iTunes and mac related

[Emmodd]

I'm in the process of moving house and will be looking at adding a mac based front end (either a headless mini or apple tv) in addition to my current disc spinner and a new t/t.

At the moment I have an aged desktop pc on which i've installed iTunes. Already on the desktop I have a music folder with a large number of files in various formats and ripped at varying bit-rates etc. Some are ripped from cd's whereas others are live recordings etc which i've downloaded. As a consequence, some of the tags etc are all over the place.

I've noticed that when importing into itunes, unless a piece of music is tagged correctly it can be all over the place.

I have a number of queries which people may be able to help with.

1. Does itunes create it's own folder ie duplicate the music i'm importing (because i've noticed a lot of tracks are on twice). If so, is possible to easily delete the duplicate tracks from the library and is there an easy was to alter the tags so that the correct songs stay in the correct 'album'? Should I do this in the itunes folder only (otherwise if I rescan, it'll no doubt have to convert a number of files to ones which itunes can handle)?
2. If itunes does create it's own folder, when I have my mac, what it the best way to get my itunes library on there? Can I just copy across the file by firewire, usb etc? Can I copy across to an external HDD and point itunes on the mac in the right direction?
3. Is the duplicate track thing just a pc problem because i'm running apple software on it?

[Filterlab]

1. Does itunes create it's own folder ie duplicate the music i'm importing (because i've noticed a lot of tracks are on twice). If so, is possible to easily delete the duplicate tracks from the library and is there an easy was to alter the tags so that the correct songs stay in the correct 'album'? Should I do this in the itunes folder only (otherwise if I rescan, it'll no doubt have to convert a number of files to ones which itunes can handle)?

Yes, iTunes creates its own folder (assuming you check the 'create copy' box in the advanced options). Once you have dragged all your music files into iTunes you can go ahead and delete the source files as they are duplicated. The only file type iTunes has a problem with is FLAC, but do a search on Google as there are a range of free plug-ins that add FLAC capability.

2. If itunes does create it's own folder, when I have my mac, what it the best way to get my itunes library on there? Can I just copy across the file by firewire, usb etc? Can I copy across to an external HDD and point itunes on the mac in the right direction?

Connect your external hard drive by USB or Firewire and drag the whole lot into iTunes, then delete the original files. Alternatively you can point iTunes to any location you like, simply select the location in the advanced options pane.

3. Is the duplicate track thing just a pc problem because i'm running apple software on it?

The duplicate thing is a PC problem, but Apple sorted that out a long long time ago.

If you're after sound quality though I'd advise dispensing with iTunes and changing to Max and Cog. Max is import software that does many passes to eradicate any errors (as many as you like) and Cog is playback software that is very simple and easy to use - the combination of the two is unbeatable for sound quality as far as Apple software playback goes. No bells and whistles mind, but that's hardly the point of hi-fi is it?

[Emmodd]

Thanks very much. Will concentrate on sorting out those pesky id tags before i dip a toe into the world of mac. Should all be straightforward then!

[Filterlab]

No problem. Once you get a Mac, you'll discover just why so many people are over the moon with them.

[SteveW]

I do wish the duplicate thing was just a PC problem. My ageing powerbook died, so transfered the 500 gig hard drive, containing 80 or 90 gig of tracks to an imac.
11,000 tracks became 22,000.

[Emmodd]

Out of interest, does the cog software allow you to interface via an ipod touch (or similar) in same way that itunes does? Reason being I want to run the mini headlessly

[burak]

Hi...

I'm not in a position to advice, but this is what I've been through regarding Cog and flack with iTunes:

I've downloaded some free flack files and played them by iTunes via Fluke. Some of them were fine, but the ones from 2L was unplayable. So I've decided to use Cog, but then Cog was degrading another song when the volume went high and it was fine through iTunes. At the end I've converted all the flack files to aiff by Max and am now using iTunes.

Some other things in my system might be responsible for these problems, but all the same iTunes and aiff seemed to me to be the safest and most hassle free option.

[Emmodd]

Appreciate your view - something else to think about now eh?

[Filterlab]

Burak, try running the 'unstable' version of Cog, it is highly superior to iTunes and superior to the normal Cog. iTunes just can't compare to either really as it's got too much processing going on to be transparent enough. However it is useful in that Apple devices communicate through it. However as you rightly point out, the issues could lay elsewhere, most likely in the FLAC to AIFF conversion.

If anyone wants to use Cog then I recommend importing through Max. Import AIFF files in 32bit Linear PCM mode (88.1khz sampling rate), Cog will play these effortlessly and it avoids any potential for aliasing when the signal is decoded (i.e. changing a 16bit signal into a 24bit signal - although it can work amazingly well on some tracks!). You'll find this far far superior to iTunes, especially iTunes 8.

[burak]

Thank you, Filterlab; I'll try that. Hope, I haven't hijacked, Emmodd.