Okay we get it.... What good is it to vote when no one hears you? Mp4 isn't the only codec MMPro could support. Probably no support for anything like these codecs will come till MMpro 7 or 8 even. They have tons of work and it doesn't help that other DJ programs are evolving and overcoming the vast distance MMPro had between them...
Posts: 189 | Location: La Plata, Md, USA | Registered: Sep 24, 2001
mp4 is what iTunes uses right??? That would be awesome! All of my music comes from or is imported using iTunes, because it's so easy to organize. But if I want to add the tunes into MM, I need to burn them to a CD, then import them on something like Windows Media Player. Please please please add this feature soon!
Sorry to burst your bubble DJ Z...even if MM were to support MP4, you would not be able to import your iTunes tracks for the same reason that you can't import certain paid for WMA & MP3 files...copy protection. That's one of the reasons why there hasn't been a major rush to include MP4 support...right now it's not a popular enough format (despite the proliferation of iTune tracks out there) to give it that kind of priority.
I'm not trying to discourage from joining the rest of the masses here, in clamoring for support of the format....just giving you a realistic outlook.
its only WMA - DRM WMA...there is NO way to lock MP3s...and most MP4s are unprotected too, even tho they are protectable. I dont think there's a problem!
I haven't checked officially, but I do believe you can copy protect MP3s (if someone knows of an article I can read that says otherwise, please show it to me ...seriously). Also, chances are very good that iTunes puts some form of DRM protection into the tracks it sells (i'd find hard to believe that they wouldn't).
You are very correct about DRM protected WMAs NeoFlava....that one we can definitely prove.
quote:
darn... oh well, thanks for the reality check. Just wishful thinking on my part.
- DJ Z
Like I said...support for the format may still occur...but there's always the possibility that tracks purchased from iTunes may contain DRM protection, and there be unplayable in future iterations of Mixmeister. Don't give up hope...
Actually, now that I think about it, I did read that somewhere. iTunes uses some sort of protection for it's music. I believe it actually limits the number of times you can copy a song that you burned onto a CD off a CD. The number of times you can burn it onto a CD is 5 I believe... Not sure how it all works.
hmm Ive never seen any form of protection for mp3s. its normally dependent on the software I believe. not like wma DRM which is contained in the file itself. or unless the software uses some for of wrapping....but the mp3 standard, the specification, doesnt have any form of protection
mp4 is more versatile anyway...can have it either way, I think. n I think there's a way to get music out of iTunes - try googling
Here's a recent article on iPod / content protection Apple includes on its iTunes sales from ZDnet
quote:
... Apple's proprietary CRAP. C.R.A.P., in case you missed some of my previous blogs on the topic, stands for "Cancellation, Restriction, and Punishment." I've even made a video about it. CRAP is my personal acronym for DRM (Digital Rights Management technology). Originally, I wanted CRAP to stand for Content Restriction, Annulment, and Protection. But Richard Stallman at the Free Software Foundation convinced me to change its meaning to"Cancellation, Restriction, and Punishment" and ZDNet's readers sided with him. So what is CRAP?
First of all, if you want to [buy] music by most major artists one song at a time (the way you should be able to by music) and you want it to be able to play on an iPod, then the only place you can buy that music is from Apple's iTunes Music Store (IMS). Music sold through IMS is stuffed in an wrapper that's made out of Apple's proprietary CRAP. Currently, there are only three things that can legally cut through Apple's CRAP to playback the music: the iTunes software, an iPod, or an iTunes phone from Motorola. In other words, Apple is solely in charge of when and where music that's purchased through IMS can be played back. It has also refused to license its CRAP to other hi-fi companies. For the last year, I've been arguing that much the same way Apple is using it's CRAP to dominate digital music and video playback in the technology market, that it will soon start to nudge the traditional hi-fi manufacturers out of the hi-fi market.
Since Apple is in charge of where CRAP-wrapped content can play, it gets to decide whether or not CRAP-wrapped content will work on the gear that's sold by the traditional home entertainment companies. But, since the home entertainment market is a growth opportunity for Apple, especially if it can kick all the traditional players out of the game, why would Apple ever let those companies play? It doesn't. And to the extent that Apple allows some iPod accessory companies (ones that aren't a threat to its master plan) to participate in the iPod ecosystem, Apple charges them an exhorbitant tax. Now that Apple is competing against some of those very same companies, it gets to operate in a tax-free environment while the competitors must pay to play. The real name of Apple's CRAP is FairPlay. But how fair is that? Now that IMS has a virtual lock on the online a la carte digital music sales market, does Apple's refusal to license its technology on reasonable and non-discriminatory terms (a practice that could foreclose on competition) constitute a tying violiation that trustbusters should be paying attention to?
I got something for your mind, your body and your soul.
It seems Apple is doing the same thing Sony keeps trying to do... dominate the world with it's products. Perhaps iTunes will go the way of Beta, and the mini-disc (among the other Sony creations).
I am proud to say I have no interest in iTunes, iPods, or iAnything. I'm not a fan of letting a corporation tell me whats good and hip.
You know, it's interesting...I´ve seen this same theme pop on this board under several guises....
Superstar DJs, Mainstream Radio (and that interesting social study with ppl picking their favorite songs in isolation versus while viewing other people's votes), iCRAP, etc, etc, etc, ad nauseam.
And there's always a trend in these discussions to paint these kinds of hegemonic forces as sinister.
But the thing that strikes me about phenomenas like these is that they are not overtly tyranical. No one is driving people to listen to mainstream radio, or buy the latest iTrash, etc., at least not against their will. Quite the contrary. People are actively seeking these things out, celebrating them, paying for them.
It's almost as if there's a herd mentality at work here, as if the feeling that one belongs to a much larger group helps mitigate more general feelings of malaise.
It's a disappointing state of affairs, but so too is the kneejerk reaction that creates an inverted parody of the situation by radically eschewing all things remotely communal.
Posts: 210 | Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina | Registered: Sep 12, 2005
But the thing that strikes me about phenomenas like these is that they are not overtly tyranical. No one is driving people to listen to mainstream radio, or buy the latest iTrash, etc., at least not against their will. Quite the contrary. People are actively seeking these things out, celebrating them, paying for them.
I appreciate your point Duro ... just for perspective, however, the reason that I post some of these articles is because I find that the people choosing (or being encouraged by media hype) to pay for some of these services don't actually know much about the services, the restrictions they come with or the like ... and I think the most recent posts here support that assumption ... there seems to be confusion among users of Apple's products about just how much DRM is applied to their purchases and in exactly what ways it will affect the user's use of the music.
Whether or not we are reacting in a way that constitutes eschewing all things remotely communal is open to interpretation ... I simply think that being an informed consumer is better than being an uninformed consumer ... whether it's iPods, insurance or insect repellant. In any event, I'm not suggesting that anyone *not* use an iPod or buy from iTunes ... just know what you are buying, that's all.
I got something for your mind, your body and your soul.
Don't misinterpret me, Mfly. I love the snippets you post and I completely agree.
But my point is that these kinds of cases can be thought of (not only) as examples of short-sighted consumer choice, but also (perhaps even more provocatively) as "exploitations" of a deep-seated drive in people to form protective "herds," often at the expense of critical awareness and a nourishing sense of autonomous self-worth. You can see this herd-mentality operative in patterns of consumption like technology, fashion, music, literature, etc., but also in various ideological constructions, religious/moral/political convictions, etc, etc.
I guess my post boils down to a cynical observation that there's nothing new under the sun. It seems like an ages-old question about how people can actively give their support to things that are not in their best interest. When I am feeling hopeful and activist, I believe that this happens only because of some cunning mystification and a lot of shady PR. But when I am mired in the ennui of a too-long day at work (like right now), I feel that perhaps most people are too scared/apathetic/incapable/uncomfortable to adopt the role of critical thinker, and much happier playing the lemming. After all, critical thinkers tend to be crackpots, lunatics, crimials or degenerates, don't they?
I have a sudden compulsion to watch The Matrix.
Posts: 210 | Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina | Registered: Sep 12, 2005
iTunes doesn't have any control when you play the music off of CDs though, I believe.
Plus iPods are what's "hot" right now. I bought a 3G iPod a while back, and it just conked out on me couple days ago. The battery won't work at all unless it's been on a 8 hour charge. Grrr...
However, I don't really have a choice now I guess now that I have all the music from iTunes. I'm stuck coughin up the $300 to buy a new one. Ahhhhh! Corporate monopolies SUCK.
Originally posted by Duro: ......I guess my post boils down to a cynical observation that there's nothing new under the sun. It seems like an ages-old question about how people can actively give their support to things that are not in their best interest. When I am feeling hopeful and activist, I believe that this happens only because of some cunning mystification and a lot of shady PR. But when I am mired in the ennui of a too-long day at work (like right now), I feel that perhaps most people are too scared/apathetic/incapable/uncomfortable to adopt the role of critical thinker, and much happier playing the lemming. After all, critical thinkers tend to be crackpots, lunatics, crimials or degenerates, don't they?
I have a sudden compulsion to watch The Matrix.
Ahhh, now this is starting to be a conversation I would love to continue ... but having just returned from a great dinner w/ wine and whatnot, I'm not sharp enough to make the appropriately provocative observations to keep the thing going ... but let's come back to this, OK?
I got something for your mind, your body and your soul.
