Getting MP3s on 660 from a Mac/iTunes

Joybringer

Joybringer

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Right, first off, if there has been something posted about this before, and I've missed it in my Searches, apologies and please point me in the right direction :thumb

Second off, I have a Mac and iTunes, and a vast music library consisting of MP4s and the Apple Lossless file format (the 20Mb+ jobbies). I also have Parallels running Windows 7 x64, and a paid-for pukka version of WinAmp. I'm not sure if all this is relevant, as I'm about as musically technical as a triangle these days, but I must have had a brain fart when I bought it all and have some dim and distant memory of needing the software to get MP3s and playlists on the Zumo. I think I used Win7 and WinAmp before I saw the light and moved to the dark side of the secret Mac society a couple of years ago...

So...without me exporting every single track to MP3 (tedious and time consuming) what is there, either in the crap above or stuff I have to download or buy, that will enable me to batch convert (preferably) an iTunes playlist(s) into MP3s and playlists that my Garmin will recogise and play?

I'm talking layman's language and a complete idiot's guide here, as I am the apprentice to the village idiot.

Thanking you muchly.
:beerjug:


PS if anyone wants to earn a few shillings and come round my gaff and sort it for me, just say the word. :)
 
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I did it the tedious and time consuming way... convert each to MP3 and drag onto 660 card ;)
 
...or Switch

i used to use that before i had Audial Hub, which is sadly no longer available :(
 
Cookie, you Mac buff - just beat me to it !
Yes, I use Switch for batch converting wavs or AIFFs to MP3 - works a treat, and is free for basic version.

http://www.nch.com.au/switch/index.html

But, if you want your MP3s to be recognised on the Zumo as an Album, and with titles, you will need to retain the "header file info" on each MP3, and I don't think Switch does this, but might be wrong on that ? Cookie will probably know ......!
 
sorry, he doesn't :(

edit: ...but in the satisfaction of my curiosity, i was going to try it and see. still don't know, as it doesn't work with Lion :P
 
stick to Snow Leopard ! I'll see if I can research the matter, if only to find out something you don't know !!!!!!
 
Had a quick look on Switch site - looks like it doesn't fully support Tags for album, Artist, Genre etc.
However, this software from same company does (apparently) -

http://www.nch.com.au/tageditor/index.html

Quote from website;

Stamp ID3 Tag Editor
Edit tags and update song information on mp3, wav and ogg files

Stamp ID3 tag editing software is a free audio tag editor for Windows. It allows you to add or change the internal file information associated with an mp3, wav or ogg audio file. Software programs such as WavePad Audio Editor, juke box applications and portable music devices such as iPods and phones read and display ID3 tag information and allow you to organize your music by, among other things, genre, artist and year

So that's the good news -

BAD news is that it is Windoze only !!!!!!:blast
 
Switch....yehaa.... At last after 4 years of owning my Zumo I've been able to load tracks I purchased on iTunes onto an SD card to use in my Zumo.

As others have mentioned they are not in albums but as I just stick it on shuffle its no problem for me

Thanks
 
Thanks for all the replies, peeps.

I'm going to have a tinker over the next few days (have a few days orf) and post a short report of progress etc., in case it helps anyone else.

I also have Lion OS, so it could be interesting...mind you, not totally bothered about file info while on the Garbin, as I have my lovely iPhone 4S/iTunes combo for the serious stuff :)

:beerjug:
 
I have tried and found that tunes on zumo are not as easy to use as maybe they should be (yep ok am challenged technologically speaking!)
so ended up just plugging my mp3 player into autocom and listening to them that way....wish i could help but already sounds far to teky to me!
 
Roight...

I downloaded and used mehTunes to convert playlisted music in iTunes into MP3 files.

Whilst it is easy and reasonably quick to use and convert, it doesn't (or doesn't seem to) provide the option to convert/transfer/create the supporting m3u playlist. Which is a tad annoying, as whilst I'd make do with shuffling or random play if necessary, I do like to listen to certain tracks in a certain order.

So...I wondered how to go about making a quick and simple playlist file (*.m3u) to go with the freshly converted MP3s, without spending ages searching for a tinternet utility, especially as the files are basicially just a list of tracks (I'm not bothered about album covers or other superficial information showing on a Zumo at 90mph...).

I used Terminal to create an m3u file for each 'set' of music, and as I had my playlisted MP3s in separate folders, it was a relatively quick and easy, although manual, intervention.

For those that want to know...

In Terminal, go to the relevant folder, and type

ls > playlistname.m3u

and it saves all the file names in that folder to a file with an m3u extension - voila! A basic, Zumo-compatible playlist.

I previously converted all the music into folders on my Mac, added the m3u file, and then transferred them to separate folders under a main folder named "Music" on my Garmin's SD card. Much quicker than converting and saving files directly to the card.

Hope this helps, and thanks for the tips :thumb
 
Switch DOES have a tag editor!

Drag the file into the Switch window and right click. Then edit tags.

Greg
 
Joybringer said:
I have a Mac and iTunes, and a vast music library consisting of MP4s and the Apple Lossless file format
Click to expand...

It was often said that Steve Jobs welcomed people with open arms, but, once inside the Apple empire, he bolted the exit door behind you!

:rolleyes:
 
Have you tried Doubletwist? I use it on my iMac to sync iTunes tracks / playlists to android, USB sticks and sd cards for various purposes, works flawlessly for me and is free.
 
Switch works perfectly!

I just converted a whole load of I-tune files to MP3 format using Switch. All the tags were preserved, and once loaded onto a 8GB micro SDHC card, the Zumo makes perfect sense of it all. Most impressed!:bounce1
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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