Is trial a trial? My m4p's dont list!

[wguru]

My old pc had iTunes and I purchased some tunes from iTunes store, but after becoming so discusted w/iTunes, now on my new pc's, I refuse to install iTunes again. That leaves me unable to even play the mp4'sw on my pc's because when I try pointing the dB music converter to a folder of mine where a I have a mp4 file, the mp4 doesn't even list (so as to proceed in converting it to mp3).

In that I ran dMC-r12.exe and the config window lists the converter as release 12 (there it says trial 30 days remaining), when I tried pointing the converter to one of my mp4's, only that folder's mp3's list, but not the mp4.

So I downloaded dBpoweramp's mp4 codec, installed it (now lists in the config window as m4a Nero AAC release 9), but still my m4p's don't list when I point the music converter to the folder where the m4p is stored.

Also in that the converter seems to have no user interface and only opens a directory browser, I noticed that the start menu's file for the converter is a mere 867 bytes.

Seems like the supposedly fully functional trial is not a fully functional dBpoweramp music converter.


Best regards and happ-e-trails to all,

wguru

[garym]

Re: Is trial a trial? My m4p's dont list!

Your issue has nothing to do with dbpa. These older purchased itunes files (m4p) have DRM, digital rights management. So you can't convert these directly to mp3 (with dpba or even itunes itself). Your can open these within itunes, create a playlist, then burn them to a CD as audio files, then RERIP the audio CD as mp3 or FLAC, etc. within dbpa.

Today's lesson: Don't buy DRM music. You don't really own it....

[wguru]

Re: Is trial a trial? My m4p's dont list!

Thanks for the tip. Ya I found out about DRM as soon as I began 'renting' iTunes files. Fortunately I only have 159 such files to deal with.

And yes, I once read about the iTunes method of getting the m4p's onto CD and then ripping them as mp3, but sort of forgot about it when I happened across the mentioned article, then rather hastily went about trying to use dbpoweramp's trial version.

The article I read is at...

http://www.bpurcell.org/blog/index.cfm?entry=1036&mode=entry

..and the once available 'hymm' application (supposedly) was used to convert the m4p's to m4a's, then 'we' use dbpoweramp on the m4a's.

Since the 'hymm' link's now dead, and since I don't think that I'll try popping for Tunebite Platinum's $39.90 (to try getting the m4p's to m4a's), and since there's no way I'll ever run iTunes again, it seems there just has to be another means to convert the m4p's to m4a's.

WTH, I guess I need to research Jon Lech Johansen, ie; Double Twist (he reverse engineered FairPlay system, initially with a 2003 program called QTFairUse).

So it's that or maybe I'll find that SUPER © will convert the m4p's to m4a's and even if at that point (likely the m4a's won't play on the pc), maybe then dbpoweramp trial will work on the m4a's.

I'll try to report back what I've found out.

[wguru]

Re: Is trial a trial? My m4p's dont list!

Still checking on the DRM thing, but I just realized that I have these tunes on my iPod, so it seems I simply need to capture the output and hopefully, voila.

[garym]

Re: Is trial a trial? My m4p's dont list!

Still checking on the DRM thing, but I just realized that I have these tunes on my iPod, so it seems I simply need to capture the output and hopefully, voila.

but why would recording the output in real time be easier than simply creating about 10 playlists (16 songs per playlist). Then burning each of these playlists to a CD (as audio). Then rip the songs from these CDs as whatever you want.

Yes, this is transcoding. I did this with the few DRM songs I had from the past, but when I reripped from the "burned disc" within itunes, I ripped as FLAC (lossless) files. And I can play these FLAC files on my squeezeboxes.

[garym]

Re: Is trial a trial? My m4p's dont list!

by the way, yes there are ways to transfer the song files directly off the ipod back to a computer. But even when you do, they still have the DRM associated with them so you're not any better off....

[Edu Camargo]

Re: Is trial a trial? My m4p's dont list!

Yeah, put the blame on record labels. They've done everything to ruine (or try to ruine) the digital music stratosphere, including obligating Apple to wrap some "secrets" to lock you inside iTunes/iPod. But they keep losing. Shame on them. Fortunately Amazon came up with a better solution, although I still don't have permission to buy music from them, and I don't want it, because it's MP3. But yet we're getting better... At some slow pase, but we are. Gladly DRM is gone... And still CD rules.