Converting MP3’s to Work with Your DSi - Part Two
[Step 1] - Add Your Music Files to iTunes
[Step 2] - Select Your Songs Select all of the songs that you wish to convert by drag-clicking over them, or by using the shift + click method.
After your songs are selected, right click on any one of your selected songs. In the menu that appears, select the option "Create AAC Version". Once you have done this, a grayed out title of the first song to be converted will appear on your iTunes playlist. The displayed "Bitrate" and "Time" of the song will be labeled as "Incomplete" until the conversion process is finished. If you wish to check the status of your converting songs, click on the "Converting..." list that appears as the first option under the "Playlist" category on the right side of your iTunes interface.
[Step 4] - Navigate to Your Newly Converted Songs
Once the conversion process is finished, your converted songs will be displayed on the same playlist as the previous versions of the songs. However, they will usually be located in a different folder, unless you specified otherwise by previously configuring your options. By default, your converted music files will be in C:/(User)/Music/iTunes/iTunes Music/(Artist). If you can't find your converted music files, you can always right click on the song in iTunes and select the "Get Info" option, which will also display the location of the song. Remember, your newly converted files will be categorized as being in *.m4a format, not *.mp3 or *.aac.
You're done! Insert your SD card into your Nintendo DSi, and navigate to the "Sound" menu option. You should be able to then navigate to the folder(s) containing your music, and then play them with your DSi's sound player. The DSi has some really fun simple sound manipulation options, which can be very entertaining.
A quick note about Bitrate
If you want to adjust the quality of your converted sound files in iTunes, there is a bit of a process involved. You need to tweek this option before you convert your files.
If you don't use iTunes as your default media player (VLC ftw! :p), you will first have to import the music files you wish to convert into your iTunes music library. For organizational purposes, the best way to do this is to make a new playlist, and add the music files to be converted to that playlist. The music files can be in *.wav, *.mp3 or other music formats. If you are trying to convert music files in *.flac format, the process becomes slightly more complicated. We'll try to cover that type of conversion in another post.
[Step 3] - Convert Them
[Step 5] - Copy your Converted Songs to Your SD Card
Select your converted songs (be sure they are displayed as being in *.m4a format) and drag them to your SD card to initiate the copying process. It's usually best to put them into a folder titled "Music" on your SD card, for organizational purposes. If you wish, you can also separate them by artist, album or genre.
[Step 6] - Play With Your Music!