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Converting Protected WAV to MP3- Help Tigre!

Discussion in 'Audio' started by jimbo1mcm, Sep 19, 2003.

  1. jimbo1mcm

    jimbo1mcm Member

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    I am trying a download service that protects its .wav songs. When I try to convert to MP3( Acoustica) I get a warning that it is protected with a Digital Right Management system. I can load it into Music Match 8.0 and it plays, but I can't volume level it or edit the track tag. Any way around this? Thanks.
     
  2. tigre

    tigre Moderator Staff Member

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    I don't think this is PCM .wav (= uncompressed). Would be a huge waste of bandwith. Probably the files have a size comparable to mp3 files, so this should be some lossy format with a .wav header. If you can play it back use totalrecorder or virtualaudiocable to record it to uncompressed .wav, then encode with lame (or some frontend like lamedrop). Volumelevel later with mp3gain. Be careful! - this is transcoding and will decrease quality.
     
  3. tigre

    tigre Moderator Staff Member

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    From a PM by jimbo1mcm:
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    Please don't ask questions like this as PM. Others should be able to profit from answers too ...
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    Get Totalrecorder. Use it as desribed in the manual/help file/home page FAQ/... to record the .wma files during playback to .wav files. Now you can do whatever you want, e.g. convert to mp3 using lamedrop. Maybe there are ways to get rid of wma DRM/copy protection directly but I don't know.
     
  4. jimbo1mcm

    jimbo1mcm Member

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    Thanks Tigre. I'll get Totalrecorder and press on.
     
  5. jimbo1mcm

    jimbo1mcm Member

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    Problem solved. Here's a recap. Using Music Match Jukebox Plus, 8.1, a great program! I also subscribe to a music service which allows unlimited downloads. They come in as .wma files, able to be played by MMJ, but not able to be copied, volume leveled, or tag edited. I have a digital-analog converter hooked up to a USB port going into my amplifier. I take a feed off the amplifier and into my Sony MiniDisc deck. I play the music using MMJ and record it(analog)onto the minidisc. I then take the output from the minidisc player, into the SoundBlaster line(or mic) input on my sound card in the computer. I then open MMJ Recorder and go to options, and change the default input from CD, to line in(or mic). MMJ does a very nice job. When you are ready, a track edit box appears in the recorder and you can name the track you are about to record. It goes in as a MP3 file, being able to be volume leveled, edited, or copied to a CD. I am not sure what the fidelity loss is, going from Digital to Analog a couple of times, but from a listening standpoint, it sounds very good. I am pretty sure the Sony will not record a straight digital input because of a protection feature in the digital. If I have a little more time, I'll explore it. Comments?
     
  6. tigre

    tigre Moderator Staff Member

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    TotalRecorder would do basically the same, just without D/A -> A/D conversion, so with less loss ... . After capturing (with TotalRecorder or D/A conversion -> lineout -> linein -> A/D conversion) the resulting .wav files shouldn't contain copy protection any more. If you have a MD player capable of digital input you should be able to send the .wav files digitally.
    Anyway, probably the biggest loss is caused by using WMA as source ;) (BTW: WMA8/9/9pro? What bitrate?)
     
  7. jimbo1mcm

    jimbo1mcm Member

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    Update. The method I used had mixed results. I noticed the volume was considerably lower on the converted MP3( 128) and I picked up a hum. The hum might be my components and I did have to adjust the volume manually. I will keep at it. I did download and purchase TotalRecorder and tried to use it, but it locked up my computer. There must be a huge conflict with MusicMatch, as I have that selected as my default player/recorder. Any more input is gratefully accepted. By the way, I got a tech message from Music Match and they said there is no way to speed up the retrieval of a .wma file for entry into the library. As I mentioned before, it takes 4-6 seconds for each retrieval into the library, then another 2-4 seconds for it to get into the playlist.
     
  8. jimbo1mcm

    jimbo1mcm Member

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    Another update. Total Recorder will not recognize a encoded .wma file. You get a "this format not supported, etc". FYI, I currently am using a SoundBlaster Live basic sound card. I just ordered a SoundBlaster Audigy 2s card, which samples at a much higher rate, and should definitely improve the quality of my recording. Also, the Sony MiniDisc Recorder will not accept the .wma file as an optical input. I get a DIN Lock error message.
     
  9. tigre

    tigre Moderator Staff Member

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    I didn't say "try to open a .wma file with total recorder". Play it back with e.g. Windows Media Player and run Total Recorder at the same time to capture the PCM data the player sends to the soundcard to a .wav file. This way you will get maximum possible quality decodes of .wma files. The analog path, no matter how good the soundcard is always introduces loss compared to total recorder.
    BTW: An Audigy 2 is only a good choice if gaming and/or DVD-Audio playback is very important. Otherwise you should consider something like Terratec Aureon 5.1 Sky, 7.1 Space, 6fire or M-Audio revolution 7.1_X_X_X_X_X_[small]AFTERDAWN FORUM RULES: http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/2487[/small]
     
    Last edited: Oct 7, 2003

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