AnalogWhole, an Alternative To FairUse4WM

Squidmarks writes, "AnalogWhole is a free application that allows any file that can be played in Windows Media Player to be transferred to iTunes as an MP3. It uses, you guessed it, the 'analog hole' to re-record any DRM'ed song as an MP3. Because the analog signal doesn't actually leave the computer, but is simply looped back in the sound card, sound quality of the re-recording is excellent. All meta data is transferred as well. The MP3 file is automagically added to iTunes. Just show it where you store your DRM music and walk away."

So...

[Constantine XVI]

So, it's just like using Audacity to record whatever goes through the sound card?

No WMA files here...

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't have any WMA files or any other DRM crippled music on my computer, do you?

PatchGuard

[Constantine XVI]

If it just pipes sound output from the mixer to MP3, what are the chances that Vista could block off access to mixer output except for low-level (driver) access, which is then blocked by PatchGuard?

Re:Still loss of quality

[omeomi]

It is still looped through the sound card, so while quality may still be "excellent", there is still loss.

There's also loss do to re-compressing an already compressed file as an MP3. Overall, it's not the best of option...especially given the horrid quality of most consumer-level ADC's.

Re:Analog?

[Joebert]

If it just uses the Windows mixer and the sound never actually leaves the soundcard, I suspect that it just stays digital the entire time, and is never actually converted to analog.

I hope you're right, I get the feeling heads would roll if the general public found out the digital music stuff they sold a kidney for was just converting it back to what they already had before they actually hear it.

Re:oops

[Firehed]

Not as terrible as buying low-bitrate music with DRM was in the first place.

Re:Analog?

[qbwiz]

Right. So unless it's going through a DAC, it's the digital hole. Anyway, I thought everyone knew not to transcode files.

Sigh.

[daeg]

What can be seen or heard can be copied, no matter how difficult you make it.

Re:Sound quality

[Metteyya]

Bullshit. Or, if you like it that way, you're right, but that's completely not applicable here. It's just that signal - still in digital form - is received by another app, that's all. Sort of like JACK works - manages exchange of many (digital) audio "streams" between applications. So it's something completely different than "physical" loopback, like plugging your card's line-out to its line-in. Some audio apps already work that way (mentioned JACK for Linux, for example), the only new thing here is automatisation of the whole process and using already available players in the system.

Re:well

[ocelotbob]

Apple has a lossless codec in addition to AAC. It's playable in itunes and the ipod.