Stripping DRM from WMV files odd issue

[pcbguy76]

Hello,

I have searched to see if anyone else has had this problem.

I have some wmv files(that I bought) that I want to convert to a different format to watch on my ipad. I am using Media Converter Ultimate. I have tried converting to several formats and even just convert to a wmv without the drm.

Everytime I do I get a file size that is 3 times the original. How does stripping the drm triple the size??

Does anyone know a better way to pull it off and maintain the file size? I understand it may be bigger when converting to a different format but leaving as a wmv I don't get.

Thanks for any advice or insight on this.

[bat999]

Thanks for any advice or insight on this.

Have you compared the before and after properties using MediaInfo?

[jman98]

Removing DRM from WMV will not make the files 3 times the original size. Clearly your program is doing some re-encoding.

WMV DRM cannot always be removed. Basically the older the DRM is, the more likely you'll be able to get rid of it. There is a program called FairUse4WM that might be able to remove DRM. It requires you to have a valid license for the files and it requires the use of specific old versions of Windows Media Player. Windows' DRM schemes are fiendishly clever and over the years they've gotten harder to get rid of. As far as I know, nobody yet figured out a way to get rid of the DRM that Sliverlight uses in things like Netflix streaming. My nephew bought some DRMed WMA files that he wanted to put on his MP3 player, but the vendor encoded them so that they don't allow them to be converted. I ended up having to use one of his 5 licenses to play the files on my PC and use a streaming media encoder to record them. That will give you an idea of what you may be up against with Windows DRM.

[pcbguy76]

I used avicodec to see the details.

This is before running it through:

File : 230 MB (230 MB), duration: 1:01:56, type: ASF, 1 audio stream(s), quality: 30 %, , DRM
Video : 199 MB, 449 Kbps, 14.203 fps, 720*480 (4:3), WMV3 = Windows Media Video V9, Unsupported
Audio : 28 MB, 64 Kbps, 44100 Hz, 2 channels, 0x161 = Windows Media Audio V9 Standard, , , Unsupported

And this is after:

File : 465 MB (465 MB), duration: 1:02:07, type: ASF, 1 audio stream(s), quality: 39 %, ,
Video : 422 MB, 951 Kbps, 16.365 fps, 640*480 (4:3), WMV1 = Windows Media Video V7, Supported
Audio : 42 MB, 96 Kbps, 44100 Hz, 2 channels, 0x161 = Windows Media Audio 9.2, , , Supported

I told it to keep the frame rate the same as the original but it increased it by a little. It is also using WMV1 instead of WMV3 on the video. Could that account for the doubling of size?

Maybe I'm using the wrong tool on these?

Thank you

[pcbguy76]

[QUOTE=jman98;2150774]Removing DRM from WMV will not make the files 3 times the original size. Clearly your program is doing some re-encoding.

I tried the FairUse4WM but it opened a window and said it didn't find any licenses on my system(or something to that effect). I will try it again. I'm probably just using it wrong.

Another note. Since I downloaded all these from the website the company has changed and now has a newer version with flv for each one. I hoped I could figure out how to use these instead of downloading them all again in flv.

Am I better off just redownloading them from the new site?

[bat999]

File : 230 MB (230 MB), duration: 1:01:56, type: ASF, 1 audio stream(s), quality: 30 %, , DRM
Video : 199 MB, 449 Kbps, 14.203 fps, 720*480 (4:3), WMV3 = Windows Media Video V9, Unsupported
Audio : 28 MB, 64 Kbps, 44100 Hz, 2 channels, 0x161 = Windows Media Audio V9 Standard, , , Unsupported

And this is after:

File : 465 MB (465 MB), duration: 1:02:07, type: ASF, 1 audio stream(s), quality: 39 %, ,
Video : 422 MB, 951 Kbps, 16.365 fps, 640*480 (4:3), WMV1 = Windows Media Video V7, Supported
Audio : 42 MB, 96 Kbps, 44100 Hz, 2 channels, 0x161 = Windows Media Audio 9.2, , , Supported

Bitrate is much higher than original.

Maybe I'm using the wrong tool on these?

Maybe.

[pcbguy76]

So maybe it is the WMV1 video encoder that's doing it?

FairUse isn't working. Do you know of something that will take it off without re-encoding it?

[El Heggunte]

So maybe it is the WMV1 video encoder that's doing it?

Surely. WMV1 is outdated technology , which means it requires more bitrate to keep the same quality as WMV3 or VC-1.

FairUse isn't working. Do you know of something that will take it off without re-encoding it?

You will have to find a way to re-compress the decoded video to WMV3 or to VC-1, if you want or need the WMV format that much. If your copy of "Media Converter Ultimate" is unable to use the Windows Media Encoder DLLs, then you'll have to find a better-suited media converter --- OR teach yourself how to do the job by using as many intermediate steps and tools as necessary.

[pcbguy76]

The converter I have has the WMV3 option. I am using it right now to convert one and see if that makes a difference.

I don't really care for the wmv because I want to watch it on an ipad. But everytime I convert to a format my ipad can play it is more than 3 times the size. I am hoping I can just get the drm off and figure it out from there. Maybe I can figure out how to play the wmv on my ipad.

Thank you for the help. Hopefully when this gets done it will be smaller with the WMV3 encoding.

[pcbguy76]

Ok. So I redid it using the WMV3 for video and the WMA9 for audio. It made the file much smaller. Almost the same as the original. But the audio would disappear if you fast forwarded it at all.

Always something. Still looking for something that will remove drm without re-encoding it.

[bat999]

Still looking for something that will remove drm without re-encoding it.

You're on your own.
We haven't got a sample file to work with.

[pcbguy76]

Thanks for all the help though.

[jagabo]

Ok. So I redid it using the WMV3 for video and the WMA9 for audio. It made the file much smaller.

It's not the codecs you use that determine the size. It's the bitrate. WMV1 and WMV3 will produce the same size at the same bitrate. WMV3 will produce better looking video than WMV1 at the same bitrate.

Some encoders have a "constant quality" mode where you specify the quality you want and the encoder uses whatever bitrate is necessary to achieve that quality. In that case WMV3 will deliver a smaller file than WMV1.

If you want to watch your videos on an ipad you probably want to use h.264 and AAC in an MP4 container.

[pcbguy76]

I see. That is excellent information. Thank you.

I have tried the MP4 but it was huge so that's when I tried just going from wmv to wmv without the drm. Got sidetracked on the ipad thing. Been focused on getting the size down.

Thanks again.

[jagabo]

I have tried the MP4 but it was huge so that's when I tried just going from wmv to wmv without the drm. Got sidetracked on the ipad thing. Been focused on getting the size down.

WMV and MP4 (and ASF, MKV, MPG, AVI, M4V, TS, M2TS, VOB, etc.) are containers -- boxes that hold audio and video, compressed or not. Ie, ways of organizing multiple streams of video, audio, etc. so players know how to access them. Again, what determines the size is the bitrate used by the video and audio. (Some containers do have more overhead than others. So the exact same audio and video in two different containers may have slightly different sizes. Transport streams tend to have more overhead than other containers.)