Hi all. I have a query i want to claify about iTunes. For the past 2-3 years i had an ipod and used iTunes. The ipod went to heaven and i just got a Sansa Fuze for my birthday last week. I have read a few posts stating that iTunes isn’t compatible with Sansa software.
I really like the Fuze but obviously have all my songs stored on iTunes, purchased ones and burnt cds. Now, I’m completely dense about computers and software and all that jazz but just wanted to know if there was any way of transferring my songs from iTunes into Windows Media Player 11 to be loaded onto the Fuze. If there is a way could someone tell me how to do it in as simple terms as possible.
Thank you. Apologies if this has been asked before or is a completely dumb question but just wanted to know. Cheers!
There are two issues you have to deal with: 1) Unless you changed the default, all of the music you imported using iTunes will be in m4a format. That format is not supported by Sansa players. You’ll need to convert your music from m4a to mp3 format. 2) iTunes synchronizes music with the iPod but not with any non-Apple mp3 players, like the Fuze. The easiest solution is to use a different product. I very much like Media Monkey, and the free version is adequate for most people.
All of the songs you purchased will have to be burned to an audio CD (you can use rewritable CDs if you don’t want to waste them). You’ll only be able to get about 15-20 songs on an audio CD. Then you must re-rip them into MP3 format. You can do all this with iTunes (you just have to set the import format to MP3).
Alternately, Daniusoft Media Converter Pro can do a direct conversion.
Converting the M4A / M4P format is indeed possible. Check out the possibilities, courtesy of Google.
Welcome to the world of Sansa, and freedom from the iTunes monster. Actually, you can continue with it, if you can configure it for MP3 format. Amazon or Rhapsody offer a huge catalog, and at 256KBPS raw and tasty DRM-free MP3, if I recall correctly.
You don’t necessarilly need to use MP3, there are also WMA, Ogg Vorbis, and FLAC. My two recommendations are MP3 (battery power) or Ogg Vorbis (sound quality), though you’ll need a Windoze plugin for Ogg Vorbis.
Once you have your music in one of these four formats, you can use Windoze Explorer to transfer your music (Settings -> System -> USB Mode -> MSC to use the Fuze as a flash drive), or WMP, Media Monkey, or a program of your choice to transfer the music over.
Last time I checked (that was maybe 6 months ago), there was an interesting option in Itunes: select your files, right-click on them, and choose “convert to mp3”, or something like that. This will probably take a long time, but you’ll be able to convert all your m4a files without any other software.
The right click option doesnt work with all iTunes songs…only a very tiny portion of their library is DRM free.
The easiest way I have found so far to strip DRM is via DANIUSOFT Media Converter pro. Someone mentioned it earlier, and I just want to say, it is excellent and works exactly as advertised. With it you can convert music and video purchased from itunes with zero loss in quality (music files will even retain most MP3 tag information, including album covers), and it is much faster and easier than buring to CD and re-ripping. Best of all? It is completely 100% legal, so long as you actually purchased the original file. Just find your .M4A/M4P/M4V/whatever files and drag them to the window to convert. It has recognized and converted everything I have bought so far on iTunes, including Music videos, movies, and music.
I especially like it for video files. Lots of options, and the interface is very ■■■■■ proof. You will be limited to a couple minutes conversion until you pay for a key ($40 as of this writing), but I am here to tell you, it is worth every penny.
I went through almost a dozen DRM stripping programs before finding this one. Its superior to all the others I have seen so far.
