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Qtrax and iPod compatability?

(9 posts)
  • Started 2 months ago by jmcguire
  • Latest reply from jack7h3r1pp3r
  • Topic Viewed 308 times


jmcguire
jmcguire
Posts: 312

From the Qtrax website:

Can I put songs that I download onto my iPod/MP3 player?
Yes, you will be able to transfer music onto Windows Media-capable portable devices in the near future.

Does anyone know if they have actually implemented this yet?
Also since it says "Windows Media-capable portable devices" does that exclude the iPod or has iPod added Windows Media capability in the past update?

Posted 2 months ago #
 
ScottW
ScottW
Posts: 2569

I haven't used the latest Qtrax beta, but I'd be surprised if they allowed music to be transferred without DRM. I expect that when they say Windows-Media capable, they mean the files will be WMA-DRM files. And that would mean don't bring your iPod to that party.

I supposed I'll have to try Qtrax again, but they want to install more DRM updates on my system. Yeah, like I need *more* DRM! First I'm going to make a full Norton Ghost backup in case I need to rollback from this. Also, the beta 0.3 version does not give me confidence either.

Posted 2 months ago #
 
ScottW
ScottW
Posts: 2569

Well, what do you know, but our new Tux Geek Blog poster, Stefan, has a post about this on his website. He confirms that the files are WMA-DRM:
http://sadgeekblog.blogspot.co.....nally.html

Posted 2 months ago #
 
jmcguire
jmcguire
Posts: 312

Okay. QTrax sounds hopefull, and if they do end up allowing files to be transferred to MP3 players, that will be very nice, hopefully they do mp3 format instead on Windows-Media though, as I have an iPod.

Thanks for the insight ScottW.

Posted 2 months ago #
 
jmcguire
jmcguire
Posts: 312

I am by no means a fan of DRM, and if I am not mistaken iTunes dropped the DRM in lieu of a better alternative (encoding the purchaser's ID into the song if I remember). I can understand why the service would want DRM, at least at first, as a security for themselves, but having it as WMA-DRM is an absolutely horrible idea. They state on their website:

http://www.qtrax.com/US/support_misc.html

Can I burn songs I download from Qtrax onto a CD?
No, you will not be able to burn Qtrax music onto a CD. To play songs downloaded from Qtrax you will have to be connected to the Internet and logged in to Qtrax.

Can I put songs that I download onto my iPod/MP3 player?
Yes, you will be able to transfer music onto Windows Media-capable portable devices in the near future.

The fact that you cannot burn songs to CDs is a downside, true, but not detrimental.

If QTrax does follow through with being able to "transfer music onto a Windows Media-capable portable device" that will be a very good thing, but making it Windows Media only is a huge mistake as iPods are the most popular MP3 player.

Posted 2 months ago #
 
ScottW
ScottW
Posts: 2569

jmcguire: Don't thank me for the insight, because I must not have communicated it well. There is pretty much NO CHANCE that Qtrax will allow music to be transferred in MP3 format or in any way without copy protection. There is no reason to be hopeful. You can download music to your PC only with the Qtrax app, play it back only with the Qtrax app, and it's all protected with DRM. Their "free" downloads are subsidized by advertising within the Qtrax app, so removing the copy protection would completely circumvent their business model.

Even the idea of allowing music to be transferred to a WMA-DRM capable player doesn't fit with this model. How can they make ad revenue on tracks that are no longer in their player? Also, since Apple won't share their Fairplay DRM method, Qtrax won't be able to convert tracks to DRM-protected files that are iPod compatible.

Posted 2 months ago #
 
stefan
stefan
Posts: 31

-mod removed-

Posted 2 months ago #
 
ScottW
ScottW
Posts: 2569

Stefan, it's against the forum rules to discuss such cracks. http://www.howtogeek.com/forum/topic/forum-faq

Posted 2 months ago #
 
jack7h3r1pp3r
jack7h3r1pp3r
Posts: 2495

but i think he could do it through email or such :)

Posted 2 months ago #
 

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