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[benn600]

We got our first iPod ever, in a family of four, last Saturday.  I'm fed up with my Sansa's lack of solid features.  So, I'm going to pick up an iPod for myself.  So, the distance between this family's first and second iPod EVER is only 7 days.  I'll be going to Best Buy on Friday.  The iPods are on sale--save around $12 and I have a 12% off coupon that starts Friday.  I'll also apply one of them (we have 4) to the first iPod and get a little refund.

Now to the issue.  Should I get the 8GB Black Nano or the 30GB Black iPod?  They are both the EXACT same price!  From those who have used both, what would you say?  I prefer the 2nd Gen Nano because it has the new surface which doesn't seem to scratch or fingerprint as easily and it also is newer, right?  So they are less likely to release a 3rd Gen Nano but the iPod is due for an upgrade (which may be merely the iPhone).

Obviously I'm concerned with the hard drive breaking.  I'm also not in need of that much space.  I sync under 1,100 songs right now and even with the 8GB Nano, I have close to 900 more song capacity (theoretically).  I would want to use the iPod's 30GB for more things.  How does video work with MC?  Remember that everything has to work with MC or forget it...

Please offer info so I make the correct choice!

[jgreen]

I still have my 2G ipod, the first generation to support windows.  It has a 20gb hdd and still gets 8+ hours of battery runtime.  Apart from the fact that you can't run MC on an ipod, I have had only one complaint:  The hdd is prone to skipping during prolonged shaking, for example jogging.

This is more noticable with WAV files than mp3, the reason being (I'm guessing) that a ~40mb WAV track is larger than the physical buffer.  Also, the hdd ipod is only slightly lighter than an anvil.  So my next ipod, if I ever get aroud to buying it, will be a flash-based unit, for sure.  The main question in my mind is whether to get the Nano or the Shuffle. 

As far as lossless file support goes, for me it's not an issue.  IMO, mp3's are plenty good for the ipod.  So I don't need a lot of room, and I still have my 20gb ipod which doubles as a portable firewire drive.

[dcwebman]

I am using a 5th generation 30GB video iPod now having upgraded from the previous model 2GB Nano and am very happy. A lot depends on how you plan on using it. Like jgreen said, if you're going to do jogging or something like that, the flash Nanos are probably the better bet. That's not me,    so the hard drive model is perfectly fine with my use.

It's nice having the ability for video on those airplane trips when you don't feel like pulling out a laptop or separate DVD player to keep yourself occupied. But since I don't really travel that much, my primary use is audiobooks and podcasts in the car.

Actually my wife has the same model as I do and we both sync with MC. She's a computer novice and I never got her to look at iTunes at all and she hasn't had a problem (thankfully) with MC.

As far as surface goes, I can highly recommend a http://www.bestskinsever.com skin for it. It doesn't take away from the cool look of an iPod and it's unlikely it will get scratched.

[benn600]

Well, after calling Best Buy, I was informed that I can't use the 12% off coupon on an iPod because Apple & Bose products aren't eligible for special sales.  I know Apple doesn't really let their products move around a lot but that's just strange.  Besides, the iPod is on sale this week at Best Buy anyway--saving $5 on the Shuffle, $10 on the Nano, and $15 or so on the big one.

I was hoping to get it for $220 after discounts (8GB Nano).  I may still try to apply the discount anyway---doesn't hurt to try.

[RFB]

Hello.  Just wanted to chime in here as I have finally settled on having/using a Sansa e280 and a 5.5G 30GB iPod (I was listening to a Zune, but got rid of it due to major usability issues.).

Let me say that having both flash and hd players is the best of both worlds.  The flash is for quick trips to the supermarket, exercise, etc.  The hd player is for mostly listening at home.

I personally don't see what the Nano has over the Sansa.  The Nano has a smaller screen (and smaller album artwork) and no FM radio; it is a lot more expensive.

I say, keep you're Sansa and get a 30GB iPod.

Rick

[benn600]

Here's my problem.  I can't get cover art working on my Sansa.  I went through a scheme of it not working at all, then it worked 100%, and now about 5% of my songs get cover art even though there was no MC change that I know of since it worked 100%.

Also, the ratings don't seem to work.  Nor do the play stats work.  It also doesn't have games (minor but definitely a consideration).

I also really like the music game, music search, ability to show cover art permanently (somewhat).

Why doesn't the cover art work for me?  I know the mp3's have the cover art embeded because if I copy the files from the Sansa to my computer, the thumbnails in Vista show the cover art with an overlay of VLC.  I'm sick of trying to coble things together to work.  Plus, my Sansa is only 6GB so I will be upgrading (obviously could get an 8GB Sansa, though).

I do not think I want a hard drive player at all.  Why would you listen to an iPod at home?  If I'm listening to music at home, its ALWAYS with either Media Center or my wireless music players which use MC.  I don't like using a portable player when I can use MC and get FLAC goodness with all the additional abilities.  I see little reason for syncing everything I own because when I'm using my iPod, which by definition will usually be "on-the-go," I don't want to deal with finding songs.

That brings me to another point (finding songs).  The Nano supports playlists wonderfully.  They just transfer and work on the Nano (from MC).  And pictures!  They just work with MC and the Nano.  With the Sansa, they require that you use their special software!

[RFB]

I found that to get album artwork to work 100% of the time, I had to use a third-party program to embed the JPG's in the MP3's.

What I use is MP3Tag, available here: http://www.mp3tag.de/en/

Also, are you aware that embedded JPG's on the Sansa need to be smaller than 32kb?  This is crucial.  Any bigger and the artwork WON'T display.  Hope this helps.

To answer your question as to why I use an iPod to listen at home instead of the computer, there are three reasons.  First, I'm only using onboard sound on my computer.  It's questionable if my powersupply could handle me adding a soundcard. The iPod (and even the Sansa) sound significantly better than AC'97 audio.  Second reason is that I live in apartment where the walls with my neigbors have poor isolation.  So I can't put speaker volume at a decent level without disturbing them.  Lastly, I just prefer headphones to speakers, and I don't want to be tethered to my computer.

Rick

[benn600]

See, now I've proven that art can be larger than 32 Kb but I think that was true with an older firmware version.  I had 2 MB cover art on my Sansa and they displayed perfectly--with a 3 second delay for resizing it to the screen.

32 Kb?!  Most people have cover art that doesn't even come close to 32 Kb.  This supports my desire to include automatic cover art resizing in the MC sync conversions.  I like storing 1200x1200 cover art but when I sync, I want it downsized.

[RFB]

That's interesting that you say that coverart can be bigger than 32kb.  I just had an album that wouldn't display coverart and I checked and the jpg was 500kb.  I resized it so it was 12kb and then it would display.

My Sansa is running firmware 1.02.15A, the latest "official" firmware.  I am aware that there's a newer (the Israeli) firmware out there but I'm going to wait for them to formally release it.

Rick

[benn600]

I admit it no longer works.  It used to.  I upgraded the firmware in my device and that changed behavior.  It used to resize huge cover art but I admit I don't want that because it will take way too much space.

How do you resize cover art?  Is there a way to make it resize automatically before adding it to the mp3s?  I need it to resize just like you do.

[RFB]

As you know, MC doesn't resize.  For that I'm using Google's (free) Picasa2, a picture organizing software.  I set it to shrink it down to 200 X 200, which works very well on the Sansa.

Rick

[benn600]

Wait.  Do you import your cover art and then use the small cover art with Media Center?  I don't like this solution because if I view the cover art at full screen, it shows at 100% so it doesn't fill the screen but is quite small.  Plus, the detail (even if magnified), doesn't look crisp.

[RFB]

That's unfortunately a limitation and drawback of using embedded jpg's (that have to be less than 32kb in size) with the Sansa.  The coverart will be quite small when the mp3 is played in Media Center.

Rick

[benn600]

Wait!?  The mp3 standard limits cover art to 32 Kb?!  Well how does this work for anyone then?  Is Media Center actually resizing cover art, then?

How do you handle this?  Do you store 32 Kb jpg's in your album folders (folder.jpg)?  What do other people do?  My sister's iPod, which I think is working from embeded jpg's, shows the cover art just fine but I store huge cover art...many times 32 Kb.  How is this working?  Am I missing something?

[RFB]

No, it's not the MP3 standard that limits it to 32kb or less.  That's a limitation of the Sansa.  Any bigger, and the coverart won't display on the Sansa.

For use on the computer, I'm not sure what the size limit is, but it's much bigger than that (I've had embedded jpg's that were 500kb).

Rick

[benn600]

I still don't have a good solution.  Anyway, I bought an 8GB iPod Nano but don't want to sync it until I can get the cover art downsized or it will take 2 GB for cover art.