Is anybody buying from iTunes anymore?

[JohnnyBoy]

I can spark up iTunes, go to the iTunes Store and pay £0.79 for a song with a 128kbit/s bit rate and DRM.

Or I can go to Amazon's MP3 Download store and pay £0.69 for a song with a 256kbit/s bit rate and no DRM.

So what's the incentive to buy songs from iTunes?
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iPod Touch (32GB, 3rd gen), iPod Shuffle (512MB, 1st gen)

[Smithcraft]

Well, iTunes is AAC which is the format that is after MP3. Superior signal quality with greater compression. Is iTunes Plus not available in Europe?

Amazon is MP3 which requires a high bit rate to have high quality.

I very rarely buy at the iTunes Music Store. I prefer the good old CD.

SC
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Grumpy old man of computing.

[Desktop] G4 mini - 1.5Ghz 1GB 80GB HDD - Newer miniStack v2 500GB - 10.5.8

[Media System] Intel i5 mini - 2.33Ghz 8GB 500GB HDD - 4 x Hitachi 2TB HDD in a qBOX-SF - 10.7.5 (Thanks Phil!)

Make sure it has pins!

[trustory]

You can get iTunes plus in the UK johnny boy, encoded in 256kbps AAC without DRM.
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iPhone 4 Black 16GB

[MalzyWheels]

I still buy from iTunes.

IMHO 128Mbs AAC beat out 256Mbs MP3, but to each his own.
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1961 HH Scott 299C integrated Amplifier (7591 Output Tubes)
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[Texark]

[thatdrewguy]

Same here, I have never bought a song from iTunes. If I like a song well enough to own it, I will buy the entire album as a CD and then rip it to whatever format that fits my needs. I have ipods and non-ipods so ripping tracks to VBR mp3 works best for me. But I still keep ripped music in iTunes and use it to transfer music to my players.

I do buy the occasional TV episode if I've missed something and want to watch it away from home.
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early 09 mini, 4gb, 320GB/7200-WDBlack

[philiparcario]

[philiparcario]

does apple sell a song in apple lossless or is the best they sell is

mp3 320 ?
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2012Mm base 2.5 with 16gb ram diy fusion drive
2012Mm quad with 8gb ram oem 1tb hdd

promise pegasus r6 3x 3tb + 3x 4tb =21tb hdds
lacie little big disk 2x 512gb ssds
synology 2tb disk station

[Smithcraft]

Apple doesn't sell mp3s. They sell AAC files.

Unless something has changed. I'm on the peecee right now, and I don't have iTunes installed to check.

SC
_________________
Grumpy old man of computing.

[Desktop] G4 mini - 1.5Ghz 1GB 80GB HDD - Newer miniStack v2 500GB - 10.5.8

[Media System] Intel i5 mini - 2.33Ghz 8GB 500GB HDD - 4 x Hitachi 2TB HDD in a qBOX-SF - 10.7.5 (Thanks Phil!)

Make sure it has pins!

[philiparcario]

what is the best acc 320 bit?
_________________
2010 Mm 2.4 C2D oem 320gb hdd 8gb ram
2012Mm base 2.5 with 16gb ram diy fusion drive
2012Mm quad with 8gb ram oem 1tb hdd

promise pegasus r6 3x 3tb + 3x 4tb =21tb hdds
lacie little big disk 2x 512gb ssds
synology 2tb disk station

[thatdrewguy]

From Apple iTunes FAQs:

What is iTunes Plus?
iTunes Plus is the new standard on iTunes. iTunes Plus downloads are songs and music videos available in our highest quality 256 kbps AAC audio encoding (twice the audio quality of protected music purchases), and without digital rights management (DRM).
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early 09 mini, 4gb, 320GB/7200-WDBlack

[Smithcraft]

Well, the best available would be what ever you can set iTunes for, however the iTMS sells 256bit AAC for the iTunes Plus files.

SC
_________________
Grumpy old man of computing.

[Desktop] G4 mini - 1.5Ghz 1GB 80GB HDD - Newer miniStack v2 500GB - 10.5.8

[Media System] Intel i5 mini - 2.33Ghz 8GB 500GB HDD - 4 x Hitachi 2TB HDD in a qBOX-SF - 10.7.5 (Thanks Phil!)

Make sure it has pins!

[MalzyWheels]

I cannot listen to CDs for any length of time without getting fidgety and developing a headache. Put me in the sweet spot and play AAC music files, even those ripped from CDs, and I can stay there all day, happy as a clam.
_________________
"You can't have a light without a dark to stick it in." - Arlo Guthrie
Mac Mini 2009 - 500GB, 5400RPM HDD - 4gig RAM
Airport Express (1st Gen) using Air Tunes
1961 HH Scott 299C integrated Amplifier (7591 Output Tubes)
B&W DM302 speakers

[JohnnyBoy]

There's an ad on TV at the moment that uses George Michael's "Freedom '90" as its background music. I'd forgotten what a funky track it was, so I decided to buy it.

I went to Amazon and listened to the preview, but the high frequencies sounded really rather screechy and unpleasant. I sparked up iTunes, and tried again using the iTunes Store. I was staggered -- there was an audible improvement in sound quality. So I bought the AAC version.

Lesson learned.
_________________
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iPod Touch (32GB, 3rd gen), iPod Shuffle (512MB, 1st gen)

[Dino1956]

Yes! I get Gift Cards from people on Christmas & my Birthday. So I do buy from iTunes. It's convenient!
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