5 Questions About iTunes Match

Discussion in 'Mac Apps and Mac App Store' started by blue22, Dec 2, 2011.

  1. blue22 macrumors 6502a


    Oct 15, 2010
    I'm still on the fence about jumping in with an iTunes Match subscription. I've read the various message boards here addressing some concerns, as well as some other online reviews of the service (some notable ones here and here), and I still have some questions I'd like to have clarified to help better decide if this is something worth participating in:

    1) I still have bunch of 96 KBPS audio files I ripped from back in the day (I know, I know… but it only represent 15% of my total collection) but will these files have enough audio info for a match to be successful? Or is there a minimal KBPS I should expect to be using that'll yield better match results?

    2) If I download all the successful iTunes Match audio files onto my desktop can I still choose to stream from iCloud those same audio files on my iPhone and iPad, or will I only be able to use the downloaded files with my iOS devices?

    3) Regarding subscription/use terms, just want to clarify whether it's okay to submit one collection of songs to match and then sometime later submit another collection to be matched, or do they all have to be matched at the same time? (just for background: I have around 10,000 songs that would need to be matched initially, but I also have another 400+ physical CD's I still need to rip at some point, and this is mainly why I'm asking.)

    4) For songs that aren't matched by iTunes and are marked by cryptic icons, what are these icons and how do they affect the playability of the audio file, if at all?

    5) Lastly, what if I have two Apple ID accounts, with each one set up for accessing iTunes in a different country (one is for the USA and the other is for the UK) is there any way I can consolidate these accounts into one when I do the iTunes Match? Or would I have to have two separate iTunes Match subscriptions to accommodate those tracks bought via each of those country's iTunes stores?

    Any answers and/or insights into any of these questions would be greatly appreciated, thank you!!!
  2. blue22 thread starter macrumors 6502a


    Oct 15, 2010
    good weblink...

    Dang, that was quick! :)

    Thanks for the weblink, but after reading the article I'm still fuzzy on questions #2 & #4 that I posted above, so if anyone has any insight into those to share that would be great.
  3. jackrv macrumors 6502

    Jul 14, 2011
    For #2, yes. After match either uploads or matches everything, back up and delete all music except unuploaded or Ineligible from your library (DO NOT CHOOSE TO DELETE FROM ICLOUD). Then highlight all matche and uploaded songs, right click and select download. All of the songs as they are in iCloud can now be played on your computer or iOS devices.
  4. macfaninpdx macrumors regular

    Mar 6, 2007
  5. blue22 thread starter macrumors 6502a


    Oct 15, 2010

    Brilliant, thank you guys!

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