Does anyone know of a way to convert protected AAC music tracks (from the iTunes Music Store) to AIFF format so I can import them into FCP? The only way I've found is to burn then to CD and then import than as AIFF, but I'm hoping there is a quicker way.

I use iMovie to do this. Just open a new iMovie project, select the AAC file you want, place it in the timeline, then export the clip as AIFF to wherever you want.

Look up the program called "aacConverter" on Versiontracker.com

It works great. I'ver used it several times to put songs purchased through the iTunes Music Store into FCP4 sequences. And it's FREE!!!!

You can convert them from AAC to WAV, MP3, or AIFF directly in itunes itself. First, to select what file you want to save it as go into itunes preferences, hit the "import" tab. In the import window is a dropout menu where u can select what file format you want to convert to. After you pick one, close that and under one of the itunes options in that bar at the top of the desktop should be an option to save a selected song to a new format.

Thanks for the replies. However ...

Jaime - I downloaded aacConverter but it appears to write empty/silent AIFF files. The comments on versiontracker.com indicate that this is to do with the latest versions of iTunes and/or Quicktime (both of which I'm using). So no luck there then.

Mike H - I couldn't see how to export a sound file from iMovie but I suspect it would suffer the same problem as above. The export menu option didn't seem to cover sound file options.

Mike L - yes you can convert to AIFF directly in iTunes, but not with protected AAC files from the iTunes Music Store. That's why I was asking. I assume this is some kind of anti-piracy measure.

<<<-- Originally posted by Pat Chaney : ...Jaime - I downloaded aacConverter but it appears to write empty/silent AIFF files. The comments on versiontracker.com indicate that this is to do with the latest versions of iTunes and/or Quicktime (both of which I'm using). So no luck there then...-->>>

Hmm. Not sure why this is happening to you. I used it as recently as a couple of weeks ago, and I have the latest versions of iTunes and Quicktime installed (I'm pretty sure). I'm at a loss as to why you get silent files through aacConverter. If anyone knows how to fix this, please chip in.

By the way, what kind of setup are you using? Might that make a difference? I'm running it on a dual 2GHz G5.

Good luck!

To export the timeline as a sound file:

1. File-> Export to bring up Export dialog
2. Set popup Export: To Quicktime
3. Set popup Formats: Expert Settings...
4. Click on Export
5. In this dialog set the name of the file and the location you want to export and select Sound to AIFF in the Export popup at the bottom of the dialog. Default settings should be fine, but to make sure you can set the Use: popup to 44.1khz 16bit stereo.


Mike.

iMovie doesn't say Export, it say Share. Go to File>Share>QuickTime>Expert Settings>Export Sound to AIFF>Default Settings>Save

This works with purchased music from iTunes store and with the current version of iMovie (4.0.1).

Ah, that fixed it. It didn't work with iMovie v3 or v4, but does with 4.0.1.

Jaime - I'm using Quicktime Pro 6.5.1 and iTunes 4.6.

Thanks for all the help on this.