Converting drm music files so I can DL them onto my ipod/itunes

What is DRM? Why do we remove DRM from WMA WMV? Have you download music and video from Windows Media Player, iTunes, Rhapsody, Napster, bearshare, Spiral Frog, BBC iPlayer downloads? These popular music and movie download programs among the music fans always come with a disgusting word - 'DRM'.
DRM (Digital Rights Management) - The anti consumer copy protection that prevents you from using music or movies in a way that suits you. For example, if a WMA or WMV you downloaded from WMP(windows media player) that has DRM, you can only play it back on a compatible device, so if every piece of music had DRM on it you would need to buy the same track on CD to listen in your CD player or car, as an iTunes download to play on your iPod, as a ms store download to play on your Zune etc, but since you paid for it once you shouldn't be forced to pay for it again and again and again, remove DRM license from WMA WMV and other protected files then you can play the music video on phone, iPod, Zune, PSP, CD player, pc, burn DRM protected WMV files to DVD and copy drm protected wmv itunes m4v movie files to anything else that you can listen to music video on.
How to remove DRM from WMA WMV? I got a few methods listed below:
1. Burn and rip
Actually, there is a common free method to remove DRM from WMA with 2 steps, Step 1 Burn the protected WMA to a CD
Step 2 Rip them off to your computer, then the DRM should be removed from the WMA files.
But it's not very convenient and may wear out your CR-ROM. And windows media player can only burn and rip the WMA (or you will need DVD copy and DVD ripper for other formats).
2. Re-record
One of the most common and simple technology is recording the DRM protected WMA then use an ordinary converter to convert the recorded and unprotected files. Because this technology is easy to realized and easy to support more DRM formats besides protected WMA it is welcomed by most of the DRM converters like the SoundTaxi, NoteBurner , etc.
But there are some disadvantages for those programs.
1. The conversion speed won't get much improvement due to the long recording process.
2. Much audio and video quality could be lost during the recording process.
3. Hook
Hook is another new and more complicated technology which can be used to remove DRM license from protected WMA WMV files. Comparing with recording process, these sorts of drm removal have much higher conversion speed, but it's hard to make it support some DRM formats with new and lofty encrpytion tachniques.
And as far as I know, Aimersoft was one of its supporters. After giving a test for some free trials I found it is convenient to crack DRM from protected WMA WMV files with Aimersoft Media Converter, and it also supports other formats conversion like AAC, AC3, WAV, M4A, M4b, MP3, etc.
Ok, Hope you can get some useful resources from this article
Remove DRM from WMA WMV and your favorite music videos to release you music life.
Have Fun:)

You may have some music on Windows Media Player, and you want to add them into iTunes library for your new iPod or iPhone. Or you may want to move your iTunes bought music to Windows Media Player for portable devices such as Zen, Zune, Phone, Sansa, Archos, MP3/MP4 Player, etc. It’s easy to do that. And this guide will show the steps to do the job.

Part1. Transfer Windows Media Player music to iTunes

Step1. Open iTunes and select the File -- Add Folder to Library menu.

Step2. Browse to your Windows Media Player music folder. iTunes will ask you where your songs are located, which by default will be in your My Music folder on Windows XP, or in your Music folder on Vista.

Step3. Convert Windows Media Player songs to AAC format (.m4a). If you have files in WMA format, you will be prompted to convert those WMA files to AAC. This is a necessary step if you want those tracks available to play on your iPod or iPhone. If you have a large music library in WMA format, converting WMA to AAC may take a long time. Plan to do this at a time when you can leave your computer on and walk away to do something else for awhile. You can also import your WMA files as MP3 instead, which also allows them to work with your iPod, but makes them more portable if you buy something else in the future.

iTunes doesn't modify your original music files from Windows Media Player. It leaves those songs in their original location and makes copies in your iTunes music folder.


Part2. Transfer iTunes music to Windows Media Player

Because iTunes music has DRM protection, you can't easily import the music into Windows Media Player by drag and drop. There are two ways to transfer protected music from iTunes to Windows Media Player.

Method1. You can use iTunes to burn the music to a blank CD at first, then use Windows Media Player to rip the music CD, the DRM protection will be remove during the ripping process, then you can rip the CD into WMP library. This way is good for tranferring a few music. For large mount of music, it would take a really long time to transfer music.

Method2. If you don't have blank CD disk or you have many iTunes music need to transferred to windows media player. You can use DRM Media Converter. It can legally convert the protected iTunes music to non-protected MP3 music, then you can easily drag and drop the MP3 music into Windows Media Player.

Step1. Download and install the DRM Media Converter , the file size is about 7 MB. I have scaned it with Norton Virus protector and AVG spayware protector, it's safe without any warning.

Step2. Run the DRM Media Converter, Click Add to import iTunes music, which by default will be in My Music\iTunes\iTunes Music .Or you can run iTunes, click Edit -- Advanced Tab, there you will see where your iTunes media folder location.

Step3. Set the output audio format as "MP3 - MPEG Layer-3 Audio (*.mp3)"

Step4. Click Start to run the conversion, it will take a little bit time to finish the job, then click Browse to located your converted mp3 files, drag them into Windows Media Player, done.

Song Formats for Mp3 Players Explained, Part II
by Tha Mp3 Doctor

WMA files are special. There are two types of WMA file, and the Mp3 or digital Audio Player documentation will not always tell which of these two types the Mp3 player will recognize. Type I is a non-licensed, or non-DRM-protected WMA file. DRM stands for Digital Rights Management, and it is Microsoft’s copyright system for music files. If you have a type of Mp3 player that will only accept non-DRM protected files, the product specs for your player will NOT mention the words "DRM" or "Windows Plays ForSure" on them (unless they are using it in the negative, such as "this player does NOT support DRM encryption"). In MOST cases (there are more and more exceptions), Windows Media Player will convert songs from CD’s that you personally bought from the store into non-DRM encrypted WMA format.

The second type of WMA file is a DRM-encrypted WMA file, and there are several subtypes of these. Every DRM-encrypted file can have "play rights," "burn rights," and "transfer rights." "Play rights" mean you can play the song on your computer, "burn rights" mean you can burn the song to CD, and "transfer rights" mean you can transfer the song to your Mp3 player. Once again, not all WMA files are created equal. If you have a BASIC subscription to a music service such as Napster, you may download songs that have "play rights" – you can play them on your computer without any problem; but they may lack burn rights and transfer rights – so you cannot burn them to CD, or transfer them to your Mp3 player without incident. The solution here is to upgrade your music service to the premium, more expensive subscription that includes burn rights and transfer rights.

Then there are "fixed-term" licenses and "unlimited" licenses on WMA files. A fixed-term license will expire after so many days, months, or years; and will require you to resynchronize your songs to the music service or to your computer in order to continue playing them. This is a key reason behind songs "disappearing." Napster and Rhapsody are two examples of music services with fixed-term licenses. You must resynchronize your Mp3 player to your computer every 30 days, and you must keep you music service subscription active. If you let your subscription lapse, then the songs that were once working will no longer be playable. Once again, the only remedies are to renew your music service subscription (legal), convert those songs into a different format that the Mp3 player will recognize (possibly illegal), or to use DRM-removal software (illegal and unreliable).

One word needs to be said about burning your own personal CD’s and transferring them to the Mp3 player. CD’s naturally put song files into CDA format. Most Mp3 players do not recognize CDA format. So you will have to use Windows Media Player (easiest, IMO) or some other software to convert the CDA files into Mp3, WMA, or some other format that your Mp3 player recognizes, BEFORE you can transfer them to the Mp3 player.

Real Audio files also have an encryption system, and may not work with most Mp3 players – check your product documentation.

Audiobooks are in their own format and bring their own special problems which fall outside the scope of this article.

There are a ton of music services out there. iTunes uses AAC format. Napster, Rhapsody, Bearshare, Spiral Frog, and many others use DRM-protected WMA format nowadays. Limewire and Morpheus generally use Mp3 or non-DRM-encrypted files. Double check the formats that your player will support BEFORE choosing a music service. Conversely, if you already have a music service, choose an mp3 player that’s right for your particular service. Note: most store workers do not have the faintest idea of what I have been discussing in this article, so don’t trust their judgment – educate yourself first.

AS A GENERAL RULE OF THUMB (as always, there are exceptions), all Mp3 players recognize the Mp3 file format. The Mp3 file format is the least problematic of all the file formats. It takes up less space on your Mp3 player than most file formats – so you can load more songs onto your player than if you were using other formats. So, if you download all of your songs into Mp3 format, or tell Windows Media Player to convert your own CD’s into Mp3 format, then you will rarely go wrong.