Just bought myself an ipod and I am wondering what is the highest quality file format to use.

is 'lossless' worth the extra megabyte?

i know nothing. if someone could explain i'll be eternally grateful.

Everyone has different levels of quality that they expect. If you have lots of space on your iPod then go for Lossless, but you will really have to try a few different settings. Most people can't really tell the difference between CD quality and a 128Kbps AAC or MP3, but for other people the loss in fidelity is obvious.

Personally, I need to keep thousands of songs with me on my iPod for my job, and I use 160Kbps AAC for most things and 320Kbps for my favourite songs which, although I can hear the difference, is a good trade-off for me between quality and file-size.

So just try a few variations and compare and see what is acceptable for you.

When I'm listening to an average song, I usually get them at 128, 160 or 192 Kbps.

If I really love a particular song, I'll look for the 320's.

Also, there's a great format called MP4's... they're usually denoted by [track_name].m4a -- great, great sound.

Never get the 96's unless you're desperate and can't find anything else.

Enjoy your iPod.

Love,
JANFAN4L

Only 320kbps mp3 for me.

Does the ipod include the USB cable to attatch it to PC?
Sorry im computer illiterate if this made no sense.

Because i've read people complaining it only included the cable to hook up to the Mac.

jayaredee said:

Mine came with USB.

jayaredee said:

The 4th generation iPods (latest ones) come with both a USB (PC) and a FireWire (Mac) cord.

If you're buying an older version (3 generation or earlier), make sure it's an iPod for a PC, if you want a USB cable.