I Want a Touch but have 34G of Music!

[abs0716]

Help! I went to the Apple Store this weekend and played around with the Touch and LOVED it. It makes my Classic look like an Edsel.

Unfortunately I have 34 G of music on my Classic.

Any suggestions?

[jwc110869]

What bit rate is your music ripped at? If you have some ungodly rate, a reduction should easily make your library small enough to fit a 32gig Touch............

[ScoobZ]

Manage your music with smart playlists. It's doubtful you listen to all 34GB regularly so use smart playlists to control what is on your iPod. Code Monkey’s smart playlist document (http://filebox.vt.edu/users/channum/files/smartlist_management.pdf)

Reducing the bitrate of your music is only a temporary "fix" anyway as you're likely to continue adding to your library over time.

[ReyZero]

Reducing the bitrate of your music is only a temporary "fix" anyway as you're likely to continue adding to your library over time.

Yeah but if he's using something like 320 and wouldn't mind moving to say 192 vbr then you'd almost half your space.

[joggy]

Or, take advantage of the wifi and use Orb and/or Simplify apps. Drawbacks are obvious, but its an option.

[abs0716]

Or, take advantage of the wifi and use Orb and/or Simplify apps. Drawbacks are obvious, but its an option.
Thanks everyone for your suggestions. Sorry, but but what does "Orb and/or Simplify apps" mean?

[ReyZero]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. Sorry, but but what does "Orb and/or Simplify apps" mean?

It's a program you run on your computer to stream the music to your iPhone, I'm pretty sure this requires a jailbreak though

[Flyboybob]

One way to go is to put the amount of music on your iPod that you want to listen too during a few days. Use the other space for applications that you can download for free or for a small fee and have some fun. Then, after a few days change the music on your iPod. I have several albums that I listen to frequently that I never remove from my iPod, and the others I change every few days or when the mood strikes me.

[kornchild2002]

It's a program you run on your computer to stream the music to your iPhone, I'm pretty sure this requires a jailbreak though

Not to mention that it will drastically reduce the battery playback time of an iPod touch/iPhone.

[joggy]

It's a program you run on your computer to stream the music to your iPhone, I'm pretty sure this requires a jailbreak though

Neither do require jailbreaking actually. Both Orb & Simplify are applications sold in the iTunes store. Both also require an install of the client software on an always on (ideally) PC. And yes both do take a hit on the battery life.

That stated, both work fantastic for my needs and allow me to access my 95 gig library to my 8 gig iPod Touch.

[gerwen]

Going with a lower bit rate, and managing your synchs with smart playlists is the way to go.

Definitely check out codemonkey's guide linked above, even if you stick with your classic.

Moving to a lower bit rate could be tough if you don't have a lossless archive, generally transcoding from a higher bitrate to a lower one is bad for sound quality, although if you're at 320kbps you may not be able to hear the difference.

Check the guide in my sig for how to pick the best bit rate for you.

[Astro_Digital]

The Touch is great all right I own one but I tell you every time I am reminded about a song and want to play it I find it is not in the Touch. You get a 32 Gig Touch, put a few apps on it maybe a video of two you would be lucky to have room for 17Gig of music, that means you have only a 50/50 chance of having the song you want with you.

If you can wait maybe 3 or 4 months tops, I would hold off and see if Apple increases the capacity of the Touch.