[midwinter]

Hi all.

I just noticed today that since updating to iTunes 4 and the new iPod software, my iPod will not allow me to drag mp3s to it for manual updating. It accepts AAC files fine.

Any ideas?

[midwinter]

Update: It's not all MP3 files. Ripped tracks transfer fine. Tracks downloaded from MP3.com won't go.

[michaelb]

Are you kidding?

I've got half of Kazaa working to fill my 30 GB.

(Er, I didn't say that. What does Bart Simpson say - "I didn't do it, you didn't see me, you can't prove it".)

Oh, give me a break, the iTunes Music Store isn't available in Australia yet.

And I have made the record industry fatcats *very* fat with years of buying overpriced, locally uncompetitive CDs.

I assure you all normal .mp3 files work just fine on iPods. However, badly encoded ones can cause skipping to the next track on 3rd gen iPods, but these are barely worth listening to anyway. If you come across one, download a higher quality copy.

If you're still using Mac OS 9, make sure they end in ".mp3" though. Under 9, files downloaded from the internet longer than 28 chars (31 char limit) will lose the full extension.

[midwinter]

Well, despite your assurances, some MP3s--and clearly those I've downloaded from MP3.com--will NOT transfer. I import them into my iTunes library and when I try to manually drag them over to my 20-gig iPod, the iPod doesn't accept it.

[icruise]

What bitrates etc are listed in the info screen for those files?

[midwinter]

Originally posted by Icruise:
What bitrates etc are listed in the info screen for those files?

Ah ha!

Here's what I've figured out: when you download an MP3 from mp3.com using Safari, it opens it in a new window and plays it via quicktime rather than just downloading it to the desktop.

Now, if I save the file by selecting "save as source" iTunes will not accept it. Go figure.

If I "save as quicktime movie," the file saves with a .mp3 filename and plays fine, but registers with iTunes (in the file's summary info) as a Quicktime file.

Perhaps this is the reason?

[icruise]

Sounds reasonable -- the ones that don't work are probably not actual MP3 files. iTunes will accept several formats that the iPod itself can't play, so they probably work in iTunes ok.

[michaelb]

No, there is nothing wrong with the format from mp3.com.

You simply aren't downloading the files correctly.

What you really need to do is CONTROL-CLICK the download link and choose "Download link to disk" . This will download the mp3 to your desktop.



You can then simply drag this into iTunes and transfer it to the iPod the normal way.



I've just been to mp3.com and done exactly this. My iPod plays them just fine so there is no problem with the file format.

My assurances stand!

[midwinter]

Woot!

I didn't realized that you could simply download the link directly. *smacks self in head*

Thanks!