Digital formats, cloud storage, external hard drives... HELP!

rtwilli4 · January 2014

OK so I'm pretty good at computers and such and understand pretty well how this all works, but I'm just wanting some opinions I guess... mostly because my music collection is important to me and I don't want to lose it (or lose quality by converting, etc).

We are Apple people. MacBook Pro, two iPhones, older iPad, etc. We also have a Western Digital MyCloud external hard drive, which is awesome btw. Finally, I have LOADS of music in all formats, but mostly FLAC.

My questions are:

-- When I convert files to ALAC (Apple Lossless for iTunes), is there any reason to keep the FLAC files? The ALAC files are just as lossless right? So I'm not risking losing any quality by keeping them and deleting the FLAC files? My intuition is to keep the original FLAC files but this seems stupid since I prefer to listen via iTunes.

-- Does anyone store their iTunes library on a Wireless hard drive like the MyCloud, or is this too limiting? My collection would far exceed the storage capacity of my laptop so I have to be selective about what I put on iTunes. It would be cool to just put my entire collection on iTunes, but this means I'd only have access to it when I'm at home. I'd have access to the files through the WD website from anywhere, but I'm not sure I'd be able to play the files on iTunes unless I was actually within range of my Wireless Hard drive.

-- How do you guys back up your files? Kind of scary having all of my music, videos and photos all in one place, on a drive that is constantly running and being used.

-- Anyone have and good/bad experiences w/ the WD MyCloud external drive, or similar products? So far it has changed the way we relax at home. I can watch and listen to any file on demand through my phone, laptop and even my TV! All wireless! No more PJ Twenty on the laptop... now it goes on the 40" TV!

HesCalledDyer · January 2014

I can answer your first question and that is you do not need to keep the FLAC files after converting to ALAC. These are both lossless formats coded using the FFmpeg project. The only major difference is in the file type container. ALAC files are held within an .mp4 container, which is compatible with iTunes, and FLAC are held in a .flac container which is not. I believe ALAC allows for more metadata as well, but don't quote me on that. But as far as the digital sound quality, it's the same.

JH57554 · January 2014

My setup is pretty similar. We're a mac family and I've gone fully digital. About 80% of my music is Apple Lossless and the rest is mp3 or m4a. No need to keep the FLACs after converting to ALAC, in my opinion. I have a pair of 3TB external hard drives at my house. I use a program called Carbon Copy Cloner and have it set to back up one drive to the other every night, so I've always got a backup in case one drive dies. I also have another 3TB drive I keep at my work that I take home every month or so and clone my library to in case of a fire or some other catastrophic event. At home, my wife and I can access our iTunes library via home sharing from either of our laptops, iPads or iPhones. I also subscribe to iTunes Match so I can listen to my music at work or while traveling. iTunes match also makes it super simple to add music to and from our phones or pads without having to be sitting in front of my computer.

Take my advice and clone your media drive ASAP. Hard drives die all the time and it's great to have a redundant clone immediately ready to go.

JH57554 · January 2014

I should mention that my drives are all Firewire 800 and not the wireless drive you mention. I am able wirelessly access all my music and movies in iTunes via wifi home sharing on my laptops, iPads, iPhones & Apple TV.

rtwilli4 · January 2014

Thanks guys.

JH, I've been wondering about iTunes match. Seems pretty cool. To be clear, do you have access to any file that's in your iTunes library? At any time (obviously need a connection)? You download it into a cache on your device and then delete it when your done? Does the media show up in your music app on the phone or do you use another app to access it?

The wireless drive I have works the same way, but I don't have to upload the media to iTunes. I access it via an App. I can stream or download any media from anywhere, as long as my drive is on and the internet is up. Only problem is that my phone won't play .flac files so I have to convert them anyway. Not really any better.

Main reason we bought the wireless drive is because we have a smart TV. Now, every file on there can be watched, viewed, or listened to on the TV. But it's cloud capabilities have me excited as well.

JH57554 · January 2014

rtwilli4 said:
Thanks guys.

JH, I've been wondering about iTunes match. Seems pretty cool. To be clear, do you have access to any file that's in your iTunes library? At any time (obviously need a connection)? You download it into a cache on your device and then delete it when your done? Does the media show up in your music app on the phone or do you use another app to access it?

iTunes Match only works with audio files. Movies aren't supported, yet, but supposedly will be sometime. With iTm enabled on your iPhone, iPad or another computer via iTunes, your entire music library shows up when you have a connection and you can download the files locally to your device and delete them when you're done with them and, yes, the media shows up in the Music app. It's essentially a way to add and remove music to your devices without having to be in front of your computer that houses the original media. If your files are Apple Lossless, iTm will convert it to 256k m4a audio before uploading automatically for easier uploading/downloading but the original lossless files will remain untouched on your computer. Another added bonus, is that if you have low-bitrate mp3's and the music is available in the iTunes store, it will upgrade it to a 256k m4a version via their match process. My first two years of service practically paid for itself in the number of files I was able to upgrade.

rtwilli4 · January 2014

JH57554 said:
Another added bonus, is that if you have low-bitrate mp3's and the music is available in the iTunes store, it will upgrade it to a 256k m4a version via their match process. My first two years of service practically paid for itself in the number of files I was able to upgrade.

So, do the original low bitrate mp3 files on your computer get upgraded to 256k automatically?... If they have the same files in the iTunes library? That's a pretty nice deal!

Wobbie · January 2014

I prefer the "don't worry, be happy" approach

buck502000 · January 2014

I have two external hard drives. Use one for storage and the other to back up everything. Heaven forbid, something happened to my mac book and hard drives, I would be screwed. I guess that's why I still buy compact discs. I also pick up vinyl, when necessary. :-B

Jimmyjamh · January 2014

JH57554 said:

rtwilli4 said:
Thanks guys.

JH, I've been wondering about iTunes match. Seems pretty cool. To be clear, do you have access to any file that's in your iTunes library? At any time (obviously need a connection)? You download it into a cache on your device and then delete it when your done? Does the media show up in your music app on the phone or do you use another app to access it?
iTunes Match only works with audio files. Movies aren't supported, yet, but supposedly will be sometime. With iTm enabled on your iPhone, iPad or another computer via iTunes, your entire music library shows up when you have a connection and you can download the files locally to your device and delete them when you're done with them and, yes, the media shows up in the Music app. It's essentially a way to add and remove music to your devices without having to be in front of your computer that houses the original media. If your files are Apple Lossless, iTm will convert it to 256k m4a audio before uploading automatically for easier uploading/downloading but the original lossless files will remain untouched on your computer. Another added bonus, is that if you have low-bitrate mp3's and the music is available in the iTunes store, it will upgrade it to a 256k m4a version via their match process. My first two years of service practically paid for itself in the number of files I was able to upgrade.

I'd backup what JH is saying. I'm an iTunes Match user and to be honest I wouldn't be without it now. In PJ terms I have 185 PJ albums all available across my devices from the cloud. In fact the service has been that good I took the brave step a few months ago of getting rid of all my CDs. The only ones I have left are my PJ collection. All my digital files are backed up though.

ckravitz · January 2014

Interesting conversation, thanks. I have been terrified of jumping in to iTunes Match because of the bazillion duplicates of Pearl Jam songs I have (from boots, etc) and not knowing exactly what it would do. It sounds like it is pretty safe?

Digital formats, cloud storage, external hard drives... HELP!

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