oryoki2000 wrote:
> Belkin chose to use WAV rather than AIFF for the simple reason that
> the iPod can't play an AIFF file. iTunes software translates AIFF
> into MP3 or WAV before transferring the file from Mac to iPod.
>
> My guess is that the Apple designers thought of the iPod as an
> accessory for both Macs and PCs from the beginning, and chose to
> support the common file types that both Macs and PCs can deal with,
> namely WAV and MP3.
>
> Here's a link to the iPod specs page:
> http://www.apple.com/ipod/specs.html
Where one will find the following:
# Audio formats supported:
* Mac: AAC (up to 320 Kbps), MP3 (up to 320 Kbps), MP3 Variable Bit
Rate (VBR), WAV, AIFF(6), Audible
* Windows: MP3 (up to 320 Kbps), MP3 Variable Bit Rate (VBR), WAV,
Audible(6)
The footnote (6) says mac only. I've transferred AIFF files to my wife's
iPod, played them, and then back, as apparently unchanged AIFF's
(exactly the same file size, etc). The iPod at no point claimed to have
a WAV copy.
Belkin probably choose to use WAV because that's supported by the
software for both Windows and macs. Windows is pretty poor at supporting
the various sound formats. Macs much more extensive. PC's are the
limiting factor, not the iPod. Apple designed the iPod for future expansion=
:
"Upgradable firmware enables support for future audio formats"
That does not sound like limiting the iPod to two formats. One of which,
(mp3) has been replaced with the new mpeg standards. Apple may or may
not have designed for windows compatability, though their track record
in other parts of OSX would indicate they did not consider windows
compatability a high priority. In fact, the G5 won't run VirtualPC as I
understand it. Though that's up to Microsoft to fix now.
Certainly having the iPod software handle mp3's for the windows crowd
will increase it's market. I doubt that having WAV will do much to help
that.
Walt
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