I just bought a new ifp player how do I get music files into my unit?
Answer:
Your new player is a wonderful device. however, to use it you must convert
your music into a format that the player can store. Your player is similar
to the HD in your computer, however it does not have anywhere near the
storage space that your computer does. This being the case you need to
squeeze the music files down into a smaller size than what is on your CD's
so it can fit into your player. This process is called compression.
Lucky for you your player supports mp3, wma and depending on model ogg
vorbis. If you have a ifp-3XX or ifp-5XX ogg is supported and you will have
to download this firmware from iRiver. (Downloading is easy and will be
covered in this FAQ list.)
Getting back to compression, providing you have selected the codec (the
choice of mp3, wma or ogg) the process of getting music into your player can
begin. You need to download some freeware from the internet first.
A good choice for people new to ripping and encoding is
Cdex since it comes with all the newer encoders built in, and is relatively easy to use. Other people prefer
EAC because iit's been around for a long while, and does a very good job with scratched or damaged CD's. And it's also very easy to use.
Go and download one or both of them before you go forward. I suggest getting comfortable with either of the programs also...
1. Lets assume you have either ripper installed in your computer. Go to setting and
select the encoder you want to use.(or you can just use a front end encoder such as
Razor LAME or
Oggdrop Remember, Keeping the file sizes small, will allow you to store more files on your iFP. 128 Kbps is the recommended bitrate because it's small but doesn't sacrifice too much quality. VBR is recommended for quality and size as well.
Stick a CD into your computer and rip and encode the CD following the Cdex or EAC
instructions. Make sure you tell the program where you want to store the
tracks....a file called converted music on your desktop is a good place so
it is easy to find. But this may vary depending on how you may have your HD partitioned.
3. Once you have the tracks ripped and encoded all you need do is connect
your ifp to your computer and use the IMM to drag and drop these new files
to your player. Presto you now have music in your player.
(P.S. Rippers and encoders and how to use them should or will be in a seperate FAQ section. Please refer to them if you're confused about how to use them. Some people ..such as the editor here..are very picky about what they use to rip and encode their stuff, and there's a LOT of options. Never be afraid to experiment. A good way to go about it, is to take a CD you're very familiar with, and do what you will. Use it to encode with different codecs, bitrates etc..)