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Topic: Apple Lossless conversion and drm (Read 4306 times) previous topic - next topic
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Apple Lossless conversion and drm

I haven't posted on HA for some time. But thanks to the knowledge here I set up a very simple and effective USB DAC with my comp and have been enjoying moving my CD collection to ALAC. (I chose it at that time because it just seemed convenient to do so via itunes)

Apologies if I sound like a complete noob here, I've just been wondering of late, since ALAC is a closed format so to say, could Apple update the codec such that my previously encoded tracks are locked to one computer? I change computers from time to time and used to purchase drm tracks but found it to be a chore whenever I needed to reauthorise my computer after a format or change in OS for example. I was very much happier once itunes plus music came about.


Apple Lossless conversion and drm

Reply #1 –
The ALAC you get from iTunes do not include DRM.  If Apple at some point decides that tracks you encode will be encumbered with DRM by iTunes (unlikely, as even the iTunes store has ditched DRM on audio files) there are open implementations of ALAC with which you could convert your tracks to a more open format.  If you're really concerned about this, why not just transcode to another lossless format that is completely open (FLAC, etc.).

Regardless, Apple wants to spread adoption of ALAC, adding DRM to files YOU encode would kill it like nothing else.  I think Windows Media Player did this for a while (still?), but there was an option to disable it.  One of those really odd features.

Apple Lossless conversion and drm

Reply #2 –
WMP used to have the DRM option checked by default.  It made ripping a pain as people could not move their WMA files around.  I think the option has sense been disabled by default but it is still there.

Apple would be shooting themselves in the foot if they added DRM to user encoded ALAC files.  Seeing as how the music store no longer uses DRM (for songs and many music videos), I doubt they would ever do this.  So I wouldn't worry about this.  I have been using ALAC ever since it was first introduced back in 2004 (I didn't archive my CDs until later but I still ripped some of them to ALAC), that was over 5 years ago (ALAC was introduced in April 2004) and Apple hasn't added DRM to user encoded files.

Apple Lossless conversion and drm

Reply #3 –
Thanks for the info guys. I was reading up on ALAC and I guess I got confused reading up on containers or shells and an article that said that DRM can easily be added into ALAC, though I have no idea how.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the 'containers' just contain info on how to decode the stored data into music and information? 

I also did consider FLAC, but being on a mac now, its just so easy to pop a CD from the store into itunes to rip to lossless. Understand also that FLAC can be used with itunes, which is how I organise my music library now. If it could I definitely would though, as I tend to prefer open sourced formats for long term support, though I guess apple lossless isn't going anywhere soon!

Apple Lossless conversion and drm

Reply #4 –
Didn't know FLAC worked in iTunes. Anyway, you don't get lossless music from the store, you get lossy. I believe you get AAC and not ALAC. Converting to FLAC would be useless.

Apple Lossless conversion and drm

Reply #5 –
Quote
Didn't know FLAC worked in iTunes.


It doesn't..Convert to WMA lossless and import in iTunes..Or convert to ALAC with say, dBpoweramp and import in iTunes..
 

Apple Lossless conversion and drm

Reply #6 –
Technically speaking, there are ways to get iTunes working with both FLAC and OGG Vorbis files on Mac OS X.  I believe a method has also been discovered for Windows.  Granted, this is all for iTunes 7.6.2, I don't know if future versions of iTunes broke that compatibility.  Additionally, iTunes could only playback the files.  So the functionality was limited but it was technically there.

ALAC would be a much better choice if working with iTunes is a must.