Guest Anonymous Posted January 17, 2004 Report Share Posted January 17, 2004 Hey everyone, I currently go to school full-time where I have a substantial break in the middle of the day and I work full-time at a business that permits portable audio players during shifts. All together that's about 8-10 hours a day I use my NetMD player. I love music but I am getting a little tired of my current selection and spending $12-16 for an entire CD in which I might only listen to half of the tracks seems like a waste. I downloaded iTunes last night with one song just to try it out and I have to say the ACC format sounds better than the 128kps MP3s that I use. I thought I had struck gold by being able to pick and choose songs that I like for a little money but getting an ACC file to a NetMD without converting between a lossy filetype and another lossy file type seems to be next to impossible. Are there any utilities that I have overlooked (although I doubt there are) that will allow me to convert protected AAV to MP3 or ATRAC3? I have to say I love my little $100 MZ-NE410 and the fact I can bring a little 5pk case of MDs in LP2 and have enough music to get me through the day or even the week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highlandsun Posted January 18, 2004 Report Share Posted January 18, 2004 That's "AAC" - Advanced Audio Codec - not "ACC" ... There is no way to go directly from one format to another. You always have to decode to PCM and then re-encode in the target format (ATRAC3 in this case). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 18, 2004 Report Share Posted January 18, 2004 Right. You need to find a way to convert the AAC files to WAV files, which you can send through NetMD. Unfortunately, I don't know of any method to convert Apple's AAC to WAV. You can try recording the playback of an AAC file with TotalRecorder... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted February 4, 2004 Report Share Posted February 4, 2004 aac is not "apples" its open source like mp3. anyway, i heard that the new realplayer 10 will let you do it. i like the new real player, but it cuts of the titles and ALWAYS makes artist part of the track name (which i dont want) and i dont know how to change that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted February 5, 2004 Report Share Posted February 5, 2004 I know. There's more than one AAC format out there, sooo... I call iTunes-created AAC's "Apple AAC." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onlykaria Posted February 5, 2004 Report Share Posted February 5, 2004 there is only one aac "format" whats different is the copy protection. real player also uses aac but uses a different copy protection. its all one format, with different copy protection. anyway, yes real player 10 should let you do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyLocust Posted February 23, 2004 Report Share Posted February 23, 2004 There are currently 2 ways to convert iTunes aac: 1 burn your files to an audio cd and rip it using sonicstage. (there may actually be a way to do itunes -> nero virtual drive -> Simple burn thing) 2 There is a program out there called QTFairuse that removes the encryption from aac files. But it is an ugly hack, and is far from easy to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iceeedtea Posted February 24, 2004 Report Share Posted February 24, 2004 there is only one aac "format" whats different is the copy protection. That's not entirely true. iTunes-encoded MP4 files are different from Nero-encoded MP4 files. iTunes seems to put more emphasis on sound quality, while Ahead/Nero seems to put more on (something, I am not quite sure yet, by the way their .mp4 files turn out to sound to my ears :smile:) Yes, they are all MP4/AAC, but they differ greatly. Apple's iTMS uses MP4/AAC, yes, but files are DRM'd; they have restrictions. Files ripped by iTunes using a disc you own will not. Apple = .m4a (unprotected), .m4p (protected) [breaking the standard with the file extensions?], stick to a smaller range of bit rates (not true variable bit rate). Nero (and others) = .mp4, and the possibility of true VBR. Nullsoft/Winamp (breaking the standard) = .AAC (which you should stay far, far away from.) Different encoders, different companies, etc. Then, you get into the new extensions to MP4/AAC that Ahead (Nero Digital) is making like HE-AAC, and the problems between Apple's and Ahead's files playing in different players and tagging differences and iPod incompatibilities....confusion, all around. Least, that's how I percieve it, after being on [unnamed audio enthusiast forum] for a little while, lurking around. I like to think of it as a work in progress :smile: Until things get settled out, I'll stick with my GTb1 encoder for encoding .wav files ripped from EAC -> .OGG for files stored on the computer. However, you need to remember - by burning tracks downloaded from the iTMS to a CD in standard 'AudioCD' format, then using SimpleBurner/SonicStage/etc. to transfer to your MiniDisc via NetMD results in quality degradation. Why? This is called 'transcoding'; you are taking already-lossy (compressed) music (then de-compressing to PCM to be on the 'AudioCD'), and then re-compressing it. Thus, your end result will sound much worse when compared to the original 128kbps file. My suggestion to you: if you wish to transfer iTunes files and to retain quality, buy an inexpensive sound card which has optical output to transfer to your NetMD unit in real-time. Even the inexpensive Creative Sound Blaster MP3+ will do; I purchased one for $30USD recently, and it does its job fine. Of course, if your unit doesn't support optical input, you could always purchase a cheap unit which has optical input from a store or an online auction :smile: Or, you could wait until Sony launches their Connect service, which will offer ATRAC3 files at 132kbps. Direct transfer from your computer to your NetMD unit, without transcoding. What is quite amusing to me, however, is how Sony has not announced support for MP4/AAC. If I recall correctly, they were one of the companies that funded development of the new standard. I've tried the 'QTFairUse' program once on an associate's computer (note: I do not condone piracy). It's not great. I believe that Apple was working on a way to patch the exploit up that allows for this to be used. Now, I'm not saying that you should do it this way; I only recommend this, since I know that if I were personally to encode MP4 -> AudioCD -> SimpleBurner -> NetMD, I would be in great pain, due to lack of quality. (Hence, I only record via an optical source directly from the original CD in SP mode. Why am I the NetMD moderator, then? :smile:) Try it, and if the quality is bearable to you, then, go for it. I believe it was the character named "Cypher" from The Matrix who stated, "Ignorance is bliss." Just my $0.02. Feel free to play a game of 'Bash the moderator', if you so choose, if you disagree with any of the points, or if I'm incorrect in something I said. :happy: Not like I'm actually going to have to use moderator powers, here.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffS Posted February 24, 2004 Report Share Posted February 24, 2004 There is another tool I didn't see mentioned above (though I may have missed it) try m4p2mp4. You have to legally own the music and have the propper playback key, but it will convert your encrypted file into an unencrypted mp4 file very fast. I found it on the net at http://www.techfreaks.org/utilities/m4p2mp4.zip -Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyLocust Posted February 25, 2004 Report Share Posted February 25, 2004 Well dang. That's a hell of alot easier. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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