Comments on: Tunebite DRM Removal and Media Conversion Software Review

By: Amberain

Amberain — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 08:42:05 +0000

It’s pointless arguing whether it is legal or not, someone said that “Law rules the poor, while the richs rule the law”, right?

As a consumer, I think it is my due right to have the full usage rights of the purchased music or movie to which I’d paid good money, should I be deprived by those big lable or the manipulating Apple iTunes?

Back to the subject, although Tunebite is very popular with its powerful function, I still choose this DRM Removal Software which is even more easy-to-handle
http://www.all-media-converter.com/media-converter.html#136

By: Simon L

Simon L — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:25:51 +0000

I’m sorry, but I’ve read the sections of the DMCA quoted on the link above, and I cannot for the life of me see how this company can claim that their product does not infringe it. The product is marketed for the sole purpose of defeating DRM, and doing so is clearly stated as illegal under the DMCA.

OK, it does it in a clunky fashion without needing to reverse-engineer the DRM, or to decrypt any keys, but it’s still not legal under the very terms of the DMCA they quote on their website.

Leaving all that aside, this product will significantly degrade audio quality – it’s not (as the poster above said) doing a D-A conversion followed by an A-D conversion, as it works entirely in the digital domain, but it is even worse – it is doing decompression from a lossy format and then recompressing in another lossy format. Two lots of lossy compression is really not a good idea.

So, it’s illegal, and it damages the sound quality. If you’re that bothered by DRM, buy tracks from an online service that don’t use it, or just buy CDs – which is what I do! I hate DRM, and wouldn’t pay for DRM-ed content in the first place, but products like this aren’t the answer.

By: Win a copy of Tunebite Platinum DRM Removal and Media Conversion Software — The Gadgeteer

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:32:53 +0000

[...] week Andy Repp reviewed Tunebite. It’s a Windows based software package that can remove DRM and convert different media types. [...]

By: Fred

Fred — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 05:50:09 +0000

As it does not break the DRM, this software degrades sound quality by making two conversions: digital to analog then analog to digital.

By: A.J. Repp

A.J. Repp — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:18:58 +0000

Orson J,
I have been learning different things you can do with this program everytime I use it. If you come across a feature that you think is cool or useful be sure to shoot me an email so I too can check it out if I haven’t already!

Thanks

By: A.J. Repp

A.J. Repp — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:17:04 +0000

I am very glad that julie posted the link about the legalities. Now as far as everyone condeming the author or the people who use this program, you guys really need to do more research before getting all defensive over something that in no way affects you personally. I have been using this program ever since I started the review and I love it. Im sure all of you have a TIVO or DVR right? and you use it to record shows for you to watch later. Well this program is the same exact idea as that. As long as you are not distributing the recorded media then you are absolutley not doing anything illegal!

By: Julie

Julie — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 11:50:43 +0000

Regarding the legality of this software:
http://audials.com/en/audials/company-rapidsolution-software-ag/legal_information.html

By: Orson J

Orson J — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 09:26:42 +0000

I say it’s legal, of course if u keep the files for your personal use and don’t start sharing them on god knows what websites.I agree with fuchikoma:wtf pay twice for the same thing , in the case of Itunes for example, just because they decided that if u wanna upgrade u have to pay some additional fee.
I actually find this app pretty useful,it helped me convert, besides the drm’ed files, a ton of stuff I needed to put on my phone.

By: tim

tim — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 08:27:12 +0000

while it may be possible that re-recording the protected mp3 files and whatever may not be illegal, as it is not removing the DRM to access the files, the fact that it can record internet radio makes me pretty damn sure it is. Simply for the fact that the music on those stations is provided on a streaming license, not a purchase license, so recording that stream is illegal. Just the same as the cassette days, so who knows if they will ever actually go after anyone for it, but seems like a dubious claim to me.

By: Bob Williams

Bob Williams — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 03:41:18 +0000

Um, not sure what happened on the post, but my response was that this is not legal, and if the author has some argument that it is, he should include more than “This is LEGAL!” in the article.

By: Bob Williams

Bob Williams — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 03:35:23 +0000

Ditto on the >nothow< this is legal.

By: fuchikoma-x

fuchikoma-x — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 00:40:41 +0000

paying for a DRM free version is: legalized extortion. if you paid for it, you own it! i don’t believe in licensing software as much because it like region coding: it’s artificial trade embargo. i really don’t agree with M$ when say: xbox owners are licensing their systems and don’t own them hence making it illegal to modify thier box physically even to prevent overheating. the difference with tunebite is that you pay someone else for the equivalent tool that enables APPLE to charge you a la carte. diff here is that the money is paid once and the CORP big dogs don’t get the cut! good tool, because i can’t see my self paying $60 bucks for an ebook that suicides in 6 months because i “licensed” and the same book used and new is the same price.
http://preview.tinyurl.com/fixedpricingcollegebooks

By: Howard Kuo

Howard Kuo — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 20:00:48 +0000

I have tried similar software before, but I am not sure if the quality will be the same due to the virtual sound card and you are basically rerecording the media again. It’s almost like copying an old skool tape to tape. I avoid buying anything that has DRM build-in, for MP3 I buy them from Amazon so I get a DRM Free version for Music Videos, I buy them from iTunes Plus.

By: Tyler Puckett

Tyler Puckett — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 19:41:15 +0000

This is NOT legal. Circumventing the copy protection in any shape or form is illegal, even if that method is recording off the playing song. Using a virtual sound card is the same thing as holding a microphone up to your speakers.

The only way to remove copy protection from, say iTunes purchased tracks, is to pay the 30 cents per track to “upgrade” them to iTunes Plus.