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How To

21
Oct

How to Enjoy DVD/Video/YouTube/iTunes/WMA on Mobile Phone

Apart from the basic functions of calling and SMS, a mobile phone is also a pretty good multimedia player, which enables you to play games, enjoy videos and music and browse images etc., so long as the media is accepted by the specific phone. In order to know which formats the specific phone accepts, you can make a simple Google search or visit the tech specs page in the official website of the phone.

If you want to enjoy DVD movies on your mobile phone, you have to get a DVD ripping program to help you rip the DVD movies to the format (MP4, 3GP, AVI, etc.) supported by your phone. Here, I’d recommend using Clone2Go DVD Ripper, which I have been using for a long time. The main reason I am fond of it is that, apart from the DVD ripping feature, it also serves as an all-in-one video converter. Plus, it allows you to download videos from YouTube.com and convert YouTube FLV videos to any other video format you need. So this DVD ripper can help you rip DVD movies to mobile phone video, convert any video to mobile phone video and even convert online YouTube video for your mobile phone. However, it is not free. It does cost you USD39.95 to register the full version. And there really exist many counterpart freewares to do so. Yet, it is well worth a try if you want to avoid the trouble of getting these programs from time to time. Here is the screenshot I captured from Clone2Go DVD Ripper.

Personally speaking, due to the narrow screen, I don’t like playing games or videos with my mobile phone. However, I do enjoy listening to all kinds of music with my mobile phone. If you have downloaded songs from a CD or a shareware site like Limewire, you can easily put them on your mobile phone. However, any song you purchased directly from iTunes store will not play on your phone, due that it is encrypted by DRM. I have found the easiest way is to burn the music to an audio CD and then rip it back to Windows Media Player or a similar program as an MP3. And Wordpress has a little tutorial that shows how to get MP3 files from iTunes DRM protected AAC (M4P) music in two different ways. One is to burn an audio CD in iTunes and then rip the CD back to MP3 as I mentioned. The other is to use a program called TuneClone, a piece of software that works extremely great for converting a large collection of DRM protected iTunes music to MP3, with the metadata of the music well preserved at the same time. Together with Windows Media Player, TuneClone can also help you get DRM protected WMA (Windows Media Audio) music converted to MP3 for your mobile phone.

At last you can get a microSD card, with which you can transfer the videos and music to your phone to enjoy them wherever you go. Of course, you can also get some software to help you transfer the output files from your PC to your phone. Many of them are available online.

07
Oct

How to import iTunes M4P music to Windows Movie Maker

Many people are fond of making slideshows on their Windows Movie Maker, however, it won’t let them import any purchased music as it is DRM protected. Since iTunes store tops the music retailer in the world, the following tutorial focuses on how to convert purchased iTunes M4P music to MP3, WAV or unprotected WMA so as to import it to Windows Movie Maker project as background music. The tutorial is composed of the following three parts:

Part 1. Something about Windows Movie Maker

Windows Movie Maker is a totally free program that comes with Windows XP Home Edition, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional, and Windows Vista. Below are the audio/video formats accepted by Windows Movie Maker:

Video files: .asf, .avi, .wmv
Movie files: MPEG1, .mpeg, .mpg, .mlv, .mp2
Audio files: .wav, .snd, .au, .aif, .aifc, .aiff
Windows media files: .asf, .wm, .wma, .wmv
MP3 format audio: .mp3

Part 2. Remove DRM from iTunes M4P music

The songs you purchased from iTunes store are under DRM protection. You cannot directly import them to your Windows Movie Maker project. However you can burn the protected music files to CD-R or CD-RW disc to make an audio CD and then use some CD ripper software to convert the audio CD track back to MP3, WAV, WMA, etc. And iTunes allows you to burn the protected music files to CD-R or CD-RW disc to make a standard audio CD:

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 protected 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.

The steps are very simple indeed. Yet, I’d like to introduce a practical application called TuneClone M4P to MP3 Converter. It applies the virtual CD burning technology so that there is no need to use real disc. You can use it 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. You can learn how to remove DRM from iTunes M4P music with TuneClone M4P to MP3 Converter from this guide.

Part 3. Add the output DRM-free music to Windows Movie Maker

After you get the output DRM-free music by adopting either the disc burning/ripping method or virtual CD burning method discussed in Part 2, now you can begin to import it into your Windows Movie Maker project.

Click on File. Then click on Import. A window will appear. In the window, navigate to the sound or music file you want to add to your movie. Then double click on the file. You’ll see the icon for the file in your Windows Movie Maker “collections”. Click on the icon and drag it on to the timeline to the part of the video you want the sound or music to play.

28
Sep

How to burn DRM encrypted iTunes music to MP3

Are you annoyed by iTunes DRM? Do you want to strip it off because you want to play the iTunes music on other mobile devices other than iPod and iPhone, use it as background music in a home video, or anything else that DRM limits it to do? Many people know you can strip off the DRM off 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.

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.

16
Sep

Ways to remove DRM from iTunes music on Windows and Mac

There are many ways to remove DRM protection from iTunes music. On Windows OS, you can remove the DRM from iTunes music using the burn-and-rip method or you can turn to programs like TuneClone and DoubleTwist. On Mac OS X, iMovie is the perfect solution to removing DRM from iTunes music. Besides, freewares like FairGame is also a pretty good choice. So this article is dedicated to introducing several methods of removing the nasty DRM from iTunes music on Windows and Mac OS X. It is divided into the following four parts:

Part 1. Remove DRM from iTunes music on Windows with burn-and-rip method

A. 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.
B. Burn your playlist to make an audio CD. You cannot select the MP3 CD option since it requires the protected music files be converted to unprotected MP3 files.
C. 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.

Part 2. Remove DRM from iTunes music on Windows with TuneClone

A. Download TuneClone from http://www.tuneclone.com and install it.

It is fully compatible with Windows XP and Vista. A virtual CD Burner will be installed. This virtual CD-RW will be used to convert music files.

B. Set the default CD Burner to TuneClon CD-RW at iTunes.

Click menu Edit, select menu item Preferences…, and then select Advanced Tab. In order to keep the artist and title information of the music, the Include CD Text option should be checked.

C. Create a playlist, and then add the files you want to convert into the playlist.

D. Click Burn Disc button at the bottom right of the main screen of iTunes.

While 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.

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.

Part 3. Remove DRM from iTunes music on Mac OS X with iMovie

In the iMovie window, select the ‘Media’ tab located between ‘Themes’ and ‘Editing’. You will notice that the top right portion of the interface now offers a media browser. Select the ‘Audio’ tab and locate the playlist which contains purchased music, or search by artist/title.

Select the DRM-laden song and drag the file from the media browser into the iMovie timeline where it says “Drag audio here to build your project.”

In order to export the song, iMovie requires that a visual image be associated with the audio track - iMovie thinks that it is going to be exporting a movie. Simply drag a blank image (or any other image) to the track above the previously imported audio file. Once iMovie has processed the image, select the ‘Share…’ sub menu item from found inside ‘Share’ in iMovie’s menu bar.

Ensure that ‘Expert Settings’ is selected in the “Compress movie for:” drop-down menu. Selecting ‘Expert Settings’ mode will provide the options to export the file as an audio file. Select the ‘Share’ button.

In the Save as… dialogue, select “Sound to AIFF” in the Export drop-down menu, Choose an appropriate directory for iMovie to export to, title the file, and select ‘Save’. Depending on your machine configuration, iMovie will compress and export the movie project as an audio file in 15-40 seconds.

Locate the exported AIFF audio file and drag to your iTunes Library. Right-click on the file and select “Convert Selection to AAC”. Once completed, ‘Get Info’ on the new file, edit meta data, add album art, and trash the originally purchased and AIFF audio files from your iTunes library.

Part 4. Remove DRM from iTunes music on Mac OS X with FairGame

FairGame is freeware to remove DRM protection from iTunes music on Mac OS X. It will convert the DRMed songs you bought on the iTunes Store to an unprotected format (using iTunes default encoder) and keep all the original metadata, lyrics and artwork. FairGame doesn’t do lossless DRM stripping. It re-encodes protected AAC files purchased in iTMS into unprotected AAC file using Apple’s iMovie software.

What you MUST DO (only once) to get FairGame to work:

  • Enable “Access for assistive devices” in the “Universal Access” system preference
  • Select “Place clip in Movie Timeline” in the “Import” preference of iMovie HD

Then you can simply:

  • Select some songs in iTunes
  • Click on the “Process songs” button

Don’t touch anything and wait until it’s done…(FairGame is scripting iMovie’s interface to process the songs, don’t interfere)

05
Sep

How to convert DVD video to iPhone 3G

Most people who own an iPhone 3G know they can watch videos but they may not know how to exactly. So the following tutorial is dedicated to helping you learn how to watch DVD movies and videos of various sources on your brand new iPhone 3G.

First, let’s take a look at the video/audio formats iPhone 3G supports:?

Video formats supported: H.264 video, up to 1.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Low-Complexity version of the H.264 Baseline Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; H.264 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Baseline Profile up to Level 3.0 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats
Audio formats supported: AAC, Protected AAC, MP3, MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV

So, in order to enjoy DVD’s and videos on iPhone 3G, you just need to rip the DVD movies and convert the video files to video/audio formats iPhone 3G accepts, and then transfer the output video/audio files to your iPhone 3G with the sync of iTunes Library.

The tool you will need is Clone2go DVD to iPhone Converter. And below is its step by step user guide:

1. Add DVD movies or video files

Click the Open DVD button if the DVD movie you are going to enjoy on your iPhone 3G is on the disc drive. If the DVD movie is saved as a folder on your computer, you need to click the Add Video button to locate that folder, which is composed of two separate folders: VIDEO_TS and AUIDO_TS. From the VIDEO_TS folder, select the .vob file to import and then click OK.

You can also import videos of various sources by clicking the Add Video button. The supporting formats are:

After the DVD or video is imported, you can preview it on the main interface. If you only want a clip of the DVD/video, you can drag the Start to trim and Stop to trim button to get the certain segment.

2. Choose a profile

From the drop-down list of Profile, you can select a profile that best meets your needs:

Note: From the graph above, we can learn Clone2go DVD to iPhone Converter also applies to converting DVD movies and video files to video/audio formats for Apple iPod, Apple TV, YouTube FLV, AVI Video, etc.

3. Start to encode

And now you can click the Start Encode button to starting ripping DVD’s or converting videos for your iPhone 3G.

Note: The output video/audio files are easily available by simply clicking the Folder button on the main menu after the ripping/converting process is done.