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RTFM (Look it up)

| The UsedMac Blog | July 18, 2011

iTunes TV Show Thumbnail

I've excelled myself this evening. Having just bought an App on Mac App Store called iFlicks, I think may may not of needed it.

I've downloaded it in order to fill out metadata and help convert video to my iPad (it also does lots of other Apple friendly formats), it's just been pointed out to me by my flat mate Matt that I can simply add details manually like Episode Number in iTunes.

I just presumed that Apple wouldn't let me. Want to get something to appear as a 'TV Show'? Then go and pay for it in our store.

I didn't even bother to just try clicking on a video and hitting CMD+I to Get Info. Duh.

So a good lesson in never making presumptions. No matter how geek we are, always Read The Funking Manual...

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Our favourite App in the world RIGHT NOW: VLC for iPad

| Reviews | November 22, 2010

VLC Media Player

VLC is one of the great free Apps we insist that you install as soon as you buy your Mac. It's the swiss army knife of Video Players that sweeps away the woes of file and CODEC compatibility. You name it, it'll play it. Not just video either, obscure audio formats such as FLAC, OGG, WMA and Realmedia are easily dealt with.

So it is with huge surprise that a version for the iPad is now available within the iTunes App Store. Why such surprise? Well we expected the stringent rules of the app store to block it, but it's got a clean bill of health and in.

This is very exciting news then. Like all Apple products, the iPad will only play formats supported by iTunes. Audio wise this is fine, as the range supported is pretty wide, with audio also being easily converted. Video on the other hand is a bit trickier. Firstly they're are quite a few different formats out there: MP4, MKV, MOV, MPEG2, MPEG4 - all of which will use different video wrappers and codec's. On top of this the conversion of video is very time consuming, required a lot of CPU horsepower (many professional video encoders will utilise very beefy 8 Core servers).

So if we don't have to convert, life is much easier. This is where VLC on the iPad comes into itself. No more lengthy file conversion to ensure video plays in iTunes and on your iPad. Instead once installed, you can take your video files from (cough) the internet and directly transfer them into the VLC app through iTunes:

Piratebay: Add your swag here

Now there are some downsides to this. First of all VLC cannot take advantage of the iPad's hardware acceleration like it's native video player can. This means a much higher drain on battery life as well as the possibility that complex large videos that require a lot of decoding simply wont play.

HD video therefore is a bit of a no go. My attempts to play a Broadcast quality HD MPEG 2 of Top Gear ended in tears with VLC locking up instantly. However keep the files reasonable and this is a very useful free app.

The interface is easy to use, simple and elegant.

Above all: it's a great app that brings a rare bit of format choice to your Apple iPad. And it's free.

Download it now from iTunes

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The Beatles arrive but STILL no iOS 4.2

| Latest News | November 21, 2010

Steve: Can we call him just by his first name? Oh. No. Steve Jobs.

As expected The Beatles back catalogue is now available to buy on the iTunes Store. However despite the hype none of their tracks have entered the Top 10 sales chart on the UK iTunes Store. Although some are surprised by this, we didn't expect huge sales on this release. It's unlikely that Beatles fans wouldn't of ripped their CD's into iTunes themselves (with I expect some buying the recent 2009 remasters and ripping them with Apple Lossless).

So The Beatles may be here much to the relief of Ringo Starr (tired of endlessly being asked when Hey Jude would be available on iTunes), but not to the relief of Steve Jobs is the still delayed iOS 4.2.

My developer friend informed us that they're is now a Gold Master release of iOS 4.2.1 - clearly a sign that some bug fixing has been going on.

So we still have to wait for multitasking on our iPad, but at least we can bulk download the entire Beatles box set for £125...

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The Beatles coming to the iTunes Store?

| Latest News | November 16, 2010

Rubber Soul: Will anyone need to buy it on iTunes?

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that tomorrows iTunes announcement will reveal the arrival of The Beatles to the iTunes Store.

The Beatles have been absent from online retailers for some time, as the WSJ states, the arrival of the groups  back catalogue could well be more of a symbolic sign for the future of the CD rather than huge sales.

Only last year the bands back catalogue where remastered on CD, something fans have clamoured for for some time, so they're may be few fans left who actually want to download from the store (Unless they are too lazy to rip the CD's).

Unforgettable: Well at worse it could mean iOS 4.2 has turned up

Certainly iTunes itself is excited. So much so the homepage of the store is taken up with an EXCITING announcement banner, boldly claiming that:

"Tomorrow is just another day.

That you'll never forget"

and inviting us to check back today at 3pm.

Given that previous relations between Apple Corp Ltd  and Apple Computers have been somewhat fraught over copyright battles, let's hope that some serious kissing and making up has gone on behind the scenes between Steve, EMI and Macca....

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Automatically Add to iTunes

| Cool Tips | October 30, 2010

Ooooh. You can click on this. And it will work!

Ooooh. You can click on this. And it will work!What better on a Saturday morning than a tip to make your life easier?

I bet you didn't know that iTunes creates a folder that will automatically import then delete anything thats put in it?

I know! There is.

So where can you find this your asking?

Well, if you look into your iTunes folder and dig deeper, you'll find it nestling between the folders that iTunes now uses to organise different media types. Back in the day when it just handled, well, er, Tunes it would simply have one folder, but now that iTunes will handle a range of media such as Books, TV Shows and Apps it has split them up into folders. Amongst this, as you'll see, is the 'Automatically add to iTunes' folder:

Here is the Automatically Add to iTunes Folder

Auto: Any iTunes compatible file you drag in here will be ingested

So give it a go. Its pretty instant. What's best of all is it wont leave duplicates of MP3's or M4A's all over your hard drive, as once imported and copied to your iTunes library it deletes the original in the folder.

You can get really clever though by using Aliases. Perhaps you may always download MP3's of a mix to your Downloads folder, or you share recordings with a friend on Dropbox?

Create an Alias of the 'Automatically Add to iTunes' folder by right clicking sorry, Windows speak there, by CMD + clicking on the Folder and selecting 'Create Alias':

Screenshot of creating an Alias in Finder

Alias: The Finder equivalent of 'Create Shortcut'

This will create an alias of the folder. Why an Alias? Well if you simply made a copy of the folder then it will loose its Automatic magic. An alias therefore creates what is effectively a shortcut to that folder.

You can then move this Alias to say your Downloads folder or Dropbox folder , meaning you have a really easy way to import now to iTunes. As soon as your MP3 has downloaded, drag and drop within the same Finder window and boom! It's ingested to iTunes.

If your getting really clever you could set your Video or Audio conversion apps to always output to this folder, making it even more seamless.

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Updating to iTunes 10

| Latest News | September 2, 2010

Ooooh. You can click on this. And it will work!
Ooooh. You can click on this. And it will work!

Look! No CD! Just a, er, blue blob. (Whatever that means)

Right I'm updating to it.

Apparently the changes include the following according to Software Update:

"iTunes 10 comes with many new features and improvements, including:

• Introducing Ping. Use Ping to follow your favorite artists and friends or connect with the world's most passionate music fans. Discover the music everyone is talking about, listening to, and downloading.

• Rent HD TV episodes for just 99¢ each. Watch them on your Mac or PC, on-the-go with iPhone or iPod touch, or in your living room with the all new Apple TV.

• Play your favorites on the all new iPod touch, iPod nano, iPod shuffle, and Apple TV.

• Play music wirelessly with AirPlay on AirPlay-enabled speakers, home theater receivers, and iPod accessories.

• Explore many look-and-feel improvements throughout iTunes.

• Enjoy performance improvements which make iTunes faster and more responsive.

• Additional voice support with VoiceOver Kit for iPod.

For information on the security content of this update, please visit: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222"

It bloody better get faster. If its just as slow but with a new CD-Less logo I wont be happy....

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