[Herrie82]

Q1) Could someone educate me on what is ipod & the differences between ipod and MP3 or MP4?

-There's been quite some explanation already on the iPod so I will focus more on the Chinese players that are around.


The Chinese players use various chipsets being:
Action
Rockchip
Telechips
and probably some more. Action is a pretty poor chipset with very limited video playback capacity (only 12-15 images per second, while movies on tv/pc are 24-30 images per second. As you can imagine watching this is more like a quick slide show then a real movie).

Action chipset based players are sold a lot on eBay, with memory hacks (1GB players being sold as 8GB). The screens are usually pretty small too (1,5 to 1,8 inch). The resolution is usually pretty poor (128*128 pixels)

Rockchip chipset based players are a lot more capable when it comes to playing video. They can play video at about 24 images per second. The audio quality is very good as well! They are less vulnerable to memory hacks. A pretty common chipset! The players often have screens of 2,0-3,0 inch which are very do-able since it also has a resolution of 320*240 pixels.

Telechips chipset based players are similar to the Rockchip when it comes to capabilities. However they don't seem to be used that much (maybe due to costs?)

MP3 = Mpeg Layer 3 which is a way to compress music to become smaller files (4-5MB per song compared to 50-60MB when it wouldn't be compressed). This is done by taking into account the limitations of the human hearing and compressing the sound in such a way it's (almost) impossible to hear the difference between the uncompressed source and the compressed MP3 file. However there are a lot of differences between 1 MP3 file compared to the other.

You can select the 'compression ratio' (bitrate) yourself (terms often used are 128kbps, 160kbps, 192kbps, 224kbps, 320kbps. Where 192kbps is generally accepted as a good quality where it's 'impossible' to hear the difference between the original uncompressed source and the compressed MP3 file (the higher the kbps, the better the quality)). You would also have the possibility to create so called 'variable bitrate' MP3 files, where the program that converts your CD/file to MP3 would analyze the source music and determine the best bitrate for the specific piece of music. This way you will have multiple bitrates in a single file, giving the best music quality for the specific file.

In general smaller files will mean less quality. There are various programs around to convert .wav files and/or cd's to MP3. I would recommend Lame MP3 encoder together with Exact Audio Copy to convert CD's into MP3 (you should be able to find them on Google, otherwise I could post some links too!).

MP4 = Mpeg Layer 4 which is a way to compress video. On the internet you'll find a lot of compressed DVD movies in the so called XViD or DiVX format. These are compressed using a 'hacked' version of the original MP4 codec.

Q2) What can it do?
-iPod usually only music, some with video and photos. Rockchip and Telechip players can play video as well, have games, read .txt files and watch photos.
Q3) how it works?
-For iPod you will always need iTunes and an internet connection to be able to copy files to your player etc. The Chinese players will show up as a drive in "My Computer" so you can copy the files easily, without additional software.

Q4) Where and how to get the music onto the gadget?
-With iPod using iTunes, with the Chinese MP3/MP4 players you can just copy files to the player in My Computer.

Looks like mp3 & Mp4 are cheaper than ipod,
Q5) what is the advantages & disadvantages?
-Depends on what brand MP4 you get. If you get a 'famous' brand like Meizu, Teclast you will have regular software updates. They're cheaper and offer a higher capacity. So in general better value for money. The disadvantage is that you have less accessories.
Q6) What should I look for if thinking of buying one?
-If you go for a Chinese player, I would go for Teclast or Meizu.

Q7) What can ipod do?
I see ipod have got a lot of accessories eg docking station etc
QCool tell me more.

-Do you really need those? I believe they are way too expensive!

Q9) Will other mp3 or mp4 do the same?
-Yes and more!
Q10) Is mp3 different from mp4?
-Yes, MP3 is music, MP4 is video.
Q11) What are the different types of function available? See above.
Q12) USB and good?
I was attracted to the samsung usb flash player because it is cheap so I thought to use & learn what it can do.
-Chinese players usually offer a plug as well so you can

Q13) Is 8gb too much or 4gb is enough.
-Depends on what you do with it. For just music, you will be able to store between 600 and 1000 MP3 songs on it. If you want to use it for video's as well you might want to have 8GB, since a full movie in MP4 format on a Rockchip player will take about 400-450 MB.
Q14) I still do not understand how you use to record music onto the mp3 or mp4 from say
a) cd
-Convert with Exact Audio Copy together with Lame.
b)buy from the net
-Download the files and copy to the device.
c) Any other sources?
-Convert them to MP3/MP4 using the required tools!

I would go for a Rockchip or Telechips based player from Teclast or Meizu!