iTunes protected AAC and streaming

[Kadarin]

So for the first time I have purchased content from iTunes (two outstanding downtempo chillout electronica albums, called "Electric Calm" vols 1 and 2), and it looks like I have no way to stream this to my PS3 to play on my home theater. I could load the tracks on my ipod and play them that way, but that's cumbersome.

It looks like my choices are:

1. Purchase an AppleTV.
2. Find some other device that can play protected AAC. (Which would probably cost at least what an AppleTV would go for.)
3. Find a way to strip the DRM so that I can listen to my legally purchased content on devices of my choosing.

Has anyone else run into this? What did you end up doing?

 

[TheStu]

I would go with option 3 since I think that the ipod is the only device that can play protected AAC (and the iPhone obviously).

 

[Tegeril]

Originally posted by: TheStu
I would go with option 3 since I think that the ipod is the only device that can play protected AAC (and the iPhone obviously).

And the AppleTV. The other option is an Airport Express.

 

[Kadarin]

Originally posted by: Tegeril

Originally posted by: TheStu
I would go with option 3 since I think that the ipod is the only device that can play protected AAC (and the iPhone obviously).

And the AppleTV obviously. The other option is an Airport Express.

Thanks for the suggestion; I hadn't considered Airport Express. It looks like it would do it, and be the cheapest option.

 

[benzylic]

I used QTFairuse6 once to get rid of the Apple DRM. It worked pretty well.

 

[erikistired]

option 3a would have been to do your research before purchasing music and agreeing to the terms set forth by the itunes music stores.

but yea, airport express would work.

 

[Kadarin]

Originally posted by: mxrider
I used QTFairuse6 once to get rid of the Apple DRM. It worked pretty well.

This appears to have worked on a test song that I had downloaded. I copied the file over to my PC, authorized it in iTunes on the PC, and ran the conversion. The .m4p file was converted to a .m4a file, and is now playing in Winamp. Tag information appears to have been preserved correctly.

This program might be buggy for me in that it wants me to import the music into iTunes first and authorize it, and then I need to tell it to convert all (protected) music in the iTunes library. I can't seem to drag/drop a file into the program to convert individually, and the program hangs on me if I select the radio button to do this.

More testing is needed, and I may still end up getting an Airport Express if this proves too cumbersome.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Astaroth33
So for the first time I have purchased content from iTunes (two outstanding downtempo chillout electronica albums, called "Electric Calm" vols 1 and 2), and it looks like I have no way to stream this to my PS3 to play on my home theater. I could load the tracks on my ipod and play them that way, but that's cumbersome.

It looks like my choices are:

1. Purchase an AppleTV.
2. Find some other device that can play protected AAC. (Which would probably cost at least what an AppleTV would go for.)
3. Find a way to strip the DRM so that I can listen to my legally purchased content on devices of my choosing.

Has anyone else run into this? What did you end up doing?

The best, easiest, and most effective way to remove DRM is to create an MP3 out of the AAC using a CD-RW disc. When you purchase a song from the iTunes Music Store, it comes in as a protected 128kbps AAC file. The trick is to burn the protected song to an Audio CD (which removes the copy protection) and then rip the unprotected song as an MP3. Here's how you do it:

Create an Audio CD:

1. Get a CD-RW disc
2. In the iTunes menu, go to Edit > Preferences, then click on the Advanced tab, then the Burning tab
4. Set the "Disc Format" to "Audio CD" and check the "Use Sound Check" box
5. Burn the purchased song to CD

Rip to MP3:

1. In the iTunes menu, go to Edit > Preferences, then click on the Advanced tab, then the Importing tab
2. Set "Import Using" to "MP3 Encoder"
3. Set "Setting" to "Good Quality (128 kbps)
4. Import the song to iTunes

All in theory, of course

 

[Tegeril]

While this is the easiest method, it is not the best, because you lose quality on the re-encode and ITMS music is already at the bare minimum of acceptable quality for a home stereo system or high quality headphones. Stripping the DRM does not result in any loss of quality, however it is also a violation of the DMCA

I'd go with the Airport Express, and if you know a student or teacher, they can pick one up at $10 off with the educational discount. That and it's a good way to boost wireless signal strength across your house - I'd imagine you wont have a printer wherever you stream your music, but print serving is a pretty sweet feature too.

 

[Kadarin]

I'll probably end up getting the Express because then I can stream the music directly without having to jump through hoops. Streaming to the PS3 using TVersity can be somewhat flaky.

I wouldn't consider the "burn to CD, then re-encode as mp3" to be the easiest method, as this requires an intermediate step that uses physical media, and in addition it's lossy (though probably still has acceptable sound quality).

 

[timswim78]

Here is a thread on the subject, at MacSlash
http://macslash.org/article.pl?sid=04/03/09/165258

 

[Goosemaster]

if you ge teh airport express checkout http://rogueamoeba.com/airfoil/mac

I already use nicecast for streaming any audio to my phone, and that would probably work well for you if you don't use itunes or want to stream soemthign else.