should ITMS offer more for your money?
the store is a great idea and is off to an amazing start for sure but i started thinking about it while reading myriad threads on it......if i go to the store and buy a cd i have paid between 9and 16 bucks or whatever but there...in all its full glory... i have around 700MB of pure AIFF files....all the quality i can use...over and over should i please. rip it as an mp3 at 128, 256 320; rip as AAC at whatever rate depending on my preferences.
if i buy an album from ITMS yes i get speed and ease of delivery but am limited to a highest quality rate of 128. now that might sound good enough for most folks but IMHO if im to pay that kind of money i would think i should have the ability to download at AIFF quality. i know that would be a potential drain on their servers but i just dont think one should be limited to that quality level, albeit fine for most. most of you will probably say go buy the cd then...fair enough, but i wondered if anyone else thought maybe apple should offer the option to download at higher quality.
if i buy an album from ITMS yes i get speed and ease of delivery but am limited to a highest quality rate of 128. now that might sound good enough for most folks but IMHO if im to pay that kind of money i would think i should have the ability to download at AIFF quality. i know that would be a potential drain on their servers but i just dont think one should be limited to that quality level, albeit fine for most. most of you will probably say go buy the cd then...fair enough, but i wondered if anyone else thought maybe apple should offer the option to download at higher quality.
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Originally posted by macfly
the store is a great idea and is off to an amazing start for sure but i started thinking about it while reading myriad threads on it......if i go to the store and buy a cd i have paid between 9and 16 bucks or whatever but there...in all its full glory... i have around 700MB of pure AIFF files....all the quality i can use...over and over should i please. rip it as an mp3 at 128, 256 320; rip as AAC at whatever rate depending on my preferences.
if i buy an album from ITMS yes i get speed and ease of delivery but am limited to a highest quality rate of 128. now that might sound good enough for most folks but IMHO if im to pay that kind of money i would think i should have the ability to download at AIFF quality. i know that would be a potential drain on their servers but i just dont think one should be limited to that quality level, albeit fine for most. most of you will probably say go buy the cd then...fair enough, but i wondered if anyone else thought maybe apple should offer the option to download at higher quality.
Here's the problems with your points. iTMS is an "augmentation" of regular CDs ...not a replacement. What you mentioned here is continually brought up. How I see iTMS used is primarily when you do not want to purchase the whole album. Will I still personally purchase CDs? Yes, when I feel like the CD has a sufficient amount of tracks that I deem worth it. Then and only then is it worth the extra peace of mind that comes with the ability to rip and whatever bitrate and codec I want.
Kazaa didn't get popular because of the quality of their files. They became popular because of easy access. People can debate compression and it's merits or demerits but it's a fact of life now. Everything is compressed from now own ..the answer is not to keep upping the bandwidth requirements but to efficiently use what you have today. AACs small size is a factor in it's price. Typical Pop music is so squashed dynamically nowadays to "punch" on the radio ...I doubt compression will be much of an issue for most people. I'd eventually like to see Apple move to 160kbs files eventually but I'll have to judge with my ears the results at 128 before I make a stink about it.
Again..this is pretty simple. If you like the idea of physical uncompressed music ...buy the CD. If you only prefer to own less than the full album and your tracks are available seperately then you purchase the individual songs. Choice is the prime factor here...the value is not constant and is dependent on how important a given album is to the person.
Originally posted by macfly
i have around 700MB of pure AIFF files....
Wow - one CD?
no , i have about 400 cds so, a tad more than 700mb!
with ITMS I can get the 6 song I like for $6 and use the other 9 for beer. It is a great deal for me.
now if only SJ and apple can find a way to internet stream beer to your computer, boy then the apple stock would go through the roof
g