Remove DRM - M4A files?

[nolikeatheDRM]

Newbie... done some reading... lots of questions....

To start with - most of the files in my itunes library are M4A files. I don't see any of th epopular tools mentioning that format as one they support.

Are there tools for M4A?

M4A files are files that Apple uses for music encoded with AAC audio codec and stored in the MP4 container. You can safely rename them to MP4.

iTunes Plus offers music files that have higher bit-rate and that are DRM free. Such tunes cost the same 99 cents, so there is no sense to get copy-protected files for the same price and remove DRM protection from them.

If you can't find some tune at iTunes Plus or you have some audio files downloaded some time ago, you can use lossless and lossy DRM removal software.

There are only two question:
- Do you have Mac OS or Windows?
- Are your M4A files DRM protected ('coz DRM protected songs at iTunes have M4P extension) ?

[nolikeatheDRM]

Originally Posted by Stream Recorder

M4A files are files that Apple uses for music encoded with AAC audio codec and stored in the MP4 container. You can safely rename them to MP4.

iTunes Plus offers music files that have higher bit-rate and that are DRM free. Such tunes cost the same 99 cents, so there is no sense to get copy-protected files for the same price and remove DRM protection from them.

If you can't find some tune at iTunes Plus or you have some audio files downloaded some time ago, you can use lossless and lossy DRM removal software.

There are only two question:
- Do you have Mac OS or Windows?
- Are your M4A files DRM protected ('coz DRM protected songs at iTunes have M4P extension) ?

Answers, info, more questions:

Windows 2000. It looks like the M4A files are all the ones that were brought in off of CD's. So, they won't have any DRM protection. Looks like I just need to un-DRM the downloaded files.

Additional questions:

So, based on what you said, I can just batch rename the m4a files to mp4 and they will work fine ?

Is there some way (software?) to wholesale export all my music to Win Media Player complete with ID tags and all, still sorted, etc ? I'm trying to get them there to move to another device that only loads from Win MP.

Originally Posted by nolikeatheDRM

So, based on what you said, I can just batch rename the m4a files to mp4 and they will work fine ?

They are just mp4 filese that were given .m4a extension by Apple. If you change the file extension, the content won't be changed. And I don't really know whether your player supports mp4 audio files.

Originally Posted by nolikeatheDRM

Is there some way (software?) to wholesale export all my music to Win Media Player complete with ID tags and all, still sorted, etc ? I'm trying to get them there to move to another device that only loads from Win MP.

My WMP can play aac, m4a files and many other audio and video files. But I have K-Lite Mega Codec Pack. You only need to add support of MP4 container and AAC audio codec in this case.

You can also convert audio files to the format supported by your device. And most probably you will be able to transfer these files directly, if you really need this.

Does your (portable) device support AAC?

[nolikeatheDRM]

Originally Posted by Stream Recorder

They are just mp4 filese that were given .m4a extension by Apple. If you change the file extension, the content won't be changed. And I don't really know whether your player supports mp4 audio files.


My WMP can play aac, m4a files and many other audio and video files. But I have K-Lite Mega Codec Pack. You only need to add support of MP4 container and AAC audio codec in this case.

You can also convert audio files to the format supported by your device. And most probably you will be able to transfer these files directly, if you really need this.

Does your (portable) device support AAC?

It looks like it only supports wma and mp3. I am checking to see if I can get an update to support aac.

Can you suggest a location to get a clean version of the K-Lite Mega Codec Pack ?

Originally Posted by nolikeatheDRM

Can you suggest a location to get a clean version of the K-Lite Mega Codec Pack ?

I used to download it from free-codecs.com
http://www.free-codecs.com/download/...Codec_Pack.htm

Even after downloading from reliable location I use antivirus. I recommend Kaspersky Internet Security.