Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with iTunes and drm

I am she as she is me as you are me and we are all together

The Winsome Parker Lewis — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 05:35:41 -0800

Is it possible to merge two iTunes accounts into one? My wife and I each have our own iTunes accounts that we created before we got married. Now we'd like to combine them, so I can authorize my computer to play her purchased music and vice versa. Is there any way to do this?

When I got a new phone I gave her my old iPhone to use as a media player. I wiped all my audio and video off it first so she could sync her files... but I left a number of apps that she wanted to use. She can't sync the apps onto her computer because they are associated with my account. This means that she can't update the apps or install new ones through iTunes; it also means that she can't update iOS itself, because apparently that will erase the contents of the iPhone, then attempt to restore everything by syncing (but since the apps aren't on her computer, they'll be lost). We'd like to find a way around these obstacles, without repurchasing anything either of us has already bought. Can it be done?

We both use Macs, if it makes a difference.

Does re-ripping a lossy track the same way lower the quality?

philosophygeek — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 17:49:49 -0800

I have a number of DRM-ed iTunes songs that are not available to upgrade to iTunes Plus. If I burn the songs to CDs and re-rip them in AAC format (i.e., the original codec) at the same bitrate as the originals, will I lose sound quality? If so, is there a better way to strip off the DRM? I know that ripping to a lossy format normally results in some lost information (by definition), but I don't know if that's true if you re-rip the song with the same tools as originally created the lossy version.

iTunes wants to delete all my apps!

misskaz — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 07:42:22 -0800

I just plugged my work-provided iPad in to my office computer, and it's saying if I don't authorize this computer all the apps (that I paid for) will be deleted; but then it says 5 computers are already authorized so I can't! Please help. The dialog box says:

This computer is no longer authorized for applications that are installed on the iPad "[name of ipad]". Would you like to authorize this computer for items purchased from the iTunes store?
If you do not authorize this computer, 15 applications and their data will be deleted from the iPad.

The options to click are Authorize, Don't Authorize, and Cancel.

When I click on "Authorize," it brings up the log in screen. When I log in, it says

You cannot authorize more than 5 computers with this account. To authorize this computer you must first deauthorize one of the other computers.

The only option is to click OK, which brings me back to the previous dialog box.

I will never understand how iTunes works, and will admit I may have brought this on myself by plugging many of my iTunes devices (iPod, iPhone, now iPad) into both work and home computers.

But I'm pretty sure I have only ever plugged this iPad into this work computer - this is the computer that I initially plugged it into when I received it. If it's relevant, it is a used iPad but was completely restored before it was given to me.

I have used my iTunes sign-in on a bunch of computers - at least three computers at home (all various flavors of OSX), plus my office desktop (Windows), which has been replaced twice in my 6 years in this office.

So iTunes wants me to deauthorize a computer, but I don't have access to my old work computers, which have long ago been wiped clean and given away or donated. The iPad screen currently says "Sync in Progress" and I'm scared to unplug it, but I can't get out of the cycle of "you must authorize or lose everything" -> "you can't authorize" dialog boxes for fear of losing $50 worth of apps for good.

iphone and itunes don't like each other. help!

krautland — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 04:05:14 -0800

iphone and itunes don't like each other. help! I recently did a clean install of my mac and thought I had correctly backed up itunes but apparently didn't. now I have a new itunes library and my iphone is inaccessible - I can't add songs to it or pull them down. I would like to be able to access my iphone through itunes again but authorizing the computer has not helped.

is there a way to get this back to working condition without having to flatten the whole iphone and reinstalling all the apps, copying all the playlists, etc? (that's possible, it's just such a pain in the ass that I'm trying to avoid it.)

Legalities of Selling Legally Downloaded Music?

Effigy2000 — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 22:56:34 -0800

Assuming I am true and honest to my word and delete the music from my hard drive once I sell it, how can I legally make money selling old music that I have legally downloaded and no longer want? I have bought a lot of music from the iTunes Store over the years. My music tastes have changed a bit since the days that I first started downloading music from them and so now I'd like to get rid of some of the older songs and albums that I no longer want, preferably for cold hard cash if I could. But unlike an old unwanted CD, I can't just go and sell it down at the local music shop. Is it OK to do this on eBay? If not, and assuming I am true and honest to my word and delete the music from my hard drive once I've actually sold it, how can I legally make money selling old music that I have legally downloaded and no longer want?

Please help me get my new MacBook Pro projecting through the projector

bryanjbusch — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 14:20:24 -0800

What do I need to look for in an HDMI switch that will enable my Mini-DisplayPort video signal to reach my projector?
I've just successfully connected the Mini-DisplayPort > DVI adapter > HDMI directly to the projector. I also tested an HDCP-crippled video through iTunes, and it didn't complain to me about the display not being HDCP-enabled, so that's a load off my mind.

However, when I pass the HDMI through my extremely generic 4-port switch from Monoprice.com, I get nothing but a blank blue screen through the projector lamp. The laptop screen blinks gray for a second as if it were attempting to make a connection, but gives up.

Is it an HDMI version thing, do you think? What kind of specifics should I be looking for in a new switch?

Or is it maybe not the switch at all?

Found an iTouch!

Justinian — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 18:38:30 -0800

What can I do with a thrown away iTouch? A good friend of mine (not me, really!) found an iTouch in the garbage. The glass on it is all cracked up and it appears to have been abused which may be why it got tossed but it's still functional. I'm going to try to replace the glass for her with some plastic and a dremel... but that's not the question. The iTouch has 12 gigs of music on it. Is there any way to get the music off a found iTouch? I realize doing so is of extremely dubious compliance with the copyrights of those songs, so let's assume this is theoretical. I promise not to take off any music I don't own on CD. Cross my heart. Um. Anyway. It's all a bunch of hip hop crap unfortunately.

It seems that , given this particular iPod isn't authorized on my computer that I can't do it, even with third party software. But surely somebody has figured out how? iTunes won't do it for obvious reasons. And I can't copy it manually or with the third party software I use because the iPod isn't enabled as an external device and the enable option isn't available (as far as I can tell) in iTunes unless the iPod is authorized on that computer. But how can it be completely impossible to copy these files when I have access to all the hardware involved? Or is it just a matter of more trouble than it's worth? But it bothers me on a philosophical level that I have this device plugged in to my computer via USB and I can't see any of the files on it except via iTunes.

Secondly and relatedly, once that is done or found to be impossible can the iTouch just be formatted somehow so my friend can put her account on it and sync it with her computer? She has an iPod already but the iTouch is WAY COOLER.

And yes, I believe her that this was found in the trash. It's pretty banged up but I believe I can fix up the case! Then I will be a hero.

Do I need to deauthorize old or unused iPod devices on iTunes?

KokuRyu — Sat, 10 May 2008 13:05:44 -0800

iPod / iTunes help (Windows)... After Mrs. KokuRyu dumped her iPod nano in the toilet, I bought her a new one. I had an iPod nano myself, but I lost it. Prior to that, I had an iPod shuffle, which I still own and would like to continue to use. ***Before I hook up the new iPod for Mrs. KokuRyu, do I have to deauthorize the old iPods? Is there anything I should do?*** As well, we have music libraries bought on iTunes spread across three computers, and the music is all encoded using Apple's AAC.

A couple of iTunes/iPod questions ~or~ How do I make my 2 computers and 2 iPods love each other?

bradn — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 19:40:44 -0800

A couple of iTunes/iPod questions ~or~ How do I make my 2 computers and 2 iPods love each other? I have had a 4GB 1st gen iPod Nano for 2 years. I juggled music on and off of it from my library on my home computer, and brought it to work where I listened to said music, plus podcasts. I could download said podcasts at work, and have them with me, listen to them on runs, etc etc. I have been loving the size, the shape, the Nike+, the disk mode, all while daydreaming of having all my music with me, tons of space for files, and a little video. Yesterday, I got the 160GB. Things are more complicated now.

Two questions, hopefully not quickly answered with three ugly letters (D..R..M..):

1. With my new Classic in Sync mode, I can't play music off of it in iTunes at work (everything's greyed out), and with it in Manual mode, it doesn't automatically sync. Am I forced to add every track I add to my home library to my iPod manually? WWWWHHHHHYYY???

2. If I download a podcast at work, can I listen to half of it, bring it home, and then sync my Classic with my library, and then add the podcast (with where i left off intact) to the Nano to listen to when I run? I "understand" the copyright paranoia, but since all of these devices are "authorized" by my iTunes account, I should be able to do this, right? RIGHT??

Decemberists DRM?

xmutex — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 19:15:20 -0800

So I bought the new Decemberists' record The Crane Wife and iTunes (7.0.2) on OS 10.4.8 won't recognize it; just spits the CD tray back out. This is making me really angry(!!) as I'm thinking it's some DRM issue. Anyone else have this experience?

I stopped trusting Apple

vacapinta — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 11:31:42 -0800

So the new Itunes 7 was just released but I am a little wary. Is there anyplace I can go (or keep my eye on) to see what, if any, restrictions have been introduced by the new Itunes. I am thinking things like Network-sharing (incompatibility with Ourtunes?), Limits on how many times you can burn, etc.? Or will I just have to watch and wait?

Can I use an iPod without the iTunes software?

pmurray63 — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 10:42:51 -0800

Can I use an iPod without the iTunes software? Right now I just manually make folders and drag and drop MP3 files on and off my Archos Jukebox Recorder 2 as with any USB external hard drive -- and I like that. I'm not interested in syncing or organizing or making playlists or buying music or any of the other supposedly wonderful things that the iTunes software does. I primarily listen to classical music and soundtracks that I've ripped from my large CD collection, and I don't need or want to reorganize them or change what's on my player.

Would I be forced to use iTunes to copy music from my Windows PC both to and from an iPod? (And can you even copy from an iPod, or is there DRM crap that gets in the way?)

My 20 GB Archos is full, and the lure of 60 GB is tempting ... but if I can't access it the way I want, that's probably a dealkiller for me. Essentially, all I really want is a hard drive that plays any MP3s and lets me use it the way I want, not the way someone else decided I must because they can't trust me or to because they want to twist my arm to buy from their online store.

De-DRMing iTunes Music Store-purchases.

silusGROK — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 13:36:47 -0800

How do I convert an iTunes Music Store purchased track (MPEG-4 with DRM) into a plain old MP3? I own two tracks of the same song — both purchased at iTMS... and I want to give one of them to a friend... but iTMS music has DRM in it, and isn't letting me. Any suggestions? I'm on Mac OSX 10.4.5.

MusicMatch to iTunes converion

docpops — Fri, 21 Oct 2005 08:28:26 -0800

I have about a hundred MusicMatch downloads and now want to switch to an iPod. Is there any way I can play these with iTunes? My initial forays leave me pessimistic. I've had it with MusicMatch, my wife wants a Nano, and I'm ready to make the switch. I have a PC. If necessary, I'm just about willing to cut the cord and re-pay for all the songs I previously downloaded from MusicMatch but would prefer not to have to do so.

Any advice is welcome.

Can iTunes and Napster DRM get along for an audio CD?

furiousxgeorge — Sat, 09 Apr 2005 18:19:25 -0800

I had a list of 10 songs I wanted...I got 9 from iTunes and one from Napster. For burning purposes, the DRM doesn't seem to get along. Short of ripping off the DRM, is there any way to burn them onto the same audio cd?

iTunes to SACD by way of CD

ao4047 — Sat, 09 Apr 2005 15:42:25 -0800

Are CDs and SACDs physically the same - just with different audio encoding? If I buy NIN's The Downward Spiral Deluxe Edition which is mixed in SACD on iTunes, then burn it to a CD and play it in my DVD player (+ 5.1 channel audio system) will it retain the 5.1 information? Will moving from AAC format to an audio CD strip the encoding for some stupid DRM reason?

How do I burn music CD's using AAC files?

blueshammer — Wed, 08 Dec 2004 06:26:43 -0800

Waugh! (Pronounced the Snoopy way or the Evelyn way.) My iTunes will no longer burn AAC files onto CD. I've followed Fearless Leader's lead and de-DMRed all my Apple Music Store purchases with hymn, but I can't burn protected songs that have been hymned, protected songs that haven't been hymned or unprotected songs that used to be hymned. (I guess I didn't try an AAC rip since I mostly rip to mp3, so there's a missing data point.) When I go to burn a playlist, it deselects all the AAC tracks, although it will burn mp3s made from unprotected AAC files. Does anyone know what's up? Is there another Mac app for making audio CDs from AAC files? I'm not much of an audiofile, but don't want to go through the quality loss of converting 128 kbps AAC to 128 kbps mp3 for all these songs.

Are CD's ripped with iTunes AAC less portable than MP3s?

scarabic — Tue, 03 Feb 2004 21:12:40 -0800

If I rip my CDs with iTunes, and select the "AAC Encoder," will the files be any less portable than MP3s? Can most MP3 player apps/devices handle them? Are they all intrinsically copy-protected? Are there real quality benefits? (I'm asking on behalf of someone who has already invested serious time in ripping, using iTunes' - you guessed it - default settings).