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AnalogWhole, an Alternative To FairUse4WM

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the digital-is-so-XX-century dept.

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."

10 of 168 comments (clear)

  1. So... by Constantine+XVI · · Score: 2, Insightful

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

    --
    "I think an etch-a-sketch with an ethernet port would beat IE7 in web standards compliance."
  2. No WMA files here... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

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

  3. PatchGuard by Constantine+XVI · · Score: 2, Insightful

    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?

    --
    "I think an etch-a-sketch with an ethernet port would beat IE7 in web standards compliance."
  4. Re:Still loss of quality by omeomi · · Score: 3, Insightful

    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.

    --
    ZuluPad, the wiki notepad on crack
  5. Re:Analog? by Joebert · · Score: 2, Insightful
    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.
    --
    Wanna fight ? Bend over, stick your head up your ass, and fight for air.
  6. Re:oops by Firehed · · Score: 2, Insightful

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

    --
    How are sites slashdotted when nobody reads TFAs?
  7. Re:Analog? by qbwiz · · Score: 2, Insightful

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

    --
    Ewige Blumenkraft.
  8. Sigh. by daeg · · Score: 2, Insightful

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

  9. Re:Sound quality by Metteyya · · Score: 2, Insightful

    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.

  10. Re:well by ocelotbob · · Score: 2, Insightful

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

    --

    Marxism is the opiate of dumbasses