The Copy-protected WMA File Format

What do DRM, protected files, and media usage rights mean?

DRM, which stands for digital rights management, is a technology used by content providers, such as online stores, to control how the digital media files you obtain from them are used and distributed. A file that is protected with DRM requires media usage rights to be delivered with the file. The media usage rights define how the protected file can be used. For example, a right may give you the permission to play the file on your computer (a play right), burn the file to an audio CD (a burn right), or sync the file to a portable device (a sync right). Each right can have certain qualities, such as the following:

• The right to play a file on your computer an unlimited number of times
• The right to sync a file to two portable devices five times per month
• The right to burn a file to an audio CD twice

A second kind of protected file is one that was created when copy protection was turned on when you ripped music from an audio CD.

It is not possible to remove DRM from a protected file. However, if you have a file that was copy-protected when ripped from a CD, you can turn copy protection off and then rip the file again. Note that in earlier versions of the Player, media usage rights were called licenses.

WMA is the abbreviation of Windows Media Audio. It's a compression audio format developed by Microsoft. WMA file is contained in the Advanced Systems Format (ASF) format. Like mp3 file has ID3 tags, ASF specifies how metadata about the file is to be encoded. Metadata includes song name, artist name, track number, and audio normalization values.

Digital rights management has and is being used by content provider companies such as Sony, Apple Inc., Microsoft and the BBC.Bill Gates spoke about DRM at CES in 2006. According to him, DRM is not where it should be, and causes problems for legitimate consumers while trying to distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate users.

Napster music store, which offers a subscription-based approach to DRM alongside permanent purchases. Users of the subscription service can download and stream an unlimited amount of music encoded to Windows Media Audio (WMA) while subscribed to the service.

Copy-protected WMA to MP3 Converter

NoteBurner Protected WMA to MP3 Converter is a program that can be used to convert music files, MP3 downloads or even iTunes Music Store songs to other, more compatible formats. It operates a little differently than the other products we reviewed because it is a virtual CD burner. It must be used in conjunction with a media player that can burn CDs because it makes the media player “burn” the song as a file on the hard drive instead of onto a real CD.

NoteBurner Audio Converter can preserve MP3 ID3 tag, containing Artist name, Song title, Year and Genre of the current audio file. The latest version of NoteBurner can also preserve album name and album art to the converted audio files.

NoteBurner Protected WMA to MP3 Audio Converter is well known for its magic fast converting speed and its capability of converting DRM WMA protected audio files to MP3, WMA and WAV, especially convert M4P to MP3.

Input/Output: The number of formats that NoteBurner Copy-protected WMA to MP3 Converter can convert varies depending on the media player that you are using to create a burn list. If your player can't burn it, then NoteBurner can't help you. But if you find the right player, NoteBurner Copy-protected WMA to MP3 Converter can handle whatever it will burn. Winamp has the fewest problems with file compatibility, although Windows Media Player and the iTunes Music Player were both compatible with NoteBurner. NoteBurner is limited in its choice of output formats. It will only convert copy-protected WMA, copy-protected M4P, copy-protected M4B and other music to MP3, WMA and WAV file formats. But these are the most common file formats, so it shouldn't be a problem for the average user.

Youc can now free download NoteBurner Audio Converter to convert DRM protected music to MP3, protected WMA to MP3, M4P to MP3, or M4B to MP3. With the program, you can also convert all types of DRM-free audio files to MP3, WMA and WAV at fast speed. Since NoteBurner Protected WMA to MP3 Audio Converter uses virtual burning technology, media player like iTunes, Windows Media Player or Real Player, or audio editing program like Adobe Audition, is required to co-work with the program to complete the converting.