This Article is Part of Beginners Guide to iPod, iTunes, iPod Touch and iPhone.
Although importing music from an audio CD takes a lot less time than playing the CD, it still takes time, so you want your import settings to be correct before starting. Pay a visit to the Importing Preferences window (iTunes--Preferences on a Mac, or Edit--Preferences in Windows), and then click the Importing button. The Importing preferences appear.
The Import Using pop-up menu gives you the opportunity to set the type of encoding — this is perhaps the most important choice — and the Setting pop-up menu offers different settings depending on your choice of encoder.
Encoding is a complicated subject and requires a whole guide of its own. For a quick and pain-free ripping session, select from among the following encoders in the Import Using pop-up menu based on how you plan to use your iTunes library:
TIP:
_ AAC Encoder: We recommend the AAC for all uses. (However, AIFF is better if you plan to burn another CD with the songs and not use them in your iPod.) Select the High Quality option from the Setting pop-up menu.
You can convert a song that’s been ripped in AIFF or WAV to AAC or MP3. However, ripping a CD with one encoder might be more convenient — and after that, you can rip it again with a different encoder. For example, you might import Sgt. Pepper with the AAC encoder for use in your Mac and iPod, and then import it again with the AIFF encoder, calling the album “Sgt. Pepper-2” or something, in order to burn some songs on a CD. After burning the CD, you can delete “Sgt. Pepper-2” to reclaim the hard drive space.
_ AIFF Encoder: Use AIFF if you plan on burning the song to an audio CD.
AIFF offers the highest possible quality, but AIFF also takes up lots of space. If you use AIFF, select the Automatic option from the Setting pop-up menu. Don’t use AIFF format for songs to be transferred to your iPod — convert them first to AAC or MP3.
_ Apple Lossless Encoder: Use the Apple Lossless encoder for songs that you intend to burn onto audio CDs and for playing on iPods — the files are just small enough (about 60-70 percent of the size of the AIFF versions) that they don’t hiccup on playback.
_ MP3 Encoder: Use the MP3 format for songs that you intend to burn on MP3 CDs or use with MP3 players or your iPod — it’s universally supported. If you use MP3, select the Higher Quality option from the Setting pop-up menu.
_ WAV Encoder: WAV is the high-quality sound format that’s used on PCs (like AIFF), and it also takes up a lot of space. Use WAV if you plan on burning the song to an audio CD or using it with PCs. If you use WAV, select the Automatic option from the Setting pop-up menu. Don’t use WAV for songs to be transferred to your iPod — convert them first to AAC or MP3.
The Importing Preferences window offers the following options, which you set before ripping a CD:
_ Import Using: Set this pop-up menu to the encoder. For more information about encoders.
_ Setting: Set this pop-up menu to High Quality for most music. You can change this setting to get better quality or use hard drive space more efficiently.
_ Play Songs While Importing: Select this check box to play the songs at the same time that you start ripping them. This option slows down the speed of importing, but hey — you get to listen to the music right away.
_ Create File Names with Track Number: Select this check box to include the track number in the file names created by iTunes for the songs that you rip.
_ Use error correction when reading Audio CDs: While it reduces the speed of importing, select this check box to use error correction if you have problems with audio quality or if the CD skips (not every skipping CD can be imported even with error correction, but it may help).
