Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Transfer iTunes to BlackBerry Storm

"With a unique touch screen and cutting-edge multimedia capabilities, the BlackBerry Storm smartphone makes a great impression as you travel across town or to almost any corner of the world."

One of the great new features I am starting to enjoy on my BlackBerry Storm is the ability for it to play multimedia files and specifically audio (music).

First let's take a look at the video and audio formats supported by BlackBerry Storm:

Video format support: MPEG4 H.263, MPEG4 Part 2 Simple Profile, H.264, WMV
Audio format support: MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA, WMA ProPlus

Basically, when you buy music from iTunes, it comes with a copyright protection called DRM. These DRM-protected songs are locked so that they only work with Apple MP3 players. That means that if you have a BlackBerry Storm, you cannot use iTunes music.

So, what is the solution? You have to burn a CD. When you do this, the DRM is removed (because the music is converted to a non-DRM-compatible media). After you burn the CD, you can rip it to your PC as an MP3 file which no longer has DRM.

Alternatively, you can use TuneClone. TuneClone makes a virtual CD-ROM drive, tricking your PC into believing that you are burning a CD. Therefore, the DRM is removed without wasting a CD.

Here is a link to a tutorial using TuneClone and iTunes 8:
http://www.tuneclone.com/itunes8-m4p-to-mp3.php



After you get the output MP3 files, you can now begin to transfer them to your BlackBerry Storm:

1. Connect your BlackBerry to you computer via the USB cable.
2. If you have properly enabled your Blackberry as a Mass Storage Device, your Blackberry's microSD card will show as a removable drive on your computer.
3. Double click on the Blackberry folder.
4. Double click on the music folder.
5. Copy your music files to your BlackBerry.
6. Disconnect your Blackberry from the USB cable and go to the "Multimedia" icon on you Blackberry. You need to disconnect when you use the Mass Storage device method as it disables direct access from the BlackBerry when connected to the PC via the USB cable.
7. Click on the Music icon.
8. Click on the Media Card folder.
9. Select your Music folder.
10. Select your Song.
11. Play and enjoy.

Done.

Monday, December 22, 2008

How to remove iTunes DRM from protected AAC M4P M4B

Are you annoyed by iTunes DRM? Do you want to remove it because you want to play the iTunes music on non-Apple MP3 players like PSP, Zune, Creative Zen, BlackBerry, PS3, iriver, Walkman, mobile phone MP3 player, etc., use it as background music in a home video, or anything else that DRM limits it to do? Many people know you can remove the DRM from 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. 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

Convert protected AAC/M4P to MP3

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.

Create a new playlist in iTunes 8

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:

Burn Settings at iTunes 8

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.

TuneClone Burning

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.

Monday, December 15, 2008

TuneClone V1.30 - remove DRM from iTunes M4P M4B WMA Napster using virtual CD drive

The newest version of TuneClone - TuneClone V1.30 - was released on December 15,2008!

TuneClone Audio Converter is a powerful yet easy to use DRM remover and music converter program for removing DRM from iTunes music, Windows Media Player music, RealPlayer music, WinAMP music, Napster music, Rhapsody music, etc., with the music metadata well preserved.



Unlike other media converters, TuneClone Audio Converter applies the virtual CD burning technology to remove the DRM. It generates a virtual CD-ROM drive, tricking your PC into believing that you are burning a CD. Therefore, the DRM is removed without wasting a CD.

TuneClone Audio Converter can be used to convert iTunes protected AAC (M4P), M4B, M4A, protected WMA to MP3, WAV and unprotected WMA. It removes the DRM from protected iTunes M4P or protected WMA so as to help you play the DRM-laden music on media players or MP3 players like Microsoft Zune, Sony PSP, BlackBerry, Creative Zune, iriver, SanDisk Sansa, Sony Walkman, Cell Phone(Sony Ericsson, Motorola, Nokia N-series, Samsung Anycall, LG, etc.) Pocket PC, PDA and so on.

Key features of TuneClone V1.30: (from http://www.tuneclone.com)

1. Easy to install and easy to use via a simple user interface.

2. Remove DRM from purchased or protected music from iTunes, Windows Media Player, RealPlayer, WinAMP, Napster, Rhapster, etc, using automatically generated virtual CD drive.

3. Convert DRM protected music to plain MP3 format for playback on all kinds of MP3 players or media players like Zune, PSP, BlackBerry, Creative Zen, iriver, Walkman, etc.

4. Remove DRM from purchased music files by applying the virtual CD burning technology, which adopts the maximum writing speed so that your music files can be converted at a very high speed.

5. Convert iTunes protected AAC (M4P), M4B and M4A to MP3, WAV and WMA.

6. Convert protected WMA (Windows Media Audio) to MP3, WAV and unprotected WMA.

7. Well Preserve ID3 tags for artist, album, title names, artworks, etc.

8. The converted songs will have no DRM restriction any more.

Availability, price and support

More information about TuneClone V1.30 is available at http://www.tuneclone.com/index.php. You can free download TuneClone V1.30 from http://www.tuneclone.com/tuneclone_setup.exe for a try.

The full version of TuneClone V1.30 costs USD34.95.

If you have questions about or show interest in TuneClone V1.30, please feel free to contact TuneClone support team via support@tuneclone.com.

Monday, December 08, 2008

Remove DRM from iTunes with TuneClone virtual CD burner

Basically, when you buy music from iTunes, it comes with a copyright protection called DRM. These DRM-protected songs are locked so that they only work with Apple MP3 players. That means that if you bought a Microsoft Zune, you cannot use iTunes music.

So, what is the solution? You have to burn a CD. When you do this, the DRM is removed (because the music is converted to a non-DRM-compatible media). After you burn the CD, you can rip it to your PC as an MP3 file which no longer has DRM.

Alternatively, you can use TuneClone (http://www.tuneclone.com/index.php).

TuneClone

TuneClone makes a virtual CD-ROM drive, tricking your PC into believing that you are burning a CD. Therefore, the DRM is removed without wasting a CD.

Here is a link to a tutorial using TuneClone and iTunes 8:
http://itunesm4ptomp3.wordpress.com/2008/09/16/convert-itunes8-music-to-mp3/

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Rhapsody to iTunes for iPod

Music purchased from Rhapsody is under DRM protection, which stops customers from playing the downloaded music with other incompatible devices like Apple iPod and Microsoft Zune. If you don't continue to pay, you won't keep the music when the subscription expires. As we all know, iPod is one of the most popular and successful MP3 players. iPod owners can purchase various music songs from iTunes Store and listen to them with their iPods. However, if you prefer Rhapsody and find some songs in Rhapsody that are unavailable in iTunes store, yet you do want to enjoy these songs witn your new iPod, you are meeting the headache of Naspter being incompatible with iPod. So the following tutorial should be the solution.

The tools you will need:

TuneClone Audio Converter
Rhapsody Software
iPod
iTunes Library

1. Make settings in TuneClone Audio Converter

Download TuneClone (fully compatible with Windows XP and Windows Vista) from http://www.tuneclone.com/tuneclone_setup.exe and install it. After launching TuneClone, click the "Settings" button. In the pop-up dialog of "Options", you can specify the "Output Folder", "Output Filenames", "Output Format" (here we choose MP3), etc. for the output files.

Tip: You can get the output protection removed MP3 music folder by clicking the "Folder" button after the whole process.

TuneClone to convert DRM protected Rhapsody music to iTunes MP3 for iPod

2. Create a new playlist in Rhapsody

In the center left panel of Rhapsody, navigate to "Playlist". Then in the bottom left corner, click "New" to create a new playlist.

Click "File" and select "New Playlist" to create a new playlist in Rhapsody.

Drag and drop the music you are ready to burn to the new playlist from Rhapsody Library.

Transfer Rhapsody playlist to iPod

3. Make CD burning settings in Rhapsody

Click "Tools" and select "Preference..." from the drop-down list. Click "CD Burning" from the list in the left panel. In the "CD Burner Options", choose TuneClone virtual CD drive as preferred CD burner.

TuneClone to remove DRM and convert Rhapsody music to iPod

4. Start to burn

Click the "Burn CD" button to start the burning and encoding process.

After the burning gets started, TuneClone will automatically convert the music file to MP3. You can open the manager screen to show all the converted music files.

TuneClone to remove Rhapsody DRM for iPod

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.

After you get the output MP3 files converted from the Rhapsody music playlist in your Rhapsody, you can now begin to transfer the MP3 files to your iPod with the sync of iTunes.

Monday, December 01, 2008

How to transfer Napster music playlist to iTunes playlist for iPod

Music purchased from Napster is under DRM protection, which stops customers from playing the downloaded music with other incompatible devices like Apple iPod and Microsoft Zune. If you don't continue to pay, you won't keep the music when the subscription expires. As we all know, iPod is one of the most popular and successful MP3 players. iPod owners can purchase various music songs from iTunes Store and listen to them with their iPods. However, if you prefer Napster and find some songs in Napster that are unavailable in iTunes store, yet you do want to enjoy these songs witn your new iPod, you are meeting the headache of Naspter being incompatible with iPod. So the following tutorial should be the solution.

The tools you will need:

TuneClone Audio Converter
Napster Software
iPod
iTunes Library

1. Make settings in TuneClone Audio Converter

Download TuneClone (fully compatible with Windows XP and Windows Vista) from http://www.tuneclone.com/index.php and install it. After launching TuneClone, click the "Settings" button. In the pop-up dialog of "Options", you can specify the "Output Folder", "Output Filenames", "Output Format" (here we choose MP3), etc. for the output files.

Tip: You can get the output protection removed MP3 music folder by clicking the "Folder" button after the whole process.

TuneClone to convert DRM protected Napster music to iTunes MP3 for iPod

2. Create a new playlist in Napster

Under "My Playlist", click the "New Playlist" button to create a new playlist. Drag and drop to the playlist the music you are going to burn from your Napster Library.

Transfer Napster playlist to iPod

3. Make CD burning settings in Napster

Click "Tools", and select "Preference..." from the drop-down list. In the left panel of "Options", navigate to "CD Options". In the right panel of "CD Options", choose TuneClone virtual CD drive as the preferred CD burner.

TuneClone to remove DRM and convert Napster music to iPod

Note: Please tick "Burn CD Text" to preserve the metadata of the music.

4. Start to burn

Click the "Burn Disk" button to start the burning and encoding process.

After the burning gets started, TuneClone will automatically convert the music file to MP3. You can open the manager screen to show all the converted music files.

TuneClone to remove Napster DRM for iPod

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.

After you get the output MP3 files converted from the Napster music playlist in your Napster, you can now begin to transfer the MP3 files to your iPod with the sync of iTunes.