Dear Lazyweb... (itunes edition)

[curgoth]

Dear LazyWeb,

Having long since surrendered and moved my music into iTunes, I find myself with several itunes related questions.

1. iTunes tracks are now DRM-free, which is great. However, I have a number of older tracks that still have DRM on them. Is there an easy way to strip the DRM off the files, or am I going to have to do it the hard way? (convert to mp3, or burn to audio CD and re-rip, etc.)


2. Is there an easy way to share an iTunes database across machines? I have itunes on my desktop,, where I sync my ipod, but I also want to be able to use the same itunes DB on my laptop, since the laptop outputs to the TV in HD and the desktop does not, and I love having pretty visualizations on the TV, especially while crafting or for parties. It seems like the sort of thing that one ought to be able to do. I know I can just copy the DB files across, but I don't want top have to do that every time I want to listen to music on the laptop. Complicating matters slightly is that the actual music files sit on a third machine, my linux server, acessible to both machines via a mapped drive.

Comments

[g33kboi.livejournal.com]

The iTunes Store does offer an option to "upgrade" your protected (DRM'd) purchases to non-protected tracks for .30 (USD, don't know if it's a different price in the Canadian iTunes store). The new files are of a substantially higher audio quality so you are getting something more than just an unlocked file for your money, which may also make it worth your while. When they first launched this feature the option to upgrade your library was an all or none option, a very expensive proposition for people who had purchased large quantities of music from the iTunes Store. They have since changed that so you can opt to upgrade one album or even one track at a time, thus skipping stuff that you might not care about. It's worth mentioning that you can authorize up to five computers to play your protected iTunes purchases, so you could just forget about unlocking your stuff altogether (you can also deauthorize computers, so you free up a slot if you stop using a machine).

Using the burn to audio CD then rip to iTunes method does indeed strip the DRM but it also degrades the audio quality somewhat each time you convert the file from one format to another. I know at least some software packages that strip DRM employ a similar methodology, essentially burning your files to a virtual CD and then ripping them to iTunes, thus resulting in the same file degradation. Depending on how much of an audiophile you are, it may be worth your while to upgrade your library via the iTunes Store.

Regarding sharing, it's already been mentioned that turning on sharing in iTunes should solve your problem. The source computer should allow sharing. The other computer(s) should look for shared libraries (these are separate settings on the Share tab of the iTunes preferences). The location of your media files (on a Linux box) shouldn't matter. iTunes on the primary computer is essentially streaming media to the secondary computer, so it's pretty much the same as playing the media directly on the primary computer.

I have no idea how to help you with the network issue, especially since it is a Windows network (although a switch on your network shouldn't make a difference), but sharing in general shouldn't be a problem, since it is listen only (a bit like listening to the radio. You can listen but you can't copy/keep what you listen to).

Thinking about your networking issue a bit more... Can your two windows machines see each other over your network? If not, this may be the source of your problem. I know very little about how to change that. I did help someone straighten out a network sharing issue several years ago, but found all of my answers by searching google, so I would say start there. You'll probably want to start with the usual suspects, check your file sharing and firewall settings (if any) on each machine.

[curgoth]

The two windows machines can see each other fine, except for itunes. Weirder, the laptop will occasionally see the desktop via itunes, play for a bit, then decide that it won't see it anymore and stop.

[g33kboi.livejournal.com]

That is weird. Well, there's only one thing left to do then. Call an exterminator because you obviously have an infestation of Network Gremlins.

All kidding aside, here are a couple of links to articles that may or may not be useful to you depending on your setup and what you've already tried.

Straight from the House of Jobs: iTunes for Windows: Music Sharing With Windows Internet Connection Firewall (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1601)

An awesome Lifehacker article: Hack Attack: Share your iTunes music library over your home network (http://lifehacker.com/software/itunes/hack-attack-share-your-itunes-music-library-over-your-home-network-230605.php). I *puffy heart* Lifehacker. They have the best geeky advice.