Viewing album art using iTunes and your iPod

With iTunes, music isn't just an auditory experience: it's visual as well. You can see cover art, or any still image file, while you listen to your music.

Songs that you purchase at the iTunes Store automatically come with cover artwork — you can see it by clicking the "Show or hide song artwork and video viewer" button on the left lower side of the iTunes window. For the rest of your music, just select "Get Album Artwork" under the iTunes' Advanced Menu. Album art will automatically be matched up and downloaded to your library.

Sometimes, though, album art may not be available (especially if you've imported tracks from out-of-print CDs). No problem. You can add your own artwork simply by dragging the photo you want to that same viewer box. You can even drag more than one photo to the box: the viewer displays one photo at a time, letting you scroll through them by clicking the right or left arrow. You can also see a larger version of the photo by clicking on it.

Naturally, iPods can display album artwork as well. Once you've loaded the artwork into iTunes, you simply configure iTunes to transfer the art to your iPod:

• In the iTunes Source menu, click iPod.
• From the iTunes menu at the top of your screen (or, if you're using Windows, the Edit menu), choose Preferences.
• Click the iPod icon.
• Select "Display album artwork on your iPod."
• Click OK.

If you decide to turn off this option, don't worry — you won't lose images you've saved in iTunes and/or on your iPod.

Listening to podcasts

Maybe you've heard of podcasting. If you haven't, you're missing out on a world of free audio and video on-demand programming. Shows run the gamut from offerings by major networks such as ESPN, NPR, and ABC to niche programs about virtually any subject, such as indie music, crafts, comics, parenting, and tech news, just to name a very few.

What is a podcast?
A podcast (the word combines "iPod" and "broadcast") is an audio or video show that produces new episodes on a regular basis (usually daily, weekly, or monthly). These episodes are posted to the program's website and made available for downloading to your computer.

That may sound a little involved, but iTunes makes it easy. That link takes you to the podcast section of the iTunes store, where you can browse to your heart's content.

• Make sure your iTunes and iPod software are up to date by going to the Apple website. Older versions of iTunes aren't compatible with podcasts.
• Click on the Podcast listing in the Library listing. It will probably be blank (when you start subscribing, this is where you will find the downloaded episodes of your podcasts), but down on the lower right corner you'll see a link to the Podcast Directory.
• Click on the Podcast Directory link. You'll be taken to the podcast section of the iTunes store.
• Find a podcast that looks interesting, and click on it to see available episodes.
• Check out a sample of the podcast by double-clicking an episode.
• If you like it, click Subscribe, and iTunes will automatically download the latest episode whenever it comes out.

You can view and manage podcasts by clicking Podcasts from the iTunes Source menu. Click the Settings button to choose:

• How often to download new episodes,
• What to do when new episodes are available,
• How many episodes to keep, and
• Which podcasts to transfer to your iPod

If you find a podcast online that isn't in the iTunes Music Store, you can subscribe to that, too. In iTunes, choose the Advanced menu, select Subscribe to Podcast, paste in the podcast's web address, and click OK.

Watching videos using iTunes and your iPod

Of course, iPods are more than just portable juke boxes. You can take TV shows, movies, games, and music videos with you wherever you go.

With the exception of the iPod shuffle, all iPods can display MPEG-4 and MOV files, including videos and TV shows downloaded from the iTunes Store. You need to have iTunes 8 or later, though. If you need to update iTunes, head to Apple's web site and download the latest version.

Here's how to transfer and view video on your iPod:

• Download a video from the iTunes Store, or convert a video to an iPod-compatible format using QuickTime Pro, and drag it into iTunes.
• If you want to automatically sync videos to your iPod, navigate to iTunes Preferences, select iPod, then select Videos.
• You can choose to automatically update all your videos, to automatically update only certain playlists, or not to update videos at all. (See our discussion of automatic updating for more information).
• From your iPod's main menu, select Videos. From there you can choose the video you want to see.
• Select TV Off.

Here are some more tips for using your iPod to enjoy videos:

• Your iPod can play videos on a TV if you have an A/V iPod dock or cable. Simply use the cable to connect your iPod to your TV's component video input. Then, on your iPod, choose the video you want to see, and select TV On.
• You can listen to just the audio portion of a music video. Go to your iPod's Music menu, and you'll see the video listed. Select it and the audio will play.
• To see a video directly on your computer, double-click it in iTunes. It plays in the lower left corner of the iTunes window — if you don't see it, click the Video Viewer button. If you click the video, it will appear in a larger window. There's also a Full Screen button at the bottom of the iTunes window; click it to see the video in full-screen mode. You can return to the iTunes window by pressing ESC.

Viewing photos using iTunes and your iPod

iPods make great high-tech "brag books" for showing off your kids, your friends, or your vacation pictures. Seeing photos on the iPod's screen is simple:

• In addition to iTunes, you'll also need one of the following programs:
  • For Mac: iPhoto 4.0.3 or later
  • For PC: Adobe PhotoShop Album 2.0 or later, or PhotoShop Elements 3.0 or later
• In iTunes, select your iPod from the Source menu.
• Click the iPod Options button at the bottom right of the iTunes window.
• Select Photos, and choose the photo viewing program you're using, as well as the photo album(s) you want to automatically transfer to your iPod.
• From your iPod's main menu, select Photos. From there you can choose a photo album, and your iPod will display thumbnail images of the photos in the album.
• Use the iPod's scroll wheel to navigate to the photo you want, then press the Select button.
• You can move through the photos using the scroll wheel or the Rewind and Forward buttons.
• If you press the Select button while a photo is displayed, your iPod will show the Start Slideshow menu. Select TV Off, and the slideshow will start with the photo you viewed last.

Here are some more tips for using your iPod to enjoy photos:

• Your iPod can display a slideshow on a TV, if you have an A/V iPod dock or cable. Simply use the cable to connect your iPod to your TV's video input. Most often this is either a composite video or S-video connection. Then, on your iPod, from the Start Slideshow menu, select TV On.
• You can play music while you watch a slideshow. Simply navigate to the iPod's Photos menu, choose Slideshow Settings, then select Music. The iPod will let you choose a playlist to use as a soundtrack for your slideshow.

Listening to your iPod in the car

Once you get your iPod's songs and playlists the way you want them, you'll want to enjoy them everywhere, including while you drive. Fortunately, there are lots of ways to play your iPod through your car's radio. Check out our iPod Car Stereo Adapter Shopping Guide for details.