4 ms·

You're confusing streaming (renting) with purchasing. On iTunes, EVERYTHING is DRM free. If you purchase it, you get a mp4 (or mov), and that's it. No DRM.

You're confusing streaming (renting) with purchasing. On iTunes, EVERYTHING is DRM free. If you purchase it, you get a mp4 (or mov), and that's it. No DRM. So nothing is stopping you from paying for much of this content legally.

stordoff 10y ago
Unless there has been a recent change (and I can't find anything on Google to suggest that), iTunes videos still have Fairplay DRM.
mcyukon 10y ago
Not quite, Music you buy on iTunes does not have DRM and will play anywhere you copy it too. However it has your name, Apple ID, and email embedded into the MP3 file and anyone you share the file with can use a tool like exiftool to look at the embedded info. Movies are another thing, they appear to be DRM free as long as they are on a machine that is authorized with the purchasers Apple ID. Once copied to a computer that isn't authorized, the movie will either refuse to open or ask you to authorize the computer with the purchasers Apple ID because once again all your info is embedded into the file. And if that wasn't bad enough, if you try to play a iTunes bough movie on a external device that does not support HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Copy Protection) it will also refuse to play. I got burned by this once. There once was a way to remove all the crap Apple puts in their movies, but the software that could strip it out hasn't been updated for ages now.
mightykan 10y ago
Actually, everything is DRM encumbered on iTunes except music that is purchased. All other content has Fairplay DRM on it.
ricksplat 10y ago
I have another corner case: Audio books. I was infuriated to discover when I bought one on my computer in work it was then just about impossible to transfer it to any device that I could actually want to listen to it on (without resorting to hacks, or the analogue hole - through which it would have amounted to about 6 CDs of content). The licence was not transferable to other devices either so I couldn't just download it again either.

stordoff 10y ago

Unless there has been a recent change (and I can't find anything on Google to suggest that), iTunes videos still have Fairplay DRM.

mcyukon 10y ago

Not quite, Music you buy on iTunes does not have DRM and will play anywhere you copy it too. However it has your name, Apple ID, and email embedded into the MP3 file and anyone you share the file with can use a tool like exiftool to look at the embedded info. Movies are another thing, they appear to be DRM free as long as they are on a machine that is authorized with the purchasers Apple ID. Once copied to a computer that isn't authorized, the movie will either refuse to open or ask you to authorize the computer with the purchasers Apple ID because once again all your info is embedded into the file. And if that wasn't bad enough, if you try to play a iTunes bough movie on a external device that does not support HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Copy Protection) it will also refuse to play. I got burned by this once. There once was a way to remove all the crap Apple puts in their movies, but the software that could strip it out hasn't been updated for ages now.

mightykan 10y ago

Actually, everything is DRM encumbered on iTunes except music that is purchased. All other content has Fairplay DRM on it.

ricksplat 10y ago

I have another corner case: Audio books. I was infuriated to discover when I bought one on my computer in work it was then just about impossible to transfer it to any device that I could actually want to listen to it on (without resorting to hacks, or the analogue hole - through which it would have amounted to about 6 CDs of content). The licence was not transferable to other devices either so I couldn't just download it again either.