Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums banner

Windows User Can't Play iTunes Audiobook m4p

2K views 12 replies 5 participants last post by  Gino Cerullo 
#1 ·
I bought an audiobook from iTunes thinking I was getting an mp3 file but it's an m4p and will not allow me to play it on anything but Apple products, of which I have none. Attempts to convert it using a paid for and licensed converter failed as well. I can play it directly on iTunes with my computer but I need it for an mp3 player I can use in my truck on long haul runs. I have managed to convert some of it(it's in 5 parts, S. Kings "Under the Dome") by having it playing in iTunes while recording it as mp3 with Audials, another paid for and licensed program but about half way into the second part the story was overtaken with a very loud techno-music program that I have never heard before, complete with a DJ announcing the tracks! Even more surprising, when I got home and ran the same section again on my computer with iTunes this did not happen, the story simply kept going. Call me bewildered, and a little suspicious. I don't know where to turn, I really want to listen to this book but can't find it anywhere else, and just the thought of trying to get some kind of answers or refund from iTunes just makes me tired. I am going to attempt to record it again with audials but this time having it play on my laptop connected via cable to my desktop so Audials can't detect that it's source is iTunes(this is how suspicious I have become), tedious I know, and I also know I will never buy anything again from iTunes.
 
#4 ·
I can't find anything at iTunes about converting files, and have some of the younger people in my life scratching their heads. The whole iTunes/Apple "exclusive" trip is driving people like me away, not drawing us in, if they can't see that mp3 files are here to stay and include rather than exclude they may find themselves in the footnotes of history alongside Beta video and 8 track tape(although that looks unlikely at the moment I think the people behind the 8 track tape felt that way too at one point). User friendly, that's all I'm asking.
 
#5 ·
Sorry about the ongoing saga, I just found the "conversion" option but it still won't convert these due to copy protection. You have to put them in a playlist in iTunes and then right click to find this "option"(that is not an option in my case). As much as I hate dealing with these entities I have sent an inquiry and an auto reply informed me someone will respond within 48 hours. I download audio books from the public library on a regular basis and have never had one single issue, but I knew they weren't going to get Under the Dome so I bought it.......
 
#6 ·
iTunes audiobooks are indeed locked to iTunes. So you can only play them on iThings. There are DRM converters around. I've used the one from Aimersoft (Aimersoft - Best DVD Ripper, DRM and Video Converter Provider | OFFICIAL) but there are others. The downside is they're usually converted to .mp3 rather than another audiobook format. The result is you lose chapter information and similar. You just end up with plain old audio files.
 
#7 ·
Plain old audio files is all I want, will check out Aimersoft. The online converters I've come across scare me a little, partly because they demand an e-mail address and partly because the 5 files that comprise this book are huge, the book totals over 34 hours of play time. Anyway, I have to hit the road now, will check in later with any results.
 
#8 ·
I had a similar issue with audiobooks that I purchased with DRM. This was over 10 years ago. I wanted to be able to burn them to a MP3 CD so I could play them in my car. And I didn't want to burn to redbook audio CDs, because then it would take many CDs (and lots of manual switching) to play them.

I eventually gave up, went to usenet, and downloaded versions where someone else had already removed the DRM for me.

It's not quite so bad now that we have stuff like smartphones and Bluetooth in our cars. But still, DRM still sucks, and if you can't use your file because of DRM then I think you have the moral (if not legal) right to "transcode" it.

If you're buying audiobooks Audible is platform agnostic, but still has DRM.
 
#9 ·
So we're about 70 hours since iTunes auto responder sent me a message saying someone would be getting back to me within 48 hours, no message yet. Not that I think they'll do anything, but guess what, they won't be hearing from me or my credit card again either.
 
#10 ·
I'd like to clarify a few misconceptions in this thread.

The audiobooks bought through iTunes are supplied by Audible.com. Audible.com is an Amazon company and if you go to Audible.com and log in using an Amazon account you will see the audiobooks you bought from iTunes there as well. The files will play in any software or hardware player that supports Audible.com DRMed files. As for the DRM, that is Amazon's responsibility not Apple's.

Sorry this doesn't help your situation but at least you know something you didn't know before and if you want to contact anyone about that DRM it will have to be Audible.com

 
#12 ·
Thanks Gino, but I still feel that I bought it from iTunes, so they are who I should turn to with any issues. If only to refer me to Audible, as it is they have left me twisting in the wind. I am now in the process of recording it in real time into mp3 files, archaic, extremely time consuming but it works. I' have begun listening to it, sound is fine and it is a great story so far, now on to check out Audible and any other sources than iTunes. Amazon sells physical mp3 CD's of audio books but I was in hurry and wanted this one "right now", which didn't work out too well.
 
#13 ·
Hey Jim9guitars, looks like there have been changes since I last bought an audiobook a loooong time ago. Apple's audiobooks, although supplied by Audible.com are wrapped in Apple's FairPlay DRM. That is the reason they now have the .m4b extension. Audible wraps their digital audiobooks in their own DRM and have the .aa file extension. Both require a compatible player or software. In Apple's case that means any Apple device, in Audible's case that is any device found on this list, (Audible Device Center | Learn About Compatible Devices | iPod, MP3 Players, PDA's, Mobile Phones, GPS Systems | Audible Audiobooks | Audible.com) or any devices that can use the Audible app. In either case if you want an mp3 version you have to convert it and strip away the DRM. Neither Apple, nor Audible for that matter, will help you convert the file to mp3 and strip away the DRM.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top