USVI-On-Line

So, I'm sitting on the couch and watching "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" on cable. LOVING the sountrack. Spanish guitar music. Fabulous.

I pause the movie, whip out my iPhone and go to iTunes to check out the soundtrack. After listening to a few songs I'm like, Yeah-- totally buying it.

I do what I've done a gazillion times before, hit purchase and the album begins to download.

Note: Just before the download I had been looking at my various playlists etc. to see what other similar music I had, so everything was there.

Anyway, the album finishes downloading and I go to double check everything and ALL of my other music had DISAPPEARED.

Gone.

Playlists. Gone.

Everything under the iPod icon. Gone.

Gone. Gone. Gone.

All except the album I just downloaded.

NOT. Happy.

iPhone was still working fine in all other respects so I Googled the problem and found that this can happen quite a bit.

The only way to get the music back on the phone is to re-sync it. Fortunately it was an easy fix, but apparently it's a pain in the ass if you're on travel and don't have access to your main computer to re-sync.

The whole episode freaked me out a bit, since I am very dependent (probably too much so) on my iPhone on vacay. I load movies, audio books and create my playlists all for my upcoming trips. I am a TV junkie but I am OK as long as I know I can whip out my iPhone and get a fix if I need it. (It's an illness, I know).

Anyway, I thought I would share in case it happens to somoene else out there, you'll know how to deal.

But it makes me think that I may need to bring a laptop down in December just in case!

Gromit Said:

iPhone was still working fine in all other respects so I Googled the problem and found that this can happen quite a bit.

The only way to get the music back on the phone is to re-sync it. Fortunately it was an easy fix, but apparently it's a pain in the ass if you're on travel and don't have access to your main computer to re-sync.

Thanks for the tip. No new music for me next week. I am sure Apple finds a way to spin this so instead of a 'bug', it is a 'feature'!

-J

I have been wanting to load movies on our Iphones. Can it be done with DVD's we already own, or must you buy/rent from the Istore to get them?

JIM

Jim- I'm sure someone has a hack for converting your DVD's to iTunes format out there somewhere but it's not worth the trouble for me. Maybe check the Apple forums?

I just rent the movie on-line thru iTunes and download. Keep in mind that downloading a movie to iTunes takes some time even with a great internet connection.

THEN after it's downloaded you have to go in to iTunes and click on your phone to open up the tab settings and then click on the "movie" tab.

You then have to check the box for the movie(s) you want to sync to your phone and then perform the sync which will take a few minutes (although not as long as downloading the movie to iTunes).

In other words the process takes time and can't be done instantaneously or on the fly.

Rented movies stay in your account for up to 30 days from the date of purchase. BUT once you start to watch it you only have 24 hours (I think? Maybe 48? I forget) to watch it.

Although you can watch it as many times during that 24 hour period that you like. After that, the movie goes away from the phone and your iTunes account.

I prefer to rent vs. buy the movies cause I really don't like watching movies on my computer or iPhone unless I'm on travel. The cost to buy is almost as much as buying the actual DVD and you're limited to watching it foreverafter on a computer or your iPhone.

That being said, I do like watching the rented movies on my iPhone particularly on the plane. No bulky portable DVD player to deal with, just the little phone and oddly enough the screen doesn't seem that small when you're watching the movie. I thought it would be but it isn't a problem.

Audio books work in a similar fashion but you can't rent them, you just buy them.

Although, I generally like to read trashy romance novels on vacay and found out the hard way that they don't work well as an audio book. At some points you feel like you are listening to porn.

Somehow reading the trashy parts don't seem as cheesy as they do when some woman or man in a faux british accent is saying the words in your ear. Ick!! Lesson learned!!

Jim, Try Handbrake for converting your movies to iphone/itouch/ipod compatible formats. It's a free download. Works great, used it several times. Once the movie is converted to a .m4v just drag it into your itunes and sync your movies to your device.

Might have to play with the settings a little bit for best picture compression ratio

A similar thing happens each time my husband updates the Ipod. I have no idea why but its a PITA