Questions about iTunes and its competitors (Windows user)

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

1) Who are the competitors and what do they cost?

2) Are the files purchased/downloaded regular .mp3's that can be played by programs like Winamp? And burned onto CD's by non-Apple software? In other words, can I burn a CD with iTune files mixed in with my other .mp3's obtained from other sources?

3) For those familiar with the various options, what are your favorites and why? I'm talking about the "legit" pay services like iTunes. I wouldn't know anything about free downloading via Kazaa and WinMX (COUGH SPUTTER COUGH).

[Ready4Change]

1. I've used iTunes on a Mac.

I like it. 99 cents a song. The file format is proprietary (not MP3.) You can burn them as a music file on a CD. Haven't tried mixing with MP3's, nor converting them to MP3.

I've heard the iTunes format limits the number of times you can copy/convert/burn a song before you are required to re-download it, but I haven't encountered a limit yet. Then again, I don't burn a lot of CD's.

[MR. ELECTABLE]

2. The file format is hardly proprietary

The file format iTunes uses is AAC, which was devised by the MPEG (Motion Picture Experts Group), the same folks that came up with MPEG movies, the MPEG-2 format used on ALL DVDs, the MPEG-3 standard (MP3), and the new MPEG-4 standard which was designed for internet use. MP3 is actually about 10 YEARS old, and the codec is not that efficient nor does it reproduce songs with the accuracy of AAC, Ogg Vorbis, or even some of the new Windows Media formats.

The windows media formats used by EVERY OTHER competitor to iTunes IS proprietary, as the codec itself is owned by Microsoft and it will not be licensed or divulged to other companies.

The only component of the iTunes music store that is not standard AAC is the weak copy-protection scheme that is used to ensure songs are not pirated. This is copy protection system is called FairPlay and was actually created by a third party, and Apple has licensed it for use with the iTunes music store. Any company could license FairPlay and build it into their "MP3" players so that Apple's AAC files can be used, but so far nobody has decided to do so. So this is not really as proprietary as the windows media format, either.

The restrictions placed on the AAC by FairPlay are:

1) You can only play the song on 1-3 computers, and on an unlimited number of digital music playyers, including iPods

2) You can only burn the SAME playlist to CD ten times in a row. You can then reorder one of the songs and burn that playlist 10 times, etc. This is only done to prevent mass duplication ala black market, and really shouldn't ever interfere with normal use. YOU NEVER HAVE TO RE-PURCHASE A SONG!

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

3. Do you have to use the iTunes software to burn CD's?

And can you burn CD's with iTunes files and non iTunes?

[mobuto]

4. Yes, you have to use iTunes

to burn CDs with music you've downloaded from the iTunes music store, because its encoded with a proprietary copy-protection formula. I use iTunes on my PC, not to download music, but simply to manage and play the music I already have. I don't know why you'd want to use another program anyways.

[MR. ELECTABLE]

7. Yes on both

You have to use iTunes to burn the AAC files because iTunes will strip all of the digital rights garbage related to FairPlay from the file before it burns it onto the CD. iTunes can burn the following types of files to CD:

AAC with FairPlay (.m4p)
AAC without FairPlay (.m4a)
MP3 (.mp3)
WAV, AIFF

You can mix and match them within a playlist without any problems. You CAN'T burn them with files in Windows media format, because Apple can't license the Microsoft codecs so that they can be decoded.

I burn mixed playlists (.m4a,.mp3,.m4p) all the time. I actually don't have to many .mp3 files anymore because I re-ripped most of my CDs as AAC without FairPlay (.m4a). It actually reduces the size of the files by about 33% while improving the quality of the sound on playback. There were a lot of improvements in codec design in the 10 years between MP3 and AAC, and this shows it.

[Ready4Change]

11. Thanks for the info.

.

[Streetdoc270]

5. MusicMatch

Just use musicmatch it is also .99 cents a song and they are in WMA format. I download them, play the songs with Real One player and transfer them to my Rio mp3 player with no problems

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

6. Thanks, this is all good information

Then a follow-on question is:

Can the iTunes software be used to burn both iTunes files and regular .mp3's onto the same CD? Sounds like iTunes software handles regular .mp3s and .wma's as well?

[MR. ELECTABLE]

8. See my post above

iTunes can't handle .wma files as Microsoft will not allow access to the codec. RealPlayer handles .wma files because it uses the libraries Microsoft supplies with the Windows OS. RealPlayer on Mac cannot handle .wma because Microsoft will never port their library to a competing operating system. That means NO .wma on Linux, whereas Fairplay and AAC could be ported in the future.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

9. Okay, so no iTunes and .wma. But iTunes can handle .mp3?

[MR. ELECTABLE]

10. Yes, and AAC without FairPlay. Please see Post #7

n/t