Deleted account W
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MikeP said:Ta.
If you use XP (I'm still on win 2000) then i think you can "rip" a cd into MP3 format using windows media player. Not sure though, perhaps someone can confirm.
I use free software called Audiograbber
i-pod, i-river, i-dunno??
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If you use XP (I'm still on win 2000) then i think you can "rip" a cd into MP3 format using windows media player. Not sure though, perhaps someone can confirm.
I use free software called Audiograbber
Bateman
Registered user
Cookie, I just bought a creative Zen micro for £85 in 
, half price. However, I notice Argos has a Creative 20GB Zen for half price in their current sale - its down to £115 from £230. 20GB is huge - not sure of how many songs you want to put on it, but 20GB will hold thousands.
Its quite big though, certainly not ipod Nano sized. It comes with a USB cable, which you can also take on trips, together with a USB charger plug (about a fiver off amazon) to charge it up.
, half price. However, I notice Argos has a Creative 20GB Zen for half price in their current sale - its down to £115 from £230. 20GB is huge - not sure of how many songs you want to put on it, but 20GB will hold thousands.Its quite big though, certainly not ipod Nano sized. It comes with a USB cable, which you can also take on trips, together with a USB charger plug (about a fiver off amazon) to charge it up.
darklord
Guest
OK, I guess I'm uniquely qualified to answer iRiver vs iPod question as I've actually got both - an iRiver iHP-120 which I've had for a couple of years and a new iPod Video 60GB as the replacement as the iRiver is getting a tad full.
The iRiver has always been labelled as an 'audiophile' player and it may sound a tad better than the iPod, especially when playing back .ogg files at higher bit rates but the difference is really only noticeable when you're playing it back over a decent home system. On the move, even with decent in-ear phones, the ambient noise will drown out the difference[1]. That said, if I want to experience the full sound quality of a CD, I'll stick it in my 'proper' hifi downstairs.
From a user experience point of view, the iPod is *miles* ahead of the iRiver. The iRiver doesn't really pass the girlfriend test[2] although you get used to the UI. The UI on the iPod is pretty much idiot-proof. The first time I played with a friend's iPod it was like a revelation - I'm pretty sure the gf could use both the iPod and iTunes with a couple of minutes instruction.
I'm not (yet) ready to sell my iRiver as it's rather good at what it does, plus it allows you to record sound and has a built-in FM radio, both of which requires extra hardware with the iPod. But from a no-brains, just-play-back music point of view, the iPod wins. Not to mention that in combination with iTunes, it'll automatically synchronise the music and podcasts that you subscribe to. With the iRiver that's a manual process. OK, so that's not tedious as I don't subscribe to that many podcasts but it's just that little bit nicer that makes all the difference.
Also, if you like to listen to music in the car and don't want to lug plenty of CDs around, there's quite a lot of choice of car head units that are able to control an iPod, but AFAIK none that can do the same with an iRiver.
I would expect that you can pick up an older iRiver (I'd go for an iHP-120 or -140 as they do come with the remote which is an option on the later models) fairly cheaply - in fact, there's an iHP-120 on there for a hundred quid BIN (no, it's not mine, I have no idea who the seller is) which is not a bad price IMHO given that they were about 250 new. They also come with most of the bits that you'll need to buy extra for an iPod like a decent cover/wallet.
[1] Top tip - the 'earbuds' you get with either are best placed in the bin and replaced with something a lot better.
[2] Better half is a psychologist and as non-technical as they get - she can use a computer to email, surf and use MS Office and that's all she wants to use a computer for. She has zero interest in knowing more about them.
The iRiver has always been labelled as an 'audiophile' player and it may sound a tad better than the iPod, especially when playing back .ogg files at higher bit rates but the difference is really only noticeable when you're playing it back over a decent home system. On the move, even with decent in-ear phones, the ambient noise will drown out the difference[1]. That said, if I want to experience the full sound quality of a CD, I'll stick it in my 'proper' hifi downstairs.
From a user experience point of view, the iPod is *miles* ahead of the iRiver. The iRiver doesn't really pass the girlfriend test[2] although you get used to the UI. The UI on the iPod is pretty much idiot-proof. The first time I played with a friend's iPod it was like a revelation - I'm pretty sure the gf could use both the iPod and iTunes with a couple of minutes instruction.
I'm not (yet) ready to sell my iRiver as it's rather good at what it does, plus it allows you to record sound and has a built-in FM radio, both of which requires extra hardware with the iPod. But from a no-brains, just-play-back music point of view, the iPod wins. Not to mention that in combination with iTunes, it'll automatically synchronise the music and podcasts that you subscribe to. With the iRiver that's a manual process. OK, so that's not tedious as I don't subscribe to that many podcasts but it's just that little bit nicer that makes all the difference.
Also, if you like to listen to music in the car and don't want to lug plenty of CDs around, there's quite a lot of choice of car head units that are able to control an iPod, but AFAIK none that can do the same with an iRiver.
I would expect that you can pick up an older iRiver (I'd go for an iHP-120 or -140 as they do come with the remote which is an option on the later models) fairly cheaply - in fact, there's an iHP-120 on there for a hundred quid BIN (no, it's not mine, I have no idea who the seller is) which is not a bad price IMHO given that they were about 250 new. They also come with most of the bits that you'll need to buy extra for an iPod like a decent cover/wallet.
[1] Top tip - the 'earbuds' you get with either are best placed in the bin and replaced with something a lot better.
[2] Better half is a psychologist and as non-technical as they get - she can use a computer to email, surf and use MS Office and that's all she wants to use a computer for. She has zero interest in knowing more about them.
darklord
Guest
Bateman said:Cookie, I just bought a creative Zen micro for £85 in
About 3500-4000, depending on the bitrate you encode in. I've got about 420 CDs ripped at a decent bitrate on my iRiver and that works out at roughly 19GB. Trouble with harddisk-based players is that they seem to be write-only - why carry around that much diskspace if you still have to delete data off them?
darklord
Guest
Whatton said:
I'm sure you're correct, although Media Player seems to default to WMA (Windoze Media Audio), which a lot of players can play back anyway...
That said, with the amount of free software around that does the job, why bother with something that seems to want to convince you to use DRM?
I myself have 2 Archos jukebox multimedias and I would defo buy the next in the series as shown on here previoiusly.
Really easy to use. Most mp3 players work like external HD as long as it is not a Sony or ipod I think.
Really easy to use. Most mp3 players work like external HD as long as it is not a Sony or ipod I think.
great replies. i started off knowing little & now i know a little more 
i have actually used a mates ipod plugged into speakers when i stayed with him recently. nice easy to use interface. i understand they scratch if you breathe on them though
i'm coming round to the archos idea as it just seems like a mini pc so will be easy to use. i was put off by the size, but i will only stuff it in a tank bag. i will need a remote for it though.
then there's zen...more research
i have actually used a mates ipod plugged into speakers when i stayed with him recently. nice easy to use interface. i understand they scratch if you breathe on them though
i'm coming round to the archos idea as it just seems like a mini pc so will be easy to use. i was put off by the size, but i will only stuff it in a tank bag. i will need a remote for it though.
then there's zen...more research
Deleted account W
Guest
cookie said:
Thats a new and improved version of mine, auto sync seems to be a big bonus
Fanum
Toubab
Whatton said:If you use XP (I'm still on win 2000) then i think you can "rip" a cd into MP3 format using windows media player. Not sure though, perhaps someone can confirm.
I use free software called Audiograbber
Yes you can....anything from v8 upwards IIRC.....you can set it to rip a cd autmaticallyas you play it which is nice 'cos you build your electronic library as you listen without pissing about
Cookie....watch out for Creative Zen's....my misfortunes with mine is well documented here...it's a 40gb jobby and i'm on my third...the HDD is way too sensitive for bike use and the only way of running it on the bike is in an inside pocket...it's a lovely gadget and 40gig is masive, but I'd not recommend it at all if you're ever gonna be on a bike with it.
(FWIW Mine's a Creative Zen Touch 40gb...the laest ones like Slimbo's sleek etc may well be different)
If I was lookingfor a new widget today, I'd be going for the Archos.....make sure it's the one that you can plug the helmet bullet cam into drekkly
Spikehammer
Registered user
Windows Media player guide:
Open player:
Goto:
Rip:
click on little arrow in top right hand corner:
Tools:
Options:
Format:
choose mp3 as the default.
All CD's etc will not be ripped as mp3's.
Hope this helps
Open player:
Goto:
Rip:
click on little arrow in top right hand corner:
Tools:
Options:
Format:
choose mp3 as the default.
All CD's etc will not be ripped as mp3's.
Hope this helps
Fanum said:If I was lookingfor a new widget today, I'd be going for the Archos.....make sure it's the one that you can plug the helmet bullet cam into drekkly
which one do you mean?
i'd never thought of that use. i was avoiding the bigger archos as i had no use for video but that would be fun
Spikehammer said:
well, it made me laugh
judge
Registered user
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So you can't find an iRiver for sale eh? What happened to the one you were offered at Bowlio?
Judge said:
i wasn't offered it exactly, it was merely spoken of. i made an offer later & it was not for sale.
glad to have you back BTW, was it an exchange deal?
Just to throw something else into the mix with ipod v iriver.
I've got an H340. If you buy a card reader (something like a fiver), you can copy/back up your photos from your digital camera, or free up card space, when you're away...............
As mentioned, plug it into your pc and it's a remoevable drive - backups, files taken over to friends, etc etc.
Really useful bit of kit.
Might be able to do it with the others mentioned too, no knowledge of them.
I've got an H340. If you buy a card reader (something like a fiver), you can copy/back up your photos from your digital camera, or free up card space, when you're away...............
As mentioned, plug it into your pc and it's a remoevable drive - backups, files taken over to friends, etc etc.
Really useful bit of kit.
Might be able to do it with the others mentioned too, no knowledge of them.
really, i just want great music, loads of capacity, bullet proof build. i don't actually need pictures, video etc.
ok,
i fell in love with fanums idea of an archos with a bullet cam, but as far as i can see i need the really pricey AV500 (£329) + the cam. i went to look at one in argos and found it's quite large as well for a pocket unit.
so,
i decided on a boring i-pod 30GB but realised it does not come with a remote and not available as accessory so controlling it on the bike might be a problem. i'm therefore left with the i-pod nano 4GB. less storage but i can stick it on the bars as it's solid state. is there a bracket for doing that somewhere, or will i have to make one out of toilet rolls & sticky backed plastc? nice apple OS for the unit as well.
please form an orderly queue to point out why the nano is a POS before i commit
i'll start you off...
it's almost as pricey as the 30GB
there'll be an 8GB version out the day after i buy (and cheaper)
i fell in love with fanums idea of an archos with a bullet cam, but as far as i can see i need the really pricey AV500 (£329) + the cam. i went to look at one in argos and found it's quite large as well for a pocket unit.
so,
i decided on a boring i-pod 30GB but realised it does not come with a remote and not available as accessory so controlling it on the bike might be a problem. i'm therefore left with the i-pod nano 4GB. less storage but i can stick it on the bars as it's solid state. is there a bracket for doing that somewhere, or will i have to make one out of toilet rolls & sticky backed plastc? nice apple OS for the unit as well.
please form an orderly queue to point out why the nano is a POS before i commit
i'll start you off...
it's almost as pricey as the 30GB
there'll be an 8GB version out the day after i buy (and cheaper)
Fanum
Toubab
Get the AV500.....you know you want to
You can get the bullet cam later.....and you can tell Ange you're getting that one just for her so she can watch corrie while you're away
You can get the bullet cam later.....and you can tell Ange you're getting that one just for her so she can watch corrie while you're away
