iPod: The Missing Manual, 8th Edition

Chapter 12. iPod Out Loud

Now that you’ve spent all this time getting your iPod fully loaded with cool entertainment, you probably want to listen to your playlists, albums, audio books, and podcasts wherever you happen to be—in a car, on your big booming home stereo, in the bathroom, wherever. If you can load it onto your iPod, you can channel it through most any sound system—and at pretty reasonable cost, too. This chapter explains the simple procedures you follow to play your iPod through the woofers and tweeters in your life. (If you want to play iPod movies on your TV, flip back to Chapter 8.)

One note of caution before you plunk down your hard-earned cash on a fancy audio gizmo: Apple has made a lot of different iPod models over the years, and not every add-on or accessory works with all iPods. To be safe (especially if you recently bought a new iPod), check the product’s fine print to make sure it and your iPod will be happy together.

Taking Your iPod on the Road

Since the glorious days of crackly AM radio, music and driving have gone hand in hand. These days, a stereo system with an AM/FM radio and a CD player is the bare minimum for most cars, and late-model vehicles now cruise around with all sorts of high-end equipment, from MP3-compatible CD players to satellite radio. (Whether the music you play on them has improved over the years is subject to debate.)

If having your playlists with you is your idea of paradise by the dashboard light, there are several inexpensive ways to ...