iTunes with MCE?

OK, I made the choice (mistake?) of buying an iPod for the first time a
few months ago. Now, at my home, I have an iPod Nano and the Motorola
ROKR. Now, when I decided to go with iPod (after having read about the
vast, vast superiority of iTunes - which I actually find with use is no
better overall than Windows Media Player, and highly inferior in some
ways), I fully knew that this was a commitment to one platform. I.e.
you either go with a "Plays for sure" device, a Sony device, or an iPod.
Either way, unless you use MP3 exclusively, you are going to start
collecting music and building a library for one platform.

Now, when I did this, I figured, hey, I've heard such rave reviews about
the iPod platform, and the Nano (before I knew about the scratches) did
seem a generation ahead. So, I went with, and standardized on, iPod. I
figured that maybe in two years I might switch back to the Windows Media
platform for audio, or go Sony, etc. I knew all along that a transition
would be required at that point. But I figured that any transition
pains would be years away.

Over the holidays, I ended up getting a Sony XL1 as a gift. I love the
concept of having a centralized Media Center in the house, and so I want
to use it for that purpose, including music.

Of course, to store all of my music on Windows 2005 MCE, I am now using
a platform that is somewhat incompatible with iTunes.

Keep in mind that I always want the best sound quality possible, and I
don't care about disc space. Therefore, when ripping CD's into iTunes,
I always use the Apple Lossless format. And, I use this same format on
my Nano - I don't care that it takes up a lot of space.

Now that I've started ripping CD's to my Windows2005MCE system, I am
using the WMA Lossless format for the same sound quality reasons.

So here's my question:

WHAT I WANT TO DO:

I want to keep all of my music and organize it on the Windows2005MCE
system (my Sony XL1). The music will all be in the WMA Lossless format.
This computer is accessible by my desktop PC, laptops, etc., that I own
in my home.

My desktop (a Windows XP Pro system) can access the Windows2005MCE
system. This desktop has iTunes installed, and this is the system that
I use to sych with both my iPod Nano and the ROKR phone.

For playing music on other computers, I will use Windows Media Player to
access the 2005MCE system. I will not use iTunes for this purpose.

I will keep iTunes on my XP Pro desktop, which can access the Windows
Media music library installed on the 2005MCE system. I will keep iTunes
for the sole purpose of synching with the iPod and RORK only.


My understanding is the iTunes can access a Windows Media song library
without messing with it and reorganizing it (is this true?).

But, what I have read is that iTunes will insist on importing and
converting all of my WMA music to ACC (or MP3) before it will allow
synching to iPod.

Is there anyway to leave all of my music in WMA Lossless, and still
access the library from iTunes?

Basically I want iTunes to convert the files on-the-fly as it synchs to
the iPod - not convert the songs and store copies in ACC...


Can this be done?

[Note that I don't care about converting my current ripped library. I
own all of my CD's, so I can easily rip them again. So maintaining my
existing iTunes library is not a factor here - in fact, I want to get
rid of the iTunes library to save space.]


If I had known that I was going to get a Sony XL1 this December, I
wouldn't gone iPod/RORK a few months ago, and instead would have gone
with "Plays for Sure" devices only, just for maximum compatibility.
But, oh well...


Thanks in Advance!
.

Relevant Pages

  • TidBITS#786/04-Jul-05
    ... Apple Releases iTunes 4.9 with Podcasting Support ... and refurbished iPods and iPod minis ... Use it on Mac OS X to upload, download, mirror, ... for finding, subscribing to, and managing podcasts, which are ...
    (comp.sys.mac.digest)
  • RE: iTunes with MCE?
    ... my understanding that during iTunes installation, you can tell iTunes to use, ... but not manage, your MP3 files. ... those songs on your iPod, you just uncheck the AAC version of the song. ... > I always use the Apple Lossless format. ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.mediacenter)
  • Re: City of Dreams
    ... But of the fully "iTunes format compatible" that I could find, ... I no longer use an iPod. ... was about a free plan that limited you to 25 songs per month. ... playlists, custom smart playlists, non-smart playlists(ie, cherry ...
    (rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated)
  • Re: File too large
    ... downloaded on to Windows Media and I'm trying to install them on ITunes so I ... If you can already play shorter recordings on iPod without iTunes ... they're MP3 audio files. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsmedia.player)
  • rents: file formats, Apple, and the French
    ... France may cut iPod link to iTunes ... PARIS - Apple Computer faces a serious challenge in France as lawmakers move ... of every three music players sold worldwide, ...
    (sci.econ)