[SOLVED] DRM-Free aac to ogg vorbis?

[Grant A.]

Is there a legal way to convert DRM-Free .aac files to ogg vorbis, with no patent violations, broken EULAs, etc. in Windows Vista?

As I would really like to back up my iTunes media and I felt that the best platform-independent solution would be ogg vorbis.

[phrostbyte]

Windows support questions belong in the Windows Discussion sub forum.

[Polygon]

if its drm free there should be a solution out there. not sure of which ones but i know its entirely possible

[Bachstelze]

You can use Nero's AAC decoder (http://www.nero.com/eng/downloads-nerodigital-nero-aac-codec.php) (free as beer) to decode your AAC files to WAV. Then you can encode them to Vorbis using, among others, FFMpeg (If you want a GUI tool, MeGUI can do that but might be a bit overkill, I'm sure there are others). While it is technically possible to use FFMpeg to directly transcode your AAC files to Vorbis, the legality of AAC decoding with libfaad is not certain (since AAC is a patented technology), so you should use Nero's decoder if you want to be 100% safe and not 99%. ;)

[ghindo]

Keep in mind that any conversion from AAC to Ogg Vorbis will result in a loss of quality.

[Grant A.]

So should I use FLAC instead? Does the iPod support either, btw?

[ajcham]

So should I use FLAC instead? Does the iPod support either, btw?

No - unless of course you put Rockbox on it.

[Grant A.]

Thanks for all the replies. :)

Ironically, it seems that I can import .aac files from a CD as .wav. However, before I alter these files and move them to my Linux box and also back-up them, is it legal in the United States to change the codec and copy music for personal use?

[Bachstelze]

However, before I alter these files and move them to my Linux box and also back-up them, is it legal in the United States to change the codec and copy music for personal use?

If your CDs are not copy-protected, yes.

[Grant A.]

If your CDs are not copy-protected, yes.

Ok, thank you all so much for replying and helping! I really appreciate all of y'all taking your time to help. :D

One last question: Is wav copyrighted/patented?

[ajcham]

One last question: Is wav copyrighted/patented?

No.

99302
From http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/formats/fdd/fdd000001.shtml

[Grant A.]

Thank you very much for all the info!

Could a moderator please close this thread? :D