Is there an easy way to convert movies/videos purchased through iTunes to MP4? I have a couple that I would like to be able to watch on my tablet, but it plays only MP4 format for videos. I did a search, but didn't find anything on the site about this. I also tried googling, but the results on the first page were all pointing to software I'd need to pay tons of money to get. That's a pain in the heiny and wallet.
google "itunes to mp4 converter,etc" again and search long enough you'll find something free but maybe slightly dodgy eventually apple really are irritatingly propriatary in everything
I'm assuming your "tablet" is not an iPad? iTunes videos are MPEG4, but they are "protected" to play on only authorized Apple devices. (Thus, it is not a simple format problem.) iTMS music is no longer "protected," but the content owners still demand it for videos, so... Don't blame Apple. Other services (and content providers and manufacturers, etc.) have their proprietary aspects, too. Why don't Android apps work on iPhones, or Amazon videos on Apple TV? Why can't I put diesel fuel in a gasoline car? That's proprietary! It's unfair!
the differences in diesel and petrol burning engines are not there arbitrarily. they specifically need to burn different fuels to work. apple doesn't have to make all their filetypes different to work with their system. it's not just apple that does it though. all companies that do it are pricks.
You're still missing the point. iTMS videos are MPEG4—not some Apple proprietary file type. The content creators want DRM protection, and Apple can control only their own software and hardware. A given user can "authorize" a certain number of computers and other devices to play that content. Apple is typically very open, using common file types that will work anywhere. This dates back to the company's beginnings. The AAC audio sold through iTMS (which, again, is no longer protected by FairPlay) is MPEG4 audio, a later generation of MP3, although some detractors will erroneously call it "Apple's audio format." Apple's iWork suite of tools can read and write MS Office formats—which are proprietary to another company. (OpenOffice is another option.) Many apps on different platforms will read and write common file types even though each app may have its own proprietary "project" format. For example, Apple Final Cut, Adobe Premiere and After Effects, and Avid's editors all read and write a common set of video formats, even though they have proprietary project formats. Apple got smart and made the iTunes app available on Windows as well as Mac. Similarly, Amazon made Kindle software available on numerous platforms because it was in their own interest—they're primarily a content seller, not a hardware manufacturer. I routinely work with multiple platforms, and sometimes must convert document formats—but never because of platform. Anyone who makes a claim such as the above quote is either misinformed, or has some ulterior agenda.
I heard Apple attempted to lift DRM when they did it for MP3 and were not able to. No one else has non-DRM video either that I'm aware of, Amazon, etc.
They've done it to a point. At least they let people copy music onto cds and then are able to listen to them on ipods. Can't listen to certain songs on Spotify due to DRM. At least Apple isn't such a pain about that. Understand and respect artist's rights, but something's gotta give there. I'm not a huge fan of itunes, but I'll give them that much. It isn't as much of a hassle as it is on some other music applications. Second best, imo, is Windows Music Player.
That's cool. Only problem I've run into are some songs that I used to have on my old ipod won't play on my new one due to being password protected now . So now to getting that rectified . On the other hand, can't play some songs on Spotify due to being covered by DRM.