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Paul
pas encore, j'erre toujours.
I just download whatever I think I might want to listen to or work on when I have access to wi-fi. Delete if off the device when it gets too full. I only have 32G on it.
Given your original question - iPod v. Nexus 7 for storing and playing both music and videos I'd say it's a no-brainer. You get a tablet. The question is which one? I have an old iPod160, I don't use it any longer and I never bothered with it for videos, the screen is too small. If you end up wanting an iPod160 you can have mine for super cheap. It's mint, collecting dust. However, I don't think you really want that...
I think what you really need to decide on is what form factor for a device are you looking for?
We have various flavors of iPads in our house -- they're great for taking music and videos when you travel you and for watching/reading things from the sofa. The Mini (and Nexus 7) are a nice tradeoff between screen size and portability. I've spent some time with the Nexus 7 but I don't own one. It's a nice machine, less expensive, more flexible storage, open ecosystem but fewer apps to choose from, not as refined as the Apple machines IMO. The current iPad models are getting long in the tooth and I expect some updates later this year but the current iPad mini or Nexus 7 would both be great tablets right now. What's interesting to me about the tablet form factor is how it becomes a part of your day to day when you may not have been sure you really wanted one to begin with.
However, you can't beat an ultraportable notebook for being able to get some real work done and having the ability to store all or most of your files and take them with you. A MacBook Air could be an option for you -- or, some other lightweight notebook machine. You can run windows on a Mac so pick the form factor, manufacturer, and price that works for you...
For managing a music collection, iTunes is horrible. It makes a mess of things and in my opinion it's not suitable for archiving a collection of CDs. If you aren't nitpicky about these details just ignore skip this. If you're not using iTunes already don't bother moving to that ring of the Inferno. Using Apple hardware without iTunes is easily doable.
For ripping CDs I recommend dbPowerAmp.
For managing a music collection I recommend MediaMonkey.
Both dbPowerAmp and MediaMonkey are Windows programs and I haven't found any software as good for MacOS.
If you run a Mac and want to use the best tools for managing music you either need another Windows machine or you need to install Windows on the Mac in a Bootcamp partition or a virtual machine. If you care about preserving all of the original bits of the CDs that you rip use dbPoweramp and do lossless rips to FLAC format.
MediaMonkey can play music from your collection, stored locally or on an external drive or on a network. More importantly it can be used manage the music and videos to sync to your portable devices (iphone, ipad, android phone/tablet, ipod160 etc.) and you can kick iTunes to the curb if you're dealing with an iOS device. It's great for editing file tags and you can make export copies of your collection or a subset of files to lossy MP3 files while keeping your master archive intact.
Storing your music in a cloud service could make sense for you if you won't be paying through the nose for bandwidth to stream it to a portable device. I wouldn't make this your only storage. It's a convenience thing so you still need to decide where to store the music at your house.
As someone mentioned earlier hard drives are prone to failure. I've managed IT/SaaS services and data center equipment for many years so the drive failure rate averages are very real to me. Make sure you have a backup of anything that you care about. On a related note, you didn't ask about this but a great option for archiving your music and videos and accessing them from home and/or from the Internet is to use a NAS device. Synology makes some nice consumer grade NAS devices that will let you store all of your files with fault tolerance and you can connect to them from your PCs or Macs or tablets/phones. This can be used for backing up your PC data and you can stream music and videos.
The nice thing about using a notebook computer for working on music is the fact that you have the flexibility to work more deeply with content. For example, you could visit soundslice.com and create or work with some tablature. You can run applications like Transcribe! or Amazing SlowDowner to slow down music and videos. You can get into a music notation package like Sibelius or Finale. Obviously you can do all of this on your Windows desktop already. But you have to be sitting at the desktop. Point is, if the goal is portability you need to decide where you want to draw the portability/power/flexibility line. In my opinion, for music study, a tablet isn't a good replacement for a full computer (desktop or notebook), it's a nice augmentation.
I'll be happy to help further if you want. Just message me or email me.
Christian
I did think of trying a low-end, hopefully low weight PC laptop - for no other reason than I'm accustomed to Windows, I know the screen is big, my eyes are saved, and the local storage is probably more than adequate for my travel/remote needs. I'm intrigued by online storage, but fear it as the notion is entirely new to me. I'm also intrigued simply because I know I'm stuck in a paradigm and interested in learning more about what's available. The battery life when compared to a tablet is a bit of a concern, but not a deal breaker.
Trivial, but the iRealBook, with its GJ subsection, seems pretty cool. Everyone at DIJ 2012 had an iPad, everyone I know has one (including my brother-in-law, up in the hinterland of the U.P....it's everywhere!), so....well, intrigued. Meaning, just more confusion in determining what to sink dough into...!
That said, I have no need to really work on things remotely (e.g., Soundslice, etc.)....my approach to learning music is to listen to it a billion times, slow it down if possible, and otherwise just practice. I really just want the ability to easily manage and listen to music, watch videos in either .wmv or .mp4 (hopefully, either) on the fly, and slow down tunes I'm working on. Ideally, the storage of an iPod without a physical hard drive, a large enough screen so my eyes are saved, and no clunky transfer process or playback issues. I know you can't have that kind of storage in any tablet, so did think of a wireless HD, or some sort of cloud. On the other hand, 32 gb is probably ample for remote needs so if a Nexus 7 could do these things (simple music and video management, with the ability to slowdown as in ASD) well, it's probably the winner, just because I've read such glowing things on its screen resolution, it's processing power, its cost/value etc., when compared to the Mini.
I did download both MonkeyMedia and DBpoweramp, thanks for the heads up...will have to learn these tools!
pas encore, j'erre toujours.
So many facts from so many folks. :?
It's like buying a guitar online you haven't played yet.
Until you get it in your little hands you never know. I believe Best Buys and most stores have a return period if it don't work out for you. I think between 15 & 30 days, is about average.
See if it works for you
pick on brother
pickitjohn
pas encore, j'erre toujours.
Similar questions abound, I think - users of FLAC material: can you actually hear the difference in real-world situations, meaning, say, in the hubbub of travel or remote use, and with whatever ear or headphones you're using, can you tell the difference between FLAC and something like Apple Lossless? I understand the desire for FLAC format - but as with all things audio, wonder if somewhere along the chain, one is limited by the lowest quality component...so that only premium players and headphones in a quiet environment, justify the cost (in additional memory) of music in something like FLAC. Does this make sense?
Leading to my next question (thank you again for the information, Xjax). So, I've got a ton of music that I ripped via WMP and the format is, of course, WMA. I should probably just start over, use poweramp, and rip to FLAC, yes? And presumably, whatever format I ultimately want to play in, I play and manage it in something like Monkey Media? Finally, if I go with something like an iPod of iPad, I can avoid using iTunes altogether, and just dump directly onto the machine (in a useable format...some sort of 3rd party FLAC player onboard, or, earlier, converting to something like Apple Lossless or a format compatible with an Android player, like the Nexus 7).
Basically, use poweramp to rip music to a desired format; either keep that format or convert it to one compatible for the device I want to use when remote, like the Nexus/iPad/iPod. And get the music into those machines via something like Monkey Media.
Do I understand that correctly?
Finally, ITunes Match intrigues me, thanks again, Karen; using, but not depending (i.e., not depending for real, secure storage....my desktop will always have the main collection, with backup on an external HD), on any of the cloud services, it would be nice to pick and choose remotely, like Karen has done. Cloud users - more input? Xjax isn't a fan of iTunes....any other opinions?
pas encore, j'erre toujours.
pas encore, j'erre toujours.
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/01/ ... gle-music/
I have very little downloaded music. I mostly own the cds. I always wanted the liner notes. I hate that part about downloading music. I only buy that way, when no other easy option is available. I usually buy the mp3s from Amazon, as I am sending it to my regular library.
If you are buying the Nexus, I see no reason to worry about I-tunes. Amazon would probably work as well and give you 250,000 songs instead of 25,000.
All my music in my library was ripped through WMP. Those files quickly filled up the micro sd card in the mp3 player I used to take with me. Which is why I went to the cloud storage. I have some loss less versions on my PC but , I don't think I could tell the difference in quality on something like my ipad. And it sounds good enough for me through my car stereo.
Just comes down to how much music you need to access remotely. Btw, I did not buy all those cds at full price. I am an antique dealer and go to shows, flea markets, etc... My library has always been Blues, Jazz and last couple of years Gypsy Jazz. Used cds can be picked up cheap at those places. Although not as much GJ. I have had to download a few of those.
Good luck on your search.. Karen