Posted by NRen2k5 on 11/06/05 01:06

Converting to Ogg will also downgrade sound quality.

- NRen2k5

peter wrote:
> Paul Hill wrote:
>
>> I'm not sure if Winamp plays DRM encoded WMA's but if it does you
>> might be
>> able to use the Diskwriter output plugin that sends the data to a .wav
>> file,
>> instead of to the sound card.
>>
>> I don't have any DRM files to try it though, sorry.
>>
>> "Malcolm H" <noone@nowhere.com> wrote in message
>> news:fn76f.7292$65.5146@newsfe6-win.ntli.net...
>>
>>> I have downloaded (and paid for) music tracks from the MSN music store
>>
>>
>> .The
>>
>>> downloaded tracks are in .wma format protected by DRM (Digital Rights
>>> Management).
>>>
>>> My media player (Squeezebox http://www.slimdevices.com/) will not play
>>
>>
>> these
>>
>>> files - so I wish to convert them to unprotected mp3.
>>>
>>> Using Windows Media player I have successfully burned the downloaded
>>> .wma
>>> files to a CD and then ripped the files from the CD to mp3 format.
>>> These
>>> files can then be played by my Squeezebox.
>>>
>>> Thus I have achieved my objective, but my question is - why is it
>>
>>
>> necessary
>>
>>> to burn a CD to achieve this result? Surely there must be a way of
>>> achieving this conversion directly without going via a CD??
>>>
>>> Answers will be awaited with interest.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>
> The problem here is the squeezebox. An up to date media player should
> handle DRM! There used to be downloadable utilities that would unprotect
> DRM files, but they seem to have been suppressed. The only options left
> seem to be either the CD route, with the downside of recompressing an
> already compressed file. NB expanding to WAV/CDA shouldn't downgrade the
> tracks any more but recoding to mp3 will. What about a different
> compression like Ogg?, or recoding in real time. I've tried both
> techniques to convert WMA to mp3 with acceptable results. However I'm
> not looking for concert hall quality.

[Back to original message]