Topic: FLAC playback on iPod Touch?

[jlykos]

I just sold a part of my soul to Steve Jobs and bought an iPod Touch.  I have no idea what I am getting myself into.  I just downloaded iTunes last night and was playing around with it a bit.  I hate it.

Anyway, I am wondering if the FLAC Player app for the iPod Touch works.  It's this one:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/flac-player/id390532592?mt=8

Have any of you used it?  Are there other, better apps that will play FLAC?  An important question to me is whether all of the FLAC albums that I have will show up in one list like all of my mp3s, or whether I need to switch back and forth between lists to access the music libraries.  Also, how do I import FLACs into the iPod Touch?  iTunes would not recognize the FLAC files on my hard drive, but it did recognize the mp3s.  How do I get around this?  Must I use iTunes to put music onto the iPod or can I just drag and drop folders the way that I like to?

Any help would be great.

[nl]

I use that app on my iPhone 4 and it works just fine. It sorts the FLACs into "collections" based on the tags and/or file names so before loading them, make sure they are tagged with at least the artist and album tags filled. If the tags are blank, it uses the file names to sort but that is a bit of a crap shoot with downloaded shows.

You do have to use iTunes to load the files onto your iPod. The instructions are on the developer's website: http://hammockdistrict.com/flacplayer-faqs/

[johnw]

I have this app on my iphone 4 as well and absolutely love it. You do have to use itunes to load files which kind of sucks, but the ability to play flac on my iphone made it infinitely more useful. I have also installed it on my older iphone 3. It runs but not as smoothly as on the 4.

[jlykos]

I have this app on my iphone 4 as well and absolutely love it. You do have to use itunes to load files which kind of sucks, but the ability to play flac on my iphone made it infinitely more useful. I have also installed it on my older iphone 3. It runs but not as smoothly as on the 4.

I was playing around the Internet last night and ran across this program called Songbird.  Can you use that to load FLAC files on iTunes?  What about Windows Media Player?  I have everything organized through WMP and it would be great if I could transfer the files onto iTunes that way.

Thanks for all of the input thus far!

[nl]

You don't need to load the FLAC files into the iTunes library at all. You just need to use iTunes to transfer the files directly from your HD via the app to the iPod. Once the files have been transferred to the iPod, you need to open the app on the iPod and then it sorts the FLACs into collections based on the tags or file names.

[keytohwy]

What do you "hate" about iTunes? 

The advice here is good, but the lossless codec made by Apple is often overlooked; ALAC.  Also, where are you using your iPod?  Does it need to be FLAC?  Why not hi res AACs? 

[hi and lo]

What do you "hate" about iTunes? 

The advice here is good, but the lossless codec made by Apple is often overlooked; ALAC.  Also, where are you using your iPod?  Does it need to be FLAC?  Why not hi res AACs?

ALAC is overlooked because it's proprietary nonsense. It's functionality is completely trumped by this fact and for good reason.

Itunes is garbage because for so many reasons, most important being the moment you realize it lacks a feature or would prefer it to operate differently than it does, you're completely SOL. It's fine for your average user and I appreciate the ease with which it allows the average user to enjoy music, but it's most certainly not for power-users.

[Brian Skalinder]

I appreciate the ease with which it [iTunes] allows the average user to enjoy music

I'm likely just revealing my ignorance here, but...

< rant on >

Ease?  Ease would be simply dragging & dropping my music files onto the iDevice using a file manager of some kind.  Instead, in order to put music onto my gf's new iSomethingorother, I had to:

• Install iTunes in the first place.
• Populate the iTunes library.
• Create a custom playlist in the correct place (apparently, after selecting the specific iSomethingorother onto which I wish to install the files).  Why do I need a playlist simply to transfer files?  A playlist is simply a list of music I want to listen to, why is it also a mechanism for copying files?  Maybe they should call it a PlayOrCopyList.
  
• Populate the playlist.
• Jump through several hoops I don't recall to get the playlist to sync (i.e. to actually copy the files onto the iDevice without doing anything else I didn't want iTunes to do.

Ugh.

< rant off >

[bobstammers]

Not quite off topic, can this app stream FLAC to an iphone 3GS over wifi? If not does anyone one that does.

Many thanks.

Rob.

[hi and lo]

Ease?  Ease would be simply dragging & dropping my music files onto the iDevice using a file manager of some kind.

I completely understand your frustration, Brian. There's a lot of elements to Itunes that are not easy including downloading a 70-100Mb program, installing, and configuring.

The ease I was referring to is primarily the Itunes store and the library sharing features. Not that Itunes exclusively offers these features, but they do make it very easy to browse and purchase new music or to listen to the music of a friend/coworker/etc over a local network. It's also possible to easily share a library over the internet using an application like Simplify Media; I haven't had much luck finding a program with similar functionality and ease of use with other media management software.

I don't personally use Itunes, but I do know the number of users that do use Itunes far outweighs the number of power-users like you and I that prefer a file manager. For those users, it's functionality serves them well and allows them to enjoy music, which I can appreciate.

[keytohwy]

I appreciate the ease with which it [iTunes] allows the average user to enjoy music

I'm likely just revealing my ignorance here, but...

< rant on >

Ease?  Ease would be simply dragging & dropping my music files onto the iDevice using a file manager of some kind.  Instead, in order to put music onto my gf's new iSomethingorother, I had to:

• Install iTunes in the first place.
• Populate the iTunes library.
• Create a custom playlist in the correct place (apparently, after selecting the specific iSomethingorother onto which I wish to install the files).  Why do I need a playlist simply to transfer files?  A playlist is simply a list of music I want to listen to, why is it also a mechanism for copying files?  Maybe they should call it a PlayOrCopyList.
  
• Populate the playlist.
• Jump through several hoops I don't recall to get the playlist to sync (i.e. to actually copy the files onto the iDevice without doing anything else I didn't want iTunes to do.

Ugh.

< rant off >

I personally think managing playlists is a pain in the ass, that's why I love iTunes.  I meet people who say they prefer drag and drop, and perhaps they do.  I walk them through a few minutes of what iTunes can do, and their opinion changes rapidly.  Granted, I run iTunes on a Mac.  I hear the experience on a PC is not as good. 

What I love about iTunes is the centralized repository for everything I have in terms of media.  When is comes to playlists, the real power is in smart playlists.  These are a set of criteria that automatically update based on changes to your library.  Those changes might include adding new music, changing meta-data such as star rating, recently played, never played, etc.  With proper tagging, which is a breeze these days, you can, in just a couple of clicks, find and create a playlist that is comprised of, for example, all of my live Clapton from the 70's, rated 3 stars or higher, and not played on the last month.  Done.  You simply cannot do that with a manually managed playlist.

Playlists also allow me to manage individual "iSomethingorothers".  So this playlist goes to my wife's iPod shuffle, these go to her iPhone, these to my iPhone, this one to my AppleTV, cause it's 24 bit, etc.  I don't know how it could be more simple. 

I think some people try to over think it.  Get out of the way, and it is an amazing application for what it is designed to do.  Do I wish it played FLAC, sure.  But fact of the matter is, I'm usually playing my iOS device in a less than perfect environment anyway (car, gym, airplane), so who cares.  I've got my FLACs on my hard drive, and play back 24 bit at home.  Again, my playlists can sync the lossy stuff to iPods, and leave the lossless to play locally.  And if you had to have them portable, you could always choose ALAC, Apple lossless compression file format.

I didn't mean to hijack the thread, I was genuinely interested in why the hatred.  Perhaps it is unfounded?  I don't understand how the download of 100MB is hard, installing/configuring is what, 6 clicks?  What am I missing?  Does Windows just make everything suck?  If anyone wants further iTunes info/tricks, let me know.

keytohwy

[Brian Skalinder]

I don't understand how the download of 100MB is hard, installing/configuring is what, 6 clicks?  What am I missing?  Does Windows just make everything suck?

Windows has nothing to do with it, so not sure why you brought it up.  (Unless the iTunes version for Windows is so fundamentally different an flawed relative to the Mac version that this issue alone is what caused my frustration; but then, that's not really a Windows issue.)

It's not that it's "hard" to download and install the software.  The d/l and install was a breeze, obviously.  And while the configuration and utilization of iTunes was a PITA, that was a function of two things, one my issue, one Apple's:  my ignorance about how iTunes performs some very simple tasks, and the unintuitive way in which iTunes approaches some activities.

I completely understand that for a lot of people iTunes makes it "easy" to purchase and manage their media library, including "playlists" for multiple devices.  Honestly, I can't agree or disagree with that statement, since I don't use iTunes to manage my media library.  My intent was not to suggest that iTunes stinks at media library management.  I only intended to express my frustration with being forced to jump through Apple's hoops to perform one simple task.  None of the other features or functionality matter to me.  More power to the people who use and like the s/w.  (And I'm with you on using lossy formats for portable listening when top-notch sound quality doesn't really matter to me.)

The issue I was trying to highlight:  Apple took what should be a painfully simple task -- copying files from point A to point B -- and made a complete clusterfuck out of it.  It simply ought not be necessary to install software, configure it, and learn unintuitive processes to perform a simple task -- copying files from point A to point B -- that has nothing to do with iTunes' core features, i.e. purchasing media and media library management.

How hard would it have been to allow users to drag & drop files to and from their iDevices from any computer?  And what could possibly be easier?  If someone desired the more advanced features of iTunes, they're available, but to require the hoops I jumped through simply to copy files from point A to point B is just plain silly.  It's a pretty good example of Apple's general mentality:  "you'll do it our way or not do it at all (trust us, it just 'works'...even if it doesn't)".  Now, lest this turn into a Win v. Mac war (not my intent), Windows is completely stupid about plenty of things, as well, so let's not drag this discussion down that road.

(I recognize there may be reasons related to Apple's agreements with content providers and copyright holders that pushed them to so tightly control such a simple activity, but that's another discussion entirely.)

[keytohwy]

I don't understand how the download of 100MB is hard, installing/configuring is what, 6 clicks?  What am I missing?  Does Windows just make everything suck?

Windows has nothing to do with it, so not sure why you brought it up.  (Unless the iTunes version for Windows is so fundamentally different an flawed relative to the Mac version that this issue alone is what caused my frustration; but then, that's not really a Windows issue.)

It's not that it's "hard" to download and install the software.  The d/l and install was a breeze, obviously.  And while the configuration and utilization of iTunes was a PITA, that was a function of two things, one my issue, one Apple's:  my ignorance about how iTunes performs some very simple tasks, and the unintuitive way in which iTunes approaches some activities.

I completely understand that for a lot of people iTunes makes it "easy" to purchase and manage their media library, including "playlists" for multiple devices.  Honestly, I can't agree or disagree with that statement, since I don't use iTunes to manage my media library.  My intent was not to suggest that iTunes stinks at media library management.  I only intended to express my frustration with being forced to jump through Apple's hoops to perform one simple task.  None of the other features or functionality matter to me.  More power to the people who use and like the s/w.  (And I'm with you on using lossy formats for portable listening when top-notch sound quality doesn't really matter to me.)

The issue I was trying to highlight:  Apple took what should be a painfully simple task -- copying files from point A to point B -- and made a complete clusterfuck out of it.  It simply ought not be necessary to install software, configure it, and learn unintuitive processes to perform a simple task -- copying files from point A to point B -- that has nothing to do with iTunes' core features, i.e. purchasing media and media library management.

How hard would it have been to allow users to drag & drop files to and from their iDevices from any computer?  And what could possibly be easier?  If someone desired the more advanced features of iTunes, they're available, but to require the hoops I jumped through simply to copy files from point A to point B is just plain silly.  It's a pretty good example of Apple's general mentality:  "you'll do it our way or not do it at all (trust us, it just 'works'...even if it doesn't)".  Now, lest this turn into a Win v. Mac war (not my intent), Windows is completely stupid about plenty of things, as well, so let's not drag this discussion down that road.

(I recognize there may be reasons related to Apple's agreements with content providers and copyright holders that pushed them to so tightly control such a simple activity, but that's another discussion entirely.)

I think Windows has something to do with it, actually.  I hear time and time again about Windows users frustrations with iTunes, calling it bloated, and a CPU hog.  From a UI perspective, they are nearly identical, though.

And actually, you *can* drag and drop media to your device.  Playlists are more fun, IMO, but copying point a to b is just as you say.  I just did it.

Apple definitely does take a different approach to things, but usually offers multiple choices to complete as task (drag and drop, v. playlist sync, for example).  But to my point, it becomes a PITA to remember to drag and drop all your newly added files, or update some of your other smart playlists.  Right?  Cause what is more simple than plugging in your iOS device and going about your OTHER business?  IMO, dragging and dropping media is not easier, but again, the choice is yours.

So, in general, I don't think it is a Windows issue, per se, but I often see users coming from the Windows world that have a hard time letting go of old habits.  They get in their own way of getting stuff done. 

I don't think this has to devolve in a platform debate, but a couple of times you've pointed that it may be your ignorance of iTunes that held you back, and from what I can see, I agree.  Perhaps your next iOS device will be a better experience.

[Brian Skalinder]

And actually, you *can* drag and drop media to your device.  Playlists are more fun, IMO, but copying point a to b is just as you say.  I just did it.

Without iTunes?  I searched far and wide trying to figure out how to do so, and came up empty.  Please share, as it's just a matter of time before my gf requests some new / different music for her iDevice.  (I'm not even sure what it is:  iPhone, iPod, etc.  Edit to add:  thinking about it more, she has both an iPhone and an audio player sized in between the iPod and Nano.)  For this purpose -- manually selecting music I think she'll like, which isn't particularly suited to advanced playlist functionality -- I find drag & drop is the way to go.

Even within iTunes, I'm curious as to how, so I don't have to dork around with playlists and ensuring I sync only the playlist containing the music I want to copy (and nothing else).

[keytohwy]

And actually, you *can* drag and drop media to your device.  Playlists are more fun, IMO, but copying point a to b is just as you say.  I just did it.

Without iTunes?  I searched far and wide trying to figure out how to do so, and came up empty.  Please share, as it's just a matter of time before my gf requests some new / different music for her iDevice.  (I'm not even sure what it is:  iPhone, iPod, etc.  Edit to add:  thinking about it more, she has both an iPhone and an audio player sized in between the iPod and Nano.)  For this purpose -- manually selecting music I think she'll like, which isn't particularly suited to advanced playlist functionality -- I find drag & drop is the way to go.

Even within iTunes, I'm curious as to how, so I don't have to dork around with playlists and ensuring I sync only the playlist containing the music I want to copy (and nothing else).

Nope, still gotta have iTunes. 

But in iTunes:
1)  Plug in her device.  It should show up under "Devices" in the left column.  Click on the Summary tab if not already highlighted, and then click on "Manually Manage Music and Videos".
2)  Go to your Library, at the top of the left column, and browse your media.  Select what you like and drag it onto the device icon.  It will copy those songs to that device, except if that device is already linked to another iTunes account.

While this link doesn't show drag and drop, it shows some of the other "hoops" one might want to jump through.
http://www.apple.com/itunes/how-to/#video-sync

HTH,
keytohwy

[Brian Skalinder]

Nope, still gotta have iTunes.

I suspected as much.  Oh, well.

But in iTunes:
1)  Plug in her device.  It should show up under "Devices" in the left column.  Click on the Summary tab if not already highlighted, and then click on "Manually Manage Music and Videos".
2)  Go to your Library, at the top of the left column, and browse your media.  Select what you like and drag it onto the device icon.  It will copy those songs to that device, except if that device is already linked to another iTunes account.

Thanks!  Part of the problem is that I don't want to use iTunes to manage my media library, so I've only installed iTunes on her computer.  Sounds like I have two options:

• Install iTunes on my computer and sync her device(s) using my computer.  (Does iTunes support multiple root directories in its library, or must all music be stored within a single parent directory?  I suspect the latter from what I've found searching around, but hopefully I'm wrong.)
• Copy the music I want to share onto her computer, then add to her local library, then copy across to her device(s) via iTunes.

While this link doesn't show drag and drop, it shows some of the other "hoops" one might want to jump through.
http://www.apple.com/itunes/how-to/#video-sync

Thanks, I'll take a look.  Looks familiar, I think I've seen it before, but didn't quite find what I was looking for.  I'll explore further.

[keytohwy]

Nope, still gotta have iTunes.

I suspected as much.  Oh, well.

But in iTunes:
1)  Plug in her device.  It should show up under "Devices" in the left column.  Click on the Summary tab if not already highlighted, and then click on "Manually Manage Music and Videos".
2)  Go to your Library, at the top of the left column, and browse your media.  Select what you like and drag it onto the device icon.  It will copy those songs to that device, except if that device is already linked to another iTunes account.

Thanks!  Part of the problem is that I don't want to use iTunes to manage my media library, so I've only installed iTunes on her computer.  Sounds like I have two options:

• Install iTunes on my computer and sync her device(s) using my computer.  (Does iTunes support multiple root directories in its library, or must all music be stored within a single parent directory?  I suspect the latter from what I've found searching around, but hopefully I'm wrong.)
• Copy the music I want to share onto her computer, then add to her local library, then copy across to her device(s) via iTunes.

While this link doesn't show drag and drop, it shows some of the other "hoops" one might want to jump through.
http://www.apple.com/itunes/how-to/#video-sync

Thanks, I'll take a look.  Looks familiar, I think I've seen it before, but didn't quite find what I was looking for.  I'll explore further.

I'd go with option two that you outline.  Keeping her iOS device synced to her iTunes account just seems easier to me.

I think what you are otherwise asking is can iTunes manage multiple libraries.  It can.  On the Mac you hold the option key when launching iTunes and you'll be prompted to point to a library or create a new one.  This is great for storing libraries on NAS's, etc.

All of this being said, there are apps out there that say they allow drag and drop loading of iPods directly from the, err, what is is called in Windows, Explorer?  Whatever it is you browse the files system in.  Anyway, these apps say they bypass iTunes.  Google will provide links.  I've never tried them.

Good luck!

[Brian Skalinder]

Thanks for the help, key.

[keytohwy]

Thanks for the help, key.

no problem.  Thanks for the respectful dialog.  I'd still like to hear from Hi and Lo...

And to the thread's original point, I hope some good info was shared.  It's truly awesome that we have not only a FLAC player for iOS, but the developer is a TS.com member!

keytohwy

[keytohwy]

Not quite off topic, can this app stream FLAC to an iphone 3GS over wifi? If not does anyone one that does.

Many thanks.

Rob.

Take a look at AirFoil.  Does what you want...

[rastasean]

I also feel Brian's stress. Apple has made it very hard on purpose to require itunes to transfer music/videos to the idevices. Would it make any sense that every time you connect your camera to your computer that you're required to import the photos via propriety software like the apple photo thing?* When I connect my camera to the linux PCs it prompts to open when different software but I can just drag and drop to/from the computer. But just because apple makes it difficult doesn't mean there are not ways around this. I prefer my jailbroken iphone over the standard apple iphone. We're 4(?) generations into the iphone and there's still only one layout and all the icons still look the same...talk about stale. (there could be ways around this by purchasing other themes but jailbreaking is free, safe, and provides multiple sources of software).

Do ipods require you to sync the device to a computer/itunes account? That's another very silly thing...



*Understand that this is just an analogy and I know that you're not required to use any apple software to transfer photos.

[keytohwy]

I also feel Brian's stress. Apple has made it very hard on purpose to require itunes to transfer music/videos to the idevices. Would it make any sense that every time you connect your camera to your computer that you're required to import the photos via propriety software like the apple photo thing?* When I connect my camera to the linux PCs it prompts to open when different software but I can just drag and drop to/from the computer. But just because apple makes it difficult doesn't mean there are not ways around this. I prefer my jailbroken iphone over the standard apple iphone. We're 4(?) generations into the iphone and there's still only one layout and all the icons still look the same...talk about stale. (there could be ways around this by purchasing other themes but jailbreaking is free, safe, and provides multiple sources of software).

Do ipods require you to sync the device to a computer/itunes account? That's another very silly thing...



*Understand that this is just an analogy and I know that you're not required to use any apple software to transfer photos.

I hear what you are saying, but "on purpose" and "difficult" are different things.  There's nothing "difficult" about plugging in an iOS device and syncing it.  You can certainly add layers of complexity by adding multiple users, multiple computers/libraries and multiple devices.  But really, do you expect Apple to rely on a third party for this stuff?  The "walled garden" or whatever you want to call it is working well for Apple, and users seem to like it.  You certainly don't have to like it.  And as a Linux user, you really don't have a choice.  But are you pissed at Apple for forcing the iTunes issue, or pissed because it is difficult? 

Do iPods require you to sync to a computer?  For now, yes.  Perhaps with iCloud and iOS5, maybe not. 

Why do you have to sync to a single computer/account?  Can you imagine the theft that would take place somewhere like in a college dorm, where I could just go down the hall and connect my iPod to everyone's computer and steal their music?  That's theft, and that's not right.  So yes, you need to link the iPod to a computer/account.

[rastasean]

Why do you have to sync to a single computer/account?  Can you imagine the theft that would take place somewhere like in a college dorm, where I could just go down the hall and connect my iPod to everyone's computer and steal their music? 

There's a hundred ways around this but I know the real reason is for apple to protect their bottom line and make it more difficult to transfer music to the ipod/iphone. The fact of the matter is that the idevices don't mount like virtually all other devices I've used and it does require you to use itunes. Having it mount on the system like other devices does not mean they are relying on third parties, it just means they are not afraid of competition but it seems quite clear they are afraid of competition.

Is the walled garden the default theme? Its working well since its the only theme on the iphone so of course they wouldn't know who likes it and who doesn't.

There's nothing "difficult" about plugging in an iOS device and syncing it.

You have to download an application that when it first came out (and I used it very often) was ~20-40MB and now its 78-80MB and growing filled with fluff and junk that I don't really care for; you have to create an itunes account and sync it with apple; you have to sync the device to your computer. I am able to mount the iphone on the linux machine and see all its directories but the music files are arbitrarily named and so are the folders--on purpose.

Hopefully this thread will provide information to me on how to copy files from the iphone to the desktop using itunes...can you do that or can you only go from PC to iphone?

Keytohwy, have you ever heard of rockbox? http://www.rockbox.org/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockbox

The Rockbox project began in late 2001 and was first implemented on the early Archos series of hard-disk based MP3 players/recorders (including the flash-only model Ondio), because of owner frustration with severe limitations in the manufacturer-supplied user interface and device operations. ... Instead, it offered a greatly improved user interface and added plug-in functions absent in the factory firmware.

This project clearly shows that there are millions of people dissatisfied with the status quo of current, stale firmware pushed out to these music players so action was taken to replace and make the firmware better. Too bad the developers at apple try to prevent this so much with their constant iphone 'upgrades' (rockbox is used on the ipod but the same principal applies to those who want to jailbreak it and apple continues to do the almost mandatory upgrades on the iphone).

[spyder9]

Confirming that the FLAC player works at 16 bit & 24 bit on the iPod Touch 4G.  Gapless too. 

Had no problems loading via iTunes.  Just followed the developer's instructions and everything works perfectly.

[rhinowing]

I think Windows has something to do with it, actually.  I hear time and time again about Windows users frustrations with iTunes, calling it bloated, and a CPU hog.  From a UI perspective, they are nearly identical, though.

I think it's a bad port from the mac version. It simply bogs down and eats an incredible amount of CPU once the media library gets large enough. That introduces lag for simple tasks such as selecting an album or viewing a file's properties. Before I stopped using itunes, it would take 4-5 seconds for me to add artwork to a track or change it's tags. it's a bummer, because I liked the UI when it worked.

[sunshinetom]

I just find a step by step guide on how to play FLAC on iPod in lossless or lossy way at http://www.bigasoft.com/articles/how-to-play-flac-on-ipod.html
This guide applies to:

    * Convert FLAC to Apple Lossless or AIFF to play lossless FLAC on iPod Touch, iPod Shuffle, iPod Nano, iPod Classic, iPod Mini, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad, iPad2, iTunes, Quicktime, iMovie, FCP, FCE.
    * Convert FLAC to MP3 to play FLAC on iPhone/iPad/iTunes/iPod/Quicktime/iMovie/FCP/FCE/Windows Media Player in lossy way.
    * Convert FLAC to other audio formats including lossy AC3, AU, M4A, MP2, OGG, RA, and WMA.

[ScoobieKW]

VLC Streamer will stream anything that VLC can play to your iDevice. The caveat is that VLC does not support gapless playback so it will have gaps between tracks.

Not quite off topic, can this app stream FLAC to an iphone 3GS over wifi? If not does anyone one that does.

Many thanks.

Rob.

Populating a device is simple in iTunes, select the tracks in your library (not the albums, but the tracks) and drag to device on left.

My biggest gripe about iTunes, is that it doesn't autodiscover files in folders. If my wife logs into windows on her profile, adds new cd's they don't show up in my iTunes when I log in. I have to use a third party app to update the catalog. PITA.

[keytohwy]

Populating a device is simple in iTunes, select the tracks in your library (not the albums, but the tracks) and drag to device on left.

My biggest gripe about iTunes, is that it doesn't autodiscover files in folders. If my wife logs into windows on her profile, adds new cd's they don't show up in my iTunes when I log in. I have to use a third party app to update the catalog. PITA.

If you and your wife and sharing an iTunes library, you should also make sure that the xml files are in a common directory.  That way, if either of you rip a CD, they'll go to the common directory AND the xml files will be updated.

Bear in mind that this effects other things like play counts and playlists as well. 

Hope that helps,
keytohwy

[ArchivalAudio]

I would say that I am a Mac user and have been since 1988..

so I do Have a iPod 5.th gen which is RockBoxed (so does my wife)
and I drop and drag Flac and Shn files onto the RockBox.
I don't use iTunes except on my main computer to stream FM radio stations.
iTunes does not make it easy to play Flac files, and I see no reason to copy files and have two sets of Flac and ALAC files for lossless play back

on my Mac I use Cog to play flac and shn file sets to listen to music
unfortunately you still can not RockBox any ipod newwer than 5.5 gen - so not touch etc

[fleish]

I think Windows has something to do with it, actually.  I hear time and time again about Windows users frustrations with iTunes, calling it bloated, and a CPU hog.  From a UI perspective, they are nearly identical, though.

I think it's a bad port from the mac version. It simply bogs down and eats an incredible amount of CPU once the media library gets large enough. That introduces lag for simple tasks such as selecting an album or viewing a file's properties. Before I stopped using itunes, it would take 4-5 seconds for me to add artwork to a track or change it's tags. it's a bummer, because I liked the UI when it worked.

I've noticed this more & more recently on my mac version of iTunes. I used to update iTunes a lot and would blast through setting track names or whatever with no delay in saving the data and switching to the next (command-n) track or whatever. These days, there is a very noticeable lag - complete with pop-up window saying "working/in-progress" or whatever it is. Luckily I don't update iTunes data much these days.

[Chilly Brioschi]

ALAC is overlooked because it's proprietary nonsense. It's functionality is completely trumped by this fact and for good reason.

Agreed 100%, Apple is driving us to the store to buy and especially is data-gathering in our libraries and of our usage

Itunes is garbage because for so many reasons, most important being the moment you realize it lacks a feature or would prefer it to operate differently than it does, you're completely SOL. It's fine for your average user and I appreciate the ease with which it allows the average user to enjoy music, but it's most certainly not for power-users.

Less user friendly / intuitive than WindersMediorcePlayer which in itself is kludgy.
MomSoft also is collecting library information and use stats.

If possible, avoid both.
FWIW, no love for Nero's tie-ins to GraceNote her either.

There are few players which run without compromising your privacy.
I suggest that you seek those out when possible.

For file management on any iPod, I like CopyTrans.
http://www.copytrans.net/

I say, don't get sucked into the Apple Store.
You paid a premium for your iPhone, iPad, & iPod and then they will not take their hand from your pocket.
No surprise that AAPL stock is through the roof.

[Chuck]

I just got an iPod Touch 2G last week. My main reason for buying it was to replace the clunky iRiver iHP-120 I've been using to play live recordings via the AUX input on my car stereo. I started using the iRiver because I made a vow to stop burning CD's for this purpose, because I find I usually only want to play most recordings once or twice. So, there is really no need to waste burning CD-R's to hear recordings in my car.

My issue is this....

Since I have transfered almost every bit of music I have into lossless FLACs and stored them on a server, I don't want to do more time intensive converting in order to transfer FLACs to my iPod Touch to play in the car.

It sounds like most people have to convert their FLAC files into something else to be loaded onto the iDevice they use. I just don't want to do that.

I have been reading about the hassles of playing FLACS on the iDevices and saw the post about the official FLAC Player available at the iStore. I've checked, and it is compatible with the iPod Touch I have. It also seems to allow gapless playback of FLACs on my player. I have not bought it yet because I want to make sure it'll do what I need it to do.

A number of years ago, I got a pre-paid iTunes card for my birthday and I download some music. So, my iTunes account only has a very few pieces of music in it. I basically don't use iTunes, because WinAmp works better for me, especially since all my music is FLAC'ed now.

Is there a Windows program that can organize my FLACs, like iTunes does for MP3's ACC's etc... so I can just plug the USB cable in, pick a show or two I want to load onto my iTouch and then use the iPod Touch to play those files in my car? 

I have been searching around to find a quick easy way to manage and play FLACs, but I keep running into dead ends. I use WinAmp at home as my media player. But, I read that WinAmp doesn't support iDevices anymore because of an issue with Apple...  I admit I haven't looked into it thoroughly.

Anyway, I've looked around and I haven't found a quick and easy (one program way) to just load FLACs from my media server directly onto my iPod Touch and then play them in my car.

I can't believe I'm the only person that wants to do it this way. Can someone tell me the apps & workflow they use to accomplish this? If there is a WinAmp plug-in I need to have WinAmp sync with the iPod Touch let me know. That would be ideal.

[dnsacks]

Chuck:  In my experience, you're "stuck" using itunes as the conduit between your PC/MAC and an ios device (ipad, Iphone or ipod touch).  Like you, I have converted all of my music to flac and store it all on a media server.  However, I've never bothered to get a flac player for my iphone and instead have come up with a very basic workflow to convert the flacs I want to listen to on my iphone into high resolution mp3s.  Specifically, foobar2000 has a great conversion setup that enables me to pull whatever files/albums/shows I want to convert into foobar, use its live show tagger feature to populate metadata from a show's text file, and then use its convert function to make mp3 copies of all the tracks I want to play on my iphone in the directory of my choice.  Then, I plug in my iphone, open itunes on my mp3, and drag the mp3s i just made into my iphone's music folder in itunes. 

Looks like the flac program has a similar workflow, except that you drag the files into a file transfer window in itunes.  My logic here is that if I'm already going to be using foobar2000 to add metadata to the files (i.e. band name, album/show name and track names), it's not really any harder to make mp3 copies and I can put quite a few more mp3s in my iphone than flacs.  FWIW, if you have high resolution stuff in your flac library, there's no need to dither to 16 bit when converting to mp3 and the iphone/ipod touch recognizes and plays 48k mp3s just fine. 

[Redrock]

Flac Player app works well. Better than Capriccio on my Iphone4s. Gapless and not too bad to organize. As other have stated though, you do need I-Tunes to interface but it's better than making CDR drink coasters.

[Chuck]

I bought FLAC Player from the iStore last night and tried it.
I have to say, it worked very well. It was very easy to point iTunes to my media server and transfer some FLAC files to my IPod Touch. I'm quite happy with it.
I listened to FLACs on my way into work this morning.

I do need to figure out how to add album cover art to the FLACs as they import into iTunes though. In WinAmp, I just put a jpg file named "folder.jpg" in the folder that contains all the FLACs for a show. WinAmp pulls up that file to display while it plays songs from that folder. I made the decision to do it that way (instead of adding the album art to the FLAC file itself)  to keep the file size down on the FLAC files.

Also, I wish the FLAC Player was more customizable. I like it, but the song names etc... are displayed in very small type.

I'm also wondering if there is an app to use the iPod Touch in car-mode. That's something I had with the Rockboxed iRiver. When the ignition is turned off and the power is cut to the iRiver, it shuts the iRiver down.

Anyway, thanks for the help in figuring this out guys.....

[keytohwy]

I'm also wondering if there is an app to use the iPod Touch in car-mode. That's something I had with the Rockboxed iRiver. When the ignition is turned off and the power is cut to the iRiver, it shuts the iRiver down.

How does your iPod connect to your car?  Mine shuts off when I turn the stereo off, or turn off the car.

[Chuck]

I'm also wondering if there is an app to use the iPod Touch in car-mode. That's something I had with the Rockboxed iRiver. When the ignition is turned off and the power is cut to the iRiver, it shuts the iRiver down.

How does your iPod connect to your car?  Mine shuts off when I turn the stereo off, or turn off the car.

I plug the iPod headphone output into the 1/8" stereo AUX input on my car stereo and I use a DC (cigarette lighter) adapter to power it. I'd like mine to do what you have described.

[keytohwy]

I'm also wondering if there is an app to use the iPod Touch in car-mode. That's something I had with the Rockboxed iRiver. When the ignition is turned off and the power is cut to the iRiver, it shuts the iRiver down.

How does your iPod connect to your car?  Mine shuts off when I turn the stereo off, or turn off the car.

I plug the iPod headphone output into the 1/8" stereo AUX input on my car stereo and I use a DC (cigarette lighter) adapter to power it. I'd like mine to do what you have described.

I'd say the issue could be solved with the right power adapter.  Do a little googling and you'll find the answer.  But to be clear, there is no app that solves your problem.  Its all about how it gets power.

[Chuck]

I'm also wondering if there is an app to use the iPod Touch in car-mode. That's something I had with the Rockboxed iRiver. When the ignition is turned off and the power is cut to the iRiver, it shuts the iRiver down.

How does your iPod connect to your car?  Mine shuts off when I turn the stereo off, or turn off the car.

I plug the iPod headphone output into the 1/8" stereo AUX input on my car stereo and I use a DC (cigarette lighter) adapter to power it. I'd like mine to do what you have described.

I'd say the issue could be solved with the right power adapter.  Do a little googling and you'll find the answer.  But to be clear, there is no app that solves your problem.  Its all about how it gets power.

Yeah, the power adapter I'm using isn't from Apple. Can you tell me which one you are using?

[keytohwy]

I'm also wondering if there is an app to use the iPod Touch in car-mode. That's something I had with the Rockboxed iRiver. When the ignition is turned off and the power is cut to the iRiver, it shuts the iRiver down.

How does your iPod connect to your car?  Mine shuts off when I turn the stereo off, or turn off the car.

I plug the iPod headphone output into the 1/8" stereo AUX input on my car stereo and I use a DC (cigarette lighter) adapter to power it. I'd like mine to do what you have described.

I'd say the issue could be solved with the right power adapter.  Do a little googling and you'll find the answer.  But to be clear, there is no app that solves your problem.  Its all about how it gets power.

Yeah, the power adapter I'm using isn't from Apple. Can you tell me which one you are using?

My car has a built in USB port, so it is a bit different than what you have.

I did your work:

http://www.amazon.com/Griffin-Technology-9559-AUTOPLTB-AutoPilot-iPod/dp/B000WKW6HS?tag=5336118863-20

$15 and you are done!

[Chuck]

Thanks, I'll try it!

[Chuck]

With suggestions from this thread and some other forums, I have gotten my iPod Touch set-up the way I like.

I'm using FLAC player to play FLACs that I load on the device using iTunes. I jailbroke my device and installed a program called Activator. Activator allows me to have the iPod pause the FLAC Player and turn it off when power is cut from the cigarette lighter charger. I'm very happy with the way it is working.

One thing I haven't figured out though is why my iPod Touch has to "sync" with iTunes everytime I connect the device to my computer with the USB cable. It takes several minutes to sync and I can't see any reason why it does that. I have iTunes set to not sync anything.  Anyway, other than that small issue I'm quite happy with the whole iPod and iTunes system.

[keytohwy]

With suggestions from this thread and some other forums, I have gotten my iPod Touch set-up the way I like.

I'm using FLAC player to play FLACs that I load on the device using iTunes. I jailbroke my device and installed a program called Activator. Activator allows me to have the iPod pause the FLAC Player and turn it off when power is cut from the cigarette lighter charger. I'm very happy with the way it is working.

One thing I haven't figured out though is why my iPod Touch has to "sync" with iTunes everytime I connect the device to my computer with the USB cable. It takes several minutes to sync and I can't see any reason why it does that. I have iTunes set to not sync anything.  Anyway, other than that small issue I'm quite happy with the whole iPod and iTunes system.

How often do you add new music to your iPod?  I find that I only add music a couple of times a month.

Also, with iOS5, iTunes now wirelessly syncs.  Can you do that?

[Chuck]

I use the USB port on my computer to charge the iPod, it wants to sync every time I charge it.
My iPod doesn't use iOS 5. I'm limited to 4.2.1

[fleish]

It wants to sync what exactly? I don't have a touch, but I've always had my iPods set to manage music/videos manually and don't think it's done a "sync" each time it's connected.

[Chuck]

It wants to sync what exactly?

Beats me? It just tries to sync... The iPod shows a syncng screen and it takes a couple of minutes.

[bryonsos]

Has anybody tried Anyplayer? It's only $2.99. The FLAC player sounds great, and I'll probably go with it since a TSer developed it, but I'm curious about options.

[fleish]

It wants to sync what exactly?

Beats me? It just tries to sync... The iPod shows a syncng screen and it takes a couple of minutes.

Maybe check in your iTunes preferences - under devices - there's a checkbox for "Prevent iPods, etc from syncing automatically"

[keytohwy]

It wants to sync what exactly?

Beats me? It just tries to sync... The iPod shows a syncng screen and it takes a couple of minutes.

Why not plug it in to the wall? 

Do you use your iPod outside of the car much?  If so, why does it matter?  You could jump in the car with a dead iPod and it will charge whilst playing.

[Chuck]

Eventually, it'll be just for the car. I'm still in the "looking for cool free apps phase". So, I won't be using it connected to the computer all the time soon.

[keytohwy]

Yeah, I'd get a wall adapter, if you don't have one already.

Note that a number of USB plugs you already have, may work.