iTunes 10.3?

[wgscott]

Well?

 

I'm about to download it. It says you will have access to all the music you ever bought from them, so it it will be delightful to see if it tries to over-write stuff I originally bought from them and then upgraded.

 

Needless to say, a backup before beginning such an experiment might be wise...

 

[Russell_L]

I'm curious to see if it will automatically upgrade my previous 128 kbps purchases to the current 256 kbps standard. (I never bothered to upgrade them when Apple switched over to the higher bitrate a while back.) Guess I'll find out soon enough.....

 

Russell

 

[Part-Time Audiophile]

I don't think that's enabled yet.

 

[Russell_L]

It's supposed to be part of iTunes 10.3, which is available now:

 

http://www.macrumors.com/2011/06/07/itunes-10-3-now-available-for-download/

 

Russell

 

[wgscott]

The only obviously different thing on the beta 10.3 is a set of check-boxes that allow you to download new purchases to any subscribed computer or device.

 

Yawn.

 

[wgscott]

Here is a bit more on iTunes Match from Arse Technica.

 

I particular, it says your lossless will not be over-written.

 

[Paul R]

The first .1 upgrade is out, and it makes the purchased stuff work better for me.

 

As far as I can tell, you currently have to ask it to redownload anything, but it works on any computer you have connected and authorized.

 

-Paul

 

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi wgscott - Reading that Ars link I couldn't help but notice the statement, "Matched tracks will still be in 256Kbps iTunes Plus format, while uploaded tracks will retain their original format." This is in contrast to everything else I've read. If lossless is supported via upload I'm surprised Apple hasn't published this fact. Maybe fact is the wrong word.

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

I just heard back from Chris Foresman who wrote the piece on Ars Technica. Here is what he said to my questions about lossless support and his source of this information.

 

 

"The information we got is all from Apple, either from its website our from our sources there speaking on background."

 

"Tracks which match up with existing itunes Store stock will be added to your iCloud Store immediately via essentially a "pointer" to the track in the iTunes Store servers. These tracks are *only* 256kbps iTunes Plus format. If you want to pull those tracks to a mobile device like an iPhone or iPad, you will get the iTune Plus verison (sic)."

 

"Songs which do not match up will be uploaded *as-is.* If you have an ALAC track, it will upload that exact file. When you request to pull that file to your mobile device, Apple will send that exact file. I admit I'm not 100% sure about ALAC support on devices themselves, but as long as your iPhone can play ALAC files (which I think it can), then that ALAC file will be downloaded and added to the library on your mobile device."

 

 

[Russell_L]

OK--I just downloaded a random sampling of 5 previously purchased tracks onto my desktop here at work (the originals are on my computer at home) and all but 1 were at the original sampling rate of 128 kbps. (I'll need to check at home for sure, but I think the lone 256 kbps track might have been that way when I originally purchased it.)

 

So....this either means that there are no 256 kbps versions of the tracks I had purchased originally (contrary to Apple's assertion that everything in iTunes is 256 kbps), or that they are just matching exactly what I had purchased originally for these re-downloads. But then would this imply that they are keeping both 128 and 256 kbps versions of these tracks (unlikely) or are they downsampling on the fly when they're re-downloaded?

 

Incidentally, when retrieving my past purchases, not all tracks are showing up: in a few instances, only a couple of tracks of whole symphonies are displayed. (And of course I purchased the entire symphony!)

 

Russell

 

[sjsanford]

Does iTunes 10.3 have (or fix) any of the sound quality issues that some noticed with 10.0/10.1? I still have 9.x and am nervous about upgrading.