[RichL]

With all I've read about iTunes, I understand that the format is AAC. <or ACC?>
I also understand that this format will only play on my MAC.
So, how do I take the songs I've downloaded and burn them into MP3s, or better still, AIFF files that will play on any player?
I know I read it somewhere, but can't find the process.
Thanks
RichL

[Jon Seff]

If you purchase music from the iTunes Music Store, it is a Protected AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) File. If you encode CDs yourself, you can do so as MP3 or AAC. AAC will play via iTunes for Mac or Windows, and on the iPod.
When you say "that will play on any player," what exactly do you mean? Software player? Hardware player? CD player? You need to be more specific.

[RichL]

I read somewhere that in order to burn an iTunes song CD that will play on a standard CD player in the house, in the car, wherever, that you need to burn the AAC file to CD then copy it back to your hard drive, convert it back to MP3 on your hard drive, and finally burn it back to another CD while converting it to (Maybe I have the format name wrong?) AAIF so it will play on the above mentioned hardware.
I know the CD player in my car won't play ACC files.
Is that confusing enough??? /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
RichL

[Daft&Dewey-eyed]

That's awfully convoluted. iTunes gives you a choice about what kind of CD you want to burn. Under the "Burning" tab in iTune's preferences, you'll find options for "Audio CD," "MP3 CD," and "Data CD."
If you choose Audio CD, iTunes will burn a CD in the Red Book audio format that will play in any standard CD player that will read CD-R discs. Most CD players will not read a CD-RW, so don't use them for burning audio CDs. iTunes automatically converts MP4 or AAC files to the proper format for this disc. If you are burning tunes you bought from the iTunes store, you may only burn 10 identical copies of a playlist.
If you select MP3 CD, iTunes will burn a disc with MP3 files formatted to play properly in an MP3 CD player. This option will only burn files that are already encoded as MP3 files, non MP3 files in a playlist will not be burned.
If you select Data CD, iTunes burns a data disc of the tunes in the selected playlist in the format in which they are encoded. i.e, AAC files will be AAC files on the CD, AIFF files will remain AIFF on the CD, etc.
MP3 and Data CDs will not play on a standard audio CD player.
iTunes has made managing your music collection remarkably simple. Don't make it any more difficult than it is.

[sjbartnik]

You either got some very very poor information or read it wrong.
Creating an audio CD from iTunes music is very simple. It doesn't matter what format the music is in on your hard drive -- AAC, MP3, whatever.
In the iTunes preferences you simply select the type of CD you'd like to burn and set it as Audio CD.
When you burn the CD, iTunes will automatically convert your mp3 or AAC files into the proper format in the background and burn them onto a standard format audio CD that can be played in any CD player.
As far as importing your music into iTunes, you can rip music from CDs you own into mp3 format or AAC format. iTunes includes encoders for both formats and the choice is yours. Music you download from the iTunes Music Store is of course delivered in protected AAC format, but requires no special treatment to burn to an audio CD. You simply do it as mentioned above.
AAC plays on both Mac systems and Windows systems, thanks to iTunes for Windows. Hopefully the format will begin to be supported by more devices and players.

[RichL]

Appreciate the repy.
Are you sure???
I thought I had read somewhere that music you buy from the iTunes music store can not be burned into anything other than an AAC format. So a conversion is needed in order to play it somewhere other than the 2 or 3 computers your are allowed to copy it on.
Obviously, I could easily be all confused about this....'
Thanks
RichL

[BigFatDuck]

try not to read into it too much, and don't feel confused. it's really very simple. itunes allows you to burn any songs you'd like onto a cd that will play in just about any cd player, computer, etc. it's set to burn cd's in normal cd format by default, so if you haven't changed any settings then you should already be set by pressing the "burn disc" button. you also have the option (in preferences) to have it burn mp3 files (if you have mp3 files in your library) that can be played in an mp3 compatible player, or as a data cd (which will keep the audio in whatever format they're already in such as mp3 or aac.... such as for backup purposes).
if all you're interested in is burning a cd to play in any cd player, computer, etc. this is all you need to know, and you won't run into any restrictions unless you try burning the EXACT same playlist of store music more than 10 times (you can change the order of the songs for another 10 burns, etc.).

[RichL]

Very helpful.
thank you for the clarification.....
Rich

[Czachorski]

RichL - I think the process you described, and what you have heard, is a way that people are bypassing the protection on the AAC. If you burn it to audio CD and then re-import the Audio CD back in as an mp3, you will end up with an mp3 without any file protection or DRM, since mp3s inheriently do not have DRM protection capabilities. However, given that Apple will allow you to authorize up to three computers, and the fact that you can burn 10 CDs of the same play list, there should be very little need to bother with all that convolution to convert your songs to mp3, unless you planned to share the files, but that would be illegal.
Also - FYI - according to the DMCA, bypassing file protection to make a copy of a song is also technically illegal, so even using the method described above to convert your songs to mp3, even if you don't share the music, is still illegal, because you have to bypass protection to do it. THAT'S RIGHT! The DMCA violates our rights to fair use. Isn't that great?

[RichL]

I think you are correct about my confusion.
It must have been around the 10 burn limit.
Yes. Since I bought the music I should be able to burn 1000 copies for myself if I choose.
Thanks!!

[sjbartnik]

Rich,
The good news is that you CAN burn unlimited copies of music you purchase from the iTunes Music Store.
You can burn any iTunes Music Store songs to an unlimited number of CDs. The only hitch is that you can only burn a certain PLAYLIST 10 times. So let's say you burn 10 copies of the same playlist which contains iTunes Music Store files. Well just change the playlist around or create a new one and you can continue to burn.
The actual individual songs can be burned to an unlimited number of CDs, it's merely the playlist you have to change around every 10 burns.

[CTPorter]

The hardest part I had with burning some of my song files to a CD was figuring out how many songs I could fit onto the CD /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif (I hate reading directions first, they tend to be what I reach for when all else has failed)

[SeaFox]

In reply to:

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The hardest part I had with burning some of my song files to a CD was figuring out how many songs I could fit onto the CD

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Just create a playlist and start dragging songs, the total time of the playlist is at the bottom. Just keep it under 1hr, 20min. If your time display reads something like "19 songs, 1.2 hrs" click the time to change it to hh:mm:ss format.
This is what annoyed me the most about MusicMatch Jukebox, there is literally no way to see the total time of a playlist without taking it into a burning session.