[Mr. Bob]

Ok, not sure if this belongs in this forum, "being both iTunes and iPod" so admins can move in necessary.

I have a question about AAC and iPod. Correct me if I am wrong, but the iPod is the only music player that supports AAC, right? Now, with iTunes only offering AAC files, what happens if Apple starts to make crappy iPods. Aren’t they locking people into using only Apple iPods? I understand the only other option is using WMA with the other music stores, but at least there are more WMA players then AAC players.

The reason I say this is because this is influencing whether or not I buy music from iTunes. If I spend a lot of money to get a lot of AAC music, and even an iPod, what happens if iTunes starts to suck, and the iPod starts to blow goat? Although I still think currently its the best music player available, "and I know AAC is a standard although people are not using it" what if down the road--2 years--iPods suck, iTunes suck and I am stuck with music that doesn’t work with anything else? With mp3’s I have some on my computer that are 4 years old now, and are still great for me, so time really is not an issue here.

I know iTunes will not switch to WMA, because that would loose money from Apple with iPod sales. Also, I know Napster will not switch to AAC because they will make less money. But overall WMA is more compatible--because of more services--then AAC, there also more WMA players--albeit not as good.

Just wondering what people think is in the future. Do you think AAC will ever be used for more music stores then iTunes? Do you think iPod should support WMA? Or do you think overall we are just screwed, and need to get into the mindset of spending more money if the time comes. WUZ UP in your mind in this issue, or am I missing some important info--which if I am, please explain.

Thanks

[wataru]

Just keep using MP3s in iTunes and your iPod if you're worried. There's nothing that requires you to use AAC. Just don't use the iTunes Music Store and you won't have to touch a single AAC file.

Personally, I am not worried at all. If I ever need to I can just rerip my CDs as MP3s (or whatever the new popular format will be) and I can burn and rip my protected AACs.

[Earth Mk. II]

Supposedly, the chipset Apple is using do do the AAC/MP3 decoding in the iPod is the same one used in some WMA/MP3 players (Portal Player's PP5002). It's just that Apple doesn't use the WMA decoding ability, and the WMA players don't use the AAC decoding ability.

I'm not sure if this is 100% true (info from a Slashdot story), but it's feasible (I checked Portal Player's website, and the product sales/spec sheet confirms that the chip decodes both WMA and AAC, and supports encrypted media). And the restrictions don't sound unreasonable when you consider licensing fees and all.

So, it's really a matter of licensing FairPlay - a decision for Apple to make (and will probably delay making until iPod sales cease being profitable, and more money would be gained from selling licenses for the DRM then physical iPod units - at which point I'd say it's about a 50% chance of them actually doing it).

However, there is no reason that a portable music player couldn't ship tomorrow with the ability to play unencrypted AAC files. It might even be possible to hack a current player's firmware to allow playing unencrypted AAC's or the iPod's firmware to play unencrypted WMA's.

Besides, you can always burn your .m4p's to an audio CD, then do with it what you will. Defiantly not the most elegant solution... but it'll work.

[wataru]

Originally posted by Earth Mk. II:
Defiantly not the most elegant solution... but it'll work.

Yep, there are much more defiant solutions than that.

[cpac]

Yep - just don't use AAC if you don't want to.

Beyond that though, you should realize your premise is faulty (ie "what if Apple starts to make crappy iPods"). Not only are they unlikely to, but it's not like the awesome ones that are currently available are somehow going to start sucking...

More generally:

Selling music online isn't all it's cracked up to be. NOBODY has learned how to make it profitable. Apple only comes close to breaking even with online music sales-and they sell more than the rest of all the music stores *combined.* But the real reason Apple operates the store is to sell more iPods.

From the consumer's point of view, Aside from being able to purchase only a track or two from an album you don't really like, I'm not sure there's much of an advantage at all to buying your music online. If you're not going to steal (gnuetella, kazaa, etc.), then why not just purchase the actual CD? You can certainly take advantage of the listening capabilities of the iTunes store to check out an album you're interested in, and the buy it from amazon or your local CD store or whatever - you can then rip it into whatever format you want, at whatever encoding rate you want, burn as many copies as you want, and if your hard drive ever goes kaplooey you can just rip the CD again.

[wataru]

I agree with the above poster. I have over 260 songs from the iTMS (many purchased with Pepsi promo songs) but recently I've been checking Amazon's Marketplace before buying stuff from the iTMS. You can often get better deals there, assuming you don't care about the quality/existence of the case and/or cover insert. All I care about is that the CD is scratch-free, and that generally is the case.

But the bottom line is that no one is forcing you to use AAC.

[Mr. Bob]

Beyond that though, you should realize your premise is faulty (ie "what if Apple starts to make crappy iPods"). Not only are they unlikely to, but it's not like the awesome ones that are currently available are somehow going to start sucking...

I actually do not think this is a faulty premise, however I do believe it is one without substation "which I understand, and is why I made it a question and not a point". Although the iPod is in my opinion the best music player you can buy right now, you can not blindly say that the iPod will always be the best, for that wound be a premise even less substation "I wound even say past human experience would make it an improper detail".

Actually, I kind of am being forced to buy the music I like, so I need to find a source that I find viable. I could bootleg the music I want now without any problems "in Japan, downloading free music online is not illegal, then again if it became illegal, no Japanese ISP would sell your name out to a lawsuit, let alone a foreign one, because it is against your contract, gotta love Nihon for some tings, heh". But, I can only live in Japan for so long, and with the litigious mentality in America “where I will live in again in about a year and a half” I might as well start doing things the 99c a song way.

So, should I use iTunes, or something else. I do believe most people in this forum would choose iTunes "it is a Apple forum" but I am less interested in your opinion, but rather the reasons why you made your decision.

Hope I clarified my point.

[cpac]

Your point still seems a bit murky.

You may be "forced" to buy your music now, but nothing's forcing you to download it rather than purchasing a CD. (Even if you are in Japan).

Yes iPods and other players may improve, but the thing in that today's iPod are great, and do everything you need a portable music player to do. That's not going to change...

If you're using a Mac, the iTunes music store is your *only* option - Microsoft has not yet written a WMP version that supports their DRM.

So what's the question?

[mitchell_pgh]

WMA is a monolith... but it seems like everyone using it is losing money.

While you may be "locked" in to AAC, it's a chicken and an egg problem. If there is no reason to start including AAC in DVD players, personal portables etc. then it will never be included.

I hope AAC takes off...