MP3 players and me

[greatman05]

Hey guys. Umm...I need some info on MP3 players:

1. What is the difference between MP3 players and the world-renowned IPod?
2. Are MP3 players recognized as Removable Disks in Windows Explorer?
3. What do you consider to be the best brand of MP3 player, and why?
4. Do you know of an MP3 player that does MIDI files?

Thanks in advance?

 

[TimeParadoX]

1. What is the difference between MP3 players and the world-renowned IPod?
2. Are MP3 players recognized as Removable Disks in Windows Explorer?
3. What do you consider to be the best brand of MP3 player, and why?
4. Do you know of an MP3 player that does MIDI files?

1. I believe that MP3 players / Ipods are the same because... They both play .mp3s

2. They are the same as Ipods because all you do is put a USB cord into the computer and it recognizes it the same way

3. I dont know that much about Ipods / MP3 players to tell you which is the best

4. I believe they can take MIDI files

 

[SNGX1275]

With an iPod you can have it as a storage device or an mp3 player or a combination of both. But you can't drag mp3s from windows explorer to the iPod and have them play. You can do this on some others apparently.

Zune, a success? is a thread that covers some of the stuff you are likely interested in knowing even if you don't know you want to know it right now. Also the thread What is an iPod? has some information that will help you make an informed decision.

Also at the bottom of this very page, below the quick reply box is a section called Similar Threads take a look there too.

 

[greatman05]

And what about MIDI? Will I have to use an application to convert the MIDI tones (that is, record the MIDI playback) into an MP3 file to play on an MP3 player, or can the player natively play MIDI files (extension .mid, .rmi, etc.)?

 

[Row1]

mp3 won't play midi

hi - an mp3 player won't play a midi file. to play a midi, a device would need midi software. a midi file has info that codes for sounds in a very different way from an mp3, a wma or wav file. those are more analogous to a tape-recording of a conversation, while a midi file would be like the typewritten words plus some written instructions on inflections, pauses, etc., like a play would be written. much closer to sheet music.

a pda with software to play a midi could play a midi, and could also play mp3 and most any other sound file with the right software.

cell phones play midi as their format for ringtones. but i don't know if anyone has made a cellphone/mp3 player that will also play midi files as music files as well. maybe others know this answer.

so if you have reason to find a small device to play midi as well as mp3, start shopping for an acceptable pda. a pda will be bigger, will have shorter battery time, but will be more flexible in the range of things it could do - games, spread sheet, calendar, contact list, etc.

you can even get software to write/compose midi files, or edit wav files, for a pda.

some pdas take storage cards like sd, so you could have a 4gb card in the pda and that wouls equal a 4gb mp3 player. and you could swap out the sd card to swap in and out different sets of music.

 

[SNGX1275]

I don't know of any that will play midi files, have a look at the supported formats page for the players you are considering.

 

[Row1]

yes u can convert midi to mp3 or wav

also - yes there is software out there to turn an mp3 into a mp3 file. just do a search. but the mp3 will be way bigger than a midid file. there just will not be any music file anywhere near the small size of a midi.

 

[halo71]

Why the use of midi? Are these possibly live audio/band tracks or something? I know the Zune does not support it nor does the iPod. ( I have a Zune). I dont know of any mp3 player that will support it.

 

[Row1]

no such thing midi live band

there is no such thing as midi live band.

a few people could play instruments - keyboard, drums, woodwind, guitar, that get sound coded into midi, but it is ultimately exactly equivalent to doing a point-and-click composing/transcrition of the same music.

a midi file is practically the same as sheet music that gets read by a program. If I write: play a G cord for two measures in 4/4 time, 120 bpm, with an organ sound, and a slight crescendo, that is exactly what the midi file says.

it says these things. it is not like a recording. it is not modulate-demodulate.

 

[halo71]

So you are saying that if a keyboard was recorded live in midi, that is not the file extension after recording?

 

[Row1]

it would be .mid but not analog recording

it would be .mid but not analog recording.

also, if you 'recorded' a live performance by midi, you could have the live output be 'piano' sound but have it be 'recorded' noted as 'organ' sound. you also could have it be transposed into another key than the actual performance key. this is b/c what is recorded is not quite the actual performance, but a sheet music equivalence.

and that takes a diff type of software, and that is 1 reason why mp3 players don't play midi. they would need the software, the midi mapper, the sound card, the sound library, the dll files for these to work together, etc.

plus there is little market for midi format in portable sound.

 

[greatman05]

The reason for MIDI was because a lot of the music I listen to is in MIDI format....I know that's weird, but there aren't any good artists that I'm interested in....So I know now that I will have to get MIDI converting software...Anyway, what about the removable disk feature? What MP3 players can also be used as HDD storage drives?

 

[halo71]

The reason for MIDI was because a lot of the music I listen to is in MIDI format....I know that's weird, but there aren't any good artists that I'm interested in....So I know now that I will have to get MIDI converting software...Anyway, what about the removable disk feature? What MP3 players can also be used as HDD storage drives?

The iPod can be used as a portable HDD. My brother in law uses his 80gb to transfer Excel spreadsheets from work to home. To my knowlege, the Zune can not be used as a HDD. At the moment anyways.

 

[greatman05]

Ok.....anyway, what MP3 players do you know are displayed as "Removable Disk" in Windows Explorer and don't require any special software to transfer files to and from the MP3 player?

 

[Row1]

ipod does require special software - you must work through itunes. most all other mp3 players do not. and you would just have to red the tech info - many mp3 players can be used just like a flash drive to store and move files from comp to comp.

 

[Boogityboo04]

NOTE: The iPod does not need special software to work as a removable disk, and you can use other programs than iTunes with it, but not Windows Media Player. iTunes is a very good program IMO anyway.

Just thought I'd clear that up.

And I'm curious, what MIDI music do you listen to? I've never found anything MIDI that I'd actually enjoy listening to..

 

[GeekieNick101]

Yes the zune can not be used as a storage hard drive for files and also it needs its own software and strange enough it isnt playsforsure which is made by microsoft and so is the zune but oh well. Also the uzne has its own store that only sells music no videos et and the zune doesnt use urge which is a microsoft music store.

 

[greatman05]

In response to Boogity, mostly game MIDI music (Music included with RPGMaker2000 games, and other Game MIDIs)... as you said, there aren't many good MIDIs out there....Now, What about Creative MP3 Players? Can they be used as a USB Removable Disk without any special software? What are your opinions on those?