CHAPTER 10
Enjoying Music, Video, and Books
Your MacBook comes equipped with apps for enjoying music, video, and books. iTunes enables you to copy songs from CDs, play them back, and watch videos, movies, and podcasts. iBooks enables you to build an e-book library on your MacBook and read books anywhere.
Add Your Music to iTunes
iTunes enables you to build your music library quickly by adding your existing songs to it. You can copy songs from your CDs by using a SuperDrive or other optical drive connected to your MacBook. You can also import songs that you already have as digital files on your MacBook.
When importing songs from CDs, you can choose among different settings to create files using different formats and higher or lower audio quality. The highest-quality files give the best sound but require the most space on your MacBook’s disk.
Add Your Music to iTunes
Click iTunes (
) on the Dock.
iTunes opens.
Insert a CD in the optical drive.
iTunes looks up the CD’s details online and opens a dialog asking if you want to import the CD.
Note: If you want to prevent iTunes from prompting you to import each audio CD you insert, click Do not ask me again (
changes to 
) before clicking No.
Click No.
The dialog closes.
Click CD Info.
The CD Info dialog opens.
Verify that the information is correct. If it is not, correct it.
Note: Many entries for CDs in the online database that iTunes uses contain misspelled or inaccurate information.
Click Album is a compilation of songs by various artists ( changes to ) if the CD is a compilation by various artists.
Click OK.
The CD Info dialog closes.
Click Import CD.
The Import Settings dialog opens.
Click Import Using (
) and select the encoder to use.
Click Setting () and select the setting.
Click Use error correction when reading Audio CDs ( changes to ).
Click OK.
The Import Settings dialog closes.
iTunes imports the songs.
When iTunes finishes importing, click Eject (
).
The optical drive ejects the CD.
Set Up Home Sharing
iTunes includes a feature called Home Sharing that enables you to share songs and videos among your and your family’s Macs, PCs, and iOS devices. Home Sharing saves time and effort over copying song files manually between computers. Each family member who uses Home Sharing must have an Apple ID, such as the one created when setting up an account on Apple’s iTunes Store. Anyone without an Apple ID can create one in a couple of minutes.
Set Up Home Sharing
Click iTunes () on the Dock.
iTunes opens.
Click File.
The File menu opens.
Highlight Home Sharing.
The Home Sharing submenu opens.
Click Turn On Home Sharing.
The Enter the Apple ID Used to Create Your Home Share dialog opens.
Type your Apple ID.
Type your password.
Click Turn On Home Sharing.
Note: If iTunes prompts you to authorize your computer in order to activate Home Sharing, click Authorize and follow the prompts for authorizing the computer.
The Home Sharing screen appears.
Click Done.
Your library appears again.
Click Source (
).
Click the appropriate shared library in the Home Shares list on the menu.
The shared content appears.
Select the items you want to import.
Click Import.
iTunes imports the items.
Buy Songs Online
iTunes enables you to buy songs and other content from the iTunes Store, Apple’s online store for music and media. To buy items from the iTunes Store, you must set up an account including either your credit card details or another means of payment, such as an iTunes Gift Card, PayPal, or an allowance account. If you do not already have an account, iTunes prompts you to set one up when you first attempt to buy an item.
Buy Songs Online
Click iTunes () on the Dock.
iTunes opens.
Click iTunes Store.
iTunes displays the home page of the iTunes store.
Click Music (
).
Click Genres (
).
The Genres pop-up menu opens.
Click the type of music you want to browse.
iTunes displays the kind of music you clicked.
Click an item to display information on it.
Highlight a song and click Play (
) to play a sample.
Click the price button.
You can click Buy to buy the whole album.
Note: If the Sign In to the iTunes Store dialog opens, type your password, and then click Buy.
iTunes downloads the song.
Note: To locate the song, click My Music, click Playlists, and then click the Purchased playlist. This playlist shows songs you have purchased from the iTunes Store.
Play Songs
iTunes makes it easy to play back your songs. You can view your music listed by songs, albums, artists, composers, or genres, which enables you to quickly locate the songs you want to hear. You can also search for songs using artist names, album or song names, or keywords.
After locating the music you want to hear, you can start a song playing by simply double-clicking it. You can then control playback by using the straightforward controls at the top of the iTunes window.
Play Songs
Play a Song in Songs View
In iTunes, click My Music.
iTunes displays your music.
Click the pop-up menu () and then click Songs.
iTunes switches to Songs view.
The column browser appears.
Note: If the column browser does not appear, click View, highlight Column Browser, and select Show Column Browser.
Click the genre.
Click the artist.
Click the album.
Double-click the song.
The song starts playing.
Play a Song in Albums View
Click the pop-up menu () and then click Albums.
iTunes switches to Albums view.
Click the album you want to open.
The album’s contents appear.
Double-click the song.
The song starts playing.
Note: You can click the album again to close the album’s pane.
Play a Song in Artists View
Click the pop-up menu () and then click Artists.
iTunes switches to Artists view.
Click the artist whose music you want to see.
Scroll up or down to locate the album.
Double-click a song to start it playing.
You can click Play (
) to play the whole album.
You can click Play () to play all the songs by the artist.
Play a Song in Genres View
Click the pop-up menu () and then click Genres.
iTunes switches to Genres view.
Click the genre you want to browse.
Scroll up or down to locate the album.
Double-click a song to start it playing.
Play Videos
iTunes enables you to play videos, including video podcasts. You can buy music videos, TV shows, and movies from the iTunes Store or export files of your own movies from iMovie or other applications. After adding videos to iTunes, you access them by selecting Movies or TV Shows, as appropriate, in the Source pop-up menu.
You can watch video content either within the iTunes window or full screen. You can also play videos from your MacBook to a TV connected to an Apple TV.
Play Videos
Click iTunes () on the Dock.
iTunes opens.
Click Movies (
).
Note: To watch a TV show, click TV Shows (
).
The Movies screen appears.
On the navigation bar, click the view to use: My Movies, Unwatched, Home Videos, Playlists, or iTunes Store.
iTunes displays the movies in the view you click.
Position the pointer over the movie you want to play.
The Play button appears.
Click Play ().
iTunes starts playing the movie.
Move the pointer over the video.
The pop-up control bar appears.
Use the controls on the pop-up bar to control playback.
You can click Full Screen (
) to switch to full-screen viewing.
Click Close (
) to stop viewing the video.
Create Playlists
iTunes enables you to create playlists that contain the songs you want in your preferred order. Playlists are a great way of getting more enjoyment out of your music. You can listen to a playlist, share it with others, or burn it to a CD for listening on a CD player.
To create a playlist, you drag items to the Playlists pane. In Songs, Albums, Artists, or Genres view, the Playlists pane automatically appears on the right side of the window when you start dragging songs.
Create Playlists
Click iTunes () on the Dock.
iTunes opens.
Select one or more songs you want to put into a new playlist.
Note: Click the first song you want to select, and then press 
+ click each other song.
Click File.
The File menu opens.
Highlight New.
The New submenu opens.
Click Playlist from Selection.
The Playlists screen appears, showing the playlist with a default name, Playlist, which is selected so you can type over it.
Type the name for the playlist and press 
.
Click Edit Playlist.
The Playlist pane appears on the right side of the iTunes window, showing the playlist you created.
Click and drag other songs, artists, albums, or genres to the playlist. The blue line shows where the songs will land in the playlist.
Note: You can click and drag songs to the playlist from other views, such as Albums view or Genres view.
Click Add description.
Type a description for the playlist to help you identify it.
You can click Sort By () and then click a different sort order, such as Name or Plays.
Click and drag the songs in the playlist into the order you want.
Click Done.
You can now play the playlist by clicking Playlists and then double-clicking the playlist.
Create Smart Playlists
Instead of creating playlists manually by adding songs to them, you can have iTunes’ Smart Playlists feature create playlists automatically for you. A Smart Playlist is a playlist iTunes builds based on criteria you specify. You can set iTunes to update a Smart Playlist automatically as well.
To create a Smart Playlist, you set up the criteria, also called rules, and name the playlist. iTunes then adds content to the playlist for you.
Create Smart Playlists
Click iTunes () on the Dock.
iTunes opens.
Click File.
The File menu opens.
Highlight New.
The New submenu opens.
Click Smart Playlist.
Note: You can also start a Smart Playlist by pressing + 
+ 
.
The Smart Playlist dialog opens.
Click the first 
and select the item for the first condition — for example, Genre.
Click the second and select the comparison for the first condition — for example, contains.
Click the text field and type the text for the comparison — for example, Alternative — making the condition “Genre contains Alternative.”
To add another condition, click Add (
).
Click Match () and select any to match any of the rules or all to match all the rules.
Set up the second condition by repeating steps 4 to 6.
Note: You can add as many conditions as you need to define the playlist.
You can limit the playlist by clicking Limit to ( changes to ) and specifying the limit.
Click Live updating ( changes to ).
Click OK.
iTunes creates the Smart Playlist and adds it to the Playlists section of the Source list.
An edit box appears around the suggested name.
Type the name for the Smart Playlist and press .
iTunes applies the name to the playlist.
Listen to iTunes Radio and Internet Radio
iTunes enables you to listen to online radio stations. The iTunes Radio feature comes set to access a selection of stations on demand, which means you can pause the radio stream and resume it from the same place. You can skip some songs if you do not want to listen to them, and you can create custom stations. To listen to iTunes Radio, you must sign in to the Apple Music service.
You can also use iTunes to access radio stations that broadcast across the Internet in real time. When listening to such stations, you cannot pause the content or skip songs.
Listen to iTunes Radio and Internet Radio
Listen to a Radio Station
Click iTunes () on the Dock.
iTunes opens.
Click Radio.
The Radio screen appears.
The Beats 1 station appears at the top of the screen. You can click Listen Now to start listening to it.
Position the pointer over the station you want to listen to.
The Play button () appears.
Click Play ().
The station starts playing.
Details of the current song appear.
You can click Skip (
) to skip to the next track.
You can click More (
) to display a menu of other actions, such as starting a new station from the artist or sharing the song.
To explore other stations, scroll down.
The Featured Stations list appears.
To play a featured station, move the pointer over it, and then click Play ().
You can search by clicking Search and typing an artist’s name, a keyword, or a genre.
Scroll down farther.
The Genre list appears, showing genres such as Pop, Country, and Hip-Hop/R&B.
To play a station, move the pointer over it, and then click Play ().
Enjoy Podcasts
A podcast is an audio or video file that you can download from the Internet and play on your MacBook or a digital player like the iPhone, iPad, or iPod. iTunes enables you to access a wide variety of podcasts on the iTunes Store. The iTunes Store makes a wide variety of podcasts available. You can either download a single podcast episode or subscribe to a podcast so that iTunes automatically downloads new episodes for you.
Enjoy Podcasts
Click iTunes () on the Dock.
iTunes opens.
Click iTunes Store.
iTunes displays the home page of the iTunes Store.
Click More (
).
The More pop-up panel appears.
Click Podcasts.
The Podcasts page on the iTunes Store appears.
Click All Genres ().
The pop-up menu opens.
Click the category of podcasts you want to browse.
iTunes shows the category you clicked.
Click the podcast you want to view.
Click Subscribe if you want to subscribe to the podcast.
A confirmation dialog opens.
You can click the Get button or the price button to download a single episode.
Click Subscribe.
iTunes subscribes you to the podcast and downloads the available episodes.
Read Books
OS X includes the iBooks app, which enables you to enjoy electronic books, or e-books, on your MacBook. Using iBooks, you can read e-books that you already have on your MacBook, download free or paid-for e-books from online stores, or read PDF files stored on your MacBook.
Before you can read e-books that you have on your MacBook, you must add them to iBooks. You can then open a book and start reading it.
Read Books
Add Your E-Books to iBooks
Note: This method shows you how to add e-books not purchased from Apple. Any books you have bought via iBooks appear automatically in the iBooks app when you sign in using your Apple ID.
Click iBooks (
) on the Dock.
Note: If iBooks () does not appear on the Dock, click Launchpad (
) on the Dock and then click iBooks () on the Launchpad screen.
The iBooks window opens.
Click File.
The File menu opens.
Click Add to Library.
The Add to Library dialog opens.
Navigate to the folder that contains the books.
Select the books you want to add to iBooks.
Click Add.
The Add to Library dialog closes.
The books appear in iBooks.
Read E-Books
Click iBooks () on the Dock.
The iBooks window opens.
Click the button for the view by which you want to browse. For example, click All Books to view all your books.
You can search for a book by clicking in the search box and typing keywords.
Double-click the book you want to open.
The book opens.
Press 
to display the next page or 
to display the previous page.
Note: You can also swipe left or right on the trackpad to change pages.
You can click Appearance (
) to adjust the appearance of the page and the text.
You can click Library (
) to display your library, leaving the book open.
When you finish reading, click Close (
).
The book closes, and your library appears.