Potential Fix for DRM removal?

[KidJoe]

Not that I am aware of, but at least an update like we are working on it OR we have put to many hours into this and we are abandoning the product. Simply still selling it as is, seems to me, to be dishonest. Im assuming through movies anywhere you are getting 1080P content?

I've seen others selling a DRM remover for Apple that also have the same version disclaimer. It stinks, and not ideal, but at least there are warnings before people buy it. And it does work for all of my movie purchases so far. But I haven't tried videos in about 3 months. I did do music files last week no problem.

The Amazon downloads via StreamFab are better video bit rates and audio than downloading from iTunes and removing the DRM. The iTunes downloads do usually come down with AC3 5.1 and AAC2 channel. The StreamFab downloads from Amazon are EAC3 5.1 (older movies can be 2 channel audio) and sound better on my surround system. The video bit rates from Amazon being higher gives better video quality, no compression artifacts. And not sure it's related to bit rate, but colors are better too.

Of the purchased movies I downloaded via StreamFab and Amazon, they have all been 1080p.

I don't recall getting low rez from Amazon, but some of the Netflix videos (mostly "older" stuff) have been 960x540 resolution. Even those lower rez ones still don't look bad playing via Plex on my Roku Ultra and FireTV 4k stick on my 65" Sony XB4 4k tv.

[slottedpig]

I don't mean to defend them because I too am very frustrated with this situation, but has anyone else figured out how to remove DRM from newer iTunes versions?

And they have had the disclaimer on the web site saying

Note: This software needs iTunes to work normally and as of now only iTunes ver. 12.7~12.9.0.167 are supported.

Thankfully, DRM Remover for iOS still works for audio.

Since I purchased DRM Downloader, now StreamFab, I've been getting my iTunes movies via MoviesAnywhere links to Amazon. I just make sure any digital movies are MoviesAnywhere eligible first, then I buy and download them from Amazon with StreamFab.

Not that I am aware of, but at least an update like we are working on it OR we have put to many hours into this and we are abandoning the product. Simply still selling it as is, seems to me, to be dishonest. Im assuming through movies anywhere you are getting 1080P content?

[KidJoe]

Because the company has actually abandoned this product yet they are still selling it as if it works. I honestly have more respect for a company that can admit that they cant figure something out, then a company who pretends like they are working on something and gives zero updates. I am a long time customer and DVDfab used to be my go to for just about everything but after this debacle I doubt I will buy anymore of their products. A simple, we cant figure this out right now and we have pulled it from the store, would have went a long way with the customer base....just saying.

I don't mean to defend them because I too am very frustrated with this situation, but has anyone else figured out how to remove DRM from newer iTunes versions?

And they have had the disclaimer on the web site saying

Note: This software needs iTunes to work normally and as of now only iTunes ver. 12.7~12.9.0.167 are supported.

Thankfully, DRM Remover for iOS still works for audio.

Since I purchased DRM Downloader, now StreamFab, I've been getting my iTunes movies via MoviesAnywhere links to Amazon. I just make sure any digital movies are MoviesAnywhere eligible first, then I buy and download them from Amazon with StreamFab.

[slottedpig]

how can it be that we still are talking about running the drm remover with itunes version 12.9.x...??? the solution for using actuall itunes versions was promissed 1.5 years ago!!! in this this threat by the way!
how about someone from dvdfab telling us what is going on here?
by the way, did buy a film on itunes version 12.9.0 but cannot whatch it as it is saying now I would need itunes version 12.10.8!!! so in other words... seems the drm remover now won't even work anylonger with the 12.9.0 version too!

Because the company has actually abandoned this product yet they are still selling it as if it works. I honestly have more respect for a company that can admit that they cant figure something out, then a company who pretends like they are working on something and gives zero updates. I am a long time customer and DVDfab used to be my go to for just about everything but after this debacle I doubt I will buy anymore of their products. A simple, we cant figure this out right now and we have pulled it from the store, would have went a long way with the customer base....just saying.

[dondaniel]

how can it be that we still are talking about running the drm remover with itunes version 12.9.x...??? the solution for using actuall itunes versions was promissed 1.5 years ago!!! in this this threat by the way!
how about someone from dvdfab telling us what is going on here?
by the way, did buy a film on itunes version 12.9.0 but cannot whatch it as it is saying now I would need itunes version 12.10.8!!! so in other words... seems the drm remover now won't even work anylonger with the 12.9.0 version too!

[thierrylacombe]

Here, deleted the data folders, downloaded iTunes 12.9.0.167, added fresh downloads, but DRMRemoval.exe does not respond as I click start.

[KidJoe]

Like others, I began having issues with DRM Removal. When trying to remove DRM from movies, it would look like its working, get to a percentage, then I'd get a crash from iTunes and while the DRM removal process didn't successfully complete, DVDFab reported Success and went on to the next movie... and the cycle repeated for all movies in the queue.

(see -> https://forum.dvdfab.cn/forum/dvdfab...vdfab-11-0-6-6 )

Frustrated, I tried removing and re-installing iTunes, downgrading it, etc. Nothing seemed to work.

After more experimenting, It is finally working again... at least so far anyway...

Here is what I did...

• Delete any downloaded media (movies and music) in iTunes
• In iTunes, Deauthorize the computer, then exit iTunes.
• Uninstall iTunes following -> https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204275
• Search for, and remove any left over iTunes folders, including the iTunes data folders including from C:\Users\[USERID]\AppData\Local, C:\Users\[USERID]\AppData\Roaming, My Documents, My Music, etc.
• Uninstall DVDFab
• Reboot
• Download the iTunes installer using the link contained in -> https://forum.dvdfab.cn/forum/dvdfab...972#post375972 <-- (linked post has broken link, get iTunes v12.9.0.167 from Apple -> https://secure-appldnld.apple.com/it...nes64Setup.exe )
• Install iTunes and make sure you UN-Select the box to auto update iTunes!!
• Launch iTunes and sign in
• While in iTunes, Authorize the computer, and edit preferences, and check the box for iTunes to share library as XML
• Download the latest DVDFab installer from the web site
• Install DVDFab
• Reboot
• Ensure the following are marked ALLOW in your computer's firewall...
  C:\Program Files\DVDFab 11\DRMRemoval.exe
  C:\Program Files\DVDFab 11\DVDFab64.exe
  C:\Program Files\DVDFab 11\FabUpdate.exe
• Launch and Authenticate DVDFab
• Install the DRM removal module

After doing that, I downloaded 1 movie in iTunes to test. The process completed and the movie was playable without DRM! So I downloaded a few more movies, and its been working!!

As of right now, I've got through 5 movies. Before doing the steps above I couldn't even complete 1 properly!

Since I can't edit the OP.... I'm quoting it with a few updates...

The link to get iTunes v12.9.0.167 in the Post I cite no longer works. You can download it directly from Apple via -> https://secure-appldnld.apple.com/it...nes64Setup.exe

Ensure the following are marked ALLOW in your computer's firewall...
C:\Program Files\DVDFab 11\DRMRemoval.exe
C:\Program Files\DVDFab 11\DVDFab64.exe
C:\Program Files\DVDFab 11\FabUpdate.exe


BUT even doing all of this, I am experiencing intermittent failures on *BOTH* my Surface Pro 4 (I mistakenly typed SP3 in previous posts but it is a 4) which was 100% reliable and has NOT be touched (other than Microsoft Updates and Virus app updates), along with my Desktop PC (which has received a hardware upgrade, and also has since had Widnows/Itunes/etc re-loaded from scratch). Sometimes I can queue up 10 movies and they all work, other times I can queue up 10 and they all fail, sometimes 1 out of 5 will fail, etc.

This inconsistency is frustrating to put it mildly!

[KidJoe]

Just following up... (gotta love the Vudu sales)... I queued up 2 movies the other night. They completed successfully. Saturday I queued up 8 movies. They were all successful. Today 5 queued, the 3rd one in the queue failed, the others were successful. Restarted the one that failed and it was successful.

At this point, I don't know why its INCONSISTENT now, even with iTunes v12.9.0.167... and wasn't before. I can just say its very frustrating to say the least!

[KidJoe]

I'm seeing the intermittent failures again. Queue up 10 movies and some will pass, and some will fail. Finish/Restart and some of those that failed will work, others will still fail. No rhyme nor reason to it.

[Justin]

I have been searching on the intenet for a new program that works with the new version of itunes and none do unfortuatly i have managed to get it fully working again buts its to hard to explain how i ddi it

[Lothian]

I gave up. The conversion worked sometimes and not others. Took from 1 to 10 tries to get a single file to convert. I tried all kinds of ways of starting and stopping iTunes, having it force stopped or doing it myself, starting it twice, starting it during conversion, many things looked like they were working but in the end were just fooling me. Tried using an old version of iTunes and thought I had it fixed but in the end it was no better. I gave up and purchased a competing product. Works perfectly every time. I am a big supporter of DVDFAB's products, but this one has disappointed me. The competing product just installed and worked, no fuss.

[KidJoe]

So I'm still troubleshooting DRM Removal for Videos on my Primary PC.. (i decided to hold off formatting and re-loading Windows on this PC until after I upgrade its CPU/Motherboard, if/when the i9-10900K becomes available).

Just to recap...

My Primary PC (call it PC #1, its an i7-8700K w/GTX1660ti graphics), uses Norton Security Suite for AV/Firewall - is having issues.
My Surface Pro 3 (Core m3) using Norton Security Suite for AV and Firewall. is not.
My Secondary PC (call it PC #2, is an i7-6700K using onboard Intel U630 graphics) which is used as my MediaServer does not have iTunes or DVDFab installed.is using Windows Defender for AV and Firewall.

Just because the i7-6700k is faster than the M3 of the SurfacePro3, I installed DVDFab and iTunes on PC#2. Upon first launch of DRM Remover, Windows Firewall gave a prompt asking me to allow or not with check boxes for Public and Private networks. I allowed on both. And was able to remove DRM from movies.

That made me consider checking firewall settings between my Surface Pro3 and PC#1. Under Settings -> Program Control, the SurfacePro3 listed DRM Removal, DVDFab and DVDFab Updater. #1 PC only had DVDFab listed.

So, on PC#1 made sure that the following were listed and set to ALLOW..
C:\Program Files\DVDFab 11\DRMRemoval.exe
C:\Program Files\DVDFab 11\DVDFab64.exe
C:\Program Files\DVDFab 11\FabUpdate.exe

PC#1 is now working (again).

What is odd is that when I disabled Norton on PC#1 (for 4hours) and tested, it still failed. So I don't really know *IF* making sure to allow these apps fixed it, or if its just a coincidence.

[jayjaynz]

This isn't related to the conversion/DRM removal. At least if it is, I've never experienced it.

After removing DRM, all my "purchased" movies are still listed in iTunes and available for me to download. And I use purchased in quotes because what I consider purchases are movies where I redeemed the Digital Code that came in a Bluray Disc i bought, OR I actually purchased the movies directly via iTunes or other digital store that is linked via MoviesAnywhere.

Thank you - it may be related to different iTunes IDs in that case :-)

[KidJoe]

....I am puzzled though - the TV series and a movie I converted are no longer available for download in the Store, nor are they in my iTunes library. They are still .m4v files in my iTunes media folder, but do not appear in the iTunes library anymore. They have gone from my Apple TV library, and the store shows I haven't purchased them (as in I can't download without paying for them again). Yet when I look in my account purchase history the purchase is there.
Does anyone have any insight into what happens when the files are converted, and why they aren't available for download any more? Or could this be unrelated to the conversion? FYI I do have more than one Apple ID.

This isn't related to the conversion/DRM removal. At least if it is, I've never experienced it.

After removing DRM, all my "purchased" movies are still listed in iTunes and available for me to download. And I use purchased in quotes because what I consider purchases are movies where I redeemed the Digital Code that came in a Bluray Disc i bought, OR I actually purchased the movies directly via iTunes or other digital store that is linked via MoviesAnywhere.

[jayjaynz]

Before I found this thread I had emailed DVDFab to advise I was having exactly the same issues as users here. I was sent a reply outlining steps to take for a fix, which involved other things mentioned here. I followed them to the letter, but was still having the same issue. That's how I ended up here - I confess I was annoyed at paying NZ100 for a product that didn't work without taking many steps that are not mentioned on the product website (which still didn't work).
But reading through this thread, I saw KidJoe mention a SurfacePro. I am lucky enough to have a 'main' laptop and a SurfacePro4 which has very little installed on it (no iTunes or DVD Fab). So I did a clean install of both products (recommended iTunes version) and copied my (purchased) TV Series files into the iTunes media folder. I am happy to say the conversion worked first time.

I am puzzled though - the TV series and a movie I converted are no longer available for download in the Store, nor are they in my iTunes library. They are still .m4v files in my iTunes media folder, but do not appear in the iTunes library anymore. They have gone from my Apple TV library, and the store shows I haven't purchased them (as in I can't download without paying for them again). Yet when I look in my account purchase history the purchase is there.
Does anyone have any insight into what happens when the files are converted, and why they aren't available for download any more? Or could this be unrelated to the conversion? FYI I do have more than one Apple ID.