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One reason the PSP is a better mp3 player than the iPod

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Marty Chinn

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Unless I haven't figured it out on my iPod, but the PSP can play mp3s without any gap in between files. It's fine if you're playing individual songs, but I have some things such as mixes and then stand up comedy where the consecutive tracks create one long audio clip. Kinda surprises me that there's no way around this on the iPod.
 
Man, where the hell can I get a PSP..?????????!!! I was gonna buy an mp3 player, but what's the point if the psp can do it, along with games, video, and more than likely net access as time goes on. I know Lik Sang has been sold out.... Is there simply no option but to pay $600 or wait months?
 
BigJonsson said:
Uhhh

It depends on the MP3
Click to expand...

How so? I took two mp3s that should have been gapless and it wasn't on the iPod but it was on the PSP. This won't make me give up my iPod due to the amount of storage it offers, but it is one area where the PSP is a better mp3 player.
 
When my iPod finishes a song it starts the next one, and if there is no silence at the end/beginning of the MP3 it goes right into the next song

You people are just insanely nitpicky
 
BigJonsson said:
When my iPod finishes a song it starts the next one, and if there is no silence at the end/beginning of the MP3 it goes right into the next song

You people are just insanely nitpicky
Click to expand...

You're talking about individual songs. Try getting a CD that's like a non-stop mix. While it breaks it down into tracks, there is never a stop in the music. The iPod can't do that. It'll pause before going on to the next track. Imagine watching a DVD movie and after every chapter there is a 1 to 2 second pause, that's what is going on here. We're talking about tracks where there should be no break in the audio between tracks.
 
iPod googles are wierd and marvelous thing aren't they :)

The iPod does have a gap- a small one but one that is still noticeable.
Have you tried to listen to a mix? It is annoying.
 
Marty Chinn said:
You're talking about individual songs. Try getting a CD that's like a non-stop mix. While it breaks it down into tracks, there is never a stop in the music. The iPod can't do that. It'll pause before going on to the next track. Imagine watching a DVD movie and after every chapter there is a 1 to 2 second pause, that's what is going on here. We're talking about tracks where there should be no break in the audio between tracks.
Click to expand...

I understand, this is very common in hip-hop mixtapes. Insanely annoyimg if you get the pauses.
 
What would REALLY kick ass is if the PSP could do Geiss-style visualization while playing MP3s. If there was audio/video out, you could be the DJ at any party -- just plug in your PSP, turn on the TV, and crank the receiver!
 
Fresh Prince said:
The iPod does have a gap- a small one but one that is still noticeable.
Have you tried to listen to a mix? It is annoying.
Click to expand...
Actually, MP3s and MP4s (aka AAC) have the gap -- it's a byproduct of the compression algorithm. To get around that, I rip continuous mixes as a single track. It makes sense since I never listen to individual songs off a mix anyway -- it's always all-or-nothing.
 
-jinx- said:
Actually, MP3s and MP4s (aka AAC) have the gap -- it's a byproduct of the compression algorithm. To get around that, I rip continuous mixes as a single track. It makes sense since I never listen to individual songs off a mix anyway -- it's always all-or-nothing.
Click to expand...

If that's the case, how does the PSP overcome it?
 
-jinx- said:
Actually, MP3s and MP4s (aka AAC) have the gap -- it's a byproduct of the compression algorithm. To get around that, I rip continuous mixes as a single track. It makes sense since I never listen to individual songs off a mix anyway -- it's always all-or-nothing.
Click to expand...
Yes but... umm... not all of us are afforded that opportunity.
So far to my knowledge only Rio and now Sony engineers have perfected gapless. Even the iRiver doesn't have gapless.
 
-jinx- said:
What would REALLY kick ass is if the PSP could do Geiss-style visualization while playing MP3s. If there was audio/video out, you could be the DJ at any party -- just plug in your PSP, turn on the TV, and crank the receiver!
Click to expand...

And kill the battery!
 
Naked Snake said:
And kill the battery!
Click to expand...
Use a power outlet.....

I guess you could use a sound editor patch all the tracks into a continous one- but that would degrade sound quality further and that I couldn't be bothered doing it either. :D
 
:lol I thought that it was just MY iPod that did that (and that there was a way to fix this).

God, that gap is really annoying. I have tons of albums on my iPod, and some tracks are continuous into the next track (as I'm sure many of you are aware of :)), and that short pause--although minor--gets on my nerves.
 
As was already stated, the gap is a byproduct of the compression of each track into a separate MP3 file.

The way to get around it, which iTunes does but the iPod does not, is to cross-fade between two tracks. I guess the PSP does this. I wouldn't be surprised if Apple added the ability in in a future revision of the software.

But as was also already stated, the only way to get EXACTLY what's on the CD is to rip it all as one continuous track.
 
SteveMeister said:
As was already stated, the gap is a byproduct of the compression of each track into a separate MP3 file.

The way to get around it, which iTunes does but the iPod does not, is to cross-fade between two tracks. I guess the PSP does this. I wouldn't be surprised if Apple added the ability in in a future revision of the software.

But as was also already stated, the only way to get EXACTLY what's on the CD is to rip it all as one continuous track.
Click to expand...

Um, I disagree.

I've used a couple of MP3 players in the past that were able to play each song without any gap, and they didn't crossfade. It's just like burning an audio cd with MP3's, and checking "disc at once". If you do that, you won't get any 2 second lag either.
 
i believe there are programs available that will let you combine mp3s. so you should be able to recombine split mp3s from a mix and put that in the ipod as one track.
another way the PSP should be better than the ipod as an mp3 player is audio quality, i have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that the PSP includes a better amplifier.
a third way the PSP should be better than the ipod as an mp3 player is due to the solid state sony memory device. it'll draw less power.
there will be even more things that'll make it better later on. im sure hackers would be able to create nice visualizers for mp3 playback. will be great for parties.
 
JeffDowns said:
Um, I disagree.

I've used a couple of MP3 players in the past that were able to play each song without any gap, and they didn't crossfade. It's just like burning an audio cd with MP3's, and checking "disc at once". If you do that, you won't get any 2 second lag either.
Click to expand...
There are a couple of different techniques for "gapless" playback. Cross-fading is one of them, though it usually ends up in some overlap between songs. The other technique is to analyze the content of the MP3, and when the end-of-song silence is detected, jump to the next track immediately. There is a plugin for Winamp which does that pretty effectively, but in order to do it on a portable player, you'd need the manufacturer to update the firmware.

It's not the same thing as burning a CD with a two-second gap in between tracks. In that situation, you are adding the two seconds of "dead air," but if you chose not to include it, the tracks would flow seamlessly. The gap in question is an artifact of the PCM -> MP3 conversion...if memory serves, it has to do with the FFT window size, but my memory is a bit hazy at this second.
 
-jinx- said:
There are a couple of different techniques for "gapless" playback. Cross-fading is one of them, though it usually ends up in some overlap between songs. The other technique is to analyze the content of the MP3, and when the end-of-song silence is detected, jump to the next track immediately. There is a plugin for Winamp which does that pretty effectively, but in order to do it on a portable player, you'd need the manufacturer to update the firmware.

It's not the same thing as burning a CD with a two-second gap in between tracks. In that situation, you are adding the two seconds of "dead air," but if you chose not to include it, the tracks would flow seamlessly. The gap in question is an artifact of the PCM -> MP3 conversion...if memory serves, it has to do with the FFT window size, but my memory is a bit hazy at this second.
Click to expand...

Oh....haha, ok! Sounds good to me. :lol
 
I had my first field test with the PSP as my mp3 player.

With the screen off, full charge, a loaded memory card 2.5 hours of listening (approx) discharged the battery to 95% while using the value pack headset.

All in all I'm very impressed, and yeah I didn't notice a pause of sorts either.

The MGS3 soundtrack sounds like it 's one huge background track.
 
Fresh Prince said:
Yes but... umm... not all of us are afforded that opportunity.
So far to my knowledge only Rio and now Sony engineers have perfected gapless. Even the iRiver doesn't have gapless.
Click to expand...

I was just gonna say...I think my Minidisc play does gapless with the one continious disc I created. Too bad it's started to shut off at random times for no reason now. Hardly matters, I'm looking at getting a 1.5 gig MP3 player soon anyway.
 
It's no huge secret about gapless playback lacking in the ipod (and many other mp3 players). I'm sure eventually they'll be a firmware update that can handle this. I know of an online petition from ipod owners to get apple to address this issue.

I still think the ipod wins out in useability and style over any other player.
 
I just signed up for a conga line on sonypsp4free.com.

I wonder if I just wasted my time. Well, I get 2 free gamerush rentals out of it anyway. The thought of getting a free PSP in the mail is just too awesome to leave alone, though.
 
Deg said:
Memory stick duo > HDD
Click to expand...


Secure Digital > Memory stick duo


You can easily get a 1 gig SD card for about $50.


I don't even want to think about what a 1 gig memory stick duo costs (If they even exist yet) ...
 
"I don't even want to think about what a 1 gig memory stick duo costs (If they even exist yet) ..."

$350

Though I assume Mem stick prices will come down as PSP's sell more and more.
 
Lack of gapless playback is certainly the downfall of the iRiver H110 series.

Especially when the coders promised it a year ago...
 
Pedigree Chum said:
"I don't even want to think about what a 1 gig memory stick duo costs (If they even exist yet) ..."

$350

Though I assume Mem stick prices will come down as PSP's sell more and more.
Click to expand...

Well they will certainly come down, but not down enough.



People said the same thing about Memory Sticks. Sony's high capacity memory sticks went down in price from their initial debut a few years ago, but now Sony is the #2 digital camera manufactuer in the world and their prices are still well above the competition.
 
Pedigree Chum said:
"I don't even want to think about what a 1 gig memory stick duo costs (If they even exist yet) ..."

$350

Though I assume Mem stick prices will come down as PSP's sell more and more.
Click to expand...

Actually knock about $200 off that price as you can get 1 gig sticks for $150.
 
The PSP isn't a good mp3 player at all. It's very competent as far as technical specs are concerned, but it's larger than just about any other mp3 player out there, it also requires you to take the PSP out of the sleeve, turn it on and select the music folder to start playing. Overall it's just a very cumbersome experience for people used to putting something in their pocket and just hitting play on the remote. I love my PSP but let's be realistic about how "multifunction" it is. :D (I can't wait to watch videos on it thought ^_^)
 
-jinx- said:
There are a couple of different techniques for "gapless" playback. Cross-fading is one of them, though it usually ends up in some overlap between songs. The other technique is to analyze the content of the MP3, and when the end-of-song silence is detected, jump to the next track immediately. There is a plugin for Winamp which does that pretty effectively, but in order to do it on a portable player, you'd need the manufacturer to update the firmware.

It's not the same thing as burning a CD with a two-second gap in between tracks. In that situation, you are adding the two seconds of "dead air," but if you chose not to include it, the tracks would flow seamlessly. The gap in question is an artifact of the PCM -> MP3 conversion...if memory serves, it has to do with the FFT window size, but my memory is a bit hazy at this second.
Click to expand...

LAME has functionality to work around the gap - something about it storing the number of samples to skip in the header, or similar...

Foobar, for one, can detect this and give you true gapless playback. Since LAME doesn't exactly have 100% marketshare, I haven't seen any portable players use this information to do gapless playback...I would guess that Sony is doing the crossfade, it seems like the solution that would work most of the time...
 
Fresh Prince said:
Too bad their quality control is shit otherwise I might of considered importing one :lol
Click to expand...

I think that was blown out of proportion. I dropped mine on the wooden floor mid song last week and it was fine
 
duckroll said:
The PSP isn't a good mp3 player at all. It's very competent as far as technical specs are concerned, but it's larger than just about any other mp3 player out there, it also requires you to take the PSP out of the sleeve, turn it on and select the music folder to start playing. Overall it's just a very cumbersome experience for people used to putting something in their pocket and just hitting play on the remote. I love my PSP but let's be realistic about how "multifunction" it is. :D (I can't wait to watch videos on it thought ^_^)
Click to expand...

I agree - I tried to use it as an mp3 player but it wasn't convenient at all. =(
 
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