ITunes Problem
 

I am trying to use iTunes for my PC and I am running into a problem. I changed my "Import" options from the AAC to MP3 (because I want to be able to use and play these songs in my Winamp and my portable MP3 player) format. But I just downloaded some David Bowie songs and they are still in the AAC format. How else do I change how music is downloaded? I am wasting money because I can't use the AAC format. Has anyone else run into this problem? Hints? Suggestions? Thanks.

that's what u get for using itunes

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kidding aside, i've heard that they have somehow protected these aac files and you cant really convert them easily.

one way would be to burn these aac files to cd and then rip them.

Unfortunately, the method outlined by The Dude does not work. Itunes application does have a burn CD function but it wouldn't let me burn the songs I downloaded because they were "protected." I burned the songs using my burning application (Roxio) but my rippers (CDex and Sonic Foundry) refuse to recognize the AAC format. What does all this mean? ITunes has now been removed from my computer and can kiss my ass. Beware ITunes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You can burn "protected" songs fine. And all the songs you buy are AAC, there are way to convert songs to other formats and I'm sure plenty of End User level apps will be out in a matter of days.

Smart move. After 20 minutes I realized iTunes was the most bloated piece of shit player ever, and it can't even compare to the functionality of MusicMatch 7.2.

I don't Understand why people would use iTunes to get music when all your audio equipment can easily handle MP3's? It just seems like a big waste to me. Obviously an ACC yo MP3 converter will be made soon, but then what's the point of iTunes overpriced music store if you don't want your music in ACC format? Again.. What a fucking waste.

And, why the fuck would anyone buy a song for 99 cents? If there's 21 songs on an album and you want the entire album that fucker is gonna cost you $21!! You can buy it in the store cheaper than that... Or better yet download it for free! Sheesh. Don't people know how to get music for free anymore?

Apparently an album is 9.99$, regardless of how many songs it has, so it's not like you end up paying 21$ or so for a CD with lots of songs.

Of course, I let iTunes sit for several hours trying to connect to the Music Store and it never did -- it never failed either, it just did nothing.

Yea, deleted.

everything sold on the itunes store is in aac. the idea with itunes is that it would be the only audio program you need. if you have a player other than an ipod, it probably isn't going to be that great for you.

i like itunes because:

1- works very well with ipod
2- excellent organization and playlists

yes, it's slow

You probably selected "MP3 cd" as your burn method. You should have picked "Audio CD", and it would work fine.

Just because you didn't RTFM doesn't mean the program is bad.

Well, glad to know all of it's thousands of song buyers (sold over a million songs in four days) are happy.

I was going to say something along those lines too, but couldnt really find a way to put it in a "nice" way.

You shouldnt go around badmouthing a program because you dont know how to use it :P

To Mr. TrogDor and Redlemon:

I tried each and every way, including burning as an MP3, Audio and Data CD, that the Itunes program offered. But to no avail. Hence my removal of the program from my computer. THerefore I will no longer waste my money on this program. Mr. Trogdor and Redlemon, you know what happens when you make assumptions........

Ganguro: You get edited. Let's play nice fellas

There should be no reason why you cant download the songs via the itunes music store, burn them to cd making sure "audio cd" is selected, and then just rip them and change them into any type of file you want. I have no idea why you would want to though, as AAC is already a compressed format, and changing from AAC to MP3 or some other compressed format would result in a loss of quality.

My apologies.

I've been spending a bunch of time in tech support forums where 90% of the complaints are solveable in the options/preferences menu, and this was one of those questions where OTHERS had missed that option. "ASS-U-ME" indeed.

iTunes as a store is mediocre. Their choice of format and delivery is disappointing (We should have choice of getting songs in any format we want, lossless or lossy) I do commend their selection, it's not the be all and end all, but it's pretty darn good.


iTunes as a media player is great for .mp3 collections that are in the 4,000 or less song range. It's fast, light, and is easy to use in that distinctive mac way. It came installed by default with my mac and it has been good enough that I never felt like going out and replacing it. I especially like the really fast search thingy at the top right. I can instantly select a song or artist and just start playing without having to make playlists or scroll.

Convert AAC to MP3
 

I think if you go to the pull down menu under "Advanced" and select "Convert Selection to MP3" it should do just as it says. (At least that's how it functions on a Mac.) I'm not sure why your Bowie songs didn't download as MP3's but regardless iTunes can convert them to MP3 to play on your portable MP3 player. You can also "Select All" and "Convert Selection to MP3" if you want all of your songs to be converted I believe. Let me know if this works on the Windows version.

Also, I see that the Windows version of iTunes has been updated to address some problems that some people have had. See:

http://news.com.com/2100-1040_3-5095039.html?tag=mac.nn

i just burned a cd of music downloaded from the itunes store. apparently you can burn 10 times

i then ripped it back into itunes as an mp3.

so there. ;-)

I decided to try ITunes.

Downloaded it an all that stuff. Indicated what country - (Canada) as one of the install questions.

It installs itself. So I go look at the Store and what does it say?

"The iTunes Music Store is not available in your country yet. You will be able to browse music and listen to previews, but you won't be able to purchase music unless your billing address is in the United States'

So why the *$&*$ didn't they say that during the install? Now I have this crap on my machine that I don't want anymore.

Bastards...

i'm trying to convert the "protected" .m4p files to an mp3, but iTunes wouldn't let me b/c those songs that i bought throug Itunes are Protected.

I did change the encoding option under import menu. when i right click on the bought song and select "Convert Selection to MP3" i get an error saying that the protected files may not be converted to any other type.

what am i doing wrong?

thanks in advance

nevermind, i did a search on that and seems like itunes won't let you convert files.

i'm trying to help my friend who's using iTunes be able to transfer the songs from itunes into her Rio mp3 player. looks like it's not gonna work.

Coming from a mac geek and an itunes vet: the ONLY way to change that AAC to mp3 is to burn it as an audio cd and then rerip the cd in mp3 format. Yes it sucks, but it's also necessary to keep the file protected. The idea is so the song cannot be freely shared on kazaa or anything of the sort. Thus, they have to try and keep it in the encoded format that they can copy protect. This only applies to PURCHASED AAC's from the store. If you downloaded an AAC over the web or accidently ripped a CD in AAC format then itunes should be able to convert with no problem.

Overall I've had nothing but great things to say about itunes on a mac, and I've reccommended it to all my pc friends, and have gotten all thanks from them and no complaints.

MatherIsGod I am not sure why you are having troubles, but it may be some problem between iTunes and your personal cd burner, or some option is not set right somewhere. The Audio cd option is what you want to shoot for, and that should for all practical purposes work, so long as you are burning the CD directly from iTunes and not a 3rd party burning app.

Stinkynutz, as I said above you must burn the CD and then rerip, that is the only option :(

If your friend is trying to move songs to the Rio that she bought from the store, then she is SOL as far as I know for now, because Rio doesn't support the AAC format just yet. Her best bet for now is to burn the songs and rerip them as mp3s, then transfer the file to the mp3 player. If she's trying to transfer mp3s directly to the player by dragging them out of itunes' playlist, then maybe she sould try moving the file directly. I know dragging them out of the list works on a mac, but who knows how it works on a PC.

[edit] Oh yeah, right now AFAIK the store is ONLY available in the US and nowhere else...supposedly their working on elsewhere soon...although I don't see why all of NA wasn't included. The store is still in it's infant stages and will continue to grow.
That or suffer an awful, painful, horrid death. :)
Hope i've helped...

not true VitaminH, there are other ways. But we do not post such info on TFP. I leave it as a excersise to the reader ;)

But the obvious way is burn -> rip.

I just capture the iTunes files to wav (using Audiotools) and encode as flac with the full audio quality but no DRM limitations or being forced to use that bulky POS player that supports almost nothing I use.
I do like the AAC format/MP4 container, but not when DRM is involved

I'm not sure (as I haven't used it myself), but QTFairUse should be able to strip the DRM from the media that you purchased through the iTMS (more info on QTFairUse is available here, here, and at the author's website (plus application download) here.

Note: The last link seems to be down at the moment, or just flooded.

To Mods: I don't believe that this post encourages piracy or warez, but if you feel that it does, feel free to edit/delete post.

The irony of this discussion is the very issue of piracy and theft. Some folks are complaining about the DRM inherent to AAC. Since there is no DRM for MP3 the argument of choosing a different format than AAC is moot.

The concept behind iTunes is BUYING music instead of stealing it. Copy protection is pain in the neck - always been - always will be. But this is what happens when we can't police ourselves - others will do it for us.

I've been using iTunes for Windows as a general player and it works very well. Small, not bloatware in any way. Not sure if I like the Media Library (not hierarchial) but I already have my music in folders. Besides, I can use WMP's library if I must.

Being a Mac and Windows user, it's interesting to see how different the mindset of the user communities are. The Mac people aren't the most technical but they're pretty optimistic about technology and their Macs. PC people (in this thread at least) seem cynical and resigned.

To sum up Pragman, yes, QTFairUse will allow you to remove the DRM in AAC. As will using a stream ripper like Total Recorder or simply the SPEAKER OUT of your sound card. That's as simple as it gets.

This is a tough crowd!! :)

I used iTunes for about 10 minutes until I realized that it was sucking 40 megs of my ram. Moved right back to Winamp 2.9, couldnt be happier.