Itunes music

exvor · 11-19-2004, 12:00 PM

Does anyone know of a codec that is availible for Mplayer that can play itunes music that has been downloaded using there service. When i try an play something gives me an error.

Code:

Cannot find codec for audio format 0x736D7264

I have downloaded and compiled Mplayer with the codecs for Quicktime and it does detect this as a quicktime file but will not play it with the error above.

Any help is apreciated.

By the way the only reason im trying to do this is because the songs were backed up from a windows computer that was running this service and now that linux is the primary os they can no longer play the files.

anonobomber · 11-19-2004, 12:10 PM

I converted a bunch of iTunes formatted music for my girlfriend a few weeks ago into Ogg Vorbis, here is the script i wrote to do this:

anonobomber@zyklon:/home/manda$ cat m4a2ogg.sh

Code:

#!/bin/bash
#
# Converts m4a files to wav then to ogg vorbis with quality setting 4

for i in *.m4a
do
mplayer -ao pcm "$i" -aofile "$i.wav"
done

for i in *.wav
do
oggenc -q 4 "$i"
done

for i in *.ogg
do
x=`echo "$i"|sed -e 's/m4a.ogg/ogg/'`
mv "$i" "$x"
done
rm *.wav
rm *.m4a

Copy all that into a file called m4a2ogg.sh and do a 'chmod +x m4a2ogg.sh' to make it executable then copy it into /usr/bin/ if you like so you can cd into the directory containing the .m4a file and run 'm4a2ogg.sh' which will convert all that music into .wav format, then into ogg vorbis.

anonobomber · 11-19-2004, 12:15 PM

oh yea, the codec it uses to decode this is faad, this is what mplayer outputs when opening such a file

Code:

Cache fill:  0.00% (0 bytes)    ISO: File Type Major Brand: Apple iTunes AAC-LC Audio
QuickTime/MOV file format detected.
--------------
MOV track #0: 627 chunks, 13147 samples
Audio bits: 16  chans: 2  rate: 44100
MOV: Found MPEG4 audio Elementary Stream Descriptor atom (51)!
Fourcc: mp4a
--------------
MOV: longest streams: A: #0 (13147 samples)  V: #-1 (0 samples)
==========================================================================
Trying to force audio codec driver family libmad...
Opening audio decoder: [faad] AAC (MPEG2/4 Advanced Audio Coding)
FAAD: compressed input bitrate missing, assuming 128kbit/s!
AUDIO: 44100 Hz, 2 ch, 16 bit (0x10), ratio: 16000->176400 (128.0 kbit)
Selected audio codec: [faad] afm:faad (FAAD AAC (MPEG2/MPEG4 Audio) decoder)
==========================================================================
Checking audio filter chain for 44100Hz/2ch/16bit -> 44100Hz/2ch/16bit...
AF_pre: af format: 2 bps, 2 ch, 44100 hz, little endian signed int
AF_pre: 44100Hz 2ch Signed 16-bit (Little-Endian)
PCM: File: words.wav (WAVE)
PCM: Samplerate: 44100Hz Channels: Stereo Format Signed 16-bit (Little-Endian)
PCM: Info: fastest dumping is achieved with -vc dummy -vo null
PCM: Info: to write WAVE files use -waveheader (default); for RAW PCM -nowaveheader.

I hope this is of assistance to you.

exvor · 11-19-2004, 12:17 PM

Thanks ill try it now. And ill add some information in the comments section to mine giving you credit for the script

butler · 11-19-2004, 04:11 PM

Does that de-DRM the files? If not, I don't think it will work.

exvor · 11-19-2004, 04:11 PM

Hmm just catched these are .m4p files not m4a files

Anyone elese wanna take a crack ??

Vlad-A · 12-08-2004, 08:20 AM

Hi exvor,

try "hymn":

My suggestion:
Grab from the original source. I know this will take some time, but AAC (M4A/M4P) and
OGG are *not* lossless codecs. You know AAC encoding will cut off some information
from the music file and OGG another, so the re-encoding a M4A coded file
into OGG will make it sound worse then the original M4A encoded.
Encoding from the original (usually WAV) into OGG will give you the
best results.

Superme · 12-08-2004, 10:15 AM

Itunes music is no different fomr regular mp3s but itunes does add id3 tags to the mp3s or other music formats, and some mp3 players do not support that in itunes just right click on the mp3 and go to CONVERT ID3 TAGS and in the window that comes up set the drop down menu to NONE

hope thats your problem

Vlad-A · 12-08-2004, 11:00 AM

Well, Convert ID Tags does an conversion of the ID Tags of MP3 Files, coded with older iTunes Versions or other
encoder to the latest ID Tag standard ID-Tag V 2.4 used in iTunes 4.7

This however is only for MP3 files. M4P files, so the ones you can buy through the iTunes Store, are
very different from standard MP3 files. M4P are protected (encrypted) AAC (Advanced Audio Codec) files.
MP3 is actaully MPEG 1- Layer 3
AAC in the iTunes case is the audio layer of MPEG-4, also known as M4A.

M4P is nothing else then an encrypted M4A file (so MPEG4 and *not* MPEG1-Layer 3).
The encryption key is based (Windows case) on the Windows Serial number, computer's ROM serial number
and some other parameters. So if you copy a M4P file to another computer it won't play since
the generated key wil not match the key with which teh M4A files are encrypted.

hymn will decrypt a M4P file into a M4A file permanently, but will leave the embeded id of the
iTunes Store user that bought the M4P song, in order to prevent misuse.

exvor · 12-10-2004, 12:39 PM

What a bunch of bullshit. Wow this teaches me never to use itunes anymore. And wanna know something else. Even if it is <-- the same pc the <...> wont play. So its distinct to the version of windows. Screwum im just gonna log onto phex and leach the mp3 version.

Vlad-A · 12-10-2004, 11:39 PM

Well,

When converted to M4A with hymm the iTunes Shop Music can be plyed whereever you want.
The music however, you grep via iTunes from CDs or WAVs, is stored
in iTunes in M4A (so unprotected) and can be plyed wherever you want.

spineboy · 12-27-2004, 08:46 AM

Using hymm and all those other programs to "De-DRM" your music files is somewhat of a pain I think.

The easiest method is to record your iTunes music on a CD and then just rip it. Viola! DRM free music

It's the Gordian knot solution to all of this.

Vlad-A · 01-06-2005, 01:21 PM

Well, indeed this can be a way, but you'll loose quality. Once coded with 128 kBit AAC there is some information missing, as part of the compression.
When burning it to CD the missing part is not fully restored. Then you rip from CD and code/compress again and loose additional information.
I do not think that programs like hymn are that complicated to handle.

H2O-linux · 01-15-2005, 09:46 PM

jtshaw · 01-14-2006, 11:01 PM

There is no legal way to play iTunes music in Linux short of running iTunes through wine (if that is even possible).

We have a strict policy of not discussing methods of piracy on this site.

As for Exvor's comments... all legitimate music download services implement a DRM scheme. The Apple FAQ's and licenses clearly state that the music will work through iTunes, on iTunes compatible music players (aka iPods), and can be burned to CD. It also very clearly states the number of copies and computers your purchased music can live on.