Windows Media Player and iTunes Best answer on the web

  • I'm using Windows Media Player 10 on my XP Pro PC. My wife is getting an iPod for Christmas that I'm told uses iTunes for MP3 downloads and song management. Can WMP and iTunes share the same MP3 music file folder on my XP PC so I can keep my WMP playlists, keep the wife's iPod songs updated, but avoid having to maintain two music libraries (WMP and iTunes)?


  • I bought an ipod earlier this year, and didnt want to change from WMP. However, the more I used Itunes, the more i realised how superior it was to WMP! So much easier to use, and nicer.
    I would take the leep and convert to Itunes.

    If you dont 'buy mp3's' then there is no problem with Itunes and WMP sharing the same folder.
    If you copy tunes to your PC using ITunes or WMP, you can specify where you want them saved.
    personally, i would switch to ITunes, apple after all, are mainly a software company....and they do it very well.
    A.


  • - Windows Media Player works with the MP3 file format standard.
    - iTunes uses a non-industry standard format for it's iPod.

    This is not entirely correct - iTunes can play MP3 files as well as Apple's AAC format. You do not need to convert your MP3 files to AAC format. You would need to change any WMA files to either MP3 or AAC format before they can be played on your wife's iPod.
    - If I convert all my MP3 files to iTunes, I can sync the iPod and my
    PC and listen to the songs on my Windows PC using iTunes.

    First of all you should not need to convert all your MP3 files to iTunes as iTunes can play any unprotected MP3 file.
    If you have purchased any MP3 files via Windows Media Player they will probably be copy protected and probably will not play on iTunes.
    If you have simply copied CD's from your collection to play on WMP these will not be copy protected and you can use the MP3 files you already have in iTunes. In other words, all the MP3 files you have not bought online will work without any conversion in either iTunes or WMP.
    As you can probably see the difficulty comes when the MP3 files are copy protected. Do you have any copy protected MP3 files? Have you ever bought any MP3 files from an online store? Are your files MP3 files or WMA files?
    If you have no copy protected MP3 files you can play and listen to your music in iTunes, WMP or any other media player that can play MP3 files - you do not need to make duplicates of the files anywhere.
    To rip a music CD into MP3 files you can continue to use WMP or use iTunes.

    To download the music onto your wife's iPod you will need to either use one of the program's I indicated or to simply use iTunes.
    If you were to ask me down which route you should go I would suggest using iTunes as it means using only one piece of software. If you were to purchase one of the third party pieces of software I would recommend XPlay as it is the simplest of the options I have given.


  • I understand that WPM cannot be used to manage the iPod so that's not a problem.
    I was hoping to get the best of both applications without having to give one up.
    I would be very much interested in a list of software applications that will allow me to manage the music on my PC and on my wife's iPod. And yes, that list will be sufficient as an answer to my question. Thank you.


  • Glad I could help. If you require any further assistance please ask for further assistance.


  • palitoy-ga:

    I think I'm good to go now. You've cleared up a few of the questions regarding what iTunes will and won't do and I think I now have all the pieces to the puzzle. Luckily I don't have any downloaded (copy protected) music files; the music has all been ripped from my CDs. Should that ever change, I'll have to make the appropriate adjustments. Thanks again.


  • Hello bluezman-ga,

    Thank-you for your question.

    Unfortunately you cannot use WMP to synchronize your music to your wife's iPod as WMP does not allow you to connect to an iPod. It is though possible to use other software than iTunes to keep your music collection and your wife's iPod synchronized.
    There are a number of free or cheap pieces of software that allow you to do this. Would a list of these pieces of software be sufficient as an answer for you? This is the route I have gone down and no longer use either WMP or iTunes to manage my music collection, instead preferring to keep my music in a series of organised folders (arranged by artist with sub-folders for that artists albums).
    The other feasible solution would be for you to begin to use iTunes - it is very similar in functionality to WMP.
    The music used by iTunes can be the same files as the ones used by WMP (in other words you do not need to duplicate the files) but you should note that any music that is purchased through iTunes and the Apple iTunes Music Store may not be compatible with your collection in WMP. This is due to many (if not all) of the songs available being copy protected to only be allowed to play on your wife's iPod or via iTunes.
    palitoy-ga


  • Hello bluezman-ga,

    Thank-you for your clarification and question above. I have compiled a list of some of the most popular pieces of software for the management of music on a PC and to an iPod.
    vPod - FREE!
    "vPod is a program for transferring music to your iPod from Windows. It presents a unified view of all of your music and lets you see what is and what is not already on your iPod. I think that it's a much more intuitive interface for managing what is available on your iPod than the existing solutions. vPod is free software. It is licensed under the Free BSD license so that as many people as possible can benefit from it." http://www.vonnieda.org/vPod/

    XPlay - $29.95
    "With XPlay there is no bulky interface, no fluff, nothing to get in the way of you and your music. XPlay's powerful drag-and-drop ability makes transferring music to and from the iPod quick and simple. There is no easier way to manage music on your iPod. Moving your songs to the iPod is as easy as copy a file to a disk. No music manager, no middle man. " http://www.mediafour.com/products/xplay/

    EphPod - FREE!
    "EphPod is a full-featured, easy-to-use Windows application that connects with Apple's iPod. With a FireWire card and EphPod on a PC, it takes under 30 minutes to transfer 1,000 songs to an iPod. In addition, EphPod supports standard WinAmp (.M3U) playlists, includes powerful playlist creation features, and will synchronize an entire music collection with one click. It imports Microsoft Outlook contacts, in addition to allowing users to create and edit their own contacts. EphPod can also download the latest news, weather, e-books, and movie listings to an iPod." http://www.ephpod.com/

    WinAmp and mlipod - FREE!
    "The winamp ipod plugin (aka ml_ipod) is a plugin for winamp. It allows you to manage your iPod from within the winamp media library. It supports all kinds of iPods, from the classic first generation iPods, to the iPod mini, photo, nano and shuffle and everything in between." http://www.mlipod.com/index.php
    http://www.winamp.com/

    Media Monkey - $29.95
    "Synchronize with Portable Audio Devices in seconds. Simply configure MediaMonkey once, and then click the Synchronize button to synchronize tracks and playlists with a broad range of portable devices including the iPod. With Volume Leveling, the tracks will even play back on your device at consistent volumes!" http://www.mediamonkey.com/product.htm

    Anapod Explorer - $29.95
    "Anapod Explorer, our flagship iPod product, is composed of Anapod Explorer itself, Anapod CopyGear, and Anapod PhotoSync. Anapod is the most advanced Windows iPod software available, offering iPod management through full Windows Explorer integration under My Computer, easy drag and drop iPod transfer and iPod backup, PDA function support, photo and video transfer, web page interface access to your iPod through a built-in web server, powerful search and reporting capabilities using a built-in SQL database, and much more, all in one compact package. A great backup tool or iTunes alternative." http://www.redchairsoftware.com/anapod/

    Further software can be found at the following locations:
    http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/ipod-software-windows/
    http://www.ipodhacks.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Downloads&file=index
    http://www.ipoding.com/index.php?catid=11

    If you were to ask me for my favourite solutions I would have to say it is either vPod (as it is so small and simple to use), XPlay (for it's simple interface and because it is built into Windows), and mlipod (as it provides me with a complete solution - both a player and synchronizer).
    If you require any further assistance on this subject please do not hesitate to ask for clarification.


  • We have just bought an Ipod and are trying to transfer our music files, which are on our Windows Media Player and stored in windows folders in WMA format. A few of these files are I believe are copy protected(purchased on internet), I tried tried to transfer on music in my Windows folder to Itunes, which took about six hours, eventually a error message came up less than half way through the transfer. I am not sure how to proceed. I don't know if it is relevant but I downloaded Itunes many months ago , and now I am adding software from the Ipod CD, could this be part of the problem? Can you suggest any solution on this?


  • After doing more research, here's what I think I know:
    - Windows Media Player works with the MP3 file format standard.
    - iTunes uses a non-industry standard format for it's iPod.
    - If I convert all my MP3 files to iTunes, I can sync the iPod and my PC and listen to the songs on my Windows PC using iTunes. - But this file conversion (to iTunes) will not allow me to create MP3 music CDs I can listen to on my MP3 player at work or in my car.
    Are these assumptions more or less correct? If so, I'm back to maintaining two music libraries as I do want the flexibility of: 1) being able to listen to my music files on my home PC
    2) being able to create music CDs I can listen to on an MP3 player
    3) download song's to my wife's iPod for her enjoyment.

    The question then becomes which of the third party applications (WinAmp, XPlay, vPod, etc.) will give me the freedom to do both. At this point, I'm willing to purchase a software program to resolve this issue.









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    Posted inhznj.com July 30th, 2010 edit