How to share an MP3 directory with Microsoft Zune and Apple iPod / iTunes on Mac |
When buying a Zune one of the first things I wanted to do was use the same MP3 directory we’re using with my wife’s Mac. We have a pretty extensive CD collection that we have partially ripped to MP3 and store on an external Hard Drive (250GB) attached via USB to one of the Windows XP machines on our home network in a FAT32 partition we call WINMAC. In this partition, we store all our MP3 and album artwork and inside iTunes on our Apple Mac we have the iTunes preferences set to use this as the primary directory, see: iTUNES -> PREFERENCES -> General -> “iTunes Music Folder location.”
We also changed the “importing” section, particularly “Import Using” to MP3 Encoder and the “Setting” to ‘Higher Quality’ as shown below:
Setting the sync directory on the Zune was equally straightforward:
STEP 1. In the Zune player click on the up down circular arrow to make the inline sync window visible.
STEP 2. Click on “Sync Options”
STEP 3. Choose “more options” and the Options box will appear shown below.
STEP 4. In “Rip music to this location” section (#1) is where you change to the same sync directory as iTunes is using.
STEP 5. In the “Rip Settings” section (#2) change the format to MP3. You can drag the slider for the quality. I like using the highest quality which also results in a larger file size.
Here’s a video I made showing the process.
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[…] This is only partially correct. Zune, like Windows Media Player, is compatible with MP3 files so if you do like our family does and buy CDs and rip them down to MP3, then use a shared folder, you can share these same files with multiple music programs including the Apple iTunes (on a Mac even if you use a FAT32 partition), Windows Media Player, Winamp, etc. […]
Pingback by Coming Zune defense again » Make You Go Hmm — November 26, 2006 @ 2:50 pm PST
hey my name is shaun and i just got a zune and much like you i’m curious to see what it will do. i’m having trouble getting the music i purchased from itunes on my zune i was wondering if you have any advice. please feel free to email me
Comment by Shaun Denhoff — December 22, 2006 @ 11:24 am PST
You can’t use Apple DRM music with the Zune, Shaun. Buy CDs and rip them into MP3 format instead.
Comment by TDavid — December 22, 2006 @ 11:26 am PST
My partner and I just started this process. The Ipod was first and everything was good for my partner. I won a Zune and had it scan our MP3 collection on a network share much like you describe. Once the Ipod was plugged back into iTunes, it said it had to rescan the entire collection again resulting in a long sync process.
It’s the first time we’ve done this, do you have any trouble with itunes and zune detecting the files being changed by the other scanner and then rescanning the library as new?
Thanks
John
Comment by JohnW — January 8, 2007 @ 6:42 pm PST
[…] last external drive I bought and attached to our network was 250GB. I partitioned that to share with iTunes (the Mac) and Zune (Windows) our MP3 library. The CDs we listen to regularly are stored on that drive so we can access from any […]
Pingback by Seeing first TB external drive for under $400, how long for inexpensive petabyte drives? » Make You Go Hmm — June 4, 2007 @ 1:02 pm PST
I am not really understanding any of this, but I am trying to decide what mp3 player to buy.
I run a mac powerbook G4 and have a whole collection in my itunes. I am looking into other options besides iPod because it seems there are cheaper options out there.
When i am reading the requirements for Zune it says you need Windows XP with service pack 2 or Vista.
Does that mean that I cannot use it with my itunes on my mac, or do i just need to put my library of music on my pc and then put it on the player from there?
Thanks for any advice you can give me. I am trying to save myself a little money, but I don’t want to spend $200 on something I can’t use…
Comment by Christy — November 10, 2007 @ 10:00 am PST
Hi Christy - Zune software doesn’t run on the Mac, only Windows. New version out next week, no idea if that will work on Mac or not.
Comment by TDavid — November 10, 2007 @ 10:26 am PST