Can't convert .mov files from lynda.com to mp4, wmv on a Mac. Are they DRM-protected?

i have some .mov that are on lynda.com training books i bought and i want to watch them on something other than my computer because its very inconvenient . they have the copy protection on the .mov so i can save them out of quicktime pro, i also tried to import the files into finalcut and then re export and that causes the app to crash.. most likly because of the copy protection.

so is there any way i can convert these to mp4 or wmv? i am on mac osx, but if there is a solution that only works for windows ill try and get to a windows pc to use.

First of all, what kind of content from lynda.com do you have? Downloadable files? Files on CDs/DVDs? Stream recordings?

DRM protected Windows Media files can easily be detected on Windows by watching their file properties. You should be able to check your mov files on a Mac in a similar way.

Can you play your MOV files with QuickTime 6? Is QuickTime 7 required to play your MOV files? The latest MOV files are different 'coz they use H.264 video codec. Older software may crash because of this.

im not sure.. i uploaded the first mov in the series of one of them and its 4mb.. maybe someone can check it out and tell me..

http://rapidshare.com/files/85367565...iles_.mov.html

I can play the file on my PC so obviously it is not DRM protected. So just try to find a audio/video converter or just a video converter that can convert MOV to MP4, WMV on a Mac. I don't have Mac so I can only suggest Windows software.

I encountered the same problem early last year and gave up early on as I had more pressing matters to tend to. I've renewed the problem solving task as I've been irritated lately that I can't put any of the .mov files on my ipod, and when trying to convert the files it's always a no-go. I've tried Visual Hub, Reel Bean, FCP, iMovie, you name it and all to no avail. I'm finding it hard to believe they aren't protected, but if that's true, this is quite the running coincidence.

I too am on OSX but have been just as open to any Win tools and tricks as it's easy enough to fire up Parallels these days when necessary.

I'll keep tinkering and post again if I make any progress.

I don't know if you've already found the solution to this problem, but I came across your thread while looking a faster way to convert these files, maybe a bulk method of some sort. I thought about writing an applescript to do it, but I haven't as of yet.
Anyway, if you download dumpster, you can open your individual .mov files, then go to the property called "nsav", there you'll see two fields, more than likely the second field will be set to $0001. Change it to $0000, and then save the file. For some reason, I always have to click out of that field before saving the file, otherwise the change doesnt seem to save.

Once you've done this, then you can run the .mov through any converter like VisualHub, and do pretty much anything you want with it.

The downside is that you have to do one video at a time. If anyone knows of a faster way to convert them, please post.

Hope it helps,
Woody

Originally Posted by woody

there you'll see two fields, more than likely the second field will be set to $0001. Change it to $0000, and then save the file. For some reason, I always have to click out of that field before saving the file, otherwise the change doesnt seem to save.

The downside is that you have to do one video at a time. If anyone knows of a faster way to convert them, please post.

I don't really know whether it is a good idea to try to open .mov files in a hex editor and replace the value.

[distearth]

I know this is an old post but I was looking for an answer to converting these lynda mov files to play on my ipad. I found using visualhub ,(which is no longer maintained), but if you can find it, you have the advanced option to force quicktime decoding. I was able to export to mp4 with sound and changed bitrate to create a smaller file size as well.