
Hmmm. Well, all I know about software I've learned by fucking around until I get what I want, so I'm no expert.
What I'd try next is making a test file--throwing, say, 5 folders into a desktop folder called something like "transfer" & then importing from there.
10: yes. But if I do it your way, don't I get mp3s *on the external drive* rather than in a different itunes library?
I mean, I could get itunes to convert all the aifs to mp3s in the same library and then move the mp3s over to the laptop library, but I was hoping for a simpler solution.
As long as they're converted in the laptop's iTunes & not the desktop's, that sounds disquietingly simple.
I'd advise enabling VBR encoding in the prefs and setting quality to high. It'll take a bit longer, but you'll have significantly higher quality MP3's for the same amount of disk space.
If you're willing to encode at a high bitrate like 256 VBR high quality, you can essentially toss out your AIFF files. The quality should be almost totally indistinguishable even with high quality audio gear.
Even 192 VBR high quality should be acceptable for a large proportion of listeners.
14>10
But I'm starting to suspect I've failed to understand what exactly you've tried, or even what your exact goal is. It seems to me you should have no trouble tranfering whatever you want to from the external drive into a desktop folder on the laptop, then importing from that folder to iTunes. But maybe you've tried that already?
"yes. But if I do it your way, don't I get mp3s *on the external drive* rather than in a different itunes library?"
Jesus. Are you sure you don't need help in using your mouse?
1) Convert the files to MP3.
2) Enbale the "Kind" column in iTunes so you can sort by MP3 vs AIFF.
3) Drag the MP3 files to your internal drive.
If this doesn't work, I'd advise soaking your computer in warm soapy water for 45 minutes. That will solve many MP3 associated computer problems.
You can use lame with preëxisting tracks (jeez, mattf!) and AIFF input (jeez, JAC!).
You've got a mac, right, labs? Just give me an account on it.
17: I don't know why I'm surprised to learn that the price of free advice is ass-jackal snark. I'll make a note about that in future.
Wait, my bad, I misread and thought you were being snarky to Rah and I had to step up to the boyfriend plate and get defensive on his behalf. Carry on.
What's your clever solution, Ben?
I would just create a directory full of converted mp3s without waiting for your dithering.
22: now, now. I was going to make fun of the differences between 10 and 17, but I had totally overlooked that I can sort by kind, so Petey's advice is actually helpful-- I was imagining moving the newly converted mp3s one by one, and then having to delete them from the external hd library so that I wouldn't have duplicates of everything.
[coelacanth ~ 11:18:23]$ lame --preset extreme tng1023_karkowski_uexkull.aif
LAME version 3.96.1 (http://lame.sourceforge.net/)
Using polyphase lowpass filter, transition band: 19383 Hz - 19916 Hz
Encoding tng1023_karkowski_uexkull.aif to tng1023_karkowski_uexkull.aif.mp3
Encoding as 44.1 kHz VBR(q=0) j-stereo MPEG-1 Layer III (ca. 5.7x) qval=3
Frame | CPU time/estim | REAL time/estim | play/CPU | ETA
500/141218 ( 0%)| 0:01/ 8:11| 0:01/ 8:48| 7.5065x| 8:46
32 [ 28] *******
128 [ 11] %%%
160 [ 7] %%
192 [144] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
224 [276] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
256 [ 34] %%%%%%%%%
320 [ 0]
23: and here I was, getting all emotional. You jerk.
I knew this would happen eventually: Ben is now talking pure code.
On consideration, perhaps the trouble is that everybody's talking about only one computer, while I've been thinking about two. I still think the point is to transfer files first, then import & convert after; but I'm sure somebody can identify & explain a process faster than I can.
"so Petey's advice is actually helpful"
I wouldn't have included the jerky tone if I wasn't actually being helpful...
Rah, I can't import then convert, because the laptop hard drive is too small for all the aifs. I have to make smaller files, then get them on the laptop. Petey's solution is the easy way to do it, I'm afraid.
17: I know it was just a typo, but I'm kind of taken with this not-yet-a-word, "enbale." I think it should be quickly put to use as a tech-related neologism, preferably with a meaning that will maximize confusion when it inevitably appears alongside misspellings of "enabled" in troubleshooting forums. To add to the fun, I think "enbail" is also a word waiting to happen.
Enbaling is familiar to those who want to hide needles.
Is it too late to talk about iPod sound quality? I bought a pretty good stereo a few months ago and noticed the same thing. From reading around, here are two things that I learned.
First, it depends on what generation of iPod you have. The iPod generates an analog signal from a digital source, which means that it needs a piece of electronics called a Digital Analog Converter (DAC). The DAC in the last couple of generations of iPods is of considerably higher quality than the DAC in the earlier generations. I don't know about the DAC in the tiny little iPods or the iPhone.
Second, as noted in the Mother Teresa thread, the minijack output doesn't match the quality of the 24-pin connector in the base. The most straightforward way to address this is to use a dock. The standard iPod dock will give you better sound than the minijack, but you can also buy specialized audiophile docks with higher quality connectors.
Also, and this is where my gadget lust gets out of hand, there are a couple of companies out there which will hack your iPod to help you get a higher quality signal. For example, Red Wine Audio's iMod is a hack that connects a high quality analog output directly to the iPod's DAC, bypassing the minijack and some other circuitry which (they say) degrades the audio signal. There's another company which will hack the iPod to give you a direct digital out which you can then connect to your own external DAC.
Also, I believe the proper spelling is b-e-n-n
Only if the name of a doctor and modernist.
I'll assume that you have two computers (the post is ambiguous on that score).
1)Mount the laptop's internal harddrive on the desktop using Target Disk Mode
2) Set the desktop's iTunes library location to be a folder on the laptop drive. Make sure you don't select Consolidate Library at this point.
3) In desktop's iTunes, select all the AIFF files you want to convert. Kick off the Advanced->Convert to MP3 function. This will cause all the AIFF files to have MP3 versions created on the laptop's drive (and be in the desktop's iTunes library). It will also take a long time for large values of AIFF.
4)Quit the desktop's iTunes, unmount the laptop drive, start up the desktop's iTunes, sort the library by file type and remove all the MP3 files. iTunes might yell at you about not being able to find the files, but that's the point.
4b) Set the iTunes library location on the desktop back to the external drive.
5) Start iTunes on the laptop import all the MP3s into iTunes.
6) Listen to your MP3s with a child-like sense of wonder.
This is where using something like foobar2000 [if it was a PC] would be easier.