[PhotoHead]

I have been enjoying a Sony 639, but as a Mac user (I have about eight of them in my home and photography studio) it has been a bit of a learning curve. I was wondering how others deal with the protected formats in iTunes. For instance, the Sony only seems to recognize MP3 and MP4, but not MP4 Protected. Is burning a disc and reimporting into iTunes as an MP3 the best way to be able to listen to protected files downloaded from the iTunes store? The protected files resist format changes, at least at a surface level. Are there any aps which allow better file management on the 639 when plugged into the computer? It only seems to display songs by title, which makes file management and sorting a bit of a chore. I do love the player, however, despite its compatibility issues. Thanks. I like my Apple computers and they are pretty much standard in my industry, so changing platforms isn't really an option.

 

[hypoicon]

I developed a pretty easy workflow to cope with the protected files on my macs-- I hate the whole "authorizing" bull when I move stuff between our six macs in various locations. This is what I do, using iTunes. It burns a few CDRs, but they're cheap.

1. Make the "file type" attribute visible in the main library fields. Sort by this to find all the protected aacs. (they come to the top right away).

2. Create a playlist that is approximately album length using the tracks you want to convert-- It doesn't matter if they match up with real albums.

3. Burn the playlist to disc as an audio disc, not as an MP3 disk. Important: do not delete this playlist until you finish the next step.

4. Reinsert the audio disc. If the playlist is present, iTunes will recognize all the tracks on the disc and ask you if you want to import them (deleting the playlist makes the disc unrecognizable and show up as track 1, etc.). Import the tracks back in whatever default format you use (such as .mp3)

5. Delete the original files and playlist-- the metadata will have been automatically attached and you no longer need them.

It takes a little time, but it makes everything easily transportable from there on. I do it about once a month since my wife has a tendency to download a song or two a week. I hate protected files, so I never do myself.

 

[walkingman]

Well do what hypoicon said, but I personally don't suggest you delete the original DRM files in case you ever want to switch back to iPods or have a device capable of playing them.

 

[ILikeMusic]

The burn and re-encode method has a bit of a disadvantage in that you are re-encoding an already compressed track, and in doing that you will take a quality hit. Maybe not audible or maybe so depending on circumstances.

A good reason why you should stop buying DRM-crippled tracks from iTunes and stary buying your music from Amazon... lower price, higher bitrate, and no DRM...

 

[hypoicon]

If I can avoid it, I don't buy mp3s at all except when they are dirt cheap to check something out. A compressed file is a compressed file to me-- they all lack decent dynamics when compared to lossless. If I like it, I pick up the CD, SACD, or DVD-A when available.

Listening to compressed music is analogous to listening to the radio-- it can have it's place, but it is no substitute for experiencing the real thing with the best possible quality. Convenience is not the best criteria for anything, especially not music.

 

[shigzeo]

i only buy itunes plus songs so i don't have to deal with that rubbish. drm is really suck

 

[krmathis]

Its questionable if its legal to remove the DRM protection, and hence this is not the place to talk about that. Its legal to burn the files to CD and reimport them though. But unless you rip to a lossless codec/format (ALAC, WAV, AIFF) there will be additional quality loss.

 

[fredman22]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hypoicon /img/forum/go_quote.gif Listening to compressed music is analogous to listening to the radio-- it can have it's place, but it is no substitute for experiencing the real thing with the best possible quality. Convenience is not the best criteria for anything, especially not music.

- What you said! Words for headfiers to live by...

 

[Xena]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hypoicon /img/forum/go_quote.gif ... Listening to compressed music is analogous to listening to the radio-- it can have it's place, but it is no substitute for experiencing the real thing with the best possible quality. Convenience is not the best criteria for anything, especially not music.

The "real thing" is live music. Any recording is a compromise in sound quality.

 

[devin_mm]

My advice is to search google, or even wikipedia has information on the apple FairPlay drm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FairPlay