iTunes 9.1 to Bring eBook Support, Genius Mix Enhancements, Automatic Bitrate Conversion?
According to the source, the existing "Audiobooks" entry in the iTunes Source list will be replaced with a broader "Books" section. A similar change will made to the sources for managing content on connected devices such as iPhones, iPods, and iPads. The revamped "Books" section for connected devices will reportedly display all book content compatible with a given device for easy content management.
iTunes 9.1 will also reportedly bring enhancements to the Genius Mixes feature that automatically selects songs that "go great together". In the updated iTunes, users will have more control over Genius Mixes, including the ability to rename mixes and rearrange them by dragging. Users will also be able to delete Genius Mixes by right clicking on them. Genius Mixes will also reportedly be available as sources for the iTunes DJ shuffle feature.
Finally, iTunes 9.1 is claimed to offer several changes to device support, including tweaked summary panes (including a move of the "Check for Update" and "Restore" buttons to the left side of the pane) and the ability to automatically convert songs to 128 kbps AAC format when syncing to devices. This feature, currently available only for the iPod shuffle, will reportedly be extended to all devices and will allow users to fit more audio files on their devices while the original higher-quality files remain untouched in iTunes.
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25 months ago
I wonder if they will add a PDF support section, They are not epub but I'd love to keep them organized in itunes
25 months ago
"while the original higher-quality files remain untouched in iTunes."
That's a welcome addition!
That's a welcome addition!
25 months ago
Anything to make the program better is welcome. However when are they going to put the program on a diet? While its current size is because of what it does, there has to be someway to cut back on the bloat. It's only going to get worse.
25 months ago
Genius is the most underrated feature of iTunes. With iBook support, those who aren't interested in the iPad can still use this section which is pretty cool. I can't wait until there is a complete redesign of iTunes in 10.0.
Apple is quickly becoming the dominant content provider or all forms of media.
Apple is quickly becoming the dominant content provider or all forms of media.
25 months ago
Love the bitrate conversion idea, hope that is true... and also controllable. on/off, set bitrate...asking too much?
25 months ago
I cannot describe how elated I would be at the addition of bit rate conversion. I am a bit of an audiophile with a nice stereo setup at home, so all of my iTunes tracks are Apple Lossless ripped from CDs. I love it except that I can only have a few hundred tracks on my iPhone. Beyond simply limiting the amount of music I have access to on the go, it also neuters the idea of on-the-go Genius playlists. It is sad indeed knowing that the bit rate conversion feature exists, but is only turned on for certain iPods. Let's hope this rumor is true!
25 months ago
is the 128kbps version of the song an official implementation of mpeg-4sls/hd aac or does itunes downsample it each time a song is added to the player?
25 months ago
"while the original higher-quality files remain untouched in iTunes."
That's a welcome addition!
Agreed. This could be awesome for maintaining Lossless in iTunes and AAC on the ipod/iphone. Hopefully they will give you the ability to choose the conversion settings, instead of simply being locked to 128k.
25 months ago
Automatic conversion will be awesome! Let all the HQ stuff live in iTunes, but when I'm out-and-about, step down for my iDevices.
This is probably what I'm most excited about.
This is probably what I'm most excited about.
25 months ago
Love the bitrate conversion idea, hope that is true... and also controllable. on/off, set bitrate...asking too much?
I would be shocked if it wasn't controllable. Maybe be not bit rate--its current iteration for the Shuffle is locked in at 128 AAC--but certainly on/off.
It's also probably worth noting that this feature will require some serious processing horsepower, and will thus drastically increase sync times for those of us that choose to utilize it with large libraries, where a new random selection of songs are being transfered each sync session ...
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