I'm using Windows Media Player 10 on my XP Pro PC. My wife is getting
an iPod for Christmas that I'm told uses iTunes for MP3 downloads and
song management.
Can WMP and iTunes share the same MP3 music file folder on my XP PC so
I can keep my WMP playlists, keep the wife's iPod songs updated, but
avoid having to maintain two music libraries (WMP and iTunes)?

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Request for Question Clarification by palitoy-ga on 20 Dec 2005 07:32 PST

Hello bluezman-ga,

Thank-you for your question.

Unfortunately you cannot use WMP to synchronize your music to your
wife's iPod as WMP does not allow you to connect to an  iPod.  It is
though possible to use other software than iTunes to keep your music
collection and your wife's iPod synchronized.

There are a number of free or cheap pieces of software that allow you
to do this.  Would a list of these pieces of software be sufficient as
an answer for you?  This is the route I have gone down and no longer
use either WMP or iTunes to manage my music collection, instead
preferring to keep my music in a series of organised folders (arranged
by artist with sub-folders for that artists albums).

The other feasible solution would be for you to begin to use iTunes -
it is very similar in functionality to WMP.

The music used by iTunes can be the same files as the ones used by WMP
(in other words you do not need to duplicate the files) but you should
note that any music that is purchased through iTunes and the Apple
iTunes Music Store may not be compatible with your collection in WMP. 
This is due to many (if not all) of the songs available being copy
protected to only be allowed to play on your wife's iPod or via
iTunes.

palitoy-ga

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Clarification of Question by bluezman-ga on 20 Dec 2005 07:51 PST

I understand that WPM cannot be used to manage the iPod so that's not a problem.
I was hoping to get the best of both applications without having to give one up. 
I would be very much interested in a list of software applications
that will allow me to manage the music on my PC and on my wife's iPod.
And yes, that list will be sufficient as an answer to my question.
Thank you.

Hello bluezman-ga,

Thank-you for your clarification and question above.  I have compiled
a list of some of the most popular pieces of software for the
management of music on a PC and to an iPod.

vPod - FREE!
"vPod is a program for transferring music to your iPod from Windows.
It presents a unified view of all of your music and lets you see what
is and what is not already on your iPod. I think that it's a much more
intuitive interface for managing what is available on your iPod than
the existing solutions.  vPod is free software. It is licensed under
the Free BSD license so that as many people as possible can benefit
from it."
http://www.vonnieda.org/vPod/

XPlay - $29.95
"With XPlay there is no bulky interface, no fluff, nothing to get in
the way of you and your music. XPlay's powerful drag-and-drop ability
makes transferring music to and from the iPod quick and simple. There
is no easier way to manage music on your iPod.  Moving your songs to
the iPod is as easy as copy a file to a disk. No music manager, no
middle man. "
http://www.mediafour.com/products/xplay/

EphPod - FREE!
"EphPod is a full-featured, easy-to-use Windows application that
connects with Apple's iPod. With a FireWire card and EphPod on a PC,
it takes under 30 minutes to transfer 1,000 songs to an iPod. In
addition, EphPod supports standard WinAmp (.M3U) playlists, includes
powerful playlist creation features, and will synchronize an entire
music collection with one click. It imports Microsoft Outlook
contacts, in addition to allowing users to create and edit their own
contacts. EphPod can also download the latest news, weather, e-books,
and movie listings to an iPod."
http://www.ephpod.com/

WinAmp and mlipod - FREE!
"The winamp ipod plugin (aka ml_ipod) is a plugin for winamp. It
allows you to manage your iPod from within the winamp media library.
It supports all kinds of iPods, from the classic first generation
iPods, to the iPod mini, photo, nano and shuffle and everything in
between."
http://www.mlipod.com/index.php
http://www.winamp.com/

Media Monkey - $29.95
"Synchronize with Portable Audio Devices in seconds. Simply configure
MediaMonkey once, and then click the Synchronize button to synchronize
tracks and playlists with a broad range of portable devices including
the iPod. With Volume Leveling, the tracks will even play back on your
device at consistent volumes!"
http://www.mediamonkey.com/product.htm

Anapod Explorer - $29.95
"Anapod Explorer, our flagship iPod product, is composed of Anapod
Explorer itself, Anapod CopyGear, and Anapod PhotoSync. Anapod is the
most advanced Windows iPod software available, offering iPod
management through full Windows Explorer integration under My
Computer, easy drag and drop iPod transfer and iPod backup, PDA
function support, photo and video transfer, web page interface access
to your iPod through a built-in web server, powerful search and
reporting capabilities using a built-in SQL database, and much more,
all in one compact package. A great backup tool or iTunes
alternative."
http://www.redchairsoftware.com/anapod/

Further software can be found at the following locations:
http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/ipod-software-windows/
http://www.ipodhacks.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Downloads&file=index
http://www.ipoding.com/index.php?catid=11

If you were to ask me for my favourite solutions I would have to say
it is either vPod (as it is so small and simple to use), XPlay (for
it's simple interface and because it is built into Windows), and
mlipod (as it provides me with a complete solution - both a player and
synchronizer).

If you require any further assistance on this subject please do not
hesitate to ask for clarification.

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Request for Answer Clarification by bluezman-ga on 22 Dec 2005 05:24 PST

After doing more research, here's what I think I know:
- Windows Media Player works with the MP3 file format standard.
- iTunes uses a non-industry standard format for it's iPod.
- If I convert all my MP3 files to iTunes, I can sync the iPod and my
PC and listen to the songs on my Windows PC using iTunes.
- But this file conversion (to iTunes) will not allow me to create MP3
music CDs I can listen to on my MP3 player at work or in my car.

Are these assumptions more or less correct? If so, I'm back to
maintaining two music libraries as I do want the flexibility of:
1) being able to listen to my music files on my home PC
2) being able to create music CDs I can listen to on an MP3 player
3) download song's to my wife's iPod for her enjoyment. 

The question then becomes which of the third party applications
(WinAmp, XPlay, vPod, etc.) will give me the freedom to do both. At
this point, I'm willing to purchase a software program to resolve this
issue.

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Clarification of Answer by palitoy-ga on 22 Dec 2005 07:51 PST

- Windows Media Player works with the MP3 file format standard.
- iTunes uses a non-industry standard format for it's iPod.

This is not entirely correct - iTunes can play MP3 files as well as
Apple's AAC format.  You do not need to convert your MP3 files to AAC
format.  You would need to change any WMA files to either MP3 or AAC
format before they can be played on your wife's iPod.

- If I convert all my MP3 files to iTunes, I can sync the iPod and my
PC and listen to the songs on my Windows PC using iTunes.

First of all you should not need to convert all your MP3 files to
iTunes as iTunes can play any unprotected MP3 file.

If you have purchased any MP3 files via Windows Media Player they will
probably be copy protected and probably will not play on iTunes.

If you have simply copied CD's from your collection to play on WMP
these will not be copy protected and you can use the MP3 files you
already have in iTunes.  In other words, all the MP3 files you have
not bought online will work without any conversion in either iTunes or
WMP.

As you can probably see the difficulty comes when the MP3 files are
copy protected.  Do you have any copy protected MP3 files?  Have you
ever bought any MP3 files from an online store?  Are your files MP3
files or WMA files?

If you have no copy protected MP3 files you can play and listen to
your music in iTunes, WMP or any other media player that can play MP3
files - you do not need to make duplicates of the files anywhere.

To rip a music CD into MP3 files you can continue to use WMP or use iTunes.

To download the music onto your wife's iPod you will need to either
use one of the program's I indicated or to simply use iTunes.

If you were to ask me down which route you should go I would suggest
using iTunes as it means using only one piece of software.  If you
were to purchase one of the third party pieces of software I would
recommend XPlay as it is the simplest of the options I have given.

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Request for Answer Clarification by bluezman-ga on 22 Dec 2005 09:54 PST

palitoy-ga:

I think I'm good to go now. You've cleared up a few of the questions
regarding what iTunes will and won't do and I think I now have all the
pieces to the puzzle.
Luckily I don't have any downloaded (copy protected) music files; the
music has all been ripped from my CDs. Should that ever change, I'll
have to make the appropriate adjustments.
Thanks again.

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Clarification of Answer by palitoy-ga on 23 Dec 2005 02:10 PST

Glad I could help.  If you require any further assistance please ask
for further assistance.

I bought an ipod earlier this year, and didnt want to change from WMP.
However, the more I used Itunes, the more i realised how superior it
was to WMP! So much easier to use, and nicer.

I would take the leep and convert to Itunes. 

If you dont 'buy mp3's' then there is no problem with Itunes and WMP
sharing the same folder.

If you copy tunes to your PC using ITunes or WMP, you can specify
where you want them saved.

personally, i would switch to ITunes, apple after all, are mainly a
software company....and they do it very well.

A.

We have just bought an Ipod and are trying to transfer our music
files, which are on our Windows Media Player and stored in windows
folders in WMA  format. A few  of these files are I believe are copy
protected(purchased on internet), I tried tried to transfer on music
in my Windows folder to Itunes, which took about six hours, eventually
 a error message came up less than half way through the transfer. I am
not sure how to proceed. I don't know if it is relevant but I
downloaded Itunes many months ago , and now I am adding software from
the Ipod CD, could this be part of the problem?
Can you suggest any solution on this?