Need decision help: Ipod classic or ipod touch

stonetools · 11-07-2011, 02:03 PM

I've gotten to the stage where I want to put my wife and my music libraries on pure digital. We have between us around 500 CDs and maybe 50 movies. I was thinking of buying n Ipod classic because it has the most storage (160 gs.). Two caveats:

1. I could buy a refurbished 64G Ipod touch 4 from Apple for about the same price as a new ipod classic and get a more capable machine.

2. The rumor is that Apple will most likely discountinue the ipod classic by next year.

I'm going back and forth on this. Any thoughts one way or the other from anyone?

Insalata · 11-07-2011, 02:08 PM

The Classic will hold more music, but the navigation is more awkward, because it's a smaller screen, and there's only the wheel to control things. With the touch screen on the iPod Touch, it's a lot easier to pick what you want to play, and even though it's easier to edit playlists on the PC, it is possible to do it on the Touch - not on the Classic.

If you like to pick an album out from the album art view, or want to be able to enter a few letters from the piece you're trying to find, then you'd be better off with the Touch.

How important those things are will depend on how you like to listen to your music and pick out what to play.

ilovejedd · 11-07-2011, 02:53 PM

The iPod Touch is definitely much nicer for watching videos compared to the Classic. Granted, this is one case where the Classic's bigger storage capacity is beneficial. Still, I'd rather be able to bring 2~3 full length movies and watch them on a 3.5" screen than 10 movies on a 2.5" one.

For music, 60GB should be enough for 500 CDs at 256kbps AAC (same quality as iTunes Plus) unless you plan on storing losslessly compressed audio on your iPod (imho, a bit wasted given the iPod's sound quality).

Personal set-up:
FLAC (lossless) audio on server PC
AAC (320Kbps) duplicate on 2 computers: one laptop and one desktop used to sync to portable devices and Home Sharing

Just for clarification, the refurbished 64G iPod Touch selling for $249 on Apple's website isn't the 4th generation model with A4 CPU. It's the 3rd generation one with Cortex A8 600MHz same as the iPhone 3GS.

Given the choice, I would opt for the iPod Touch.

stonetools · 11-07-2011, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

The iPod Touch is definitely much nicer for watching videos compared to the Classic. Granted, this is one case where the Classic's bigger storage capacity is beneficial. Still, I'd rather be able to bring 2~3 full length movies and watch them on a 3.5" screen than 10 movies on a 2.5" one.

For music, 60GB should be enough for 500 CDs at 256kbps AAC (same quality as iTunes Plus) unless you plan on storing losslessly compressed audio on your iPod (imho, a bit wasted given the iPod's sound quality).

Personal set-up:
FLAC (lossless) audio on server PC
AAC (320Kbps) duplicate on 2 computers: one laptop and one desktop used to sync to portable devices and Home Sharing

Just for clarification, the refurbished 64G iPod Touch selling for $249 on Apple's website isn't the 4th generation model with A4 CPU. It's the 3rd generation one with Cortex A8 600MHz same as the iPhone 3GS.

Given the choice, I would opt for the iPod Touch.

Thanks for catching that about the 64g for me . That gives me a little more to think about.

I'm really buying it more for the music than the video.

ilovejedd · 11-07-2011, 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stonetools

I'm really buying it more for the music than the video.

Then it boils down to whether you want to use lossless or lossy compression and if you plan to use lossless, whether or not you absolutely must have your entire library with you at all times.

DaleDe · 11-07-2011, 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stonetools

Thanks for catching that about the 64g for me . That gives me a little more to think about.

I'm really buying it more for the music than the video.

How much music do you need on board? The Touch is IOS so it opens a whole new world of apps and capabilities with Wi-Fi.

Dale

David Munch · 11-08-2011, 07:21 AM

The iPod touch. 64GB should be plenty for your current library including several movies. My current library is at 15000+ songs, taking up little less than 90GiB, so you should be able to fit yours in 40GiB, since you want to rip at 256kbps AAC. And the touch is future proof, while the classic is not.

And this even comes from a person who has a soft spot for the classic..

stonetools · 11-08-2011, 10:44 AM

H'm, the consensus seems to be ipod touch and 64G too. Thats US$364, though. What are some other options if I don't want to shell out that much. I know there is streaming and iTunes match.
Aniy idea of how that's been working out for those who chose those options?

tubemonkey · 11-08-2011, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stonetools

H'm, the consensus seems to be ipod touch and 64G too. Thats US$364, though. What are some other options if I don't want to shell out that much. I know there is streaming and iTunes match.
Aniy idea of how that's been working out for those who chose those options?

Sansa Clip+ 4GB (~$35) + 32GB mSD (~$35) for your music collection.

Stream music off your phone and videos off your iPad.

stonetools · 11-08-2011, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Sansa Clip+ 4GB (~$35) + 32GB mSD (~$35) for your music collection.

Stream music off your phone and videos off your iPad.

Thanks for the suggestions.

My smartphone is busted ( need to update my profile). I'll look into Sansa Clip but I'd prefer something with internal storage ( had bad experiences with SD cards).

ilovejedd · 11-08-2011, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stonetools

H'm, the consensus seems to be ipod touch and 64G too. That's US$364, though. What are some other options if I don't want to shell out that much.

500 CDs * 60 minutes/CD * 60 seconds/minute = 1,800,000 seconds

@ 128 kbps ~= 28 GB
@ 192 kbps ~= 42 GB
@ 256 kbps ~= 55 GB
@ 320 kbps ~= 69 GB

Apple Lossless ~360MB/CD or ~175 GB for 500 CDs.

The sound quality of a 128 kbps AAC file is reportedly similar to 160~192 kbps MP3. Dropping down to that bitrate would allow you to store your entire music library on a 32GB iPod Touch, but then there wouldn't really be much storage left for apps and stuff.

Do you absolutely need to have your entire library on your iPod Touch anytime, anywhere? If you enable Home Sharing on iTunes and leave your PC on, you'll be able to access your entire iTunes library via wi-fi from the iPod Touch when you're on your home network. You don't even need a subscription to iTunes Match for that.

stonetools · 11-08-2011, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

500 CDs * 60 minutes/CD * 60 seconds/minute = 1,800,000 seconds

@ 128 kbps ~= 28 GB
@ 192 kbps ~= 42 GB
@ 256 kbps ~= 55 GB
@ 320 kbps ~= 69 GB

Apple Lossless ~360MB/CD or ~175 GB for 500 CDs.

The sound quality of a 128 kbps AAC file is reportedly similar to 160~192 kbps MP3. Dropping down to that bitrate would allow you to store your entire music library on a 32GB iPod Touch, but then there wouldn't really be much storage left for apps and stuff.

Do you absolutely need to have your entire library on your iPod Touch anytime, anywhere? If you enable Home Sharing on iTunes and leave your PC on, you'll be able to access your entire iTunes library via wi-fi from the iPod Touch when you're on your home network. You don't even need a subscription to iTunes Match for that.

Wow, thanks. Didn't know that about Home Sharing. I don't really need to have everything on the iPod, come to think of it-just would be nice. Maybe what I need is a 32G touch, and a dock. Well, have to consider all these options.

11-07-2011, 02:03 PM	#1
stonetools Wizard Posts: 2,016 Karma: 2838487 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Washington, DC Device: Ipad, IPhone	Need decision help: Ipod classic or ipod touch I've gotten to the stage where I want to put my wife and my music libraries on pure digital. We have between us around 500 CDs and maybe 50 movies. I was thinking of buying n Ipod classic because it has the most storage (160 gs.). Two caveats: 1. I could buy a refurbished 64G Ipod touch 4 from Apple for about the same price as a new ipod classic and get a more capable machine. 2. The rumor is that Apple will most likely discountinue the ipod classic by next year. I'm going back and forth on this. Any thoughts one way or the other from anyone?

11-07-2011, 02:08 PM	#2
Insalata Zealot Posts: 100 Karma: 2092 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: UK Device: Kobo Sage, iPad	The Classic will hold more music, but the navigation is more awkward, because it's a smaller screen, and there's only the wheel to control things. With the touch screen on the iPod Touch, it's a lot easier to pick what you want to play, and even though it's easier to edit playlists on the PC, it is possible to do it on the Touch - not on the Classic. If you like to pick an album out from the album art view, or want to be able to enter a few letters from the piece you're trying to find, then you'd be better off with the Touch. How important those things are will depend on how you like to listen to your music and pick out what to play.

11-07-2011, 02:53 PM	#3
ilovejedd hopeless n00b Posts: 5,110 Karma: 19597086 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: in the middle of nowhere Device: PW4, PW3, Libra H2O, iPad 10.5, iPad 11, iPad 12.9	The iPod Touch is definitely much nicer for watching videos compared to the Classic. Granted, this is one case where the Classic's bigger storage capacity is beneficial. Still, I'd rather be able to bring 2~3 full length movies and watch them on a 3.5" screen than 10 movies on a 2.5" one. For music, 60GB should be enough for 500 CDs at 256kbps AAC (same quality as iTunes Plus) unless you plan on storing losslessly compressed audio on your iPod (imho, a bit wasted given the iPod's sound quality). Personal set-up: FLAC (lossless) audio on server PC AAC (320Kbps) duplicate on 2 computers: one laptop and one desktop used to sync to portable devices and Home Sharing Just for clarification, the refurbished 64G iPod Touch selling for $249 on Apple's website isn't the 4th generation model with A4 CPU. It's the 3rd generation one with Cortex A8 600MHz same as the iPhone 3GS. Given the choice, I would opt for the iPod Touch.

11-08-2011, 07:21 AM	#7
David Munch Scholar Posts: 1,009 Karma: 3999312 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Denmark Device: Kobo Libra H2O + iPad Air 4	The iPod touch. 64GB should be plenty for your current library including several movies. My current library is at 15000+ songs, taking up little less than 90GiB, so you should be able to fit yours in 40GiB, since you want to rip at 256kbps AAC. And the touch is future proof, while the classic is not. And this even comes from a person who has a soft spot for the classic..

11-08-2011, 10:44 AM	#8
stonetools Wizard Posts: 2,016 Karma: 2838487 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Washington, DC Device: Ipad, IPhone	H'm, the consensus seems to be ipod touch and 64G too. Thats US$364, though. What are some other options if I don't want to shell out that much. I know there is streaming and iTunes match. Aniy idea of how that's been working out for those who chose those options?

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