iTunes Music Conversion

[Onge]

Just mixing music



Yep, I understand about the best quality, but which Mp3 bitrate should I use to match the iTunes store downloaded files?

Thanks for the advice and help though

Jem

Hi Jem,

iTunes downloads the bitrate is 128kbps and they will be in .m4p (protected) or .m4a (not protected)

When I rip CDs or when I convert the iTunes downloads to MP3 I use a VBR of 192kbps to 320kbps, normally encodes around the 200kbps which gives good sound quality and a not to bad a compression ratio.
The way I got around the iTunes protection was to burn any downloads to CD and then rip them back into MP3 format.
I use iTunes for my iPod and to easily get music purchases but I still think the price in the UK of 79p a track is too steep, but we are not here to talk about the price. For ripping and playback on my PC's I use WinAmp Pro, which has a very good converter built in but cannot convert the iTunes .m4p format, but does the .m4a format, likewise iTunes cannot convert protected .wma files, but WinAmp pro can convert protected .wma files once you have played the song and it has the license for it.

I never thought of getting a "Virtual CD" drive, that would make the conversions easier and save the cost of the CD-R but would mean I do not have a "hard" copy of the music.

I think for what you are trying to acheive 128kbps will be fine as that is the bitrate for downloaded music from iTunes, if you are ripping using iTunes then set the default rate to 192 or higher.

Hope the info helps,

Onge (André)

[Jem]

I never thought of getting a "Virtual CD" drive, that would make the conversions easier and save the cost of the CD-R but would mean I do not have a "hard" copy of the music.

I think for what you are trying to acheive 128kbps will be fine as that is the bitrate for downloaded music from iTunes, if you are ripping using iTunes then set the default rate to 192 or higher.

Hope the info helps,

Onge (André)

It certainly does help, thanks Andre.

It may be worthwhile you taking a look at Noteburner, it's so easy to strip out the DRM, just choose a playlist to convert and the rest is automatic

The registration fee was ~$35, well worth it in my opinion. It's not as though I want to do anything illegal with the music, I just wish Apple would open up a bit to third party software providers and then this step wouldn't be necessary.

I agree, I also think £0.79 is a bit steep, However, it's convenient, legal and works really well apart for what I mentioned above

Thanks again

Jem

[Onge]

It certainly does help, thanks Andre.

It may be worthwhile you taking a look at Noteburner, it's so easy to strip out the DRM, just choose a playlist to convert and the rest is automatic

The registration fee was ~$35, well worth it in my opinion. It's not as though I want to do anything illegal with the music, I just wish Apple would open up a bit to third party software providers and then this step wouldn't be necessary.

I agree, I also think £0.79 is a bit steep, However, it's convenient, legal and works really well apart for what I mentioned above

Thanks again

Jem

Glad the info helped Jem,

I will take a look at Noteburner, $35 is not too expensive.

Same here, I have also spent a lot of money on music from iTunes and just want it in a sensible format that I can do things with. Nothing illegal, I don't share or anything.
The 79p price is fixed across the industry and not just iTunes. It is set by the BMI so not much chance of it getting lowered.
What does annoy me on iTunes is the price of some albums are based on the number of songs in it rather than a fixed price for an album.

Cheers

Onge

[dream beamz]

320kpbs all the way, and yes I can tell the difference.

For the record, the RIAA considers it illegal to play any tune out in a club without written permission from the recording label. This is regaurdless of media weather it be vinyl, original singles cds, or mp3. The RIAA doesnt care, and matter a fact if you look closely on vinyl, 1 out of every 20 or so will say that written permission is needed for playing it in a public setting.

This means if your a super star DJ playing other DJs tunes, which happens every hour of every day then you are breaking the law. The electronic dance community does not like free downloading of their tracks, however in a obvious twist they do enjoy their tracks to get played out as it makes them more popular

Thankfully the RIAA has not acted on this as it would cause an Artist backlash. I would just love to see the RIAA take someone like Tiesto to court for playing one of Armin Van Buurens tracks

[buffo]

George is correct in that you need a license to play music in public. However, it's not the DJ that would get sued, it's the venue owner.

Fortunately, it's standard policy for a bar or nightclub owner to obtain a license from BMG to play music. Likewise, auditoriums have to do the same thing. (The Newton-Connover Civic and Performance Place Auditorium also has a license, so we're covered at SELEM if we ever decided to open it up to the public!)

Adam