[pcryan5]

I understand using Apple Loseless to import CD's deliveries a better sound when played on your Mac. Do this superior sound quality get synced to your iPod as the iTunes Plus quality does?

Sorry for the somewhat clueless question!

[mpancha]

THe files synced from your computer (Mac or PC) to your iPod are the same file. So if you have an audio file encoded in AAC Lossless format that you ripped from a CD into iTunes, when you sync your iPod, a copy of that file goes to your iPod.

Its the same file, just different location.

[mduell]

Except for the shuffle, which has the option (or requires, I forget) to transcode on the fly to 128kbps AAC to save space.

Why they don't support this option on other iPods, who knows.

[analogika]

Because other iPods don't suffer from the space constraint, and transcoding every single file for anything larger than 1 GB would take AGES on almost any machine, making iPod syncing an extremely tedious process.

(That said, I *would* love this option, since my 1st- and 2nd-generation iPods don't accept Apple Lossless AT ALL, and much of my collection is ripped in lossless format.)

[mduell]

Originally Posted by analogika 

Because other iPods don't suffer from the space constraint, and transcoding every single file for anything larger than 1 GB would take AGES on almost any machine, making iPod syncing an extremely tedious process.
(That said, I *would* love this option, since my 1st- and 2nd-generation iPods don't accept Apple Lossless AT ALL, and much of my collection is ripped in lossless format.)

Given the popularity of flash based players and the size of most peoples collection, I don't think that's true. 10-40GB music collections are common, as are 2-8GB players. Encoding 128kbps AAC on a modern dual core machine isn't as fast as the sync can be, but it is pretty quick; particularly since you're cutting the bitrate from ~700kbps to 128kbps, so transfer times are reduced.
The feature is already there, Apple has just gone out of their way to limit it. That some people would find it too slow just means it should be an option. I guess limiting it gets people to buy new iPods sooner.