Is AAC worse than MP3? I deleted a couple as testers, just to be sure that I wasn't fracking anything up, but I think they were both .mp3 files. But I'll definitely check first.
I have always deleted the MP3 files after they are in iTunes and I have done 2 things - made a backup hard copy, and backed up to external hard drive as well, because otherwise you are correct that they are taking up duplicate space that can be better used, like by downloading more MP3s. I never worried about the AAC vs. MP3 aspect, and if you've made a backup copy you can always access them again as MP3s anyway.
"Better" is a relative term that has to take account not only of the sound/bitrate ratio but of whether I might at any point want to play them on a device that does not read AAC. It's mainly the latter issue that has kept me wary of AAC.
Another issue with AAC is that you can't make an MP3 disc with them. That only matters if you want to make one of course. I like to make them to play in my Car's Cd player and if I want to give someone several albums and not waste a stack of CDs.
Still, you can have iTunes convert AAC to MP3 files, but I've stopped importing CDs into the AAC format for that reason.
So I dropped off the eMu scene with the original Sony drop - or right after when my account fizzled up. Took their recent we'll-give-you-a-month-free subscription and am shocked that the site navigation is in league with Mtraks.
On topic, burning between mp3 and aac is cutting corners after cutting corners. Bitrate is much more important for sound quality, but that's a lose-lose proposition.
I think cw00 means copying mp3 files on to a disc to play on a car stereo. That way you can get a bunch of albums on one disc. My car has this...not that I use it that much, as I also have an aux input for the iPod.
48 hours since my refresh and I have not spent a penny yet - this is unheard of. I've got the SFLs and a few newer entries to consider but the sense of urgency and participation is just gone, done left town. Some of that might be chalked up to the holiday glut - MP3s and CDs from other places BTW - but they have stuffed a garlic in the mouth of joy, put a stake in it's heart, and sawed off it's head.
Not to mention I won't download a thing from them anymore without searching my library first because of the number of things that I already have in different iterations which their system is incapable of displaying to me.
@Doofy, yes, that's what I burn MP3 discs for, but many DVD players will play them as well. My Honda will also accept a USB Flashdrive but it's so awkward (and tedious ) to use compared to just plugging in an iPod, though that is mostly the car stereo's clunky interface.
@BigD: That's how it starts. In a few months, you'll be at the point where the majority of your monthly balance is still there with your refresh date just one or two days away, and despite your still having dozens of items in your SFL, there just won't be anything you actually want to buy.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: The move to "currency" pricing was the worst thing eMusic ever did, and though the negative effects of it may be impossible to measure in any meaningful way, I still believe it's going to be their downfall... even more so than the miserable state of their software, and that's saying a lot!
Yes I'm three weeks into my 30 days and I've only downloaded about a quarter of my monthly allowance (we're still in effect on the old system of tracks) and they have all been from Jonah's Jazz Picks. Without that I think I'd struggle now to find enough. I'm staying for now because it is still cheap here with my grandfathered plan, but once that goes I'll be off, and I can get somedecent contemporary jazz thanksto Jonah. I did look at emusic yesterday on my ipad and it looks much better there - no easier to use though! But it did make me realise that the redesign is probably for the ipad generation - so where is the app?
This has probably been discussed before, but I can't go back through 975 posts looking for it. I'm on an album page and I can't find a "Save for Later" link? Has that feature gone away?
edit: I just looked at the emu boards and there's a thread including BigD-Blues and Germanprof about having hundreds of albums on SFL lists. I guess I'm overlooking it somehow.
I fear for the updated "Related Musicians" and "Sounds Like" recommended features. My guess is that they're going to really bring to the forefront how scattered much of their database is for artists with multiple entities. Where the suggestions of similar artists or sounds to someone like, say, McCoy Tyner will come up with responses like McCoy Tyner Quintet, The McCoy Tyner Quintet, McCoy Tyner w/John Coltrane, etc, and maybe a couple others like Joe Henderson (collaborator) and John Coltrane (collaborator).
Of course, I rarely used those features for jazz. The only time I really used their recommendation features were for stuff like ambient and post-rock... music I like to listen to very early in morning. I definitely miss having those features. From my experience, they worked way more often than not. Hopefully when emu gets em back up, they'll run in a similar fashion.
That's already happening with the related artists feature, as well as other odd effects - look at the related artists at the bottom of this page - half of the artists are Steve Reich, including (according to the photos) those who are not Steve Reich. Apparently he had several identical twins with eerily similar dress sense.
By the way I intensely dislike those little round photos that squish artists' faces, and I dislike even more the little round photo that says they don't have a little round photo.
The move to "currency" pricing was the worst thing eMusic ever did, and though the negative effects of it may be impossible to measure in any meaningful way, I still believe it's going to be their downfall... even more so than the miserable state of their software, and that's saying a lot!
Some mystique was lost with the move to currency pricing, but I think the shock might have passed. The pricing problem has been greatly compounded by the huge variety of price points and their apparent randomness. I become frustrated predicting what an album might cost.
Well, managed to spend something, thanks to BT's Louis find, also got the Sonny Criss set, two old cheaper Mr. Big live sets, and I'm almost done. Definitely not the bang for the buck there used to be, and that being said I culled about another 100 from my several SFL's - just stuff there is no bloody way I'm ever going to pay $6 and up for, and also albums that if I don't know what they are doing there at this point it just can't be that important. Big cheap sets, moldy oldies and selected top shelf items that eMu happens to have for less - this seems to be the future for me there. The Age of Discovery has passed.
@denver: The SFL is still there, but now it's part the plus symbol button next to download album. Left click and you will see some choices including Save for Later and Add to List.
Hmm. I've noticed over time that the period between refreshes is actually 30 days + 1 hour, give or take a couple of minutes. So the refresh time gradually moves forward through the day, an hour at a time, over a 2-year cycle. My last refresh was at 11:07 p.m. last month, so this month's should be at 12:07 a.m., and was scheduled for today, Feb 13. I was actually looking forward to eight months or so of the new credit being there for me when I get up on refresh day, rather than the recent phase of the refresh day really being the day after because the credit comes late at night. But nothing so far. So either the pattern is suddenly disrupted (after years of consistency) or it's going to come a day late or something's not right. They are on Eastern Time, right?
Well, in the end it rolled over at 12:07 a.m. on the day after the scheduled refresh date. Apparently the refresh date given does not take the extra hour into account. Trust emusic to make a potentially simple process complicated.
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Still, you can have iTunes convert AAC to MP3 files, but I've stopped importing CDs into the AAC format for that reason.
On topic, burning between mp3 and aac is cutting corners after cutting corners. Bitrate is much more important for sound quality, but that's a lose-lose proposition.
Not to mention I won't download a thing from them anymore without searching my library first because of the number of things that I already have in different iterations which their system is incapable of displaying to me.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: The move to "currency" pricing was the worst thing eMusic ever did, and though the negative effects of it may be impossible to measure in any meaningful way, I still believe it's going to be their downfall... even more so than the miserable state of their software, and that's saying a lot!
edit: I just looked at the emu boards and there's a thread including BigD-Blues and Germanprof about having hundreds of albums on SFL lists. I guess I'm overlooking it somehow.
Of course, I rarely used those features for jazz. The only time I really used their recommendation features were for stuff like ambient and post-rock... music I like to listen to very early in morning. I definitely miss having those features. From my experience, they worked way more often than not. Hopefully when emu gets em back up, they'll run in a similar fashion.
By the way I intensely dislike those little round photos that squish artists' faces, and I dislike even more the little round photo that says they don't have a little round photo.
My annual plan ends in March. I'm thinking of canceling, which I think about every year, but this might be the year to actually do it.