mm1719

I got a free 32MB cannon CF card with my Axim. I was excited to have this extra space. Until I started putting my Mp3's on it. I could only fit about 10 - 13 songs! Is this normal?

If so, I suppose I"ll have to purchase a huge card. I think they have 3 gig cards out now. That will probably cost more than an mp3 player.... probably worth it though.

So, can someone tell me if that's about right for a 32MB CF card? also, which is better to store Mp3's on, CF or SD?

Thanks
Mandi

Mike C

There's no real advantage to storing music on one card over the other, except that CF cards are less expensive. That means you can get more memory CF-wise for the money.
CF cards use a tad more power, especially the micro-drives which actually spin a disk in there.

You can often get significantly more music on a card if you convert to WMA format with your desktop Media Player, depending on the quality level selected. WMP will rip CD tracks to wma and send it right to your card via Active Sync.

The bit rate of the media and the compression strategy determines the space required for your music, and vids too. 10-13 tracks on a 32mb card isn't too bad.

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Mike

duanedavis

Hey,

If you go to www.download.com on your PC and find a conversion tool, you can easily convert your MP3's into WMA format, and then you will be able to fit more on the disc. The TYPE of disc doesnt matter so much as the size of the disc. If you are able to convert your MP3's to WMA at a bitrate of about 20 kbps you should be able to about double the number of songs you can hold on the Axim. Since both the Pocket PC and your regular PC should have Windows Media Player, you can listen to your music as WMA format and not worry about anything. If you use Windows Meda Player as your main player on your PC, then you should try converting all the music you download to WMA format......you will be able to fit a lot more songs. Although, when converting pay attention to the bitrate of the conversion....most conversion tools will let you choose. One tool that I would recommend because I use it is "MP3 to WMA Converter 1.3.3" You install it, find the files you want in Windows, click click on them, and then go from there. The tool gives you directions on how to use it when u install it. If u need any more help, feel free to email.

mm1719

Thans Duane. I downloaded it immediately. I went ahead and purchased the full version becuase after 20 songs it would only convert 90%. I can't have only 90 of a song!:) :)

It took me a bit to figure out how to change the bitrate but I got it. The card holds so much space now! I do forsee, though, that I'll need a larger card anyway. But at least I know how to use it to it's full capacity!

Only problem I'm having with the converter is that when I select many songs at once to convert it will only do like the first 2. The most so far it's done at once for me is 4 songs. So I guess I"ll just have to take time to do small amounts at a time.

Thanks again for your help!

ArnonR

Quote:

Originally posted by mm1719 I got a free 32MB cannon CF card with my Axim. I was excited to have this extra space. Until I started putting my Mp3's on it. I could only fit about 10 - 13 songs! Is this normal?

1MB ~ 1 minute of music in MP3 (average bitrate)
so 32MB for 10-13 songs is normal

as someone already mentioned you can use other formats (WMA)
or try to encode your MP3 with lower bitrate (but the quality will suffer..)

Arnon

mm1719

The Final Count Is......

I have managed to fill my 32MB card up. Without the converter I was averaging about 10 songs. With the converter using 20 BitRate my card now holds 52 songs! Woohoo!!!

I can't wait to get a bigger card so everything fits. I'm out for the biggest and best card there is (within reasonable price) Anyone have any suggestions?

duanedavis

Hey Mm...
Glad to hear you're getting more out of the card. Test out your songs before you load up too many. Just make sure the quality is what you want. If you want a decent size but pretty good quality, try to convert them at about 22-24 Kbps. You don't want to go below 20 Kbps, cus then they will sound horrible. Your best bet is to shell out the cash and buy a bigger size memory card. I cant remember which transfer rate it is, but if you test around a bit, you will find a transfer rate (-- Kbps) that will give you smaller files, but pretty damn good quality. I think that is about 28 Kps, but don't quote me on that. The best thing to do is just test around a bit and figure out which bitrate sounds best and gives you a good size. Hope things work out for ya!

mm1719

Thanks for the advice. I plan on getting a bigger memory card eventually. Gotta save first. Spent most of my money on the axim and accessories already...in about a month I'll have enough for the 3 gig one I've been hearing about.

I used the 20bitrate(kps?) for all of the songs I converted. The quality is actually very good. I honestly can't tell a difference on the Axim between the regular songs and the ones I converted. I'm very happy with them :)

Thanks again, everyone, for your advice. Don't know how much I appreciate it!
Mandi

Chem010

Well, if you are using a non-sandisk sd card, I say sd.
You can fit 30-40 songs on 128mb

Iwantbatteries

personally I would rather have the largest flash memory baded card than a 3GB microdrive, because microdrives use so much battery.