Better Than Ephpod

[Mypod]

Is this better than ephpod?

Why seems like quite a few people are using this software

Thanx

[pfp]

EDIT: Oh you're right. I tend just to use "View New Posts". I apologize.

[Mypod]

I Guess we are under the Media Center 9 forum

I have to say it ----> Duhh

[TimB]

Media Center is a fully-functional jukebox application allowing ripping, burning, database management as well as transfer of files to your iPod. (It also handles images, video and DVDs.) It has a very powerful Smartlist feature which allows you to create dynamic playlists amongst other things. Finally their online support is nothing short of amazing.

Ephpod is a great tool to transfer your files to your iPod, that's what its designed to do and it does it well.

Those are my thoughts.

-=Tim=-

[Magic Randy]

As Tim said, Media Center is a full function product. It can rip, sync, manage your library, do tagging, be a player on your PC, and many other things.

Ephpod is a sync tool only.

I've used all of the products you see in this forum. Each product has merits (other than MusicMatch which should not be used with an iPod).

Ephpod is free. You still need another product for ripping. I've had minor problems with it. The tag information is not transferred to the iPod 100% accurate all of the time. I have problems with some songs when I do a sync. But basically it is good.

MC9 does everything. I recommend it highly. There is a price, but it is reasonable (especially for what you get in an integrated package). The syncs are very fast and reliable. The only thing I cannot figure out is why Apple went with MusicMatch and not Media Center as their standard.

Randy

[akelsall]

For people with an iPod, (hehe like me and my 15gb) I would have thought that having purchased such a high quality product, that you would want to encode mp3's in the highest possible quality too. But I generally find that integrated encoders in software isn't all that good technically.
If you want the best mp3 quality, then use the encoder LAME with something like dbPowerAMP (http://www.dbpoweramp.com) or Exact audio copy. They are the 2 best mp3 ripping and encoding software products available. And they are free!
umm, what was the topic again?
oh yeah, the best combination is ephPod with one of the above for ripping and encoding. Then winamp 2 (not 3) for creating playlists. Make sure with winamp that you export your playlists that you create in its media centre to a directory within your mp3's folder. Then in ephPod, all you need to do is set that whole mp3 folder to sync and include sub directories and playlists.

Hope this helps if there was actually a question or query regarding this. I think i got carried away just typing.

[dmt1]

First of all, with regard to MC9 and ripping and encoding, you can use the MC9 ripper in "digital secure" mode (Which does multiple disc scans to ensure there are no errors during ripping)--which is the identical process EAC uses.

And MC uses version 3.93 of the LAME encoder--so bottom line, you can get the quality referred to above from MC9.

Granted, you can use EAC/LAME for free, but MC9 gives you capabilities with playlists and synching that you simply cannot get from any other program. Hence,IMHO, it is the best application available for the ipod. You can trial it for free for thirty days, and then decide if it's worth the price for you.

[akelsall]

Yeah, I was thinking after I posted that maybe MC does use LAME and I probably should have checked, whoops.
I think that I will get iTunes when it comes out for Windows if it does stuf with the iPod. After the JOKE that is MMJB, I would pay money for iTunes!

[ashawley]

Originally posted by akelsall
Yeah, I was thinking after I posted that maybe MC does use LAME and I probably should have checked, whoops.
I think that I will get iTunes when it comes out for Windows if it does stuf with the iPod. After the JOKE that is MMJB, I would pay money for iTunes!

Well, if you're concerned with quality of ripping/encoding from what I've read iTunes isn't quite as good as the LAME experience. The reason I'll probably stay with MC9.

The only thing that would make me switch now is if somehow iTunes came out for windows with Playcount updating capability and MC9 was somehow "blocked" from accessing this functionality. But I don't see this happening.

Adam

[TimB]

On the upcoming MJ9 vs iTunes debate...

all other things being equal I'll stay with MJ9 as the availability of their developers is unparalleled IMHO.

-=Tim=-

[rfaison]

Originally posted by Mypod
Is this better than ephpod? ... quite a few people are using this software

Perhaps the best response to your questions is - "It depends on what you want to do?" As someone else said, if you simply want to transfer music to your iPod, EphPod works, is simple and free - hard to beat that!

If you're wanting more - MC9 DEFINITELY offers ALOT more - can be a bit intimidating/overwhelming/confusing as you figure out the many possibilities. I was already using MMJB which was abysmal when I got my ipod, so I got EphPod - much better.

Then, in exploring the options available for making use of the ipod "Composer" tag was steered toward MC9 by folks here. I have since joined the bandwagon and can wax quite eloquently - as can others here - about the many virtues of MC9. And I only use it for music ... it has many other capabilities.

While some have said that, especially if only using if for music, it's a bit pricey - for me, it's still worth every penny. But, it all depends on what you're looking to do.