Losing ID3 tags converting to M4A for iPod

[Joe Anstett]

I have a massive MP3/WMA collection that I want to convert to M4A (AAC) files for use on my iPod. Actually, I already converted everything to 128k MP3 but I want better quality, so I want to re-encode with AAC.

I discovered dbPowerAMP and I'm happy, with one exception. When I try to move my M4A files to my iPod (I've tried with iTunes and vPod) they are losing their tag information. When I hover over an M4A file in explorer I can see the tag info as reported by dbPowerAmp, so I presume that the iPod is expecting the tag information in a different format.

If I can figure out how to get the tag information copied over correctly, I'll be a happy camper. Any ideas?

[Spoon]

Re: Losing ID3 tags converting to M4A for iPod

If you convert from 128Kbps mp3 to 128Kbps m4a your m4a file will have less quality, you need to convert from CD.

I think Apple are working on a fix, if you try Sveta Portable Audio, that will recognize the tags on upload to the iPod.

[Unregistered]

Re: Losing ID3 tags converting to M4A for iPod

If you convert from 128Kbps mp3 to 128Kbps m4a your m4a file will have less quality, you need to convert from CD.

I think Apple are working on a fix, if you try Sveta Portable Audio, that will recognize the tags on upload to the iPod.

Spoon, thanks for the reply. For my absolute favorites, I'm re-ripping the CDs but I don't want to do it for 10,000 songs. I'm not planning on re-using the 128kbps MP3s that I made to get my collection on the iPod.

For the most part when I rip my CDs they end up in 160-192kbps WMA or 192kbps MP3. My collection is about 55 gigabytes. Obviously I had to do something to get it on iPod, so I converted everything to 128kbps MP3 and I still had to lose parts of the collection. If I can get the tags to stick, I will reconvert from my original WMA/MP3 collection.