Library size after Apple Lossless conversion

Hi,
I've converted my itunes library to Apple Lossless format in the belief that I could get more songs onto my iPod, however, even though I've deleted the old format song from the music library, my library has nearly doubled in size. Anyone got any idea how to slim it down?
Thanks

If you converted from MP3, the ONLY thing you did was increase the file size by about 5 times.
Once it is converted to MP3, the file size is ~10% of the original. A lot if data is thrown out. Converting that MP3 to Lossless will not get back any info since it no longer exists.
I'm looking for the smallest size with the least loss from the original
You need to RIP from the original CD to Apple Lossless.
Apple Lossless is still gonna be ~50%-60% of the original file size, which is usually ~30MB to 60MB.
AAC at 192 kbps is ~1.5 MB per minute and unless using a high end stereo equipment and a high end sound card, most users will not be able to hear any difference.
I suggest you RIP the same CD a few different way and compare them. Check the file size and audio quality.

Similar Messages

Mp3 to apple lossless conversion

is there any audio advantage converting mp3 to apple lossless in iTunes?
Ken

No. You will get a much higher file size, but no additional quality.
The advantage of Apple Lossless (and other lossless formats like FLAC) is that it allows you to convert high fidelity sources (like CDs) to smaller file sizes without any loss in quality. This allows you to be guaranteed of CD audio quality, and it also allows you store a long-term archive of lossless file and convert them to different lossy formats to suit different needs, without additional quality loss.
If your source is lossy, like an MP3 file, than any additional fidelity that was present in the original source has already been lost. Apple Lossless will provide a lossless conversion of that MP3 file (meaning you won't lose additional quality, like you would if you converted an MP3 to an AAC file), but it cannot restore the already-lost information.

128 to Apple Lossless Conversion?

I imported some CDs at 128k. iTunes gives me the option of converting tracks to Apple Lossless compression. Doing this changes the file from about 4mb to about 20mb. If I imported using 128k "lossy" compression, am I really regaining the data I would have had from an Apple Lossless import? It doesn't seem logical, but it would sure save me some re-importing of CDs. Thanks mucho for any insight on this.
Steve

Converting from any compressed format to Apple Lossless will gain you nothing but an increase in file size. It's not possible to get quality back from any "lossy" codec such as AAC or MP3; that data is permanently gone. So if you want the quality of your CDs with the file size reduction of Apple Lossless, you'll have to reimport from your original CDs.

Size of Apple Lossless Files

According to iTunes help, an Apple Lossless File should be about 5MB per minute of music. I am experiencing from 6.5MB to 7.5MB per minute. Is this related to a setting which is incorrect, the type of music I am importing, or is Apple simply wildly optimistic?

Your second reason--the type of music you're importing. Apple isn't far off, on average, but there can be a wide range of encoding rates, depending upon the complexity and nature of the source recording audio. Just look at the variable encoding rates on any full CD you might have imported. One that I have, for example, ranges from 678 to 982 kbps among its 13 tracks.

ITunes displaying incorrect library size after upgrade

I just upgraded from iTunes 6. Before I had about 23 or 25gb worth of music, now it says "5474 songs, 14.2 days, 298.18gb." That doesn't make any sense. How can I fix it? That's definitely not the size of my library. Is this going to mess up my iPod if I try to update it?

Is the iTunes library intact on your computer?
Upgrading to OS 3.0 shouldn't have done anything to your iTunes Library on the host computer.
Try a hard reset on your iPhone (hold both the sleep/wake button and home button down until your iPhone restarts. Reconnect the iPhone to iTunes and check the items you have set to sync (click iPhone icon in devices in iTunes then select each tab on the iPhone page within iTunes).
If the above doesn't help, try restoring your iPhone from within iTunes and set the iPhone up again.

Aperture 3 vs. iPhoto '11 library sizes?

I wanted to switch from iPhoto '11 to Aperture 3, so I imported my iPhoto library to Aperture. It took a little while, but went without a hitch. I was about to delete my iPhoto library, but then I noticed that my iPhoto library is 94.68GB, while my Aperture library is 68.26GB. I've read that there is a discrepancy because of thumbnail sizes, but a 26GB difference seems to be pretty significant.
All my photos and videos seem to have transferred over and when I select random pictures in Aperture, right-click and select "Locate Referenced Files..." I get a pop-up saying "The selection doesn't have any referenced files." which seems to indicate that everything is in Aperture.
I just wanted to get your opinions on what the huge discrepancy might be due to before I deleted the iPhoto library. Thanks in advance!

Ah yes, I forgot about the iPod Photo Cache; I'm resyncing my iPhone and iPad with iTunes right now to sync photos from Aperture, and it's taking forever, since it has to resize over 12,000 photos. I can't imagine that would account for 26GB of data, though I guess those photos take up about 12GB on each device. I'll have to recheck the library sizes after both devices are done syncing.
I didn't specify a preview size. I didn't know you could. What exactly are the previews that one can change the sizes of? The thumbnails that show up in Aperture?

How can i convert my whole library to flac or apple lossless

how do i convert my whole library to flac or apple lossless?!!?!!?!?!?!

First, FLAC is not supported by iTunes and the same probably applies to the iPod.
Second, are all your files currently in AIFF or WAV format, or on CDs? If you have mp3 files or AAC files the only thing that will happen by you converting them to lossless is you will use up more space for the music with no gain in quality. Quality is lost when you convert to mp3 or AAC and converting it to lossless won't get it back.
It looks like current ipods support Apple Lossless. Still, the whole idea behind ipods is to use compressed format so you can fit on the most music. Read http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=85227
If after doing all that you still want Apple Lossless, you need to set the preferences to ALAC in your iTunes preferences, then convert with the Advanced menu command. Mind you, I use an older iTunes so you may have to explore a bit to find where they have those features now. This conversion will place a copy of the file in iTunes in the new format but also leave the old one there, so you'll need to delete the old ones if you don't want them.
Message was edited by: Limnos

Aperture 2.0 Library disappeared after conversion in Aperture 3.0

Well, this is BAD. Converting the old Aperture 2 library in Aperture 3 and Aperture 3 crashed at the end of the process. After I restarted the program I got the message that there was no longer an aperture library. After checking in the finder I found that my whole library has actually disappeared from my system. What is the deal here? How come the library is completely gone, is there ANY way to get it back? And when I tried to start Aperture 2 again I got the message that the aperture library is a newer version and therefor cannot load. How come Aperture 2 seems to find a aperture library and aperture 3 can not? Is it maybe hidden from view in the finder or something? Any ideas?????
Hope to hear from you soon, thanks
Cheers Q!

Alaninnorway wrote:
Yes, I must agree. I have exactly the same problem. Come on Apple - do not invite us to 30 day free trial and give us this hassle for the weekend.
Any help appreciated.
The 30 day free trial cannot convert an Aperture 2 library.
Using the trial you can can only import into a new Aperture 3 library, and should not have any of these conversion issues.
We converted 6 workstations this weekend, specifically did not convert the imaging as that can be done in the future on an as-needed basis.
All of the libraries reside on disks that are no more than 40% full, for performance reasons.
The first library we converted was 500GB and at about 2.5 hours it froze at about 58%. I trashed the partial conversion and started over with a clean copy. This time, in Aperture 2 I did a Library rebuild before I converted. After this the conversion ran perfectly, in about 4 hours.
I ended up with a new file called Aperture Library, and another file called Aperture Library_Original. I found that this is the way the conversion is designed if you have the diskspace for 2 full Libraries. If you do not, it will delete the original after the conversion.
At any rate before converting run a rebuild in Aperture 2, and then make a backup of that library. You will then have a very clean original should anything happen in the conversion.
I am happy to say we followed the rebuild and backup on the other 5 Libraries, ranging in size from 500GB to 1.2 TB, and all the other conversions went smoothly.
The key is have plenty of diskspace available, more than double the size of your library, and Aperture will leave an Aperture Library_Original which can still be opened in A2.
Sincerely,
K.J. Doyle

Can't access my apple lossless files on external hard drive after reinstalling windows 8.1

Hi guys
New to this. I reinstalled windows 8.1 after windows continually asking me to change my password after not recognising it despite it being the right one. All my apple lossless tunes are on my external hard drive. Windows keeps saying 'I don't have access to this file currently'. I tried right clicking on hard drive, clicked properties, and tried assigning administrator rights to everyone but still no luck. Contacted windows who said it was an apple issue so here I am.
Can anyone help. I've got 900 albums on this hard drive and the thought of ripping them all again is stressing me.
Thanks guys
Stuart

Changing the path to the media folder doesn't change which database iTunes opens. If your original database is on the external drive then shift-start-iTunes and use the choose option to open it. If you no longer have access to the original database shift-start-iTunes and create a new empty library at X:\iTunes, where X: is the external drive letter, ensure the media folder is set to X:\iTunes\iTunes Media, move all of your content inside X:\iTunes\iTunes Media, use File > Add Folder to Library > X:\iTunes\iTunes Media. See also Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device. There are some scripts near the end that can extract ratings, play counts and playlists from your device and the rest of the tip explains how you backup and restore the device with the new library to avoid losing data.
tt2

AAC vs. Apple Lossless, Library Setup

I'm just starting out with setting up my iTunes Library on a new hard drive (20GB), which I'm pretty much going to devote to music. Under the Preferences > Advanced Tab > Importing, we have the choice of encoding, and I'm not sure which would be better, AAC or Apple Lossless (?)
I'm planning to import around 400 CDs, and I've got another internal hard drive (120GB), to which I could go. This brings up, another question. When I set the place for my iTunes library, should I put in one spot, say on this newer, bigger hard drive, or could I split it across two different drives? If I wanted to move the library, after it's filled, how much of a problem is that?

M,
The AAC format uses about 1MB per minute of song (5MB for a 5 minute song), where the Apple Lossless Encoder requires about 5MB per minute of song (25MB for the same 5 minute song). The AAC format is quite sufficient for ipod and computer speaker use. You may want to consider the larger Apple Lossless or even AIFF for music intended for playback on elaborate home stereo and theater use, but the AIFF format is the largest (about 10MB per minute of song, or 50MB for a 5 minute song). Be aware that Apple Lossless encoded songs will only play on iTunes, quicktime apps and certain ipod models (not all). What that means is that if you burn a CD in Apple Lossless, it will not play on your home CD player. The only way to use Apple Lossless on your home CD player will be through an airport express.
I regret I do not know the answer to your second question regarding splitting a library over two hard drives.
Hope this helped.
Terry

ITunes conversion of Apple Lossless to AAC not working

Hello:
I have all my CD's ripped to Apple Lossless. I then use iTunes to convert to 192 kbs AAC for use on my iPod. When I do this, though, the size is barely changed. Instead of taking a 23 MB lossless file down to 1 MB, it rips to about 20 MB. Has anyone else seen this? Am I doing something wrong?
Thanks.
pmb

pbombach wrote:
Hello:
Instead of taking a 23 MB lossless file down to 1 MB, it rips to about 20 MB. Has anyone else seen this? Am I doing something wrong?
Even if it is working correctly, it does not shrink it by that much. AAC at 192 with constant bit rate uses about 1.5 MB per minute of music, or 6 MB for a 4 minute song. If you use VBR, it will be higher.
As Kay suggests, make sure that your import settings are correct. Also, note that conversion creates a new file and leaves the original in place, so make sure you are looking at the new file. Its Date Added will be the date of conversion, and its "Kind" will be AAC.

FLAC vs Apple Lossless file sizes

I've been looking into moving up to lossless audio files. From what I've been able to discover, FLAC and Apple Lossless should be roughly the same file size, but I downloaded a 24-bit/44.1kHz FLAC from the Bowers & Wilkins site (about half-way down the page - search for Portico) which is 35MB. I transcoded it to Apple Lossless using Max and the resulting file is 62MB - 77% larger!!
Does this seem right? Is the compression level variable for FLAC and/or Apple Lossless (as there is for ZIP for example)? There's no such option in Max.

Hmm, interesting. MediaInfo reports the following:
Apple Lossless:
Audio
ID : 1
Format : ALAC
Codec ID : alac
Codec ID/Info : Apple Lossless Audio Codec
Duration : 5mn 34s
Duration_LastFrame : -49ms
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 1 484 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Sampling rate : 44.1 KHz
Bit depth : 24 bits
Stream size : 59.1 MiB (100%)
Language : English
Encoded date : UTC 2037-05-12 23:52:44
Tagged date : UTC 2037-05-12 23:52:44
FLAC
Audio
Format : FLAC
Format/Info : Free Lossless Audio Codec
Duration : 5mn 34s
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 840 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Sampling rate : 44.1 KHz
Bit depth : 24 bits
Stream size : 33.4 MiB (100%)
Writing library : libFLAC 1.2.1 (UTC 2007-09-17)
So, same bit depth and sampling rate, but the bit-rate for the Apple Lossless is much higher than the FLAC.
In XLD I have "same as original" for bit-rate and sample frequency.
I've found some more free FLAC download samples at NaimLabel (panel on the right about half way down) and when I transcode these to Apple Lossless the files are the same size as the FLACs, give or take, so I guess these aren't as compressed?

How do i convert my exsisting itunes library to apple lossless?

Also whrn i do this will i have duplicate files(original/lossless)? If so what is the best way for me to delete them form my macbook? Thanks

Not to pile on here, but the only point of Apple Lossless is to have a slightly compressed version of the an original CD (AIFF). I have converted my full CD collection (too many disks to even count) to Apple Lossless. The sound quality is indistinguishable from the original CD. Because the files are rather large for use on an iPhone or smaller iPod, I then convert them to 256 AAC (for my iPhone) or 160 MP3 to burn MP3 disks for my cars. I keep the Lossless files as the original content.
However, lately, I'm just purchasing 256 AAC iTunes Plus files. I'm losing quality, but it's just not worth the time to purchase CD's and convert them any more.
There is absolutely no reason to convert 256 AAC files to Lossless. In fact, I'm sure it might degrade the sound quality in that a lot of information just isn't in the 256 AAC file. However, don't quote me on this.

After installing Aperture and leaving photos in iPhoto library, why did iphoto library size almost double?

I installed Aperture and chose to leave all my images in the iPhoto library until I became more comfortable/familiar with Aperture.
I was looking at my hard drive space and see that the available space went way down. In Finder, the Aperture library.ap library is 17.97 gb and the iPhoto library is 122.75 gb.
When I open iPhoto, it says that it contains 19349 images/87 gb.
What happened? Is that extra size related to the Aperture referencing the images? Should I delete and start over, and move all the images into Aperture so that they are managed there?
I'm just figuring my way around Aperture, and I'm trying not to over-think the organizational differences, but this size discrepancy seems a bit too much.

I wish I had more info for this but I'm stumped. As I said there is no reason Aperture would increase the iPhoto library size by importing iPhoto's library.
BTW how did you do the import, that might shed some light on the problem.
The image count between the backup and the live iPhoto libraries seems fairly consistent so why the jump in size I can't say. And as for the increase in the number of images in Aperture, you started with an empty Aperture library, correct? And did you import anything directly into Aperture since you did the iPhoto import?
I'm still a little confused on the whole thing where Aperture shows both original and edited versions of an image, and some show both RAW & JPEG versions of an image,
Well Aperture really doesn't show both the original and edited versions, all you ever see are the versions unless you specifically ask to see the master. When you import an image into Aperture a version of the master is automatically made and displayed. Because at this point the version is no different then the master (you haven't made any adjustments to it yet) the version looks exactly like the master but it is the version you are seeing.
As for the RAW & JPG thing, if you shoot both RAW + JPG's in your camera when you import them you have the choice of which to make the master or to make each one a master. Not sure if that is what you are referring to.
I'm wondering whether I would have been better off just moving the whole iPhoto library into Aperture at the beginning, and deleting the iPhoto library.
That is definitly one option and the option most users who switch eventually make. You're not going to want to have both programs handeling your photos. But you should probably hold off until you;re more omfortable with Aperture and make sure you have a good backup of the iPhoto library before you do anything.
Remember when you import the iPhoto library into Aperture you're only choice is to copy the images not move them. This is done so that you can make sure all went OK before doing anything with iPhoto.
If you have the room you could try bringing in the iPhoto library backup, and trying the import again into a new empty Aperture library.
regards

Converting "Apple Lossless" back to "AAC" - More than 1 track at a time...

Hello,
Short version: I have hundreds of tracks that need to "Create AAC Version", and I can't right-click 8,536 songs in my library one at a time to find them all. Is there a method to sweep the entire library and convert all songs to this format if they are not already?
The problem with this is it still creates a duplicate of the song and the other original needs to be deleted.
Note - the file name changing (it appends a "1" on the M4A file), the "tag" displayed in iTunes retains the song name.
Thanks!,
Joseph
Long version: For the benefit of people facing the same problem and combing the forums for help, here's the rest of the story...
I'm not entirely sure when this changed (and I've reset my Import settings back to AAC 128-bit now), but I've managed to import a good number of CDs at this higher quality "Apple Lossless" format. Essentially, that's overkill - I listen to an iPod classic with headphones the majority of the time (98%) and I won't hear the difference.
CHECK: Edit | Preferences | "General" tab | "Import Settings" button
Essentially my hard-drive space has been disappearing at a rapid rate. I downloaded a tool (WinDarStat) and found my iTunes folder is 50% of my 200GB used. (Yes, I'm on an older laptop -- HD=220GB -- and am getting the 'out of space' warnings.) I found some folders for recent CDs were over 1GB alone and started digging.
I happend to have REM's studio "Man on the Moon" on here twice. The IN TIME version is AAC 128-bit and only 4.9MB in size, whereas the PART LIES version is Apple Lossless 1068-bit and 8x's larger at 39.9MB.
If you right-click a track, it provides option to "Create [other] version.", depending on going to/from ACC to Lossless or vice-versa.
Once I did this for "Man on the Moon", I got 75% of the song's space back ... from approximately 40MB to 11MB.
It does create a second copy of the song, so the original has to be deleted - be certain to "Move the song to the Recycle Bin" when warned.
A better option - all be it more time consuming - is to re-import the CDs.

For backup see this user tip.
The Create <Format> version tool uses whatever the current import settings are.
You can create a playlist of things that need converting as Ed says above.
To ease the conversion process, and keep your current ratings, playcounts, and playlist membership, plus recyle the old files automatically see my script ConvertFormat. Test on say a single album first to make sure it works as you expect/need.
tt2

Library size after Apple Lossless conversion

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