Are itunes plus files MP3's?

[firteen888]

Hey guys,

I just downloaded a few itunes plus albums from itunes and when I checlk the file extension, it says they are m4a files. I thought the itunes plus files were all MP3? When I try placing the files into windows media player, it will not allow me to. Am I doing somehting wrong?

Thanks,

 

[Moriarty]

No, they are AAC files. Same format as normal iTunes, except 256kbps not 128, and DRM free. The same thing as if you encoded songs from a CD at 256kbps AAC.

.m4a = AAC. Windows Media Player won't play AAC... you might be able to download something that will make it, try Google, I am not sure.

You can convert them to MP3 though... just go to preferences, change your import settings to MP3 and choose the bitrates etc you want, select your music, right click, and go "Convert selection to MP3".

Remember to change your import settings back to how they were before once you've done this...

 

[firteen888]

Thanks man,

changed my import settings to MP3 and it orked perfectly! Can I just keep my import settings set for MP3? Is there a big downfall in doing that?

 

[pooryou]

I wouldn't transcode from AAC to MP3, it's going to mess with the sound.
Get an AAC codec for your media player or use a different media player.