How to use DRM-encrypted iTunes music with Kinoma Player
Apple recently introduced iTunes Plus, which makes a limited number of tracks available without DRM for an extra 30 cents per track. Kinoma Player supports iTunes Plus tracks directly — just copy them to your SD card and you’re good to go.
However, most iTunes tracks are encrypted using an Apple-proprietary DRM scheme called FairPlay. Unfortunately Apple won’t license FairPlay to us or to anybody else (which admittedly doesn’t seem terribly fair). This means you can’t use most iTunes tracks on your Treo, at least not directly.
The workaround? Simply burn your tracks to CD and then rip them with iTunes to MP3 or AAC. I do this as a matter of course with everything I buy from iTunes so that I can use it with Kinoma Player on my Treo.
When you rip your tracks, you can choose a lower datarate to fit more audio onto your SD card or a higher datarate to keep the quality as close to the originals’ as possible. For music I recommend starting with 160 kbps for MP3 or 128 kbps for AAC, and then going up or down from there depending on whether audio quality or file size is more important to you.
This tip works equally well with tracks purchased from other online music stores as well.
[…] iTunes music is still encumbered with DRM, which makes it clumsy to use with Kinoma Player. (Read this to learn how to use all of your iTunes purchases with […]