Friday, 7 November 2008
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How to transfer WMAs and iTunes 8 library from Windows to Mac  terry007 07:56:46 |
| | "My laptop HDD recently failed, so I replaced it with an iMac. Fortunately, my iTunes library was on an external HDD, so I have copied it across to the iMac. However, the songs that I have purchased from iTunes do not seem to be available. They have copied across, but are 'greyed out'. I have authorised my new computer to play purchases. Is there anything else I am forgetting?"
It is relatively painless to switch over from Windows to Mac as Mac has support for a lot of commonly used files like Microsoft Word documents, Powerpoint slideshows and Adobe PDF files. So, compatibility is hardly an issue. What you do have to take note of however while switching over to Mac are your iTunes library and WMAs. Note: This tutorial was written under the assumption that you are running the latest version of iTunes ( iTunes 8 ) on both your Windows and Mac.
1. Add WMAs to iTunes on Windows
iTunes for Windows is built with Windows Media Audio (WMA) support - it is able to play and convert WMAs. However, because WMA is a proprietary codec, it isn't available in iTunes for Mac. If you're not careful, you'll be left with a lot of WMAs which will be unplayable on your Mac.
The easiest way to dodge this problem is to convert all the WMAs you have while you're still on your Windows machine. In your iTunes General preferences, under 'Import settings', make sure to have AAC or MP3 selected. Configure the bit rate if you like but because you will be converting from one lossy codec to another, there's bound to be a profound loss in quality.
However, if the WMAs are DRM protected, it will be a little bit difficult. One method of dealing with the DRM protected WMAs is to get an audio converter. Make a simple Google search and you will get a lot of converters that can convert WMA to MP3. However, those that can convert DRM protected WMA to MP3 are rather limited. The one that attracts my attention is TuneClone Audio Converter http://www.tuneclone.com/index.php (fow Windows only), which isn't free but very well worth a shot if you have lots of DRM protected WMAs ready to be switched to Mac. TuneClone Audio Converter is capable of removing DRM protection from WMA files and convert WMA to iTunes (both Windows and Mac) compatible MP3 format by installing a virtual CD burner. Here is the guide: http://www.tuneclone.com/how-to-convert-wma-to-mp3-for-ipod.php
Apart from that, TuneClone Audio Converter can also be used to convert iTunes M4P (protected AAC) to MP3 for non-Apple MP3 devices. Here is the guide: http://www.tuneclone.com/itunes8-m4p-to-mp3.php
After getting the protected WMAs converted to MP3, add to your iTunes library the MP3 files, which will be transferred to Mac along with all the music in iTunes library.
2. Backup iTunes library on Windows
In Windows, open iTunes. Consolidate your library from the 'File -> Library' menu.
This will move all the music files into the iTunes Music folder and sort them by artist and album.
Navigate to your My Music folder. It's typically found at C:\Documents and Settings\~username~\My Documents\My Music.
Copy the iTunes folder to the Desktop of your new Mac. Depending on the size of your library and the method of transfer, this could take a while.
3. Organize iTunes on Mac
If you are running iTunes on your Mac for the first time, you'll be prompted with the initial welcome setup procedure. When it asks to search your drive for music files, make sure to decline. At the end, you'll be presented with a fresh, empty iTunes library. Now, quit iTunes. By default, it would have already set up its own iTunes Music folder located in ~/Music. Go over to this location and delete the iTunes folder then copy and paste your iTunes Music folder from the desktop into it (the one which you have just brought over from your Windows computer). After all this is done, launch iTunes and you'll be rewarded with your old, personalized iTunes library.
Tags: WMA, ITunes 8, ITunes for Windows, ITunes for Mac, WMA to MP3, Protected WMA to MP3, DRM |
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Monday, 3 November 2008
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| How to play iTunes protected AAC (M4P) music on PS3? terry007 06:12:25 |
| | "Can I play iTunes (that I have stored on my computer) on my PS3? I know I can't just hook up my iPod to it or stream from my PC. I read something about transferring music to USB and then put that flash drive in the PS3, will this work? I want to play my iTunes on my home theater but I have no other way than to play it through my PS3. I have a yamaha 5990 receiver and it is not iPod compatible. Any options here? Thanks in advance."
As the music in iTunes is encrypted with DRM, you cannot directly transfer it to your PS3. The easiest way is to burn the music to an audio CD and then rip it back to Windows Media Player or a similar program as an MP3.
Or you can get some software to help you. TuneClone is a pretty good program to get the iTunes protected AAC (M4P) music burned to MP3.
And this page demonstrates how to remove DRM from iTunes music and convert iTunes DRM protected AAC (M4P) music to MP3 for Sony PlayStation 3(PS3) using these two methods:
1. Burn an audio CD and rip it back to MP3
2. TuneClone
And below is the tutorial page:
http://www.tuneclone.com/how-to-import-itunes-music-to-playstation3.php
So now you can listen to iTunes music while playing games with your PS3.
Tags: Itunes 8, Sony, PS3, Apple, Itunes to ps3, M4p to mp3 |
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Thursday, 30 October 2008
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| DIY: create free ringtones for iPhone 3G using iTunes terry007 02:10:14 |
| | It is very easy to create free ringtones for your iPhone 3G using only iTunes and songs you already have on your computer. This tutorial shows how to perform step by step. It only works with songs that are DRM free. To create ringtones using DRM protected songs, you need first strip the DRM off and then follow the guide. This method has been tested and works with iTunes 7.7.1 and iPhone 2.0.1 firmware. Actually, my friend told me he had tested it with iTunes 8 and it worked smoothly as well, though there were several differences in making settings due to the update of iTunes.
And here is the tutorial: http://www.tuneclone.com/how-to-free-custom-ringtones-for-iphone-3g.php
Tags: Iphone 3g, Itunes, Itunes 8, Ringtones, Ringtones for iphone, Free ringtones, Free iphone ringtones |
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Thursday, 9 October 2008
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| How to burn DRM encrypted iTunes 8 music to MP3 terry007 05:56:22 |
| | Are you annoyed by iTunes DRM? Do you want to strip it off because you want to play the iTunes music on other mobile devices other than iPod and iPhone, use it as background music in a home video, or anything else that DRM limits it to do? Many people know you can strip off the DRM off iTunes music by simply burning the song to a CD, and ripping it back over, losing very little quality(if settings are correct):
1. Insert a CD-R or CD-RW disc into your CD-ROM drive. You'd better use CD-RW disc as it can be used for more than once.
2. Burn your playlist to make an audio CD. You cannot select the MP3 CD option since it requires the encrypted iTunes music files be converted to unprotected MP3 files.
3. After the audio CD is successfully burned, insert the disc into your CD-ROM drive again. Then you can use iTunes to import the music tracks on the burned disc to MP3 files.
And the method I am going to introduce does the same exact thing but you will not need a CD-RW disc, a CD ROM drive, or even need to burn anything! It's that simple. Let's show you how to perform this.
We are going to be using a program called TuneClone(http://www.tuneclone.com ). TuneClone is basically a program that acts as a virtual CD drive that allows you "burn" MP3 from iTunes and "rip" it. TuneClone "lies" to your computer saying that you have a CD-RW drive that it will burn to (like Alchohol 120%). You can use this to move your library of M4P DRM protected music to the MP3 format that you can use on any player out there worth its salt. This is a useful tool for anyone looking to break their relationship with the iPod. The best part is that it maintains all of the music file's metadata. Below is the step by step tutorial that shows how it works:
1. Download TuneClone from http://www.tuneclone.com and install it.
TuneClone is fully compatible with Windows XP and Windows Vista. A virtual CD Burner will be installed. This virtual CD-RW will be used to convert music files.
2. Make settings at TuneClone
Click the Settings button at TuneClone. In the pop-up window, you can specify the output folder, output filenames, output format, etc. for the output files.
Note: Apart from MP3, TuneClone also allows you to convert iTunes M4P to WAV and unprotected WMA.
Tip: You can get the output protection removed music folder by clicking the Folder button after the whole process.
3. Make settings at iTunes(iTunes 8 )
Create a playlist, and then add the files you want to convert into the playlist.
After you have created the playlist ready to be burnt, click the Burn Disc in the bottom right of iTunes.
In the pop up window of Burn Settings, make the settings as highlighted below:
4. Start to burn
Click the Burn button to start burning.
After the burning gets started, TuneClone will automatically convert the music file to MP3, WMA or WAV. You can open the manager screen to show all the converted music files.
The most important step is to choose the CD burner. Then the software can convert the music files automatically. It is exceedingly easy when you want to batch convert lots of files.
Tags: Remove DRM, ITunes 8, ITunes to MP3, Burn iTunes, Burn CD |
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Saturday, 27 September 2008
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| Updated: How to convert iTunes protected AAC(M4P) to MP3(using iTunes 8) terry007 06:35:32 |
| | More than two months ago, I wrote a tutorial entitled How to Convert iTunes M4P to MP3(http://m4ptomp3.qaix.com/0-395-how-to-strip-drm-off-itunes-m4p-music-to-mp3-wma.zhtml). In that post, I introduced two ways to convert iTunes M4P(protected AAC) music to MP3: burning and ripping CD disc and using TuneClone(http://www.tuneclone.com). With the release of Apple genius iTunes 8, the second method of converting iTunes M4P(protected AAC) music to MP3 with TuneClone isn't applicable, as there's some difference between iTunes 8 and its previous version. So, I'd like to post the step by step tutorial about how to convert iTunes 8 protected AAC or say M4P music to MP3 with TuneClone below:
1. Download TuneClone and install it.
TuneClone is fully compatible with Windows XP and Windows Vista. A virtual CD Burner will be installed. This virtual CD-RW will be used to convert music files.
2. Make settings at TuneClone
Click the Settings button at TuneClone. In the pop-up window, you can specify the output folder, output filenames, output format, etc. for the output files.
Note: Apart from MP3, TuneClone also allows you to convert iTunes M4P to WAV and unprotected WMA.
Tip: You can get the output protection removed music folder by clicking the Folder button after the whole process.
3. Make settings at iTunes
Create a playlist, and then add the files you want to convert into the playlist.
After you have created the playlist ready to be burnt, click the Burn Disc in the bottom right of iTunes.
In the pop up window of Burn Settings, make the settings as highlighted below:
4. Start to burn
Click the Burn button to start burning.
After the burning gets started, TuneClone will automatically convert the music file to MP3, WMA or WAV. You can open the manager screen to show all the converted music files.
The most important step is to choose the CD burner. Then the software can convert the music files automatically. It is exceedingly easy when you want to batch convert lots of files.
Tags: Apple, ITunes 8, M4p to mp3, Itunes to mp3, M4p converter, AAC to MP3 |
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