Converting WMA to MP3 for iPod?

A way easier solution would have been to just use itunes for that...you know, selecting the songs and right clicking and then "convert selection to MP3"

Except I don't believe that iTunes recognizes WMA files in the first place. I'll have to check...

iTunes for Mac cannot convert WMA files, but iTunes for the PC can. If you are on a Mac, you will have to download a different program to do the conversion, but with a PC, simply use iTunes.

I serarch for a wma converter for mac OS X and get directed to this site that only has Windows software. Am I an idiot or are you or is Google

Well, I can certainly note that *I* am not an idiot! :-)

To find WMA conversion software for a Mac, go to http://www.versiontracker.com/ and search for 'wma'. I just did that and there are at least five different applications you can download, some freeware, some shareware, that can convert your WMA into MP3 and other audio formats. Good luck to you!

Well Dave,

I got stuck on the same ship. Tons of WMA on my disc. Got temped to buy an iPod last week, 5G 60Gb. And really not impressed with Apple allready.

1) Apple dont supply a net power charger
2) iPod Cannot play WMA

I like your suggestion to reconvert WMA into MP3, which I've tried through the iTunes pc version. Loss of sound quality is pretty big I have to say, so I'm looking for another solution.

Do you know how to convert WMA to MP3 or AAC for that matter without losing sound quality?

There should be an opening, because these people say the chip in iPod is capable of readin WMA.
http://dotnet.org.za/matt/archive/2004/02/20/460.aspx

Do you know how to make the chip read WMA?

Thanks Dave

Will the WMA converters only convert unprotected WMA? (i.e. Yahoo! Music Engine's files are in WMA protected format, I think.)

Thanks...

To get better sound quality, go under Preferences > Importing and set it to "AAC Encoder" set to 160kbps and check VBR.

AAC files sound better at the same file sizes as MP3. Only downside is they won't play on non-ipod players or mp3-CD ready car stereos. If that's the case for you, set it back to MP3 but choose "Higher Quality (192kbps)".

Hope that helps!

John

converting from one lossy format to another makes the audio quality even more lossy. if you want to avoid this you should rip the mp3 off of the original cd or better yet use flac as an encoder

This may sound like a pain, but I've had pretty good luck burning WMA songs to an audio disk, then ripping them to MP3. Not sure about the sound quality - I just set everything to highest quality and it seems to work pretty well. Protection doesn't seem to be a problem.

now the only way you should do this is with ffmpeg

can be found here

http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/video/ffmpegx.html

dont be disturbed by the all videoconversion feel of the program

its the only openSource non demo non in otherways stupid free converter you can use

i admit its not the original wma codec but a reversed one

but oh hell wma is a crappy format anyway so the best thing you can do is delete all files with that extention and get over it.

WMA is crappy only that it has so many tags and trackers that can be put to that file. HOWEVER, this can be the smae with .mov format as well. From a sound quality perspective, WMP 10 or even lower like 8 supported or could support any file there was a plugin for. the other thing is that to this date this is the only platform you can play HDCD a 20 bitt format on a computer at this time. no os x or even linux or unix varient exists. it also plays back your DTS files as well all natively witout resorting to an outside player or outside of the WMP enviorment. DVD Audio is playable but it is esentally just really spanked out pcm audio. Linn is one copmpany that sells this high deff format for windows and has a whole list of Q and A from there. SACD is the lone exeption. But even WMP will play atrac files as well as long as the plug in is loaded. I also recomened exact audio copy if you are really in to it and want the picture perfect cd copy. Also plextor drives seems to be the best at retriving music data of CDDA format disac or basic redbook standards.
as far as the best means to get it into itunes on the mac, i recomend not using the itunes conversion to mp3 on the windows platform. The mp3 player codec is bad. use LAME if you can, or straight to aiff, FFMPEG really is a swiss army knife for this stuff or even virtual dub or a few others out there..

I just want to be able to listen to books from the library on my iPod. They are in protected WMA. Any solution to converting them? Thanks

Hi, I want to know if I could convert DRM image files to unprotected image files. My cell phone isnot accept DRm image files to send with MMS.
What can I do?

Just download this program called "Switch".

It converts anything like a mp3. wav. and all Sorts of things. it'll really help you with all your needs to make a WMA into a MP3 Right in your iPod!

Thanks Aubrey, but I still can't do anything with protected files. I'm so disappointed in Apple. I'll never buy another Apple product.

There are lots of copy protected WMA to MP3 and DVD conversion software packages out there. Do any of them really work? They all make great claims but I wanted to hear from anyone who has been successful in finding a good one. thanks

Hey, Dave

Well im pretty stuck!
i have been for the past 3 months,
i had a 30GB Ipod for christmas
and ive got music and photos on it
but the problem is i dont know how to get videos on it, i use a file sharing program called "Bearshare" to download my music and movies and i downloaded The Nightmare Before Christmas By Tim Burton, The problem is that its a Windows Media File.. So i was just Wondering if there is anyway i could get that on my ipod and getting it in to Itunes library?? without a kuffufle, Thanks , Kind Regards.. April xx

http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/video/easywmv.html

Supports OSX 10.2+ I believe. For converting WMA to MP3

Hope some enjoys this.

Simple soulution, BUY A CREATIVE PRODUCT! I love all four that I own. The batteries are user replacable too!

I have a ton of wma files sitting on my laptop that I got last year that were transfered from my old computer. Everytime I try to use any of the conversion software it says something about DRM, is there any way to get around that?

I downloaded a buncha of songs from urge with their free trial, bu since I didn't pay fro it does this neab that I can't convert them and put them inot my ipod?

Hi Dave,

I purchased some WMA files but can't convert them to mp3. They have DRM's, and I could authorise them on Windows Media Player, however I cannot open them with any other player. I have both a Mac and a PC.

Any help?

thanks

Daniel

Hi, Daniel, you may try NoteBurner and someone recommended it to me. It works great.

You can just use it to convert protected WMA to plain one easily.

On my church website I medium quality NTSC WMV files every sunday. Do you know how people with ipods can see them. I can convert the audio to MP3 now and from what I read on your site the ipod can handle that?
Thanks,
Mike

Ok guys... I managed to convert my WMA files without spending a cent... I have a Mac and a PC, the MAC was unable to play the files while on the PC the files could only be played with WMP. I opened the files with WMP then I clicked on the option "copy to CD" and selected "Audio Files" on the right hand side of the window. I copied the files on the cd(WMP converts them in .AIFF) and the trick was done. I then imported the files with iTunes on both the MAC and PC.

regards

Dan

It just takes so much time!! I'll have to convert 500 or more CDs into mp3 format and it will not be done in 24 hour period, and I also have to risk sound quality loss and glitches during conversions.

If you just need to convert audio files to MP3 use iTunes...

rgds

Dan

where did you get the nightmare before christmas movie for your ipod at

I'm looking for a way to convert an iTunes file or mp3 file to .wma on a Mac. I've found tons of programs that go the other way (.wma to .mp3) but not what i'm looking for.

I wish I never bought an ipod. I have followed your helpful advice, but still have dificulty with the slow speed of converting wma to mp3. I am trying to convert large files - recorded books from the library that are protected and can not be converted by itunes on a pc. Do you know of a program that can convert at high speed? Thanks, Ama

hi,
i got some music off of Puretracks with free download cards but i cannot bring them into Itunes because the are WMV format and protectede, does anyone know how i can convert them? i've tried several converting applications but none work.

Try the Protected Music Converter 0.95. It can convert protected files. You're welcome.

http://www.wma-mp3.com/

i just got a 1 gig pink shuffle and have an mp3 i downloaded itunes and says it has an error my question is how do i put it on my ipod without itunes also when i paste it it doesnt play my ipod light flashes green and red if you can help ill b very grateful

Chk - Cat - Cathlene

I just got a phone and it only plays wma files. All my files on my mac are MP3. Is there anyway I can convert MP3 to WMA using a MAC program? thanks!

You can always convert WMA to MP3 even if our WMA file is copy-protected. There are solutions that can convert your file and copy it to iPod in just one click. For instance TuneRaft from http://www.any-wma-to-mp3.com/ can do that. Additionally you can choose either MP3 or AAC (M4A) output file format as both are supported by iPod just fine.

I've just read thru all these postings but am still not sure what is the most efficient way to convert WMA files to MP3 on a Mac. I'd like to convert 30 GB of WMA to MP3 while not losing sound quality and with the option of keeping the music organized. Also am interested in doing it in a batch. Does anyone have any suggestions for Mac users? Thanks.

I had a problem - could not convert iTunes files to MP3. I tried MelodyCan and was pleasantly surprised of good quality. You may take from here (http://www.convert-any-media.com/). It can easily converts audio and video files from iTunes.

About converting WMA to MP3 I must say it is not a good idea, because both the two compression algorithms are lossy. A lossy compression scheme does its work by throwing away part of the information in the sound, hopefully that part that you ear should not be able to hear.
Now, if you conver a CD to WMA you loose a bit of quality, and if you convert a CD to MP3 you loose a bit quality. But if you convert a CD to WMA and than convert WMA to MP3 you loose a lot of quality!
So, unless you have no other option, it's better to rip again from the original CD source than converting from WMA to MP3.
Anyway if you have no other option you can use a conversion software like FreeRIP (http://www.freerip.com).

I've been reading this for a few minutes, and I thought I'd share how I did it:

1. Burn the songs onto a blank CD in WMA format.
2. Open iTunes and go to File>Import. Either that or it will automatically import the songs like mine did.

And there you have it. Well, it worked for me, at least.

Good luck to the rest of you.

Just wanted to add that if you have one Sony PS3 lyin around, you can load your CDs to the PS3 and will store the files either by aac or mp3- ur choice. I transfer those converted files to a portable hard drive and load it up on my iPod via the laptop.

There is a program call sound taxi and it works and fast it is 25 dollars but it is work it and it converts 3 songs at a time with in about a min. i am really happy i have it and it only takes one step and a click

Hi Dave! Well, I have a new iMac and have switched over to iTunes with a new iPod. On a separate hard drive, I have over 3000 songs that I used to play on Windows Media Player when I had a PC. I no longer have a PC --- what is the best way to convert those .wma songs so I can add them to my Mac iTunes library?

To convert anything to mp3, use Audio Hijack Pro. You can re-record the songs without loss of quality and save them as any format you want. Plus, you don't have to buy the full version. The free version is just fine except you have songs longer than 10 minutes.

Don't be stupid, you can always burn an audio CD of your DRM-protected songs and re-rip it to your iTunes. Problem solved.

As for video conversion, try handbrake.

Hi dave, I have recently bought a new Macbook but i cannot get my Iriver h10 20gb to appear on the mac. Is there anyway i can get my Iriver to work like it used to do on my old PC?
Thanks Chris.

I AM TRYING TO TRANSFER SONGS FROM MY FLASH DRIVE OVER TO ITUNES AND IT ISNT WORKING. IS THERE A WAY THAT I CAN TRANSFET THE WMA FILES ON MY FLASH DRIVE TO ITUNES IN MP3 FORMAT?

Using converter TuneCab I convert DRM-protected and unprotected audio/video files to almost all formats try here http://www.tunecab.com

For all you MAC users out there!!!

Convert WMA TO MP3 Freeware..... Nothing that was stated in the last posts Works. THIS DOES.

http://www.nch.com.au/switch/

FOR MAC OSX

my girl gave me an ipod 80GB its black with a silver back and when i cant figure out how to put music on it.. tried everything i just downloaded like 300 songs to put on it and it wont let me.. is it that the only way to put music, videos and/or pictures on it is you need a disk with music, the DVD or a camera?

"god", the only way to easily transfer music onto an iPod is through Apple's iTunes application, which is a free download from their site:

http://www.apple.com/itunes

i got a n 80gb
i wanna kno can you put import frm wma an itunes
an wats crazy is wen i plug it into the computer
songs show up but wen i unplug tolisten theres nothing there..an i have pics on my ipod dat i cant delete..can you please give me sum info on get this thig rite b4 i sell it lol jk

Converting WMA to MP3 isn't needed, all you do is convert it to AAC & the quality is the same!

Go to FILE at the top, click on ADD FILE TO LIBRARY then as it adds it you will be told it's a WMA format & iTunes will automatically convert it to AAC, just click YES.

All done :o)

I don't remember about Windows Media Player version 10, but I have version 11 and at the top of the player there is an option called "Rip". You can rip your WMA files to mp3 files one at a time as you are listening to them or you can create a playlist and rip them all at once. You can rip them directly to a CD or to your computer. If you rip them to your computer they will be ripped to your Windows "My Music" folder unless you specify a different location. You can also rip and burn at the same time. This feature is integrated into the player (it's not an add-on or plug-in) and there is no charge for it.

i have zune wma protected files that im trying to convert to mp3 or anything usable with itunes. its asking for license and will not even let me play files on windows media player. any help would be grateful

I am really disappointed in the "Free" MM software... I could have missed something in reading the previews but you cannot convert files for IPOD for free... you have to purchase the upgrade. That was the whole point of using it!

I just want to know how to convert a m4p or wma to MP3. I tried dL converters, but they only do the first 3 minutes of a song. Please help.

For those who cannot convert WMA files to mp3 files itunes, i suggest you to log into itunes > click on file > add file to library > chose the WMA file you want to convert, and itunes will ask you if they can convert it for you. Click on yes. Simple as that. :)

Good evening all. I Have a large folder of unsorted music and am synchronising my Ipod using Winamp. Any ideas how I can 'bulk convert' 3500 wma files to MP£ without the arduous process of sorting and converting each one?

Thanks

Great article, I learn more here. Thanks!

im losing my temper. i went through 3 years of unqualified answers without one real solution (for me) wma on my G4 mac os 10.4.11 to mp3 for my ipod nano with itunes 8.2
switch is already only for macv os 10.5 and whats left? copy to blank cd and reimport to itunes.
you all cant be serious (thank you john)

Hi:
I have an account with Rhapsody, so I download music from their server to my TiVo, no problem.
Last weekend I bought an iPhone3.0s
Anyway, I can get music from Rhapsody on my laptop but when I try to get it on my i phone I get this error message.."ONE OR MORE OF THE SONGS BEING ADDED ARE IN THE WMA FORMAT.
i TUNES CAN ONLY CONVERT UNPROTECTED WMA SONGS. IF YOU HAVE THE ORIGINAL CD'S FOR THESE SONGS, YOU CAN IMPORT THEM USING i TUNES.
So what I have figured out I need a program to convert Protected WMA to AAC format, which is my i Tunes. I have tried this and all the downloads I have found are scams or viruses.
Do you know of a program that will work? Thanks for any advice,
Larney Sager
Portland, Oregon
originally from New Haven, Connecticut born and raised

All these comments really highlight what is wrong with the music and movie industries.

On one hand there are *some* people stealing content. I agree it's a problem.

On the other hand, look at all these honest people who tried to do things the RIGHT way, and pay for their music and look what they get--a bunch of low quality lossy format files, in proprietary formats, saddled with crippling DRM restrictions. Honest people aren't even able to listen to the music they paid for!

The content producers, Apple, and Microsoft are ALL guilty of creating this situation. Each of them wants to be the exclusive owner of your music experience. None of them is willing to sell you music in a standard and portable format. You think I'm going to pay money for a file that my phone won't play, or that my car stereo won't play, or my other computer won't play? Not in this lifetime.

I don't like it, but it seems that pirated content is the only content you can enjoy in the way you want.

Afaik all the apps listed above reencode the audio to save the audio as mp3.
iSkysoft audio extrator however, claims and seems to extract the original mp3 contained in the flash file, which means there's no loss of quality due to reencoding.If you want a try, following is a step by step guide about how to use it
http://www.talk-mania.com/product-reviews/70655-how-convert-wma-mp3-mac.html#post172767

Okay,I have been wrestling with this one all day and finally downloaded ALL2MP3, after trying 'Switch' which did nothing, and was shocked at how easy and well it worked. Sets up instantly, then just drag and drop, click convert, boom done. I love it when that happens!

Hey, here's a process for anyone using a mac to convert a song from wma to ipod-compatible format. It may be a little tedious, but requires no purchases.

1. Open iMovie HD (It may work for other versions, but I haven't tried. If you have a later version, you can download iMovie HD6 from this link: http://is.gd/5CQfA To be able to install w/o iLife '06, open up your terminal and type in "touch /Library/Preferences/com.apple.iLife08.plist" w/o quotes and hit enter. Then install iMovie)

2. Drag your .wma audio file into the audio track section and let it load.

3. Drag this audio strip onto the desktop, and it is now in the format .aiff, playable on iPod. From here, it can be converted in iTunes to .mp3, if desired.

Hi sorry i have converted my downloaded music to MP3 but still not able to play it ??? it justs tells me to go on web Dam confusing Nigel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5uuqyYb4_A

Haven't tried this yet, but looks like the perfect solution.
Cheers
Buckster

i can't get the music i downloaded to my mp3. why is that

OK, ive been battling my computer for hours now, I'm trying to transfer music I have in my windows media player into my itunes (which i've had for 3 years), I tried to convert the music from WMA to AAC using itunes but it wont let me cause it says its "protected". whats the deal? how do i fix that

i came to this article looking to transfer a WMA to a MP3 file and i found that the program 'switch' was a fast free download and quick transfer :)

i am looking 2 download music from my ipod to my laptop could some1 help me pls x

I use Convert-tune. It converts audio files to different formats.
The tool also has free CD Ripper and free CD Burner.
It converts video files for iPod and iPad as well.
There is an option I like, 'surf and catch video'.

Check it out at convert-tune.com

Please explain (in non-geek terms) how I transfer the contents of a CD to my iPod.
Also, I have tried unsuccessfully to increase the volume on my iPod beyond the "locked" area. Is there no way to do that?
Thanking you in anticipation. Jeff Robinson.

Hi and thanks for the information!
I'm looking for a good audio converter right now and I'll have a look at those you suggest.
Thanks =)

FYI, you shouldn't convert WMA to MP3. Converting a lossy format into another lossy format will result in a pretty crappy file in the end. You're much better off re-ripping from the source if possible.

what a cool friendly site - thank you. Have got terrible insomnia - my gf got me a CD for deep sleep, I ripped it into my windows media library (which I prefer to i tunes) & then, just before i go to bed i try to copy it to my ipod and it says 'non'. i was like 'oh for god's sake', googled the Q & up came your site which speaks at just the right level for a non-geek like me, downloaded media monkey and bang job done. now i'm going to bed. hopefully that'll be end of my boring story.
best
C

Hey,
I started using something called BearShare. The music that you can download are WMA files, and when I try to put them onto iTunes and then hit "convert", iTunes tells me that the songs are protected, and iTunes can only convert unprotected songs. Is there a way to un-protect the songs I've downloaded?

how do I down load music from bearshare to an ipod? The only options I see is downloading to an MP3 and burning to a MP3 or a CD. The ipod does not have a screen. It was given to me and I think it is a ipod mini. The model num is: A1204 EMC #2125. Can you help

danke dude

Bigasoft MP3 Converter is just the ideal WMA to iTunes converter! It can easily convert WMA audio file to iTunes supported MP3 format. Besides, it can convert other audio formats including CAF, WAV, OGG, AUD, FLAC, M4A, AAC, AC3, APE, AIFF and more to iTunes supported MP3 format. Moreover, it can also convert WMA to M4A, WAV, OGG, MP2, AU, AIFF, RA, AC3, etc.

Step by step guide on how to convert and import WMA to iTunes or iTunes Match with the help of Bigasoft MP3 Converter at http://www.bigasoft.com/articles/how-to-import-wma-to-itunes-for-mac.html

then it is just easy to import WMA to iTunes for Mac or import WMV to iTunes Match for iCloud. Then it is just easy to play WMA in iTunes, iPod, iPad, iPhone (including iPhone 4S).