ITunes: Difference between revisions
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{{About|the application|the online media service|iTunes Store}} |
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{{update|date=October 2009}} |
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{{Lower case title}} |
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{{Infobox Windows component |
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{{Infobox software |
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| name = Windows Media Player |
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|name = iTunes |
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| logo = Windows Media Player 11 Vista Icon.png |
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|logo = [[Image:ITunes Logo.png|64px|iTunes Icon]] |
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| screenshot = Windows Media Player 11 Vista.png |
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|screenshot = [[File:ITunes9Mac.png|250px]] |
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| caption = |
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|caption = iTunes 9.0 on [[Mac OS X 10.6]] |
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| included_with = [[Windows Me]]<br/>[[Windows 2000]]<br/>[[Windows XP]]<ref name="exceptn">Except for "N" and "KN" editions of Windows XP and Windows Vista.</ref><br/>[[Windows Server 2003]]<br/>[[Windows Vista]]<ref name="exceptn"/><br/>[[Windows Server 2008]]<br/>[[Windows 7]]<ref name="exceptwin7n">Except for "N" editions of Windows 7.</ref> |
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|developer = [[Apple Inc.]] |
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| related_components = |
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|operating_system = [[Mac OS X]] v10.4.10 or later;<br>[[Windows XP]] [[Windows XP#Service Pack 2|Service Pack 2]] or later;<br>[[Windows Vista]] (32 or 64-bit);<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/|title=iTunes Home Page|publisher=[[Apple Inc.]]}}</ref><br>[[Windows 7]] not compatible |
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| replaces = [[Media Player (Microsoft)|Media Player]] |
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|latest release version = 9.0.1 |
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|latest release date = {{release date|2009|09|22}} |
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|genre = [[media player (application software)|Media player]] |
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|license = [[Proprietary software|Proprietary]] |
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|website = [http://www.apple.com/itunes/ www.apple.com/itunes/] |
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}} |
}} |
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'''iTunes''' is a [[Proprietary software|proprietary]] [[digital media|digital]] [[media player (application software)|media player]] application, used for playing and organizing digital music and video files. The program is also an [[Interface (computer science)|interface]] to manage the contents on Apple's popular [[iPod]] digital media players as well as the [[iPhone]]. Additionally, iTunes can connect to the [[iTunes Store]] via the Internet to purchase and download [[music]], [[music video]]s, [[Television program|television shows]], [[App Store|applications]], [[iPod games]], [[audiobook]]s, [[podcast]]s, [[film|feature length films]] and [[movie rental]]s (not available in all countries), and [[ringtone]]s (available only in the USA). It is also used to download applications for the [[iPhone]] and [[iPod touch]] running [[iPhone OS]] 2.0 or later.<ref>http://www.apple.com/ipodtouch/appstore/ Retrieved July 25, 2008</ref> |
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'''Windows Media Player''' (abbreviated '''WMP''') is a [[digital media|digital]] [[media player (application software)|media player]] and media library application developed by [[Microsoft]] that is used for playing [[sound reproduction|audio]], [[video]] and viewing [[image]]s on [[personal computers]] running the [[Microsoft Windows]] [[operating system]], as well as on [[Pocket PC]] and [[Windows Mobile]]-based devices. Editions of Windows Media Player were also released for [[Mac OS]], [[Mac OS X]] and [[Solaris (operating system)|Solaris]] but development of these has since been discontinued. |
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iTunes was introduced by [[Apple Inc.]] on January 9, 2001,<ref>{{cite press release|title=Apple Introduces iTunes — World’s Best and Easiest To Use Jukebox Software |publisher=[[Apple Inc.]] |date=2001-01-09|url=http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2001/jan/09itunes.html|accessdate=2008-04-20}}</ref> at the [[Macworld Conference & Expo|Macworld Expo]] in San Francisco.<ref>{{cite web|title=Macworld Expo San Francisco 2001|publisher=[[Ars Technica]]|url=http://arstechnica.com/reviews/01q1/macwldsf/mwsf-7.html#itunes|accessdate=2006-06-16}}</ref> The latest version, iTunes 9, was announced at Apple's September 2009 [[Stevenote|keynote]] "Rock and Roll". |
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In addition to being a media player, Windows Media Player includes the ability to [[Ripping|rip]] music from and copy music to [[compact disc]]s, build [[Red Book (audio CD standard)|Audio CD]]s in [[CD-R|recordable discs]] and [[synchronize]] content with a [[digital audio player]] ([[MP3]] player) or other mobile devices, and enables users to purchase or rent music from a number of [[online music store]]s. |
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iTunes is available as a free download for [[Mac OS X]], [[Windows Vista]], and [[Windows XP]] from Apple's website. It is also [[Product bundling|bundled]] with all [[Mac OS X|Macs]], and some [[Hewlett-Packard|HP]] and [[Dell]] computers. Older versions are available for [[Mac OS 9]], [[Mac OS X|OS X]] 10.0-10.3, and [[Windows 2000]]. |
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Windows Media Player replaced an earlier piece of software called [[Media Player (Microsoft)|Media Player]], adding features beyond simple video or audio playback. |
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==History== |
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'''Windows Media Player 12''' is the most recent version of Windows Media Player as of [[October 2009]]. It was released on October 22, 2009 along with [[Windows 7]]. |
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[[Image:ITunes 7 OS X.png|right|thumb|Music Library view in iTunes 7.7]] |
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{{See also|iTunes version history}} |
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[[SoundJam MP]], developed by [[Jeff Robbin]] and Bill Kincaid and released by [[Casady & Greene]] in 1999,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://panic.com/extras/audionstory/popup-sjstory.html|title=The True Story of SoundJam|first=Bill|last=Kincaid|publisher=[[Panic (company)|Panic]]|accessdate=2007-01-28}}</ref> became the basis for iTunes when Apple purchased it in 2000. Apple added a new user interface and the ability to burn CDs, and removed its recording feature and [[skin (computing)|skin]] support, and released it as iTunes in January 2001.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://panic.com/extras/audionstory/|title=The true story of Audion|first=Cabel|last=Sasser|authorlink=Cabel Sasser|publisher=[[Panic (company)|Panic]]|accessdate=2007-01-28}}</ref> Originally a [[Mac OS 9]]-only application, iTunes began to support Mac OS X when version 2.0 was released nine months later, which also added support for the original iPod.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2001/oct/23itunes.html|title=Apple Announces iTunes 2|publisher=[[Apple Inc.]]|date=2001-10-23|accessdate=2007-01-28}}</ref> Version 3 dropped Mac OS 9 support but added smart [[#Playlists|playlists]] and a ratings system.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2002/jul/17itunes.html|title=Apple Announces iTunes 3|publisher=[[Apple Inc.]]|date=2002-07-17|accessdate=2007-01-28}}</ref> In April 2003, version 4.0 introduced the iTunes Store; in October, version 4.1 added support for [[Microsoft]] [[Windows 2000]] and [[Windows XP|XP]].<ref name="iTunes 4">{{cite web|url=http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93141|title=iTunes 4: What's New|date=June 23, 2004|publisher=Apple|accessdate=2009-01-19}}</ref> Version 7.0 introduced [[gapless playback]] and [[Cover Flow]] in September 2006.<ref name="iTunes 7">{{cite web|url=http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2006/sep/12itunes7.html|title=Apple Announces iTunes 7 with Amazing New Features|date=September 12, 2006|publisher=Apple|accessdate=2009-01-19}}</ref> In March 2007, iTunes 7.1 added support for [[Windows Vista]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20031016-2986.html|title=iTunes and the iTunes Music Store comes to Windows|first=Ken|last=Fisher|date=2003-10-16|publisher=[[Ars Technica]]|accessdate=2007-01-28}}</ref> and 7.4 marked the end of [[Windows 2000]] support. iTunes lacked support for 64-bit versions of Windows until the 7.6 update on January 16, 2008. iTunes is currently supported under any 64-bit version of [[Windows Vista]], although the iTunes executable is still 32-bit. The 64-bit versions of [[Windows XP]] and [[Windows Server 2003]] are not supported by Apple, but a workaround has been devised for both operating systems.<ref>[http://www.planetamd64.com/index.php?showtopic=35132&st=0&p=327771&#entry327771 iTunes is now 64-bit - PlanetAMD64]</ref> Version 8.0 added [[#Genius|Genius]] playlists, grid view, and a new default visualizer.<ref name="iTunes 8">{{cite web|url=http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2008/09/09itunes.html|title=Apple Announces iTunes 8|date=September 9, 2008|publisher=Apple|accessdate=2009-01-19}}</ref> iTunes 9, the latest version, adds "Home Share" enabling automatic updating of purchased items across other computers on the same subnet and offers a new iTunes Store UI. The redesigned store has (as of end September 2009) a number of changes which can make browsing and selecting items much more difficult than in previous versions, because song information is excessively truncated with no way for the user to resize or add to the columns displayed, or to use the keyboard to quickly preview an album track-by-track. Genius Mixes were added and improved App synchronisation abilities. It also adds [[iTunes LP]]s to the store, which gives additional media with an album. Apple added [[iTunes Extras]] as well to the store, which adds content usually reserved for films on [[DVD]] and [[Blu-ray Disc|Blu-ray]] discs.<ref>{{cite web |title="Apple premieres [sic] new look iTunes 9 |url="http://www.macworld.co.uk/mac/news/index.cfm?newsid=27127" |accessdate=2009-09-10 |date=2009-09-09}}</ref> Both iTunes LPs and Extras use web-standards [[HTML]], [[JavaScript]] and [[Cascading Style Sheets|CSS]].<ref>{{cite web |title="Apple rivals DVD with new iTunes Extras for movies and albums" |url="http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/09/09/apple_rivals_dvd_with_new_itunes_extras_for_movies_and_albums.html" |accessdate=2009-09-12 | date=2009-09-09}}</ref> A number of cosmetic changes e.g. to button appearance and equalizer sliders (which changed from useful pointers to round markers) were made. |
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A version of iTunes was shipped with cell phones from [[Motorola]], which included the ability to sync music from an iTunes library to the cellphone, as well as a similar interface between both platforms. Since the release of the iPhone, Apple has stopped distributing iTunes with other manufacturers' phones in order to concentrate sales to Apple's device. In the absence of support from Apple, Nokia has released a Mac application called Nokia Multimedia Transfer that supports transferring data from iTunes and iPhoto onto some Nokia devices<ref>[http://europe.nokia.com/get-support-and-software/download-software/nokia-multimedia-transfer Nokia Multimedia Transfer]</ref>. |
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Windows Media Player 11 is available for [[Windows XP]] and included in [[Windows Vista]] and [[Windows Server 2008]]. |
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The default file formats are [[Windows Media Video]] (WMV), [[Windows Media Audio]] (WMA), and [[Advanced Systems Format]] (ASF), and supports its own [[XML]] based playlist format called Windows Playlist ([[WPL]]). The player is also able to utilize a [[digital rights management]] service in the form of [[Windows Media DRM]]. |
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== |
==Features== |
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[[Image:ITunes 8 visualizer.png|thumb|iTunes includes [[Music visualization|visualizers]]. Shown here is the new visualizer in iTunes 8, including black orbs and moving specks of light.]] |
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{{refimprovesect|date=April 2009}} |
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iTunes is an application that allows the user to manage audio and video on a personal computer, acting as a front end for Apple's [[QuickTime]] media player. Officially, using iTunes is required in order to manage the audio of an Apple [[iPod]] portable audio player, although [[Comparison of iPod managers|alternative software]] does exist. Users can organize their music into [[playlist]]s within one or more libraries, edit file information, record [[Compact Disc]]s, copy files to a [[digital audio player]], purchase music and videos through its built-in music store, download free [[podcast]]s, back up songs onto a [[Compact Disc|CD]] or [[DVD]], run a [[Music visualization|visualizer]] to display graphical effects in time to the music, and encode music into a number of different audio formats. There is also a large selection of free internet radio stations to listen to. |
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[[Image:Amovie.png|thumb|ActiveMovie was the immediate ancestor of Windows Media Player.]] |
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Microsoft Windows has had a media player since 1991, when [[Windows 3.0]] with [[MultiMedia Extensions#The Multimedia Extensions|MultiMedia Extensions]] was released.<ref>{{cite web |
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|url=http://support.microsoft.com/kb/32905 |
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|title=Windows Version History (MSKB32905) |
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|date=July 19, 2009 |
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|accessdate=2009-05-02 |
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|work=Knowledge Base |
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|publisher=Microsoft |
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}}</ref> This version of Windows, which was included with "Multimedia PC"-compatible machines but not available for retail sale, included the [[Media Player (Microsoft)|Media Player]] application, was capable of playing <code>.mmm</code> animation files, and could be extended to support other formats.<ref>{{cite web |
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|url=http://toastytech.com/guis/win3mme.html |
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|title=Windows 3.0 with Multimedia Extensions |
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|accessdate=2009-05-02 |
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|publisher=Toasty Tech |
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}}</ref> It used [[Media Control Interface|MCI]] to handle media files. In November of the following year, [[Video for Windows]] was introduced with the ability to play [[digital video]] files in an [[Audio Video Interleave|AVI]] [[Container format (digital)|container format]],<ref>{{cite web |
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|url=http://www.pctechguide.com/45DigitalVideo_Video_for_Windows.htm |
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|title=Video for Windows |
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|accessdate=2009-05-02 |
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|publisher=PC Tech Guide |
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}}</ref> with codec support for [[Run-length encoding|RLE]] and [[Video1]], and support for playing uncompressed files. [[Indeo]] 3.2 was added in a later release. Video for Windows was first available as a free add-on to [[Windows 3.1]], and later integrated into [[Windows 95]] and [[Windows NT 4.0]]. |
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Additionally, users can add PDF files to their library (to add [[Digital booklet|digital liner notes]] to their albums, for example), but the PDFs cannot be transferred to or read on an iPhone or iPod.<ref>{{cite web|title=Organize your PDF library with iTunes|author=Gina Trapani|url=http://lifehacker.com/software/pdf/geek-to-live--organize-your-pdf-library-with-itunes-240447.php|accessdate=2008-08-13}}</ref> However, iPhone/iPod Touch [[App Store|apps]] exist to sync any type of file to and from the device to an "[[iDisk]]" using Apple's [[MobileMe]] service. |
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In 1996 Microsoft released [[ActiveMovie]], a replacement for Video for Windows that incorporates a new way of dealing with media files, and adds support for streaming media (which the original Media Player couldn't handle).<ref>http://www.jmcgowan.com/avitech.html</ref> |
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In iTunes 8.0, the preferences menu was given a complete makeover. The result added very few new options, but instead removed several options. For example, iTunes once gave users the option to display arrows beside the selected song's title, artist, album, and genre that link directly to the iTunes Store. Now these arrows are not removable, except through the direct editing of a preferences file.<ref>{{cite web|title=Disable iTunes store arrow links in iTunes 8|publisher=Mac OS X Hints|author=Rob Griffiths|url=http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20080909130752871&query=itunes%2Barrows|accessdate=2008-11-17|date=September 9 2008}}</ref> |
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ActiveMovie was renamed to [[DirectShow]] in 1996,<ref>{{cite web |
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|url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc301631.aspx |
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|title=DirectShow: Core Media Technology in Windows XP Empowers You to Create Custom Audio/Video Processing Components |
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|date=July 2002 |
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|accessdate=2009-05-01 |
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|work=MSDN Magazine |
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|publisher=Microsoft |
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|coauthors=Michael Blome, Mike Wasson |
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}}</ref> and a new Media Player was created, known internally as Media Player 2.{{Citation needed|date=May 2009}} |
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===Media management=== |
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Version 6.4 was included with Windows Me, Windows 2000 and Windows XP, but was dropped in Windows Vista. |
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iTunes keeps track of songs by creating a virtual library, allowing users to access and edit a song's attributes. These attributes, known as [[metadata]], are stored in two separate library files. |
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The first is a binary file called ''iTunes Library'' and it uses a proprietary file format ("ITL"). It caches information like artist and genre from the audio format's tag capabilities (the [[ID3]] tag, for example) and stores iTunes-specific information like play count and rating. iTunes typically reads library data only from this file. |
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There was another large revamp in Windows Media Player version 7, with the release of [[Windows Me]], with a new user interface, visualizations and increased functionality. WMP7 came with the [[Windows Media Audio|WMA]] and [[Windows Media Video|WMV]] codecs. |
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The second file, ''iTunes Music Library.xml'', is refreshed whenever information in iTunes is changed. It uses an [[XML]] format, allowing developers to easily write applications that can access the library information (including play count, last played date, and rating, which are not standard fields in the ID3v2.3 format). Apple's own [[iDVD]], [[iMovie]], and [[iPhoto]] applications all access the library. |
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==Features== |
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[[Image:Wmp mm.PNG|thumb|right|[[Windows Media Player 11]] running in mini mode showing a visualization.]] |
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*Allows the user to connect, share and sync data with portable handheld devices and [[game console]]s. Media can be optionally transcoded to a format better suited for the target device, automatically, when synchronizing. |
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*Playback of audio, video and pictures, along with fast forward, reverse, seek and time compression and dilation. |
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*Supports local playback, streaming playback and progressive downloads. |
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*Support for any media codec and container format using specific [[DirectShow]] filters. |
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*Full media management, via the integrated media library, which offers cataloguing and searching of media. Media can be arranged according to album, artist, genre, date ''et al.''. |
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*''Video Smoothing'' which upscales frame-rate by interpolating added frames, in effect giving a smoother playback on low-framerate videos. |
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*Includes a 10-band graphic equalizer and [[SRS Labs|SRS WOW]] audio post-processing system. Windows Media Player can also have attached plug-ins which [[Digital Signal Processing|process]] the output audio or video data. |
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If the first file is corrupted, iTunes will attempt to reconstruct it from the XML file. Detailed third-party instructions regarding this are documented elsewhere.<ref>[http://hifiblog.com/past/2006/05/11/howto-move-your-itunes-music-while-preserving-library-data-when-you-dont-let-itunes-manage-your-music-library/ HOWTO: Move your iTunes music while preserving library data (when you don’t let iTunes manage your music library)]</ref> There have been some concerns, voiced by [[Mark Pilgrim]], that this feature will create an "undocumented binary blackhole" because the recovery from the XML file may not work.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://diveintomark.org/archives/2006/06/02/when-the-bough-breaks | title=http://diveintomark.org/archives/2006/06/02/when-the-bough-breaks | author=Mark Pilgrim | date=June 2, 2006 | work=diveintomark.org | accessdate=2008-07-05}}</ref> |
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[[Image:Wmp11.PNG|thumb|left|Windows Media Player 11 running in mini mode in Windows Vista and Windows XP.]] |
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*Features a taskbar-mounted ''Mini mode'' in which the most common media control buttons are presented as a toolbar on the Windows [[taskbar]]. Flyout windows can display media information, the active visualization or the video being played back. |
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*Can use video [[hardware overlay|overlays]] or VMR surfaces, if the video card supports them. In Windows XP, it uses VMR7 by default, but can also be made to use the more advanced [[Y'UV|YUV]] mixing mode by enabling the "Use high quality mode" option in Advanced Performance settings. This turns on deinterlacing, scaling and improved color accuracy.<ref> [http://download.microsoft.com/download/0/b/8/0b89049d-dc57-4571-aa69-cf592743a241/WMPlayer.doc Windows Media Player 10 additional documentation] </ref> |
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*Version 11 introduced improved support for DirectX accelerated decoding of WMV video ([[DirectX Video Acceleration|DXVA]] decoding) |
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*Features integrated [[Compact Disc|CD]]-burning support for audio as well as data CDs. Data CDs can have any of the media formats supported by the player. While burning Data CDs, the media can, optionally, be transcoded into [[Windows Media Audio|WMA]] format. |
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*Audio [[Compact Disc|CDs]] can be ripped as [[Windows Media Audio|WMA]] or WMA 10 Pro at 48, 64, 96, 128, 160 and 192 [[Kilobit per second|kbit/s]], [[Windows Media Audio 9 Lossless|WMA lossless]] (470 to 940 kbit/s), WMA [[variable bitrate]] (from 40-75 kbit/s up to 240-355 kbit/s), [[MP3]] at 128, 192, 256 and 320 kbit/s, or uncompressed [[WAV]]. 24 bit high-resolution [[Compact Disc|CDs]] are also supported, if capable audio hardware is present. |
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*Information on [[Compact Disc|CDs]] such as album name, artist and track listings can optionally be automatically downloaded from the [[Microsoft]] [[Windows Media Database]] when the [[Compact Disc|CD]] is inserted. |
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*Includes intrinsic support for [[Windows Media]] codecs which support multichannel audio at up to 24-bit 192 kHz resolution. |
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* Can play files in WMA, WAV or MP3 media formats. However, it will not play MP3 files that contain compressed [[ID3]] headers ("tags"); trying to do so results in a "The input media file is invalid" error message. |
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*Supports subtitles and closed-captioning, if present in the media. |
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*Features "Synchronized Lyrics", by which different lines of lyrics can be time-stamped, so that they display only at those times. |
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*[[Windows Explorer]] shell integration to add files and playlist to the ''Now Playing'' and other playlists can be controlled from the Windows Explorer shell itself, via right-click menu. |
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*Provides an embeddedable [[ActiveX]] [[ActiveX control|control]] for [[Internet Explorer]] so that developers can play [[Windows Media]] on web pages. |
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*A fully featured tag editor was featured in versions 8-11 of WMP, called the Advanced Tag Editor. However, the feature was not present in the latest preview version of Windows Media Player 12. |
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===Features new to Windows Media Player 11=== |
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It has also been noted that iTunes does not automatically track changes to actual files in the library. If a file is moved or deleted, iTunes will display an [[exclamation mark]] beside the library entry and the user will need to manually amend the library record. There have been a number of [[Third-party developer|third party tools]] created to address this problem.<ref>{{cite web|author=Adam Pash|title=Hack Attack: Automatically sync iTunes to any folder(s)|publisher=Hack Attack|url=http://lifehacker.com/software/itunes/hack-attack-automatically-sync-itunes-to-any-folders-175161.php|accessdate=2008-07-06}}</ref> |
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Windows Media Player 11 features many changes. The ''Media Library'' no longer presents the media items (such as albums and artists) in a tree-based listing. Rather, on selecting the category in the left panel, the contents will appear on the right, in a graphical manner with thumbnails featuring album art or other art depicting the item—a departure from textual presentation of information. Missing album art can be added directly to the placeholders in the Library itself (though the program re-renders all album art imported this way into 1x1 pixel ratio, 200x200 resolution [[jpeg]]s). Views for ''Music'', ''Pictures'', ''Video'' and ''Recorded TV'' are separate and can be chosen individually from the navigation bar. Entries for ''Pictures'' and ''Video'' show their thumbnails. ''Windows Media Player 11'' also includes the ''Windows Media Format 11'' runtime which adds low bitrate support (below 128 kbit/s for [[Windows Media Audio#Windows Media Audio Professional|WMA Pro]]), support for ripping music to ''WMA Pro 10'' and updates the original [[Windows Media Audio|WMA]] to version 9.2. Other features: |
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iTunes supports [[ripping]] from [[Compact Disc|CDs]], but not from DVDs. However, in 2008, Apple and select movie studios introduced "iTunes [[Digital Copy]]," a bonus feature on some DVDs that provides a copy-protected, iTunes-compatible file for select films.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2008/01/15fox.html|title=Twentieth Century Fox & Apple Introduce iTunes Digital Copy|publisher=[[Apple Inc.]]|accessdate=2008-08-14}}</ref> As with any digital music management, users must use an analog-to-digital converter to import analog recordings (such as [[Compact Cassette|audio cassettes]] or [[Gramophone record|vinyl records]]) to their iTunes libraries. |
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*''Stacking'' - ''Stacking'' allows graphical representations of how many albums there are in a specific category or folder. The more items there are, the larger the pile or stack is. |
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*''Instant Search'' - Searches and displays results as characters are being entered, without waiting for ''Enter'' key to be hit. Results are refined based on further characters that are typed. |
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====Library views==== |
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*''CD Burning'' - ''CD Burning'' now shows a graphical bar showing how much space will be used on the disc. |
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[[File:Coverflowitunes7mac.png|thumb|[[Cover Flow]] allows users to browse their libraries visually by [[Album cover|cover art]].]] |
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iTunes users may choose to view their music and video libraries in one of four ways: as a list, as a list with accompanying album artwork (with songs clearly grouped by album), in [[Cover Flow]] (a side-scrolling catalog of album artwork), or in Grid View. |
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The standard list view displays library files with many optional detail fields, including name, artist, album, genre, user rating, play count, and so forth. Item backgrounds alternate between white and a light blue-gray for readability. |
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*''Global Status'' - ''Global status'' shows a broad overview of what the player is doing. The information presented includes status information regarding buffering, ripping, burning and synchronization. |
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The list with accompanying album artwork is much the same, only the list is broken up by albums, with the artwork as a header to the list. Although this allows users to browse content more visually, sorting the list view by name will accordingly break up the library into redundant instances of each album. Accordingly, as with Cover Flow view, the second view mode is most appropriate for users who sort their libraries by album. |
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*Improved synchronization features for loading content onto [[PlaysForSure]]-compatible portable players. WMP 11 supports reverse-synchronization, by which media present on the portable device can be replicated back to the PC. |
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Cover Flow displays all of the user's album art as CD covers in a slideshow format. It sorts the albums into artist, genre, etc. Compilation albums are only shown as a single album cover if the compilation tag for each of the album's tracks is turned on. If the song(s) from the album were imported from a 'mix' CD, the album artwork will be displayed as a default music note pictures. Cover flow was first introduced in version 7.0. |
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*Support for ripping audio CDs to [[WAV]] format. |
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Grid View is similar to Cover Flow, displaying the user's cover art in a grid rather than a side-scrolling format. Albums can also be sorted into groups by artist, genre, or composer. |
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*[[WMPNSS|Media Sharing]] (via [[Windows Media Connect]]) allows content (Music, Pictures, Video) to be streamed to and from [[Universal Plug and Play|Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) AV]] enabled devices such as the [[PS3]], [[Xbox 360]], and Roku [[SoundBridge]]. This includes DRM protected [[PlaysForSure]] content. WMP 11 on Windows Vista can also connect to remote media libraries using this feature; this is not available on the Windows XP version. |
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iTunes also sorts with secondary parameters, album by artist and album by year, to make its artwork-centered interfaces more intuitive. |
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*Integrated web-browsing support to browse online music stores. |
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====Library sharing==== |
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*''Disc spanning'' splits a burn list onto multiple discs in case the content does not fit on one disc. |
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A user's iTunes Library can be shared over a local network using the closed, proprietary [[Digital Audio Access Protocol]] (DAAP), created by Apple for this purpose. DAAP relies on the [[Bonjour (software)|Bonjour]] network service discovery framework, Apple's implementation of the [[Zero configuration networking|Zeroconf]] open network standard. Apple has not made the DAAP specification available to the general public, only to third-party licensees such as [[Roku]]. However, the protocol has been [[reverse engineering|reverse-engineered]] and is now used to stream playlists from non-Apple software (mainly on the [[Linux]] platform).<ref>{{cite web|title=Digital Audio Access Protocol|publisher=[[sourceforge]]|work=DAAP|url=http://daap.sourceforge.net/|accessdate=2006-01-12}}</ref> |
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====Removed features and bugs==== |
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DAAP allows shared lists of songs within the same [[subnetwork|subnet]] to be automatically detected. When a song is shared, iTunes can stream the song but won't save it on the local hard drive, in order to prevent unauthorized copying. Songs in [[FairPlay|Protected AAC]] format can also be accessed, but authentication is required. A maximum of five users may connect to a single user every 24 hours. The multiple, alternate "View" options normally available to iTunes users including "Cover Flow" are disabled when viewing a shared library over a network. |
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Library sharing was first introduced with iTunes 4.0, where users could freely access shared music anywhere over the Internet, in addition to one's own subnet, by specifying [[IP address]]es of remote shared song libraries. Apple quickly removed this feature with version 4.0.1, claiming that users were violating the [[Software license agreement|End User License Agreement]]. |
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On [[Windows XP]] by default, [[Windows Media Connect]] 2.0 does not work after Windows Media Player 11 has been installed. Windows Media Player 11 includes the UPnP AV server for sharing media across the network which replaces similar functionality in Windows Media Connect, however it does not include the client, unlike Windows Media Connect.<ref name="james"> [http://www.dotnetjunkies.com/WebLog/james/archive/2006/11/29/162576.aspx Windows Media Connect Practical Overview] </ref> The ability to remove or reinstall Windows Media Player 11 has been removed in Vista, as it is integrated with the operating system. This forces users with bugs to either reinstall Vista or find help. The ''License Management'' tool available in prior versions of Windows Media Player has been removed since version 11. This prevents users of music download services from directly using Windows Media Player to back up their licenses and restore them to another computer. The user now must depend on the download service being able to assist with re-acquiring that license. Not all services support this so in some circumstances you could lose the ability to play media which you've purchased for use with Windows Media Player 11. e.g. Walmart states: "Important Note: In many cases, we cannot replace song and license files if they are lost. We strongly suggest you back up your music by creating an audio CD or CDs using Windows Media Player 11" <ref>{{cite web |url=http://musicdownloads.walmart.com/catalog/servlet/HelpTopicServlet?topicIndex=0#5 |title=Walmart.com - Music Downloads |publisher=Walmart |year=January 2008 |accessdate=2007-01-23 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/11/readme.aspx#1608319 |title=Backing up and restoring licenses |publisher=Microsoft |year=November 2006 |accessdate=2007-01-04 }}</ref> No longer is one able to change the media player's background to black. Instead, the background is a near-white shade of the color chosen in the color chooser. The ''Quick Access Menu'', which enabled browsing the library via a pop-up menu, has been removed. As a result of this, the library cannot be browsed when the player is in toolbar mode. In previous versions of Windows Media Player, the keyboard shortcut "Ctrl + I" could be used to capture the frame of video being displayed at the time the shortcut was initiated. This feature was removed for Windows Media Player 11. Unlike previous Windows Media Player installers, Windows Media Player 11 for Windows XP attempts to perform a check as to whether your copy of Windows is genuine. It will not install if this check determines that your copy of Windows is not genuine. The [[HighMAT]] burning capability integrated into Windows Media Player 10 is not available in Windows Media Player 11. |
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With the release of iTunes 7.0, Apple changed their implementation of DAAP. This change prevents any third-party client, such as a computer running Linux, a modified [[Xbox]], or any computer without iTunes installed, from connecting to a remote iTunes repository. iTunes will still connect as a client to other iTunes servers and to third-party servers.<ref>{{cite web | publisher=Snorp.net | title=iTunes 7 | work=DAAP | url=http://www.snorp.net/log/2006/09/12/itunes-7/ | date=2006-09-12 | accessdate=2007-01-23 }}</ref> |
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==Other versions== |
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Microsoft has also released versions of Windows Media Player for other platforms including [[Windows Mobile]], [[Mac OS]], [[Mac OS X]], [[Palm-size PC]], [[Handheld PC]], and [[Solaris (operating system)|Solaris]]. Of these, only the Windows Mobile edition continues to be actively developed and supported by Microsoft. Version 1 of the [[Zune]] software was also based on Windows Media Player, later versions are not. |
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=== |
====File format support==== |
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iTunes 9 can currently read, write and convert between [[MP3]], [[Audio Interchange File Format|AIFF]], [[WAV]], [[MPEG-4]], [[Advanced Audio Coding|AAC]] and [[Apple Lossless]]. |
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[[File:Windows Media Player 10 Mobile.png|thumb|Windows Media Player 10.3 Mobile on a Windows Mobile Professional device]] |
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Windows Media Player for Pocket PC was first announced on January 6, 2000, and has been revised on a schedule roughly similar to that of the Windows version.<ref name="pocketpcpr">{{cite web |
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|url=http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/press/2000/jan00/palmpocketpr.mspx |
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|title=Microsoft Unveils Windows Media Player for Palm-Size and Pocket PCs |
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|date=January 6, 2000 |
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|accessdate=2006-05-14 |
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|work=Microsoft PressPass |
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|publisher=Microsoft |
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}}</ref> Currently known as "Media Player 10 Mobile", this edition (released in October 2004) closely resembles the capabilities of the Windows version of WMP 10, including playlist capabilities, a media library, album art, WMA Lossless playback, support for DRM-protected media, video playback at 640x480 with stereo sound, and the same [[Energy Blue]] interface aesthetics also seen in recent versions of [[Windows XP Media Center Edition]]. It also supports synchronization with the desktop version of WMP 10, and additionally supports synchronizing and transcoding of recorded television shows from Media Center. Media Player 10 Mobile is not available as a download from Microsoft; distribution is done solely through OEM partners, and is typically included on devices based on Windows Mobile. |
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iTunes can also play any audio files that [[QuickTime]] can play (as well as some video formats), including [[FairPlay|Protected AAC]] files from the iTunes Store and [[Audible.com]] audio books. There is limited support for [[Vorbis]] and [[Free Lossless Audio Codec|FLAC]] enclosed in an [[Ogg]] [[Container format (digital)|container]] (files using the Ogg container format are not naturally supported) or [[Speex]] codecs with the [[Xiph QuickTime Components]]. Because tag editing and album art is done within iTunes and not Quicktime, these features will not work with these QuickTime components. iTunes currently will not play back [[HE-AAC|HE-AAC/aacPlus]] audio streams correctly. HE-AAC/aacPlus format files will play back as 22 kHz AAC files (effectively having no high end over 11 kHz), and HE-AAC streaming audio (which a number of [[Internet radio]] stations use) will not play back at all. The latest version of iTunes (Win/Mac) supports importing audio CDs with the default iTunes standard file format of AAC at 256 kbit/s, but users can choose from 16 kbit/s to 320 kbit/s constant bit rates (CBR) in either AAC or MP3. |
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Windows Mobile 6 includes a copy of Windows Media Player 10 Mobile, but with a similar (but not quite identical) theme as Windows Media Player 11. |
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Importing of audio CDs into MP3 or AAC formats can also be accomplished using [[variable bitrate]] (VBR) encoding. However, a [[Blind experiment#Double-blind trials|double-blind experiment]] conducted in January 2004 of six MP3 encoders noted that the iTunes encoder came last, in that the quality of the files produced by iTunes was below par. It was stated in the final results that these tests only covered VBR encodings, thus iTunes may have performed better with a [[Constant bitrate]] (CBR).<ref>{{cite web|author=Amorim, Roberto|year=2003|title=Results of MP3 at 128 kbit/s public Listening Test|work=Roberto's public listening tests page|url=http://www.rjamorim.com/test/mp3-128/results.html|accessdate=2006-01-12}}</ref> |
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===Mac OS X=== |
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[[Image:Am wmp for mac.png|thumb|left|Windows Media Player 9 for Mac OS X]] |
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Version 9 was the final version of Windows Media Player to be released for [[Mac OS X]] before development was cancelled by Microsoft. WMP for Mac OS X received widespread criticism from Mac users due to poor performance and features. |
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Developed by the Windows Media team at Microsoft instead of the [[Macintosh Business Unit]] and released in 2003, on release the application lacked many basic features that were found in other media players such as Apple's [[iTunes]] and [[QuickTime]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2008}} It also lacked support for many media formats that version 9 of the Windows counterpart supported on release 10 months earlier. |
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The Windows version of iTunes can automatically transcode DRM-free [[Windows Media Audio|WMA]] (including version 9) files to other audio formats, but does not support playback of WMA files and will not transcode DRM protected WMA files. [[Telestream|Telestream, Inc.]] provides free codecs for Mac users of QuickTime to enable playback of unprotected Windows Media files. These codecs are recommended by Microsoft.<ref>{{cite web|title=Windows Media Components for QuickTime|publisher=[[Microsoft]]|url=http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/wmcomponents.mspx}}</ref> |
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The Mac version supported only [[Windows Media]] encoded media (up to version 9) enclosed in the [[Advanced Systems Format|ASF]] format, lacking support for all other formats such as MP4, [[Moving Picture Experts Group|MPEG]], and Microsoft's own [[AVI]] format. On the user interface front, it did not prevent [[screensaver]]s from running during playback, it did not support file drag-and-drop, nor did it support playlists. While Windows Media Player 9 had added support for some files that use the [[Windows Media Video|WMV9]] codec (also known as the WMV3 codec by the [[FourCC]]), in other aspects it was seen as having degraded in features from previous versions. |
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====File metadata==== |
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On January 12, 2006 Microsoft announced it had ceased development of Windows Media Player for Mac.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.com.com/Music+stops+for+Mac+Windows+Media+Player/2100-1047_3-6026715.html?part=rss&tag=6026715&subj=news |title=Music stops for Mac Windows Media Player |last=Fried |first=Ina |publisher=[[CNET]] |date=2006-01-12 |accessdate=2006-12-21}}</ref> Microsoft now distributes a third-party [[plugin]] called WMV Player (produced and maintained by [[Flip4Mac]]) which allows some forms of [[Windows Media]] to be played within [[Apple Computer|Apple's]] [[QuickTime]] player and other QuickTime-aware applications.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/flip4mac.mspx | title=Windows Media Components for QuickTime | publisher=Microsoft | accessdate=2007-03-30}}</ref> |
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For [[MP3]] files, iTunes writes tags in ID3v2.2 using UCS-2 encoding by default, but converting them to ID3v2.3 (UCS-2 encoding) and ID3v2.4 (which uses UTF-8 encoding) is possible via its "Advanced" > "Convert ID3 Tags" toolbar menu. If both ID3v2.x and ID3v1.x tags are in a file, iTunes ignores the ID3v1.x tags.<ref name=AppleCreCon>[http://images.apple.com/support/itunes_u/docs/iTunes_U_Creating_Content.pdf Creating Content for iPod + iTunes]</ref> |
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[[Advanced Audio Coding|AAC]] and [[Apple Lossless]] files support Unicode metadata, stored in the [[MPEG-4 Part 14|MP4]] container as so-called "Atoms". The QuickTime plugin that supports the OGG container format has no support for tag editing or album art.<ref name=AppleCreCon /> |
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==Release history== |
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{{see also|Media Player (Microsoft)|CDPlayer|Dvdplay|NetShow}} |
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iTunes uses the [[Gracenote]] interactive audio CD database to provide track name listings for audio CDs. The service can be set to activate when a CD is inserted into the computer and an Internet connection is available. Track names for albums imported to iTunes while not connected to the Internet can be obtained during a later connection, by a manual procedure. For any album loaded into iTunes for which there is not an existing Gracenote track listing, the user can choose to submit track name data to Gracenote.<ref>[http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=iTunesMac/8.0/en/15455.html Sending CD information to the Gracenote CDDB]</ref> |
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{| class = "wikitable" style="width: 100%" |
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|- |
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!Version !!Original release !!Latest build !!Operating system compatibility !!Codename |
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|- |
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! colspan = "5" style = "text-align: center; background: #ddddff" | [[Microsoft Windows]] |
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|- |
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|'''[[Windows Media Player 12]]'''||October 22, 2009 || 12.0.7600|| [[Windows 7]]|| |
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|- |
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|'''Windows Media Player 11'''||October 30, 2006 || 11.0.6002.18065 ([[Windows Vista|Vista]])<br>11.0.5721.5268 ([[Windows XP|XP]]) || [[Windows Server 2008]]<br/>[[Windows Vista]]<br/>[[Windows XP]] SP2 & SP3 || Aurora ([[Windows Vista|Vista]])<br/>Polaris ([[Windows XP|XP]]) |
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|- |
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|'''Windows Media Player 10'''|| October 12, 2004 || 10.00.00.4074 || [[Windows Server 2003]] SP2<br/>[[Windows XP]] || Crescent <ref> [http://download.microsoft.com/download/1/8/f/18f8cee2-0b64-41f2-893d-a6f2295b40c8/TW04083_WINHEC2004.ppt Media Transfer Protocol presentation] </ref> |
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|- |
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|'''Windows Media Player 9 Series'''|| January 27, 2003 ||9.00.00.4507 ([[Windows XP|XP]])<br>9.00.00.3364 ([[Windows 2000|2000]]) || [[Windows XP]]<br/>[[Windows Me]]<br/>[[Windows 2000]]<br/>[[Windows 98 SE]] || Corona |
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|- |
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|'''Windows Media Player for Windows XP'''<br/>(Version 8) || October 25, 2001 || || [[Windows XP]] || |
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|- |
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|'''Windows Media Player 7.1'''|| May 16, 2001 || 7.1 || [[Windows Me]]<br/>[[Windows 2000]]<br/>[[Windows 98]] || |
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|- |
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|'''Windows Media Player 7.0'''|| July 17, 2000 ([[Windows 2000|2000]], [[Windows 98|98]] and [[Windows 95|95]])<ref>http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2000/Jul00/WMP7PR.mspx</ref><br/>September 14, 2000 ([[Windows Me|Me]]) || 7.0 || [[Windows Me]]<br/>[[Windows 2000]]<br/>[[Windows 98]]<br/>[[Windows 95]] || |
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|- |
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|'''Windows Media Player 6.4'''<br/>(<code>mplayer2</code> for [[Windows XP|XP]] and [[Windows 2000|2000]]) || November 22, 1999 ||6.4.09.1130 ([[Windows XP|XP]])<br>6.4.09.1129 ([[Windows 2000|2000]])|| [[Windows XP]]<br/>[[Windows 2000]]<br/>[[Windows 98]]<br/>[[Windows NT 4.0]]<br/>[[Windows 95]]<br/> || |
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|- |
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|'''Windows Media Player 6.1'''|| June 25, 1998 || || [[Windows 98]]<br/>[[Windows 95]]<br/> || |
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|- |
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! colspan = "5" style = "text-align: center; background: #ddddff" | [[Windows CE]]/[[Windows Mobile]] |
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|- |
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|'''Windows Media Player 11 Mobile'''|| April 1, 2008 || || [[Windows Mobile]] 6.1 || |
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|- |
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|'''Windows Media Player 10.3 Mobile'''|| February 12, 2007 ([[Windows Mobile|6]]) || || [[Windows Mobile]] 5.0<br />[[Windows Mobile]] 6 || |
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|- |
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|'''Windows Media Player 10.2 Mobile'''|| || || [[Windows Mobile]] 5.0 || |
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|- |
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|'''Windows Media Player 10.1 Mobile'''|| May 10, 2005 || || [[Windows Mobile]] 5.0 || |
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|- |
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|'''Windows Media Player 10 Mobile'''|| October 12, 2004 || || [[Windows Mobile]] 2003 SE || |
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|- |
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|'''Windows Media Player 9.0.1'''|| March 24, 2004 || || [[Windows Mobile]] 2003 SE || |
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|- |
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|'''Windows Media Player 9 Series'''|| June 23, 2003 || || [[Windows Mobile]] 2003 || Corona |
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|- |
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|'''Windows Media Player 8.5'''|| October 11, 2002 || || [[Windows Mobile|Pocket PC]] 2002 || |
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|- |
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|'''Windows Media Player 8.01'''|| July 2002 || || [[Windows Mobile|Pocket PC]] 2002 || |
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|- |
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|'''Windows Media Player 8'''|| October 4, 2001 ([[Windows Mobile|Pocket PC]])<br />December 5, 2001 ([[Windows Mobile|Smartphone]]) || ||[[Windows Mobile|Pocket PC]] 2002<br/>[[Windows Mobile|Smartphone]] 2002 || |
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|- |
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|'''Windows Media Player 7.1'''|| May 21, 2001 || || [[Windows Mobile|Pocket PC]] 2000 || |
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|- |
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|'''Windows Media Player 7'''|| December 12, 2000 || || [[Windows Mobile|Pocket PC]] 2000 || |
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|- |
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|'''Windows Media Player 1.2'''|| September 7, 2000 || || [[Handheld PC]] 2000 || |
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|- |
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|'''Windows Media Player 1.1'''|| || || [[Palm-size PC]] CE 2.11 || |
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|- |
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|'''Windows Media Player'''|| April 19, 2000 || || [[Windows Mobile|Pocket PC]] 2000 || |
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|- |
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! colspan = "5" style = "text-align: center; background: #ddddff" | [[Mac OS]] |
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|- |
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|'''Windows Media Player 9 Series'''|| November 7, 2003 || ||[[Mac OS X]] || Corona |
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|- |
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|'''Windows Media Player 7'''|| July 24, 2001 || 7.0.1 || [[Mac OS 9]]<br/>[[Mac OS 8]] || |
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|- |
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|'''Windows Media Player 6.3'''|| July 17, 2000 || || [[Mac OS 8]]<br/>[[System 7|Mac OS 7]] || |
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|- |
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! colspan = "5" style = "text-align: center; background: #ddddff" | [[Solaris (operating system)|Solaris]] |
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|- |
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|'''Windows Media Player 6.3'''|| July 17, 2000 || || [[Solaris (operating system)|Solaris]] |
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|- |
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|} |
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====Sound processing==== |
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==European Commission case== |
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iTunes includes sound processing features, such as [[equalization]], "sound enhancement" ("sound improvement" in some languages) and crossfade. There is also a feature called "Sound Check" which automatically adjusts the playback volume of all songs in the library to the [[audio normalization|same level]]; this is usually called volume leveling or volume normalization. Like "sound enhancement", this can be turned on in the 'Playback' section of iTunes' preferences. |
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In March 2004, the [[European Commission]] in the [[European Union Microsoft antitrust case]] fined Microsoft €497 million and ordered the company to provide a version of Windows without Windows Media Player, claiming Microsoft "broke [[European Union]] competition law by leveraging its near [[monopoly]] in the market for PC operating systems onto the markets for work group [[Server (computing)|server]] operating systems and for media players". The company has made available a compliant version of its flagship operating system under the negotiated name "Windows XP N", though the product has not been very successful.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.com.com/Still+no+demand+for+media-player-free+Windows/2100-1016_3-5960750.html |title=Still 'no demand' for media-player-free Windows |last=Marson |first=Ingrid |publisher=[[CNET]] |date=2005-11-18 |accessdate=2006-12-21}}</ref> Windows Vista and Windows 7 are also available in "N" editions. Still, with these editions it is possible to either install Windows Media Player (XP/Vista)<ref>Microsoft. [http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/download/AllDownloads.aspx Download Center]. "be used to restore Windows Media Player and related technologies to N and KN editions of Windows Vista." Retrieved 2008-07-26</ref> or the Media Restore Pack through [[Windows Update]] (Vista) to gain the media player functionality back and forth. |
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====Video support==== |
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On May 9, 2005, video support was introduced to iTunes with the release of iTunes 4.8. Users can drag and drop movie clips from the computer into the iTunes Library for cataloguing and organization. They can be viewed in a small frame in the main iTunes display, in a separate window, or fullscreen. Before version 7 provided separate libraries for media types, videos were only distinguished from audio in the Library by a small icon resembling a TV screen and grouped with music in the library, organized by the same musical categories (such as "album" and "composer"). |
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On October 12, 2005, Apple introduced iTunes 6.0, which added support for purchasing and viewing of video content from the iTunes Music Store. The iTunes Music Store initially offered a selection of thousands of Music Videos and five [[television|TV]] shows, including most notably the ABC network's ''[[Lost (TV series)|Lost]]'' and ''[[Desperate Housewives]]''. [[Disney Channel]] shows (''[[The Suite Life of Zack & Cody]]'' and ''[[That's So Raven]]'') were also offered 24 hours after airing, as well as episode packs from past seasons. Since then, the collection has expanded to include content from numerous television networks. The iTunes Music Store also gives the ability to view Apple's large collection of movie trailers. |
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As of September 5, 2006, the iTunes Store offers over 550 television shows for download. Additionally, a catalog of 75 feature-length movies from [[Disney]]-owned studios was introduced. As of April 11, 2007, over 500 feature-length movies are available through iTunes.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[Apple Inc.]]|title=Award-Winning MGM Films Now on the iTunes Store: Most Popular Online Movie Store Offers Over 500 Movies|url=http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2007/04/11itunes.html|accessdate=2007-04-11}}</ref> |
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Originally, movies and TV shows were only available to U.S. customers, with the only video content available to non-U.S. customers being music videos and Pixar's short films. This feature is being extended to other countries as licensing issues are resolved. |
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Video content available from the store used to be encoded as 540 kbit/s Protected [[MPEG-4]] video ([[H.264/MPEG-4 AVC|H.264]]) with an approximately 128 kbit/s AAC audio track. Many videos and video podcasts currently require the latest version of QuickTime, QuickTime 7, which is incompatible with older versions of Mac OS (only v10.3.9 and later are supported). On September 12, 2006, the resolution of video content sold on the iTunes Store was increased from 320x240 ([[Quarter VGA|QVGA]]) to 640x480 ([[Video Graphics Array|VGA]]). The higher resolution video content is encoded as 1.5 Mbit/s (minimum) Protected [[MPEG-4]] video ([[H.264/MPEG-4 AVC|H.264]]) with a minimum 128 kbit/s AAC audio track. |
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====Playlists==== |
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In addition to static playlist support, version 3 of iTunes introduced support for [[virtual folder|smart playlists]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2002/jul/17itunes.html | title=Apple Announces iTunes 3 | author=Apple | date=July 17, 2002 | publisher=Apple | accessdate=2006-12-25}}</ref> Smart playlists are playlists that can be set to automatically filter the library based on a customized list of selection criteria, much like a [[database]] query. Multiple criteria can be entered to manage the smart playlist.<ref>{{cite web|title=Creating Smart Playlists|url=http://www.apple.com/ilife/tutorials/itunes/it2-2.html|publisher=[[Apple Inc.]]|accessdate=2006-07-02}}</ref> |
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Any user of iTunes can publish a playlist to the iTunes Store with his or her own preferences, which is called an [[iTunes#iMix|iMix]]. |
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Introduced in iTunes 4.5<ref>{{cite web|title=4.5: Hits and Misses|url=http://www.macworld.com/article/30797/2004/04/000169.html|publisher=[[Macworld]]|accessdate=2009-03-12}}</ref>, the "Party Shuffle" playlist was intended as a simple [[Disc jockey|DJing]] aid.<ref>{{cite web|title=iTunes Tutorial: Apple - iLife - Tutorials - iTunes - DJ a Party with iTunes|url=http://www.apple.com/support/ilife/tutorials/itunes/it4-6.html|publisher=[[Apple Inc.]]|accessdate=2009-03-12}}</ref> By default, it selects tracks randomly from other playlists or the library, but users can override the automatic selections by deleting tracks (iTunes will choose new ones to replace them) or by adding their own via [[drag-and-drop]] or [[Context menu|contextual menu]]. This allows a mixture of both preselected and random tracks in the same meta-playlist. The playlist from which Party Shuffle drew could be changed on the fly by the computer user, but doing so will cause all randomly chosen tracks to disappear and be replaced. |
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Party Shuffle was renamed iTunes DJ in iTunes 8. When iTunes was updated to 8.1 quite a few features were added to iTunes DJ. The free Apple Remote application for the [[iPhone]] and [[iPod Touch]] was also update at this time that added a new iTunes DJ option in the settings screen when the user is connected to a [[Wi-Fi]] network and a new song request feature is enabled in iTunes DJ on the hosts. Along with the song request feature voting on songs in the queue was added, the more votes a song gets the high in the queue it will be and sooner it will be played. Song voting can only be done when song requesting is enabled and in two ways: the first by right clicking on a song in the iTunes DJ queue on the hosts computer in iTunes, the second is in the Remote application ether connected with the iTunes DJ option by a guest or by the host in the full playlist section. When song requesting is enabled a customizable welcome message is displayed below the host's shared library name in the button used to connect to iTunes DJ.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hands On With iTunes 8.1 and Remote App|url=http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/03/hands-on-with-i/|publisher=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired.com]]|accessdate=2009-06-22}}</ref> |
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Playlists can be played [[Randomness|randomly]] or [[Sequence|sequentially]]. The randomness of the shuffle algorithm can be biased for or against playing multiple tracks from the same album or artists in sequence (a feature introduced in iTunes 5.0, and later discontinued in iTunes 8.0). iTunes DJ can also be biased towards selecting tracks with a higher star rating. With this bias enabled, each star rating increases the preference for that particular song about 4% over that of a one-star-less rated song.{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}} Unrated songs are the least likely to be played.{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}} Inter-star ratings (Songs assigned an additional "half star," which is visible in iTunes as a ½ symbol in the place of a star but can only be assigned by a third-party program) are stored by iTunes, but only affect this feature in the range of zero to one star. |
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====Genius==== |
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The Genius feature, introduced in iTunes 8, [[recommendation system|automatically generates]] a playlist of songs from the user's library which are similar to the selected song. Genius playlists are created by the ratings system and [[collaborative filtering]]. An [[iTunes Store]] account is required because information about the user's library must first be sent [[anonymity|anonymously]] to Apple's [[database]]. [[Algorithm]]s determine which songs to play based on other users' libraries, and Genius becomes more intelligent given a larger [[data set]]. The resulting Genius playlist can contain 25, 50, 75, or 100 songs and can be refreshed for new results or saved. The Genius Sidebar will similarly recommend selections for purchase from the iTunes Store based on the selected library track. Once Genius becomes active in iTunes, it can be used on current generations of the [[iPod Classic]], [[iPod Nano]], [[iPod Touch]] or the [[iPhone]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.apple.com/itunes/features/#genius|title=Apple - iTunes - View every feature of iTunes 8.|publisher=''Apple.com''|date=2008-02-07}}</ref> iTunes 9 added Genius Mixes, where the Genius software finds similar music and automatically puts them into mixes.<ref>{{cite web |title=Apple - iTunes - What's New" |url=http://www.apple.com/itunes/whats-new/ |accessdate=2009-09-10}}</ref> |
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===iTunes Store=== |
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{{Main|iTunes Store}} |
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[[Image:iTunes-aacp.png|right|thumb|128px|Mac OS X icon for a restricted [[Advanced Audio Coding|AAC]] file from the iTunes Store.]] |
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Version 4 of iTunes introduced the [[iTunes Store|iTunes Music Store]] (later renamed to the iTunes Store) from which iTunes users can buy and download songs for use on a limited number of computers and an unlimited number of iPods. In previous years, purchased music from the iTunes Store were copy protected with Apple's [[FairPlay]] [[digital rights management]] (DRM) system which allows protected songs to be played on up to five computers at one time, as well as unlimited devices (iPod, AppleTV, etc). DRM protected songs can not be played on computers not authorized to the purchaser's iTunes account (Although third party applications such as [[Tunebite]] have been written to get around DRM). At the 2009 [[Macworld Conference & Expo]], it was announced that the iTunes Music Store would be DRM-free, with conversion complete by April 2009.<ref>http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2009/01/07/getting-naked-with-drm-free-itunes-upgrades-the-details</ref> |
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Apple also announced that there would be changes in their price tier: songs will cost $0.69, $0.99, or $1.29. Although Apple did not elaborate on how songs will be priced, observers expect new hits to be $1.29 while older songs will be cheaper.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/01/06/macworld.keynote/index.html?iref=newssearch |title=Subdued reactions to Apple's final Macworld keynote |date=1-6-2009 |last=Griggs |first=Brandon}}</ref> |
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In the years since, [[movies]], [[Television program|television shows]], [[music videos]], [[podcasts]], applications, and [[video game]]s have been added to the extensive iTunes Store's catalog. |
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On January 6, 2009, [[Philip W. Schiller|Phil Schiller]] announced in his [[Macworld Conference & Expo|Macworld]] 2009 keynote speech that over 6 billion songs had been downloaded since the service first launched on April 28, 2003.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=MacDailyNews|title=Macworld Expo 2009 Phil Schiller keynote coverage|url=http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/19613/}}</ref> |
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At the previous Macworld Expo 2008, Apple CEO Steve Jobs stated that the service had set a new single day record of 20 million songs on December 25, 2007. He also announced that the iTunes Store will offer over 1,000 movies for rental by the end of February.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[Google]]|title=Apple to launch movie rentals from iTunes platform|url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jCFY6n4HQt3hMD6qUUwFf974MByQ}}</ref> The iTunes movie catalog includes content from [[20th Century Fox]], [[Warner Bros.]], [[Walt Disney Pictures]], [[Paramount Pictures]], [[Universal Studios]], and [[Sony Pictures Entertainment]]. These movies will also be transferable to all 6th generation iPods.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=MP3 Newswire|title=iTunes Video Rental Review|url=http://www.mp3newswire.net/stories/8002/itunes-rental.html}}</ref> |
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===Podcasting=== |
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[[File:Podcasting icon.jpg|thumb|The icon used by Apple to represent Podcasting.]] |
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Version 4.9 of iTunes, released on June 28, 2005, added built-in support for podcasting. It allows users to subscribe to [[podcast]]s for free in the iTunes Music Store or by entering the [[RSS]] feed [[Uniform Resource Locator|URL]]. Once subscribed, the podcast can be set to download automatically. Users can choose to update podcasts weekly, daily, hourly, or manually. |
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Users can select podcasts to listen to from the Podcast Directory, to which anyone can submit their podcast for placement. The front page of the directory displays high-profile podcasts from commercial broadcasters and independent podcasters. It also allows users to browse the podcasts by category or popularity, and to submit new podcasts to the directory. |
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The addition of podcasting functionality to such a widespread audio application like iTunes greatly helped podcasting enter the mainstream.<ref>{{cite web|title=The iTunes Effect|url=http://www.hawaiiup.com/2005/07/01/the-itunes-effect/|date=2005-07-01|publisher=HawaiiUP.com|accessdate=2006-07-04}}</ref> Within days after iTunes 4.9 was released, podcasters were reporting that the number of downloads of their audio files had tripled, sometimes even quadrupled.<ref>{{cite web|title=Podcasts Get Lift From 'iTunes Effect'|url=http://www.redorbit.com/news/display/?id=168564&source=r_technology|publisher=Saint Paul Pioneer Press|date=2005-07-08|accessdate=2006-07-04}}</ref> |
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====Receiving and using podcasts==== |
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Software, often referred to as a "podcatching client," is required to make full use of podcasts' syndication features. Apple's iTunes player is considered the dominant podcatching client, but alternatives exist. |
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Podcast listeners can listen in one of two ways: through a hardware device like an [[MP3 player]], or simply on their computer using media player software. |
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====Managing podcasts on an iPod==== |
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iTunes offers the ability to create "Smart Playlists" that can be used to control which podcasts are in the playlist, using multiple criteria such as date, number of times listened to, type, etc.<ref name="apple.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.apple.com/itunes/features/|title=Apple - iTunes - View every feature of iTunes 8}}</ref> It is also possible to set up iTunes so that only certain playlists will be synced with the [[iPod]]. By using a combination of the two techniques, it is possible to control exactly which music and/or podcasts will be transferred to the iPod. A user may configure a smart playlist to display only podcasts less than two weeks old or removing any podcast that the iPod user has already listened to. This smart playlist is synced with the iPod every time the iPod is plugged into the PC, ensuring that the user does not have to listen to the same show more than once. Once a podcast has been listened to, it will be removed from this list as soon as the iPod is synced with the PC. There are many criteria which can control what goes in a smart playlist, such as "name," "artist," "category," "grouping," "kind," "last played," "play count," "rating," "last skipped," and "playlist" and these can be combined with functions such as "equals," "is greater than," "is less than," "contains," "is true," "is false," "is," "is not," "does not contain," "starts with," "ends with," "is in the range," "is before," and "is after." As a result, it is possible to control exactly which podcasts are transferred to the iPod. |
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====Video podcasting==== |
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Version 6 of iTunes introduced official support for [[video podcast]]ing (also known as a vodcast), although video and [[RSS]] support was already unofficially there in version 4.9.<ref name="Vodcast.nl">{{cite web|url=http://www.vodcast.nl/howto.html|first=Stef|date=7-1-2005|title=Vodcast.nl}}</ref> Users can subscribe to RSS feeds through the iTunes Store or by entering the feed [[Uniform Resource Locator|URL]]. Video podcasts can contain downloadable video files (in [[QuickTime|MOV]], [[MPEG-4 Part 14|MP4]], [[MPEG-4 Part 14|M4V]], or [[MPEG-1|MPG]] format), but also streaming sources and even [[IPTV]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.macworld.com/article/47484/2005/10/itunesfaq.html|title=iTunes 6: What You Need To Know|date=2005-10-17|last=Snell|first=Jason}}</ref> Downloadable files can be synchronized to a video-capable iPod and both downloadable files and streams can be shown in [[Front Row (software)|Front Row]].<ref name="Vodcast.nl"/> |
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===Synchronizing iPod and other players=== |
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iTunes 2 was the first version of the software to be able to sync with an iPod. iTunes can automatically [[Synchronization|synchronize]] its music and video library with an iPod or iPhone every time it is connected. New songs and playlists are automatically copied to the iPod, and songs and playlists that have been deleted from the library on the computer are also deleted from the iPod. Ratings awarded to songs on the iPod will sync back to the iTunes library and [[audiobook]]s will remember the current playback position. |
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Automatic synchronization can be turned off in favor of manually copying individual songs or complete playlists. iTunes supports copying music to the iPod; however, only music and videos purchased from the iTunes store can be transferred from the iPod back to iTunes. This functionality was added after third-party software was written which allowed users to copy all content back to their computer. It is also possible to copy from the iPod using ordinary [[Unix]] command line tools, or by enabling hidden file viewing in [[Windows Explorer]], then copying music from the iPod drive to a local disk for backup. Doing this can be confusing because the files are arranged in such a way that their folders and (depending on iPod and iTunes versions) file names are seemingly picked at random as they are put on the iPod. It is worth noting, however, that the files (along with their embedded title and artist information) remain unchanged. It is therefore less confusing to let iTunes reimport, reorganize, and rename all of the files after they are backed up. When music or video purchased through the iTunes Store is copied from an iPod, it will only play on computers that are authorized with the account that was used to purchase them. Several third party utilities can remove this limitation by stripping iTunes [[Digital rights management|DRM]] from protected files. The legality of using such software in the United States is currently the subject of active debate.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080219-doubletwist-makes-drm-stripping-sharing-easy-as-pie.html |title=doubleTwist makes DRM-stripping, sharing easy as pie |publisher=Arstechnica.com |date= |accessdate=2008-10-02}}</ref> |
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When an iPod is connected that does not contain enough free space to sync the entire iTunes music library, a playlist will be created and given a name matching that of the connected iPod. This playlist can then be modified to the user's preference in song selection to fill the available space. |
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The Mac OS X version of iTunes can also synchronize with a small number of discontinued [[Digital audio player|digital music player]]s,<ref>{{cite web|title=iTunes for Mac OS X: Compatible Players|publisher=[[Apple Inc.]]|url=http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93548|accessdate=2006-02-13}}</ref> while the Windows version will support only the iPod.<ref>{{cite web|title=MP3 player compatibility with iTunes for Windows|publisher=[[Apple Inc.]]|url=http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93377| accessdate=2006-02-13}}</ref> The synchronization is limited, however, in that the iPod is the only digital music player compatible with Apple's proprietary [[FairPlay]] digital rights management technology, and thus most music purchased through the iTunes Store (before the introduction of iTunes Plus) can only be played on an iPod. The remaining ability to synchronize with a limited number of legacy digital music players is likely a remnant of Apple's timeline the music industry: iTunes was released in January 2001, nine months prior to the iPod's unveiling and slightly more than two years before the introduction of the iTunes Music Store. When iTunes was released, compatibility with other music players was critical; because iPod has become the dominant digital music player, Apple no longer considers that compatibility to be a necessity. |
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In June 2009 [[Palm Inc]] released the [[Palm Pre]] which has the ability to sync with both the Windows and Mac OS X version of iTunes by identifying itself to iTunes as an iPod. The Pre is able to sync only DRM-free music<ref>{{cite web|title=Palm Pre Phone - Features, Details, Reviews : Palm USA|publisher=[[Palm Inc.]]|url=http://www.palm.com/us/products/phones/pre/index.html| accessdate=2009-06-08}}</ref>. However, on July 14, 2009, Apple released iTunes version 8.2.1 which prevented the Palm Pre from syncing directly with iTunes. Then on July 23, 2009 [[Palm Inc]] released [[WebOS]] 1.1 which re-enabled syncing between iTunes 8.2.1 and the [[Palm Pre]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Palm Support : Palm Pre Sprint - Software update information for Palm Pre Sprint p100eww|publisher=[[Palm]]|url=http://kb.palm.com/wps/portal/kb/na/pre/p100eww/sprint/solutions/article/50607_en.html}}</ref>. But Apple again prevented Palm Pre syncing with the release of iTunes 9.<ref>{{cite web|title=Palm Pre Syncing Borked by iTunes 9|publisher=[[Gizmodo]]|url=http://gizmodo.com/5355787/news-flash-palm-pre-syncing-borked-by-itunes-9| accessdate=2009-10-09}}</ref> |
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A number of unsupported third-party programs have been created to help a user of iTunes to synchronize songs with any music player that can be mounted as an external drive. Though iTunes is the only official method for synchronizing with the iPod, there are other programs available that allow the iPod to sync with other software players. |
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As of iTunes 7, purchased music can be copied from the iPod onto the computer. The computer must be authorized by that iTunes account. iTunes currently allows up to 5 computers to be authorized on one account. It does not allow you to transfer imported music files between computers. This may be necessary to back songs up, transfer songs to a new computer, or restore music after a disk failure using an iPod as the backup source. A number of shareware or freeware [[Comparison of iPod managers|applications]] exist that complement iTunes. |
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iTunes-managed content can also be accessed via the [[Apple TV]] set-top box. Files in the iTunes library can either be synchronized with the Apple TV unit, which results in their being copied to the Apple TV's hard drive, or [[Streaming media|streamed]] to the Apple TV directly from a Macintosh or PC. Apple TV does not require the use of iTunes (as of the 'Take Two' software update); it can now import files from the [[iTunes Store]] directly over the internet.<ref>{{cite web|title=Import, Sync, or Stream Your Content to Apple TV|publisher=[[Apple Inc.]]|url=http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=305098| accessdate=2008-01-30}}</ref> |
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===Integration with other applications=== |
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{{Unreferenced section|date=July 2008}} |
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<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:IPhone iTunes Remote.PNG|right|thumb|iTunes Remote, showing the "Now Playing" screen.]] --><!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:ITunes widget.png|thumb|iTunes [[Dashboard (software)|Dashboard]] [[widget (computing)#Desktop widgets|Widget]]]] -->In Mac OS X, iTunes is tightly integrated with Apple's [[iWork]] and [[iLife]] suites. These applications can access the iTunes Library directly, allowing access to the playlists and songs stored within (including encrypted music purchased from the iTunes Store). Music files from iTunes can be embedded directly into [[Pages]] documents and can supply the score for [[iDVD]], [[iMovie]], and [[Keynote (presentation software)|Keynote]] productions. iTunes is also integrated with [[Front Row (software)|Front Row]] (Front Row compiles its information from the user's iTunes and [[iPhoto]] libraries). In addition, any song exported from [[GarageBand]], Apple's basic music-making program, is automatically added to the user's iTunes music library. iTunes's Artwork.saver is a screen saver included in [[Mac OS X v10.4]] that displays album artwork as a screen saver. iTunes widget is a [[Dashboard (software)|Dashboard]] [[GUI widget|Widget]] that controls iTunes. |
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Moreover, iTunes can be scripted, using [[AppleScript]] for Mac OS X or using the Apple-provided SDK for iTunes on Windows allowing many other applications to integrate themselves into iTunes. A common use is to relay the title and artist of what the user is currently listening to into their [[Instant messaging & messengers|instant messenger]] (such as [[iChat]] or [[Microsoft Messenger]]), or [[Social network service|social networking service]] (such as [[Facebook]] or [[MySpace]]). |
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[[Apple Inc.]] also offers a free i[[Phone]] / [[iPod Touch]] application called Remote that allows the user to remotely control their iTunes library or [[Apple TV]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.macworld.com/article/134392/2008/07/iphone_remote.html|title=Remote lets you control iTunes from iPhone, iPod touch|first=Dan|last=Moren|publisher=Macworld.com}}</ref>. This can be downloaded from iTunes itself or directly from one's iPhone / iPod Touch. It is only compatible with iPhone OS v2.0 and above (current version is 3.1). In terms of usage it is very similar (to the extent of almost being identical) to the [[iPod]] application that is included with all iPhones, the only difference is the lack of [[CoverFlow]] support. |
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Though iTunes itself can be installed where the user desires, ancillary applications such as Bonjour which are part of the iTunes installation can not be placed in a user-desired directory.{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}} |
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===iPhone activation=== |
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Beginning with the introduction of the original iPhone, users can use iTunes to activate their phone through their [[List of mobile network operators|mobile carrier]]. The original plan for the iPhone 3G was to have the carrier authenticate it at the point of sale, either through iTunes or through the carrier's own activation interface.<ref name=attemail>{{cite web|url=http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2008/06/09/iphone-3g-the-details-you-never-wanted-to-know/|work=Boy Genius|title=iPhone 3G: the details you never wanted to know|date=2008-06-09}}</ref> However, a worldwide crash of iTunes' authentication servers on July 11, 2008, the day that the iPhone 3G was released, caused major issues. In some cases, AT&T and Apple Store employees told iPhone buyers to attempt to activate it at home.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.betanews.com/article/iTunes_activation_outages_are_rendering_new_and_old_iPhones_problematic/1215791311|work=BetaNews|title=iTunes activation outages are rendering new and old iPhones problematic|date=2008-07-11}}</ref> Also affected were original iPhone users attempting to upgrade to the 2.0 firmware.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tuaw.com/2008/07/11/itunes-activation-server-pining-for-the-fjords/|work=The Unofficial Apple Weblog|title=iTunes activation server pining for the fjords|date=2008-07-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://gizmodo.com/5024187/apple-and-att-stores-having-difficulty-activating-iphones-update-its-the-ipocalypse|work=Gizmodo|title=Apple and AT&T Stores Having Difficulty Activating iPhones (UPDATE: It's the iPocalypse)|date=2008-07-11}}</ref> [[UK]] Apple, [[Telefónica Europe|O2]] and Carphone Warehouse stores were further impacted, as carrier O2's contract processing servers (known as Gateway) could not handle the amount of new contracts and upgrades happening on launch day. Some stores reverted to hand written contracts, while others held stock. With the launch of the [[iPhone 3G|iPhone 3GS]] on June 19, 2009, iTunes at home activation was available for people purchasing their iPhone from [[AT&T]] and [[Apple Inc.|Apple]]. This allowed them to activate their new [[iPhone 3G|iPhone 3GS]] at home when they arrived.<ref>http://www.att.com/Common/merger/files/pdf/iPhone/Customers_FAQs.pdf</ref> |
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===Printing=== |
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To compensate for the lack of a physical CD, iTunes can print custom-made [[Optical disc packaging|jewel case]] inserts as well as song lists and album lists. |
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After burning a CD from a playlist, one can select that playlist and bring up a dialog box with several print options. The user can choose to print either a single album cover (for purchased iTunes albums) or a compilation cover (for user-created playlists). iTunes then automatically sets up a template with art on one side and track titles on the other. |
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===iMix=== |
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An iMix is a user-created playlist published in the [[iTunes Store]]. iMixes were first introduced in iTunes version 4.5.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.methodshop.com/gadgets/humor/rejectedimix/index.shtml|title=Apple Rejects The First "Dirty" iMix|first=J.|last=Love|publisher=methodshop.com|date=2004-05-01}}</ref> Anyone can create an iMix free of charge. iMixes are limited to 100 songs and must feature content available on the iTunes Store. iMixes are public and searchable by any iTunes user. Users may also rate any iMix using a five-star system. iMixes are active for one year from their original published date. Users can publish their iTunes iMix to their [[blog]], profile page or website such as [[Yahoo! 360°]], [[Facebook]], or [[MySpace]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.apple.com/itunes/whatson/music.html|title=Apple - iTunes - What's on iTunes? - Music}}</ref> |
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===Internet radio=== |
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iTunes 1.0 came with support for the [[Kerbango]] [[Internet radio]] tuner service, giving iTunes users a selection of some of the more popular online [[Streaming media|radio streams]] available.<ref>{{cite web|last=Munger|first=Michael|title=iTunes, Part 1|date=2001-04-04|url=http://www.lowendmac.com/ibasics/010404.html|accessdate=2006-07-02}}</ref> When Kerbango went out of business in 2001, Apple created its own Internet radio service for use with iTunes 2.0 and later.<ref>{{cite web|last=Alvear|first=José|title=3Com Drops Kerbango|date=2001-03-23|url=http://www.streamingmedia.com/article.asp?id=6991|accessdate=2006-07-02}}</ref> As of February 2008, the iTunes radio service features 1795 "radio stations," mostly in MP3 streaming format. Programming covers many genres of music and talk, including streams from both internet-only sources and traditional radio stations. iTunes also supports the .pls and .m3u stream file formats used by [[Winamp]] and other media players, enabling iTunes to access almost{{vague}} any stream using that format. |
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Since the release of iTunes 7, Apple no longer promotes the Internet radio feature, though it remains in the program. Some third-parties offer iTunes plugins that add additional radio stations. |
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In addition, users are able to enter additional stream feeds to listen to in their own music libraries. This is done by selecting the menu item "Advanced" > "Open Audio Stream..." or by the [[hotkey]] Ctrl-U (PC) or Command-U (Mac).<ref name="apple.com"/> |
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===Plugins=== |
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<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:ITunes Viz.jpg|thumb|iTunes visualizers: the default Apple visualiser is in the top left, [[Light-emitting diode|LED]] Spectrum Analyzer on the right, and Gaslight in the bottom left.]] --> |
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iTunes supports visualizer plugins and device plugins. Visualizer plugins allow developers to create music-driven visual displays. The visualizer plug-in software development kits for Mac and Windows can be downloaded for free from Apple.<ref>{{cite web|title=Development Kits|work=[[Apple Developer Connection]]|publisher=[[Apple Inc.]]|url=http://developer.apple.com/sdk/|accessdate=2006-01-12}}</ref> Device plugins allow support for additional music player devices, but Apple will only license the [[Application programming interface|API]]s to authentic [[original equipment manufacturer|OEM]]s who sign a [[non-disclosure agreement]]. |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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* [[List of audio conversion software|Audio conversion software, List]] |
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*[[List of media players]] |
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*[[Comparison of |
* [[Comparison of iPod managers|iPod managers, comparison]] |
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*[[ |
* [[iTunes version history]] |
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*[[ |
* [[Comparison of media players|Media players, comparison]] |
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* [[Feed aggregator]]s: |
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*[[Windows Media Services]] |
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** [[Comparison of feed aggregators|Feed aggregators, comparison]] |
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** [[List of feed aggregators|Feed aggregators, List]] |
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* [[Music visualization]] |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{ |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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* |
*[http://www.apple.com/itunes/ iTunes product page at Apple.com] |
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*[http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/ iTunes support at Apple.com] |
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* [http://www.vnunet.com/news/1140128 Microsoft ports Windows Media to Linux] (10 April 2003, vnunet.com) |
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|title=iTunes navigation boxes |
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* [http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/mp10/errors.aspx Error Messages in Windows Media Player 10] |
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|list1= |
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* [http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/9series/playererrors.aspx Error Messages in Windows Media Player 9] |
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{{iLife}} |
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* [http://support.microsoft.com/kb/899113 List of default codecs in Windows XP SP2 and WMP 9 and 10] |
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{{Apple software on Windows}} |
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* [http://windows-media-player.for-mac.com Windows Media Player for Mac] |
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{{Apple software}} |
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* [http://software-history.org/?p=3 History of Windows Media Player] |
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Revision as of 16:01, 24 October 2009
iTunes Icon | |
File:ITunes9Mac.png iTunes 9.0 on Mac OS X 10.6 | |
Developer(s) | Apple Inc. |
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Stable release | 9.0.1
/ September 22, 2009 |
Operating system | Mac OS X v10.4.10 or later; Windows XP Service Pack 2 or later; Windows Vista (32 or 64-bit);[1] Windows 7 not compatible |
Type | Media player |
License | Proprietary |
Website | www.apple.com/itunes/ |
iTunes is a proprietary digital media player application, used for playing and organizing digital music and video files. The program is also an interface to manage the contents on Apple's popular iPod digital media players as well as the iPhone. Additionally, iTunes can connect to the iTunes Store via the Internet to purchase and download music, music videos, television shows, applications, iPod games, audiobooks, podcasts, feature length films and movie rentals (not available in all countries), and ringtones (available only in the USA). It is also used to download applications for the iPhone and iPod touch running iPhone OS 2.0 or later.[2]
iTunes was introduced by Apple Inc. on January 9, 2001,[3] at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco.[4] The latest version, iTunes 9, was announced at Apple's September 2009 keynote "Rock and Roll".
iTunes is available as a free download for Mac OS X, Windows Vista, and Windows XP from Apple's website. It is also bundled with all Macs, and some HP and Dell computers. Older versions are available for Mac OS 9, OS X 10.0-10.3, and Windows 2000.
History
SoundJam MP, developed by Jeff Robbin and Bill Kincaid and released by Casady & Greene in 1999,[5] became the basis for iTunes when Apple purchased it in 2000. Apple added a new user interface and the ability to burn CDs, and removed its recording feature and skin support, and released it as iTunes in January 2001.[6] Originally a Mac OS 9-only application, iTunes began to support Mac OS X when version 2.0 was released nine months later, which also added support for the original iPod.[7] Version 3 dropped Mac OS 9 support but added smart playlists and a ratings system.[8] In April 2003, version 4.0 introduced the iTunes Store; in October, version 4.1 added support for Microsoft Windows 2000 and XP.[9] Version 7.0 introduced gapless playback and Cover Flow in September 2006.[10] In March 2007, iTunes 7.1 added support for Windows Vista,[11] and 7.4 marked the end of Windows 2000 support. iTunes lacked support for 64-bit versions of Windows until the 7.6 update on January 16, 2008. iTunes is currently supported under any 64-bit version of Windows Vista, although the iTunes executable is still 32-bit. The 64-bit versions of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 are not supported by Apple, but a workaround has been devised for both operating systems.[12] Version 8.0 added Genius playlists, grid view, and a new default visualizer.[13] iTunes 9, the latest version, adds "Home Share" enabling automatic updating of purchased items across other computers on the same subnet and offers a new iTunes Store UI. The redesigned store has (as of end September 2009) a number of changes which can make browsing and selecting items much more difficult than in previous versions, because song information is excessively truncated with no way for the user to resize or add to the columns displayed, or to use the keyboard to quickly preview an album track-by-track. Genius Mixes were added and improved App synchronisation abilities. It also adds iTunes LPs to the store, which gives additional media with an album. Apple added iTunes Extras as well to the store, which adds content usually reserved for films on DVD and Blu-ray discs.[14] Both iTunes LPs and Extras use web-standards HTML, JavaScript and CSS.[15] A number of cosmetic changes e.g. to button appearance and equalizer sliders (which changed from useful pointers to round markers) were made.
A version of iTunes was shipped with cell phones from Motorola, which included the ability to sync music from an iTunes library to the cellphone, as well as a similar interface between both platforms. Since the release of the iPhone, Apple has stopped distributing iTunes with other manufacturers' phones in order to concentrate sales to Apple's device. In the absence of support from Apple, Nokia has released a Mac application called Nokia Multimedia Transfer that supports transferring data from iTunes and iPhoto onto some Nokia devices[16].
Features
iTunes is an application that allows the user to manage audio and video on a personal computer, acting as a front end for Apple's QuickTime media player. Officially, using iTunes is required in order to manage the audio of an Apple iPod portable audio player, although alternative software does exist. Users can organize their music into playlists within one or more libraries, edit file information, record Compact Discs, copy files to a digital audio player, purchase music and videos through its built-in music store, download free podcasts, back up songs onto a CD or DVD, run a visualizer to display graphical effects in time to the music, and encode music into a number of different audio formats. There is also a large selection of free internet radio stations to listen to.
Additionally, users can add PDF files to their library (to add digital liner notes to their albums, for example), but the PDFs cannot be transferred to or read on an iPhone or iPod.[17] However, iPhone/iPod Touch apps exist to sync any type of file to and from the device to an "iDisk" using Apple's MobileMe service.
In iTunes 8.0, the preferences menu was given a complete makeover. The result added very few new options, but instead removed several options. For example, iTunes once gave users the option to display arrows beside the selected song's title, artist, album, and genre that link directly to the iTunes Store. Now these arrows are not removable, except through the direct editing of a preferences file.[18]
Media management
iTunes keeps track of songs by creating a virtual library, allowing users to access and edit a song's attributes. These attributes, known as metadata, are stored in two separate library files.
The first is a binary file called iTunes Library and it uses a proprietary file format ("ITL"). It caches information like artist and genre from the audio format's tag capabilities (the ID3 tag, for example) and stores iTunes-specific information like play count and rating. iTunes typically reads library data only from this file.
The second file, iTunes Music Library.xml, is refreshed whenever information in iTunes is changed. It uses an XML format, allowing developers to easily write applications that can access the library information (including play count, last played date, and rating, which are not standard fields in the ID3v2.3 format). Apple's own iDVD, iMovie, and iPhoto applications all access the library.
If the first file is corrupted, iTunes will attempt to reconstruct it from the XML file. Detailed third-party instructions regarding this are documented elsewhere.[19] There have been some concerns, voiced by Mark Pilgrim, that this feature will create an "undocumented binary blackhole" because the recovery from the XML file may not work.[20]
It has also been noted that iTunes does not automatically track changes to actual files in the library. If a file is moved or deleted, iTunes will display an exclamation mark beside the library entry and the user will need to manually amend the library record. There have been a number of third party tools created to address this problem.[21]
iTunes supports ripping from CDs, but not from DVDs. However, in 2008, Apple and select movie studios introduced "iTunes Digital Copy," a bonus feature on some DVDs that provides a copy-protected, iTunes-compatible file for select films.[22] As with any digital music management, users must use an analog-to-digital converter to import analog recordings (such as audio cassettes or vinyl records) to their iTunes libraries.
Library views
iTunes users may choose to view their music and video libraries in one of four ways: as a list, as a list with accompanying album artwork (with songs clearly grouped by album), in Cover Flow (a side-scrolling catalog of album artwork), or in Grid View.
The standard list view displays library files with many optional detail fields, including name, artist, album, genre, user rating, play count, and so forth. Item backgrounds alternate between white and a light blue-gray for readability.
The list with accompanying album artwork is much the same, only the list is broken up by albums, with the artwork as a header to the list. Although this allows users to browse content more visually, sorting the list view by name will accordingly break up the library into redundant instances of each album. Accordingly, as with Cover Flow view, the second view mode is most appropriate for users who sort their libraries by album.
Cover Flow displays all of the user's album art as CD covers in a slideshow format. It sorts the albums into artist, genre, etc. Compilation albums are only shown as a single album cover if the compilation tag for each of the album's tracks is turned on. If the song(s) from the album were imported from a 'mix' CD, the album artwork will be displayed as a default music note pictures. Cover flow was first introduced in version 7.0.
Grid View is similar to Cover Flow, displaying the user's cover art in a grid rather than a side-scrolling format. Albums can also be sorted into groups by artist, genre, or composer.
iTunes also sorts with secondary parameters, album by artist and album by year, to make its artwork-centered interfaces more intuitive.
Library sharing
A user's iTunes Library can be shared over a local network using the closed, proprietary Digital Audio Access Protocol (DAAP), created by Apple for this purpose. DAAP relies on the Bonjour network service discovery framework, Apple's implementation of the Zeroconf open network standard. Apple has not made the DAAP specification available to the general public, only to third-party licensees such as Roku. However, the protocol has been reverse-engineered and is now used to stream playlists from non-Apple software (mainly on the Linux platform).[23] DAAP allows shared lists of songs within the same subnet to be automatically detected. When a song is shared, iTunes can stream the song but won't save it on the local hard drive, in order to prevent unauthorized copying. Songs in Protected AAC format can also be accessed, but authentication is required. A maximum of five users may connect to a single user every 24 hours. The multiple, alternate "View" options normally available to iTunes users including "Cover Flow" are disabled when viewing a shared library over a network.
Library sharing was first introduced with iTunes 4.0, where users could freely access shared music anywhere over the Internet, in addition to one's own subnet, by specifying IP addresses of remote shared song libraries. Apple quickly removed this feature with version 4.0.1, claiming that users were violating the End User License Agreement.
With the release of iTunes 7.0, Apple changed their implementation of DAAP. This change prevents any third-party client, such as a computer running Linux, a modified Xbox, or any computer without iTunes installed, from connecting to a remote iTunes repository. iTunes will still connect as a client to other iTunes servers and to third-party servers.[24]
File format support
iTunes 9 can currently read, write and convert between MP3, AIFF, WAV, MPEG-4, AAC and Apple Lossless.
iTunes can also play any audio files that QuickTime can play (as well as some video formats), including Protected AAC files from the iTunes Store and Audible.com audio books. There is limited support for Vorbis and FLAC enclosed in an Ogg container (files using the Ogg container format are not naturally supported) or Speex codecs with the Xiph QuickTime Components. Because tag editing and album art is done within iTunes and not Quicktime, these features will not work with these QuickTime components. iTunes currently will not play back HE-AAC/aacPlus audio streams correctly. HE-AAC/aacPlus format files will play back as 22 kHz AAC files (effectively having no high end over 11 kHz), and HE-AAC streaming audio (which a number of Internet radio stations use) will not play back at all. The latest version of iTunes (Win/Mac) supports importing audio CDs with the default iTunes standard file format of AAC at 256 kbit/s, but users can choose from 16 kbit/s to 320 kbit/s constant bit rates (CBR) in either AAC or MP3.
Importing of audio CDs into MP3 or AAC formats can also be accomplished using variable bitrate (VBR) encoding. However, a double-blind experiment conducted in January 2004 of six MP3 encoders noted that the iTunes encoder came last, in that the quality of the files produced by iTunes was below par. It was stated in the final results that these tests only covered VBR encodings, thus iTunes may have performed better with a Constant bitrate (CBR).[25]
The Windows version of iTunes can automatically transcode DRM-free WMA (including version 9) files to other audio formats, but does not support playback of WMA files and will not transcode DRM protected WMA files. Telestream, Inc. provides free codecs for Mac users of QuickTime to enable playback of unprotected Windows Media files. These codecs are recommended by Microsoft.[26]
File metadata
For MP3 files, iTunes writes tags in ID3v2.2 using UCS-2 encoding by default, but converting them to ID3v2.3 (UCS-2 encoding) and ID3v2.4 (which uses UTF-8 encoding) is possible via its "Advanced" > "Convert ID3 Tags" toolbar menu. If both ID3v2.x and ID3v1.x tags are in a file, iTunes ignores the ID3v1.x tags.[27]
AAC and Apple Lossless files support Unicode metadata, stored in the MP4 container as so-called "Atoms". The QuickTime plugin that supports the OGG container format has no support for tag editing or album art.[27]
iTunes uses the Gracenote interactive audio CD database to provide track name listings for audio CDs. The service can be set to activate when a CD is inserted into the computer and an Internet connection is available. Track names for albums imported to iTunes while not connected to the Internet can be obtained during a later connection, by a manual procedure. For any album loaded into iTunes for which there is not an existing Gracenote track listing, the user can choose to submit track name data to Gracenote.[28]
Sound processing
iTunes includes sound processing features, such as equalization, "sound enhancement" ("sound improvement" in some languages) and crossfade. There is also a feature called "Sound Check" which automatically adjusts the playback volume of all songs in the library to the same level; this is usually called volume leveling or volume normalization. Like "sound enhancement", this can be turned on in the 'Playback' section of iTunes' preferences.
Video support
On May 9, 2005, video support was introduced to iTunes with the release of iTunes 4.8. Users can drag and drop movie clips from the computer into the iTunes Library for cataloguing and organization. They can be viewed in a small frame in the main iTunes display, in a separate window, or fullscreen. Before version 7 provided separate libraries for media types, videos were only distinguished from audio in the Library by a small icon resembling a TV screen and grouped with music in the library, organized by the same musical categories (such as "album" and "composer").
On October 12, 2005, Apple introduced iTunes 6.0, which added support for purchasing and viewing of video content from the iTunes Music Store. The iTunes Music Store initially offered a selection of thousands of Music Videos and five TV shows, including most notably the ABC network's Lost and Desperate Housewives. Disney Channel shows (The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and That's So Raven) were also offered 24 hours after airing, as well as episode packs from past seasons. Since then, the collection has expanded to include content from numerous television networks. The iTunes Music Store also gives the ability to view Apple's large collection of movie trailers.
As of September 5, 2006, the iTunes Store offers over 550 television shows for download. Additionally, a catalog of 75 feature-length movies from Disney-owned studios was introduced. As of April 11, 2007, over 500 feature-length movies are available through iTunes.[29]
Originally, movies and TV shows were only available to U.S. customers, with the only video content available to non-U.S. customers being music videos and Pixar's short films. This feature is being extended to other countries as licensing issues are resolved.
Video content available from the store used to be encoded as 540 kbit/s Protected MPEG-4 video (H.264) with an approximately 128 kbit/s AAC audio track. Many videos and video podcasts currently require the latest version of QuickTime, QuickTime 7, which is incompatible with older versions of Mac OS (only v10.3.9 and later are supported). On September 12, 2006, the resolution of video content sold on the iTunes Store was increased from 320x240 (QVGA) to 640x480 (VGA). The higher resolution video content is encoded as 1.5 Mbit/s (minimum) Protected MPEG-4 video (H.264) with a minimum 128 kbit/s AAC audio track.
Playlists
In addition to static playlist support, version 3 of iTunes introduced support for smart playlists.[30] Smart playlists are playlists that can be set to automatically filter the library based on a customized list of selection criteria, much like a database query. Multiple criteria can be entered to manage the smart playlist.[31]
Any user of iTunes can publish a playlist to the iTunes Store with his or her own preferences, which is called an iMix.
Introduced in iTunes 4.5[32], the "Party Shuffle" playlist was intended as a simple DJing aid.[33] By default, it selects tracks randomly from other playlists or the library, but users can override the automatic selections by deleting tracks (iTunes will choose new ones to replace them) or by adding their own via drag-and-drop or contextual menu. This allows a mixture of both preselected and random tracks in the same meta-playlist. The playlist from which Party Shuffle drew could be changed on the fly by the computer user, but doing so will cause all randomly chosen tracks to disappear and be replaced.
Party Shuffle was renamed iTunes DJ in iTunes 8. When iTunes was updated to 8.1 quite a few features were added to iTunes DJ. The free Apple Remote application for the iPhone and iPod Touch was also update at this time that added a new iTunes DJ option in the settings screen when the user is connected to a Wi-Fi network and a new song request feature is enabled in iTunes DJ on the hosts. Along with the song request feature voting on songs in the queue was added, the more votes a song gets the high in the queue it will be and sooner it will be played. Song voting can only be done when song requesting is enabled and in two ways: the first by right clicking on a song in the iTunes DJ queue on the hosts computer in iTunes, the second is in the Remote application ether connected with the iTunes DJ option by a guest or by the host in the full playlist section. When song requesting is enabled a customizable welcome message is displayed below the host's shared library name in the button used to connect to iTunes DJ.[34]
Playlists can be played randomly or sequentially. The randomness of the shuffle algorithm can be biased for or against playing multiple tracks from the same album or artists in sequence (a feature introduced in iTunes 5.0, and later discontinued in iTunes 8.0). iTunes DJ can also be biased towards selecting tracks with a higher star rating. With this bias enabled, each star rating increases the preference for that particular song about 4% over that of a one-star-less rated song.[citation needed] Unrated songs are the least likely to be played.[citation needed] Inter-star ratings (Songs assigned an additional "half star," which is visible in iTunes as a ½ symbol in the place of a star but can only be assigned by a third-party program) are stored by iTunes, but only affect this feature in the range of zero to one star.
Genius
The Genius feature, introduced in iTunes 8, automatically generates a playlist of songs from the user's library which are similar to the selected song. Genius playlists are created by the ratings system and collaborative filtering. An iTunes Store account is required because information about the user's library must first be sent anonymously to Apple's database. Algorithms determine which songs to play based on other users' libraries, and Genius becomes more intelligent given a larger data set. The resulting Genius playlist can contain 25, 50, 75, or 100 songs and can be refreshed for new results or saved. The Genius Sidebar will similarly recommend selections for purchase from the iTunes Store based on the selected library track. Once Genius becomes active in iTunes, it can be used on current generations of the iPod Classic, iPod Nano, iPod Touch or the iPhone.[35] iTunes 9 added Genius Mixes, where the Genius software finds similar music and automatically puts them into mixes.[36]
iTunes Store
Version 4 of iTunes introduced the iTunes Music Store (later renamed to the iTunes Store) from which iTunes users can buy and download songs for use on a limited number of computers and an unlimited number of iPods. In previous years, purchased music from the iTunes Store were copy protected with Apple's FairPlay digital rights management (DRM) system which allows protected songs to be played on up to five computers at one time, as well as unlimited devices (iPod, AppleTV, etc). DRM protected songs can not be played on computers not authorized to the purchaser's iTunes account (Although third party applications such as Tunebite have been written to get around DRM). At the 2009 Macworld Conference & Expo, it was announced that the iTunes Music Store would be DRM-free, with conversion complete by April 2009.[37]
Apple also announced that there would be changes in their price tier: songs will cost $0.69, $0.99, or $1.29. Although Apple did not elaborate on how songs will be priced, observers expect new hits to be $1.29 while older songs will be cheaper.[38]
In the years since, movies, television shows, music videos, podcasts, applications, and video games have been added to the extensive iTunes Store's catalog.
On January 6, 2009, Phil Schiller announced in his Macworld 2009 keynote speech that over 6 billion songs had been downloaded since the service first launched on April 28, 2003.[39]
At the previous Macworld Expo 2008, Apple CEO Steve Jobs stated that the service had set a new single day record of 20 million songs on December 25, 2007. He also announced that the iTunes Store will offer over 1,000 movies for rental by the end of February.[40] The iTunes movie catalog includes content from 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., Walt Disney Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios, and Sony Pictures Entertainment. These movies will also be transferable to all 6th generation iPods.[41]
Podcasting
Version 4.9 of iTunes, released on June 28, 2005, added built-in support for podcasting. It allows users to subscribe to podcasts for free in the iTunes Music Store or by entering the RSS feed URL. Once subscribed, the podcast can be set to download automatically. Users can choose to update podcasts weekly, daily, hourly, or manually.
Users can select podcasts to listen to from the Podcast Directory, to which anyone can submit their podcast for placement. The front page of the directory displays high-profile podcasts from commercial broadcasters and independent podcasters. It also allows users to browse the podcasts by category or popularity, and to submit new podcasts to the directory.
The addition of podcasting functionality to such a widespread audio application like iTunes greatly helped podcasting enter the mainstream.[42] Within days after iTunes 4.9 was released, podcasters were reporting that the number of downloads of their audio files had tripled, sometimes even quadrupled.[43]
Receiving and using podcasts
Software, often referred to as a "podcatching client," is required to make full use of podcasts' syndication features. Apple's iTunes player is considered the dominant podcatching client, but alternatives exist.
Podcast listeners can listen in one of two ways: through a hardware device like an MP3 player, or simply on their computer using media player software.
Managing podcasts on an iPod
iTunes offers the ability to create "Smart Playlists" that can be used to control which podcasts are in the playlist, using multiple criteria such as date, number of times listened to, type, etc.[44] It is also possible to set up iTunes so that only certain playlists will be synced with the iPod. By using a combination of the two techniques, it is possible to control exactly which music and/or podcasts will be transferred to the iPod. A user may configure a smart playlist to display only podcasts less than two weeks old or removing any podcast that the iPod user has already listened to. This smart playlist is synced with the iPod every time the iPod is plugged into the PC, ensuring that the user does not have to listen to the same show more than once. Once a podcast has been listened to, it will be removed from this list as soon as the iPod is synced with the PC. There are many criteria which can control what goes in a smart playlist, such as "name," "artist," "category," "grouping," "kind," "last played," "play count," "rating," "last skipped," and "playlist" and these can be combined with functions such as "equals," "is greater than," "is less than," "contains," "is true," "is false," "is," "is not," "does not contain," "starts with," "ends with," "is in the range," "is before," and "is after." As a result, it is possible to control exactly which podcasts are transferred to the iPod.
Video podcasting
Version 6 of iTunes introduced official support for video podcasting (also known as a vodcast), although video and RSS support was already unofficially there in version 4.9.[45] Users can subscribe to RSS feeds through the iTunes Store or by entering the feed URL. Video podcasts can contain downloadable video files (in MOV, MP4, M4V, or MPG format), but also streaming sources and even IPTV.[46] Downloadable files can be synchronized to a video-capable iPod and both downloadable files and streams can be shown in Front Row.[45]
Synchronizing iPod and other players
iTunes 2 was the first version of the software to be able to sync with an iPod. iTunes can automatically synchronize its music and video library with an iPod or iPhone every time it is connected. New songs and playlists are automatically copied to the iPod, and songs and playlists that have been deleted from the library on the computer are also deleted from the iPod. Ratings awarded to songs on the iPod will sync back to the iTunes library and audiobooks will remember the current playback position.
Automatic synchronization can be turned off in favor of manually copying individual songs or complete playlists. iTunes supports copying music to the iPod; however, only music and videos purchased from the iTunes store can be transferred from the iPod back to iTunes. This functionality was added after third-party software was written which allowed users to copy all content back to their computer. It is also possible to copy from the iPod using ordinary Unix command line tools, or by enabling hidden file viewing in Windows Explorer, then copying music from the iPod drive to a local disk for backup. Doing this can be confusing because the files are arranged in such a way that their folders and (depending on iPod and iTunes versions) file names are seemingly picked at random as they are put on the iPod. It is worth noting, however, that the files (along with their embedded title and artist information) remain unchanged. It is therefore less confusing to let iTunes reimport, reorganize, and rename all of the files after they are backed up. When music or video purchased through the iTunes Store is copied from an iPod, it will only play on computers that are authorized with the account that was used to purchase them. Several third party utilities can remove this limitation by stripping iTunes DRM from protected files. The legality of using such software in the United States is currently the subject of active debate.[47]
When an iPod is connected that does not contain enough free space to sync the entire iTunes music library, a playlist will be created and given a name matching that of the connected iPod. This playlist can then be modified to the user's preference in song selection to fill the available space.
The Mac OS X version of iTunes can also synchronize with a small number of discontinued digital music players,[48] while the Windows version will support only the iPod.[49] The synchronization is limited, however, in that the iPod is the only digital music player compatible with Apple's proprietary FairPlay digital rights management technology, and thus most music purchased through the iTunes Store (before the introduction of iTunes Plus) can only be played on an iPod. The remaining ability to synchronize with a limited number of legacy digital music players is likely a remnant of Apple's timeline the music industry: iTunes was released in January 2001, nine months prior to the iPod's unveiling and slightly more than two years before the introduction of the iTunes Music Store. When iTunes was released, compatibility with other music players was critical; because iPod has become the dominant digital music player, Apple no longer considers that compatibility to be a necessity.
In June 2009 Palm Inc released the Palm Pre which has the ability to sync with both the Windows and Mac OS X version of iTunes by identifying itself to iTunes as an iPod. The Pre is able to sync only DRM-free music[50]. However, on July 14, 2009, Apple released iTunes version 8.2.1 which prevented the Palm Pre from syncing directly with iTunes. Then on July 23, 2009 Palm Inc released WebOS 1.1 which re-enabled syncing between iTunes 8.2.1 and the Palm Pre[51]. But Apple again prevented Palm Pre syncing with the release of iTunes 9.[52]
A number of unsupported third-party programs have been created to help a user of iTunes to synchronize songs with any music player that can be mounted as an external drive. Though iTunes is the only official method for synchronizing with the iPod, there are other programs available that allow the iPod to sync with other software players.
As of iTunes 7, purchased music can be copied from the iPod onto the computer. The computer must be authorized by that iTunes account. iTunes currently allows up to 5 computers to be authorized on one account. It does not allow you to transfer imported music files between computers. This may be necessary to back songs up, transfer songs to a new computer, or restore music after a disk failure using an iPod as the backup source. A number of shareware or freeware applications exist that complement iTunes.
iTunes-managed content can also be accessed via the Apple TV set-top box. Files in the iTunes library can either be synchronized with the Apple TV unit, which results in their being copied to the Apple TV's hard drive, or streamed to the Apple TV directly from a Macintosh or PC. Apple TV does not require the use of iTunes (as of the 'Take Two' software update); it can now import files from the iTunes Store directly over the internet.[53]
Integration with other applications
In Mac OS X, iTunes is tightly integrated with Apple's iWork and iLife suites. These applications can access the iTunes Library directly, allowing access to the playlists and songs stored within (including encrypted music purchased from the iTunes Store). Music files from iTunes can be embedded directly into Pages documents and can supply the score for iDVD, iMovie, and Keynote productions. iTunes is also integrated with Front Row (Front Row compiles its information from the user's iTunes and iPhoto libraries). In addition, any song exported from GarageBand, Apple's basic music-making program, is automatically added to the user's iTunes music library. iTunes's Artwork.saver is a screen saver included in Mac OS X v10.4 that displays album artwork as a screen saver. iTunes widget is a Dashboard Widget that controls iTunes. Moreover, iTunes can be scripted, using AppleScript for Mac OS X or using the Apple-provided SDK for iTunes on Windows allowing many other applications to integrate themselves into iTunes. A common use is to relay the title and artist of what the user is currently listening to into their instant messenger (such as iChat or Microsoft Messenger), or social networking service (such as Facebook or MySpace).
Apple Inc. also offers a free iPhone / iPod Touch application called Remote that allows the user to remotely control their iTunes library or Apple TV[54]. This can be downloaded from iTunes itself or directly from one's iPhone / iPod Touch. It is only compatible with iPhone OS v2.0 and above (current version is 3.1). In terms of usage it is very similar (to the extent of almost being identical) to the iPod application that is included with all iPhones, the only difference is the lack of CoverFlow support.
Though iTunes itself can be installed where the user desires, ancillary applications such as Bonjour which are part of the iTunes installation can not be placed in a user-desired directory.[citation needed]
iPhone activation
Beginning with the introduction of the original iPhone, users can use iTunes to activate their phone through their mobile carrier. The original plan for the iPhone 3G was to have the carrier authenticate it at the point of sale, either through iTunes or through the carrier's own activation interface.[55] However, a worldwide crash of iTunes' authentication servers on July 11, 2008, the day that the iPhone 3G was released, caused major issues. In some cases, AT&T and Apple Store employees told iPhone buyers to attempt to activate it at home.[56] Also affected were original iPhone users attempting to upgrade to the 2.0 firmware.[57][58] UK Apple, O2 and Carphone Warehouse stores were further impacted, as carrier O2's contract processing servers (known as Gateway) could not handle the amount of new contracts and upgrades happening on launch day. Some stores reverted to hand written contracts, while others held stock. With the launch of the iPhone 3GS on June 19, 2009, iTunes at home activation was available for people purchasing their iPhone from AT&T and Apple. This allowed them to activate their new iPhone 3GS at home when they arrived.[59]
Printing
To compensate for the lack of a physical CD, iTunes can print custom-made jewel case inserts as well as song lists and album lists. After burning a CD from a playlist, one can select that playlist and bring up a dialog box with several print options. The user can choose to print either a single album cover (for purchased iTunes albums) or a compilation cover (for user-created playlists). iTunes then automatically sets up a template with art on one side and track titles on the other.
iMix
An iMix is a user-created playlist published in the iTunes Store. iMixes were first introduced in iTunes version 4.5.[60] Anyone can create an iMix free of charge. iMixes are limited to 100 songs and must feature content available on the iTunes Store. iMixes are public and searchable by any iTunes user. Users may also rate any iMix using a five-star system. iMixes are active for one year from their original published date. Users can publish their iTunes iMix to their blog, profile page or website such as Yahoo! 360°, Facebook, or MySpace.[61]
Internet radio
iTunes 1.0 came with support for the Kerbango Internet radio tuner service, giving iTunes users a selection of some of the more popular online radio streams available.[62] When Kerbango went out of business in 2001, Apple created its own Internet radio service for use with iTunes 2.0 and later.[63] As of February 2008, the iTunes radio service features 1795 "radio stations," mostly in MP3 streaming format. Programming covers many genres of music and talk, including streams from both internet-only sources and traditional radio stations. iTunes also supports the .pls and .m3u stream file formats used by Winamp and other media players, enabling iTunes to access almost[vague] any stream using that format.
Since the release of iTunes 7, Apple no longer promotes the Internet radio feature, though it remains in the program. Some third-parties offer iTunes plugins that add additional radio stations.
In addition, users are able to enter additional stream feeds to listen to in their own music libraries. This is done by selecting the menu item "Advanced" > "Open Audio Stream..." or by the hotkey Ctrl-U (PC) or Command-U (Mac).[44]
Plugins
iTunes supports visualizer plugins and device plugins. Visualizer plugins allow developers to create music-driven visual displays. The visualizer plug-in software development kits for Mac and Windows can be downloaded for free from Apple.[64] Device plugins allow support for additional music player devices, but Apple will only license the APIs to authentic OEMs who sign a non-disclosure agreement.
See also
- Audio conversion software, List
- iPod managers, comparison
- iTunes version history
- Media players, comparison
- Feed aggregators:
- Music visualization
References
- ^ "iTunes Home Page". Apple Inc.
- ^ http://www.apple.com/ipodtouch/appstore/ Retrieved July 25, 2008
- ^ "Apple Introduces iTunes — World's Best and Easiest To Use Jukebox Software" (Press release). Apple Inc. 2001-01-09. Retrieved 2008-04-20.
- ^ "Macworld Expo San Francisco 2001". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2006-06-16.
- ^ Kincaid, Bill. "The True Story of SoundJam". Panic. Retrieved 2007-01-28.
- ^ Sasser, Cabel. "The true story of Audion". Panic. Retrieved 2007-01-28.
- ^ "Apple Announces iTunes 2". Apple Inc. 2001-10-23. Retrieved 2007-01-28.
- ^ "Apple Announces iTunes 3". Apple Inc. 2002-07-17. Retrieved 2007-01-28.
- ^ "iTunes 4: What's New". Apple. June 23, 2004. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
- ^ "Apple Announces iTunes 7 with Amazing New Features". Apple. September 12, 2006. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
- ^ Fisher, Ken (2003-10-16). "iTunes and the iTunes Music Store comes to Windows". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2007-01-28.
- ^ iTunes is now 64-bit - PlanetAMD64
- ^ "Apple Announces iTunes 8". Apple. September 9, 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
- ^ ["http://www.macworld.co.uk/mac/news/index.cfm?newsid=27127" ""Apple premieres [sic] new look iTunes 9"]. 2009-09-09. Retrieved 2009-09-10.
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value (help) - ^ Nokia Multimedia Transfer
- ^ Gina Trapani. "Organize your PDF library with iTunes". Retrieved 2008-08-13.
- ^ Rob Griffiths (September 9 2008). "Disable iTunes store arrow links in iTunes 8". Mac OS X Hints. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
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(help) - ^ HOWTO: Move your iTunes music while preserving library data (when you don’t let iTunes manage your music library)
- ^ Mark Pilgrim (June 2, 2006). "http://diveintomark.org/archives/2006/06/02/when-the-bough-breaks". diveintomark.org. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
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- ^ Adam Pash. "Hack Attack: Automatically sync iTunes to any folder(s)". Hack Attack. Retrieved 2008-07-06.
- ^ "Twentieth Century Fox & Apple Introduce iTunes Digital Copy". Apple Inc. Retrieved 2008-08-14.
- ^ "Digital Audio Access Protocol". DAAP. sourceforge. Retrieved 2006-01-12.
- ^ "iTunes 7". DAAP. Snorp.net. 2006-09-12. Retrieved 2007-01-23.
- ^ Amorim, Roberto (2003). "Results of MP3 at 128 kbit/s public Listening Test". Roberto's public listening tests page. Retrieved 2006-01-12.
- ^ "Windows Media Components for QuickTime". Microsoft.
- ^ a b Creating Content for iPod + iTunes
- ^ Sending CD information to the Gracenote CDDB
- ^ "Award-Winning MGM Films Now on the iTunes Store: Most Popular Online Movie Store Offers Over 500 Movies". Apple Inc. Retrieved 2007-04-11.
- ^ Apple (July 17, 2002). "Apple Announces iTunes 3". Apple. Retrieved 2006-12-25.
- ^ "Creating Smart Playlists". Apple Inc. Retrieved 2006-07-02.
- ^ "4.5: Hits and Misses". Macworld. Retrieved 2009-03-12.
- ^ "iTunes Tutorial: Apple - iLife - Tutorials - iTunes - DJ a Party with iTunes". Apple Inc. Retrieved 2009-03-12.
- ^ "Hands On With iTunes 8.1 and Remote App". Wired.com. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
- ^ "Apple - iTunes - View every feature of iTunes 8". Apple.com. 2008-02-07.
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(help) - ^ "Apple - iTunes - What's New"". Retrieved 2009-09-10.
- ^ http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2009/01/07/getting-naked-with-drm-free-itunes-upgrades-the-details
- ^ Griggs, Brandon (1-6-2009). "Subdued reactions to Apple's final Macworld keynote".
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(help) - ^ "Macworld Expo 2009 Phil Schiller keynote coverage". MacDailyNews.
- ^ "Apple to launch movie rentals from iTunes platform". Google.
- ^ "iTunes Video Rental Review". MP3 Newswire.
- ^ "The iTunes Effect". HawaiiUP.com. 2005-07-01. Retrieved 2006-07-04.
- ^ "Podcasts Get Lift From 'iTunes Effect'". Saint Paul Pioneer Press. 2005-07-08. Retrieved 2006-07-04.
- ^ a b "Apple - iTunes - View every feature of iTunes 8".
- ^ a b "Vodcast.nl". 7-1-2005.
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(help) - ^ Snell, Jason (2005-10-17). "iTunes 6: What You Need To Know".
- ^ "doubleTwist makes DRM-stripping, sharing easy as pie". Arstechnica.com. Retrieved 2008-10-02.
- ^ "iTunes for Mac OS X: Compatible Players". Apple Inc. Retrieved 2006-02-13.
- ^ "MP3 player compatibility with iTunes for Windows". Apple Inc. Retrieved 2006-02-13.
- ^ "Palm Pre Phone - Features, Details, Reviews : Palm USA". Palm Inc. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
- ^ "Palm Support : Palm Pre Sprint - Software update information for Palm Pre Sprint p100eww". Palm.
- ^ "Palm Pre Syncing Borked by iTunes 9". Gizmodo. Retrieved 2009-10-09.
- ^ "Import, Sync, or Stream Your Content to Apple TV". Apple Inc. Retrieved 2008-01-30.
- ^ Moren, Dan. "Remote lets you control iTunes from iPhone, iPod touch". Macworld.com.
- ^ "iPhone 3G: the details you never wanted to know". Boy Genius. 2008-06-09.
- ^ "iTunes activation outages are rendering new and old iPhones problematic". BetaNews. 2008-07-11.
- ^ "iTunes activation server pining for the fjords". The Unofficial Apple Weblog. 2008-07-11.
- ^ "Apple and AT&T Stores Having Difficulty Activating iPhones (UPDATE: It's the iPocalypse)". Gizmodo. 2008-07-11.
- ^ http://www.att.com/Common/merger/files/pdf/iPhone/Customers_FAQs.pdf
- ^ Love, J. (2004-05-01). "Apple Rejects The First "Dirty" iMix". methodshop.com.
- ^ "Apple - iTunes - What's on iTunes? - Music".
- ^ Munger, Michael (2001-04-04). "iTunes, Part 1". Retrieved 2006-07-02.
- ^ Alvear, José (2001-03-23). "3Com Drops Kerbango". Retrieved 2006-07-02.
- ^ "Development Kits". Apple Developer Connection. Apple Inc. Retrieved 2006-01-12.
External links
- Apple Inc. software
- Digital audio
- ITunes
- IPhone software
- IPod software
- Jukebox-style media players
- Mac OS media players
- Mac OS X CD ripping software
- Mac OS X media players
- Online music database clients
- Podcasting software
- Tag editors
- Windows CD ripping software
- Windows CD/DVD writing software
- Windows media players