The Beatles on iTunes: we can’t work it out

[Simon]

Beatles on iTunesSo The Beatles have finally released their back catalogue on iTunes. Whoopi-do. Can we get on with the rest of our lives now?

To a man (and woman) in the PC Pro office, none of us can work out why anyone would want to buy the albums off iTunes, let alone the £125 Beatles Box that wraps up all 16 of the albums plus a selection of questionable extras.

For starters, you're far better off buying the albums on CD – presuming you haven't already. Take for example the The Beatles 1967-1970 (The Blue Album) is £17.99 to download in iTunes' 256Kbits/sec AAC format, while the double-CD version of the very same album is half the price on Play.com. And that's in a completely lossless format, that arrives with its very own backup media (ie. the CD) and sleeve notes.

The only possible reason for buying the album off iTunes instead of Play is the convenience and unbeatable speed of delivery: but is anyone really in that much of a hurry to download albums that have been out for 40 years or more?

Read more: http://www.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/2010/11/16/the-beatles-on-itunes-we-cant-work-it-out/

[Niall]

You can get the remastered box set online now. I don't see why anyone would buy it on itunes, with the exception of people with a lot of disposable income that can't be bothered buying it cheaper, then ripping it themselves.

[pctech]

The average Apple Mac user then 

[Simon]

 

[Steve]

There's no such thing as 'average' when it pertains to a Mac user, we are a highly discernable minority who have no disposable income as we give gladly to the house of Mr Jobs.


Predjudice is a terrible burden to carry.

[Rik]

 

The only way I could see buying from iTunes is if I wanted a particular track, or two, from the album, but not the entire thing.

[Ray]

I agree, Rik, I bought a Barbra Streisand album download over the weekend from Amazon, it was £5.50 cheaper than Itunes.

[Rik]

And without the DRM.

[Ray]

True.

[pctech]

You can de-DRM it, just burn it to an audio CD format.

[Rik]

True, but it's not ideal to convert and re-convert, Mitch.

[Niall]

The only way I could see buying from iTunes is if I wanted a particular track, or two, from the album, but not the entire thing.

I bought the new Buddy Guy song on there the other week (the new album is great by the way), but only because I had one free credit from them from months ago. I'll be buying the album from amazon on payday, or use a company that delivers in the period specified.

[pctech]

HMV?

[drummer]

I bought the remastered box set...

The dynamic range of the original mono recordings beggars belief and there's no way iTunes' compressed offerings could even compete.

That is all.

[Gary]

I bought the remastered box set...

The dynamic range of the original mono recordings beggars belief and there's no way iTunes' compressed offerings could even compete.

That is all.

People are used to that in this day and age, tbh as you get older you hearing does fade, but a really good turntable and amp, and music really sings, depending on what it is of course.

[Gary]

What can I say 

[Rik]

 

[Simon]

 

[Ray]

 

[Technical Ben]

...And that's in a completely lossless format, that arrives with its very own backup media (ie. the CD) and sleeve notes....

CD is not lossless.
... oops. It's considered lossless at over 1400kbps.
From wiki though "224–320 kbit/s – VBR to highest MP3 quality. 320 kbit/s comparable, virtually indistinguishable to CD quality".
But CD is not lossless.

[Technical Ben]

True, but it's not ideal to convert and re-convert, Mitch.

I'm reminded of that skeleton and the "re-record not fade away" song. 

[Rik]

CD is not lossless.
... oops. It's considered lossless at over 1400kbps.
From wiki though "224–320 kbit/s – VBR to highest MP3 quality. 320 kbit/s comparable, virtually indistinguishable to CD quality".
But CD is not lossless.

Nothing in the chain is lossless, of course. Live performances still win.

[Rik]

I'm reminded of that skeleton and the "re-record not fade away" song. 

Couldn't have been me, I don't resemble a skeleton.

[Steve]

Although a CD does not have the dynamic range of the studio masters you can convert to any lossy format and compression you wish plus you can repeat this. You should not convert or alter the compression of a lossy format i.e CD to 320 MP3 ok CD to MP3 250 ok but MP3 320 to MP3 250 is not recommend.

[pctech]

I'm reminded of that skeleton and the "re-record not fade away" song. 

You mean this one?