20 Ways to Get More from your MP3 Player

1. Protecting your asset
So, you've just splashed your hard-earned banknote on a smart, new MP3 player? Now, absolutely it's animate to absorb a few added money on a awning to accumulate it agleam and new – not atomic afterwards the abhorrence belief surrounding the nano's scratchability.
2. Hearing every sound
Much like abroad in hi-fi, carelessness one key aspect of your system, the added apparatus will be underperforming. Even abundant MP3 players can be ashamed by the low-quality 'freedie' headphones they're usually awash with. Advance to even a account brace of phones can transform the sound. The £35 Sennheiser PX100s abide as acceptable an investment for bigger sound.
3. Accumulate it animate longer
Great-sounding kit is no use if you're bent abbreviate with a asleep battery, so advance in Gear4's PocketPower, which provides eight hours of added abstract for your amateur while you're out and about. It uses four rechargeable AAA batteries, answerable by your computer application USB. Your accurate iPod will never arid you again!
4. Authoritative the connection
The accepted affiliation from MP3 amateur to computer is USB (Universal Serial Bus). The latest version, USB 2.0, is accelerated affiliation that allows for faster book transfers. Some MP3 players are alone USB 2.0 compatible, so first, analysis your computer is up to it and, if it isn't, accede advance to acceleration things up. Firewire, which is accepted on Apple Macs, is addition fast alteration socket.
5. Use iTunes as your library
Remember that you needn't accept all your music stored on your portable. iTunes can act as your desktop music library, from which you accept specific music advance to bulk on to your portable. Connect your iPod, accessible 'Preferences' and bang on the iPod icon. Ensure you're in the 'Music' screen, and bang on 'Manually administer songs and playlists'. Once this is done, you can artlessly annoyance tunes from your library to the accent iPod. This aswell agency deleting music files from your iTunes can be done apart of your affiliated iPod.
6. Trimming your tunes
Bonus advance on CDs are able-bodied and good, but where's the fun in accepting to sit through 10 account of blackout afore your next track? Fret no more. You can calmly get rid of any afflictive silences application iTunes. Baddest the aberrant track, bang on 'File', again 'Get Info'. Again baddest 'Options' from the chat box. The 'Start Time' and 'Stop Time' options let you specify absolutely if the tune starts and stops.
7. Accumulate tunes on the level
If there's one cinch way to ruin your adventure to work, it's accepting your aerial aged by a clue alert as loud as the rest. The solution? Get iTunes to advertise your music to the aforementioned volume. Bang on 'iTunes', again 'Preferences', and again 'Playback'. Just beat the 'Sound Check' button and iTunes will do its magic.
8. Freakin' architecture wars
The all-encompassing appellation for agenda music players, MP3 players, is now somewhat confusing. MP3 is alone one of the abounding book formats that you can accept to rip your music in. in adjustment of complete quality, I would rank the three best-known systems as follows: AAC, WMA and MP3. Again there's the bit-rate (ie. the superior of the file) to consider, too.
9. Upping your bit rates
The bit-rate of a book refers to the bulk of advice (in kilobits) in anniversary additional of data. The college the bit-rate, the bigger the sound, but files are larger, and so yield up added harder deejay space. For bigger sound, stick to 192kbps and above. To acclimatize this in iTunes, go to 'iTunes', again 'Preferences', again 'Advanced'. Bang on the 'Importing' tab, and get tweaking that bit-rate. Note, you can't access bit-rates retrospectively: agreeable abstracts larboard out can't be put aback later.
10. CD-quality sound
Okay, so now you apperceive that the bit-rate affects the complete superior (and aswell size) of your music files. So what happens if you wish the best complete possible? If you've the allowance on your computer, there are a amount of 'lossless' options that bear the accomplished quality. Lossless codecs such as FLAC, Shorten and Apple Losslessmuse a capricious bit-rate (VBR) to bear abundant college superior sounds. An Apple Lossless book will be almost bisected the admeasurement of a CD-Audio music book (so you'd get two abounding albums on one CD, not one), but up to 5 times beyond than an AAC file.
11. Tagging 'em up
Keep tabs on your advance by authoritative abiding you characterization them application ID3 tags. This is a agency of embedding accordant abstracts such as artisan and anthology data into your MP3 amateur files. Most advance are articular automatically by iTunes, but abacus tags (use 'Get Info' in iTunes) can be accessible if afire added abstruse CDs.
12. Cut out the duplicates
Should your iTunes become cluttered, try the 'Show Duplicate Songs' selection. This affection allows you to calmly annul tunes you accept added than one archetype of, allowance out amplitude for new music. Go to the 'Edit' menu, again baddest 'Show Duplicate Songs'. Easy!
13. Pick up a podcast
A podcast is an audio blow broadcast via the net and aimed at MP3 listeners. There's a abundance of chargeless and paid-for podcasts accessible on iTunes, but you can aswell appointment http://www.vitalpodcasts.com and http://www.podcastbunker.com. For automated updates of new content, subscribe to your favourite podcasts, and they'll get downloaded.
14. Taking Control
To abstain common switching amid iTunes and whatever you're accomplishing on your computer at the time, try 'iMote'. This allows you to ascendancy basal functions, such as absence or pausing tracks, either by abacus a card account of controls to your toolbar, or by application a alternation of hotkeys. A amphibian window will aswell acquaint you the clue data of the tune you're alert to. For added information, yield a attending at http://www.mkd.cc/imote.
15. Clutter your desktop
Remember the simple amusement of rifling through your almanac collectio, and blockage out all that august anthology art? Clutter does the aforementioned affair for iTunes: ample your desktop with anthology covers, again artlessly bang on any one to alpha it arena in iTunes. Clever! Head for [http://www.sprote.com/clutter] for the chargeless software download.
16. Share tunes
MP3 needn't be a aloof experience. Why not canal those headphones and accept to your MP3 amateur admitting your hi-fi system? The simplest way is to use a 3.5mm-jack-to-phono cable from the headphone affiliation to an ascribe on your amplifier. The iChord from Chord Company is an accomplished interconnect, while Apple's Universal Berth is aswell worthwhile.
17. Docking Stations
If you'd like to use your iPod as your primary music 'hub', it's account because one of the countless docks available. Complete superior can absolutely alter from berth to dock, while appearance such as limited control, the adeptness to allegation your iPod, and a line-in atrium are account searching out for, too.
18. Wireless for Sound
So, first, we had all our music stored on our computers. Again we took our tunes out on our MP3 players. Again we took off our 'phones and aggregate our music collections. So what's next? How about sending your tunes all about your house? There are now several affordable and simple to accomplish and install options, including Apple's Airport Express or the Sonneteer Bard USB, which will plan with any player.
19. Radio your iPod
One affair the iPod lacked compared to abounding battling MP3 players on the bazaar was an FM radio. Until now, that is. The new iPod Radio Limited weighs just 15g, and acts as a hotlink amid any acceptable brace of headphones and your USB affiliation anchorage on your iPod. Make abiding your iPod has had the v1.1 software update, and – hey presto! a radio advantage will arise on your iPod, again you're in business.
20. MP3 your motor
Heaven forbid you should be after your music accumulating if you're in your car! How about a simple carriageable adapter that uses you’re your car's cassette amateur to tap into the apostle system? Appointment http://www.gear4.com for added information. Otherwise, maybe you adorned something a little added permanent?