iTunes 4.8?

[Convert]

Yeah, the video support, it's kind of a half way adventure.

Apple goes all crazy, and decides to add video support to iTunes, COOL! Then, they make it so pointless, you may as well just continue using Quicktime. Hmm.

[ljocampo]

I have held off installing iTunes 4.8 because it has a change to its DRM (Digital Rights Management) schema. Acording to what I've read, itunes 4.8 won't allow you to burn your purchased music to audio format (AIFF) anymore on CDs. This removed feature allowed us to strip the ACC DRM out of our purchased music. Before I install iTunes 4.8, I'd burn my purchased music list first.

[ElDiabloConCaca]

Huh? You can burn protected AAC files to an audio CD just fine in iTunes 4.8, just as you could with previous versions. I've burned several protected-AAC-only CDs as well as a few with mixed protected and non-protected files.

All came out just fine. I don't know where you read that, but it's grossly incorrect.

[ljocampo]

All came out just fine. I don't know where you read that, but it's grossly incorrect.

Incorrect probably, grossly I'm not too sure!

I know I've read it somewhere, but I couldn't find the link to show you. It is possible I mixed things up! Because Roxio has taken this feature out of their recent Toast update because of DRM policies at the ITM. It may be scuttlebutt on what features Apple will be taking away from your use of ITM purchases in the future. In anycase, beware. If you can burn them to AIFF do it soon or it may be too late.

[ElDiabloConCaca]

Yes, Roxio's new Toast update to 6.1 removes the ability to convert/export/burn protected AAC files from Apple's iTunes Music Store -- this is simply because Apple wants to be in control over the burning process, and having Toast be able to burn protected AAC files doesn't allow Apple to enforce the "10 copies of a playlist only" rule. You get a nice, "You can only burn these songs with iTunes" message now.

It does not mean that iTunes is moving toward this kind of behavior at all. It just means that Apple wants to be able to count how many times a playlist is burned, and if Toast can burn protected AAC files, then they can't enforce the "10 copies only" rule.

[ljocampo]

EID, you are right on the money! Your analysis makes sense. My original post did confuse the Roxio issue with the iTunes 4.8 issue. The mix up caused me to make the wrong assumption, as you pointed out, about waiting before updating to iTunes 4.8. I was concerned about having time to convert my purchased library. I should have tried out the feature first before making that comment.

Thank's for your real-life experience using this feature in iTunes 4.8. It saves me from guessing what should be done to protect my iTunes music.