Hi,

I'm changing from an I-river to an I-pod (the slight audio superiority of the I-river is nothing compared to the slow use - almost a minute to start, and bad interface compared to the apple wheel)

- So, I've gotta convert all 30 gigs of q9 ogg vorbis music to either aac or mp3 (lame). Please can anyone advise - will I lose any quality by transcoding to a similar level aac or mp3 (i.e. 320).

Can anyone advise on which is the better choice - would a choice between aac or mp3 at around 320 make any noticeable difference - i've searched the internet but all i find are conflicting opinions... - is one choice better than the other for an ipod in particular?

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks,

Sache

Theoretically, lossy encoding always lose quality. I don't know that it's audible or not.


I recommend much lower bitrate.
Modern codec works efficiently than you think.

Personally, I would never transcode any lossy format to another lossy format at the 320kbps bitrate, that is just a waste of bits, space, and battery life. You would be better off transcoding to a much lower bitrate.

As far as transcoding goes, I remember a test conducted by guruboolez not too long ago that showed the iTunes AAC encoder was better at transcoding (from a lossy source) than Lame was.

In dealing with the quality questions, only you can answer this. Transcode some songs, ABX them with the lossy source and lossless source, and if the results are positive then use that bitrate/format. Remember, the only true way to measure the quality is to conduct a blind ABX test, just listening to the music won't do anything as your mind can start playing tricks on you (the placebo affect).\

You could always use Rockbox on your iPod for native vorbis support.

Get the right solution:
http://www.rockbox.org/

Or install it on the iRiver. It boots in about 8 seconds.

Then again, it depends what IRivier he has, doesn't it?

Oh my god, guys is this real? Can such software exist???

Damn!

Thank you!

One question - is it perfectly safe - i.e. no increased chance of crashing and behaving naughtily, spyware etc

please let me know thanks

ps i have an iriver h340 thingy

On the iRiver h320 and h340, it's pretty much "tried, tested and true" -- go to www.rockbox.org to install it, you'll have loads of fun. Promise.

Just follow the instructions exactly : read EVERY point in the FAQ _BEFORE_ you install, and use the forum there for your further questions.

Good luck,
T.

Thanks man, I had a look at the iriver bit on the rockbox site and found this in the FAQ:

A Rockbox port is underway for the H300 series. This port is in the relatively early stages. A bootloader has been released that allows the H300 to boot into Rockbox, but the port is not yet stable. At this time, Rockbox for the H300 is recommended for developers only, and not for the general public.

....which kinda goes against what you said.... are you sure it's "tried, tested, and true"

Well, the pages are probably somewhat outdated. Rockbox 3.0 is scheduled for release 1st of May 2006 and Iriver DAPs are officially supported in that release so they should be stable at least then http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/ReleaseTodo. They probably are already, though.