Possibly Dumb iTunes Match Question

[Hrothgar]

I did Match to upgrade my DRM 128kb songs. I'm happy with that. I'm trying to figure the service itself.

1) Should I move my itunes library off my laptop to a storage drive because I can now stream through Appletv directly from iCloud? Is the music quality the same? (I.e., ALAC will stream as ALAC?)

2) I understand I can't actually stream through my iPHone. If I have an unlimited data plan on Verizon, is there any downside to downloading songs through data? I asume not.

3) What is the benefit of downloading songs onto my iPhone from the Cloud when I want them as opposed to downloading songs from iTunes by syncing when I want them?

4) What else am I missing?

Thanks.

 

[Julien]

I did Match to upgrade my DRM 128kb songs. I'm happy with that. I'm trying to figure the service itself.

1) Should I move my itunes library off my laptop to a storage drive because I can now stream through Appletv directly from iCloud? Is the music quality the same? (I.e., ALAC will stream as ALAC?)

2) I understand I can't actually stream through my iPHone. If I have an unlimited data plan on Verizon, is there any downside to downloading songs through data? I asume not.

3) What is the benefit of downloading songs onto my iPhone from the Cloud when I want them as opposed to downloading songs from iTunes by syncing when I want them?

4) What else am I missing?

Thanks.

First that is 4 questions and not one.

1)Up to you but keep a USB drive backup of your song. Match is not a true backup. Also Apple will stream 256Kbps AAC and not lossless (ALAC).

2) Not sure about streaming Match but I have tested Radio and over cell data the data rate decreases significantly and looks to be about 96Kbps or less. Also Verizon is out to rid unlimited and will throttle you if you use much data.

3) see #2. Also for me I rip my CD's in ALAC and use this on my iPhone. So I couldn't use Match on my iPhone. I use it on my iPad for less critical listening.

 

[Rigby]

2) I understand I can't actually stream through my iPHone. If I have an unlimited data plan on Verizon, is there any downside to downloading songs through data? I asume not.

You can stream on the phone if you use an up-to-date iOS version.

3) What is the benefit of downloading songs onto my iPhone from the Cloud when I want them as opposed to downloading songs from iTunes by syncing when I want them?

Access to your entire library while away from your computer.

 

[Hrothgar]

Ok. So, If I'm at home with my Mac and AppleTv, I'm still better streaming from my Mac rather than the Cloud because my ALAC music will go out as ALAC.

If I'm away from my computer/wifi, if there's a song I want to hear that isn't on my phone or Ipad, I can download it, but I have to worry about cell data charges.

 

[Hrothgar]

After Match runs its things, I check the iCloud status of my library. i have a lot of songs that are "uploaded". I understand this means that Match did not find the songs in the iTunes library and uploaded them to the Cloud.

But these include songs from Zeppelin IV, Beatles albums, etc., which are all on iTunes. what am i missing?

 

[Rigby]

But these include songs from Zeppelin IV, Beatles albums, etc., which are all on iTunes. what am i missing?

Match relies on a heuristic algorithm to identify songs, which does not achieve 100% success rate (it does not use your meta-data). Also, there are often multiple, differently mastered releases of the same song (especially for classics) which may prevent it from matching.

 

[Hrothgar]

Is it possible it will update again and do a better job? There are a significant number of "unmatched" albums. and almost all are basic commercial CDs -- The Who, Beatles, R.E.M., Elvis Costello. This is ridiculous.

And, by the way, are the any instructions on apple's website explaining how to do this? I.e., explaining that after the Match does what it does, you're supposed to look for songs labeled "matched", highlight and delete them, and then download? Explaining what the various iCloud statuses mean? I don't see anything and I'm just searching on the Internet to find out how to do this.

 

[BrianBaughn]

There are several threads here on iTunes Match. I suggest you go through them to find out more.

 

[Rigby]

And, by the way, are the any instructions on apple's website explaining how to do this? I.e., explaining that after the Match does what it does, you're supposed to look for songs labeled "matched", highlight and delete them, and then download?

What exactly are you trying to achieve? Do you want to exchange all your songs for AAC versions? Remember that Match is primarily meant to make your music accessible everywhere. For that it doesn't matter if songs are matched or uploaded.

Explaining what the various iCloud statuses mean?

It's pretty much self-explanatory. The statuses I have seen are:

- Matched
- Uploaded
- Purchased
- Ineligible

The meaning of the iCloud icons is explained here:

http://support.apple.com/kb/ts4124

 

[Hrothgar]

Well, my primary purpose was to upgrade my songs to at least 256. I think (maybe I'm wrong, I was tired), i still have a lot of CD rips that are 1288.

I still haven't figured out what the streaming benefit is, unless I want to download songs onto my phone with Cell Data -- and expensive proposition. But that could just be due to my personal situation. I'm trying to find out what I'm missing.

Without some explanation, for example, "Matched" doesn't meant much to me. And there is no explanation of how one is supposed to go about deleting 126 or DRM songs and downloading the 256 non-DRM. I'm not suggesting that this is complicated. But, I'm old and when I grew up if a company put out a product, it included some type of manual to tell people how to use it. All I can find with Match (and I think this is endemic for Apple software) is a page that gives a high-level overview of what Match does. Of course, it's possible that I just didn't find the right page.

 

[Rigby]

Well, my primary purpose was to upgrade my songs to at least 256. I think (maybe I'm wrong, I was tired), i still have a lot of CD rips that are 1288.

Keep in mind that the bitrate specs are not the only quality criteria. Most of my CD rips were encoded using LAME VBR at ~192kbps (i.e. a bit lower than what the iTunes store offers), but I usually don't "upgrade" them, because many of my CDs are older releases that often sound a lot better than the newer "remastered" releases in the iTunes store (which often apply a lot more dynamic compression, i.e. are victims of the "loudness war"). Only replace your files with the matched versions if they are audibly superior or there is some other important reason (like DRM removal).

I still haven't figured out what the streaming benefit is, unless I want to download songs onto my phone with Cell Data -- and expensive proposition.

Not really. Many people have data plans >1GB. E.g. the middle-of-the-road AT&T iPhone plan includes 3GB, which covers downloading or streaming several hundred songs at 256 kbps. Besides, many people can use Wifi away from home, for example at work.

And there is no explanation of how one is supposed to go about deleting 126 or DRM songs and downloading the 256 non-DRM.

There is a brief explanation here (under "Can I upgrade my previously purchased music to iTunes Plus?"):

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1711

 

[Hrothgar]

Am I correct that the only songs I want to delete/download are "Protected Purchased"? What about old CD rips? I think I've got CDs ripped from 2005 or so that are 128. Would these benefit from deleting/downloading?

What's the difference between a "matched AAC file" and a "purchased AAC File"? The first was downloaded to replace a DRM file? And the second was originally downloaded as non-DRM AAC?

 

[Julien]

Am I correct that the only songs I want to delete/download are "Protected Purchased"? What about old CD rips? I think I've got CDs ripped from 2005 or so that are 128. Would these benefit from deleting/downloading?

What's the difference between a "matched AAC file" and a "purchased AAC File"? The first was downloaded to replace a DRM file? And the second was originally downloaded as non-DRM AAC?

You would benefit all things being the same (same master) since the Matched wold be 256Kbps.

Also there are 3 types.

Matched: Songs you already have acquired from other places and is the same as iTunes has.
Uploaded: Songs that were not on iTunes and are uploaded for you.
Purchased: Songs bought from iTunes.

 

[Rigby]

Am I correct that the only songs I want to delete/download are "Protected Purchased"? What about old CD rips? I think I've got CDs ripped from 2005 or so that are 128. Would these benefit from deleting/downloading?

My recommendation would be to back up the original files before downloading the matched versions (you can just drag them from iTunes to some folder on your hard disk) and then compare them. If the matched version sounds better to you, keep it. 128 kbps MP3 is borderline; you can often tell the difference if you know what to listen for.

What's the difference between a "matched AAC file" and a "purchased AAC File"? The first was downloaded to replace a DRM file? And the second was originally downloaded as non-DRM AAC?

"Purchased" are files bought directly from the iTunes store. "Matched" are downloaded matched versions. They are really the same 256 kbps AAC encodings, just with different tags.