How to strip Amazon DRM

[jman98]

We had a thread maybe a few months ago where someone here figured out that one of the supposed "DRM removers" for iTunes video was actually just secretly recording the video via a stealthy screen capture program to "remove" the DRM so you might want to be sure that's not really going on with your program.

[lordhutt]

We had a thread maybe a few months ago where someone here figured out that one of the supposed "DRM removers" for iTunes video was actually just secretly recording the video via a stealthy screen capture program to "remove" the DRM so you might want to be sure that's not really going on with your program.

I assure you it is not. I never even play the videos until the DRM is gone.
I'll tell you this... you need an older version of iTunes for this to work.
I'm running 10.6
The videos are totally lossless.

Like I said though... could not find a way to do this with Amazon videos... unless I did a screen capture and the quality was not acceptable for me.

For what they charge for a season of a tv show I would not even consider purchasing if I could not do this.
Unfortunately it seems a lot of shows are not being available on dvd or BD... but you can download at a cost that is much more than a physical disc... Which is pretty F'd up in my opinion.
Weather its music, movie or tv I like to own a physical disc for my $$$.... sometimes it sucks and the only option is a download. I would never purchase from itunes if available on disc.

[KateG]

lordhutt - have you tried playon? It can access your paid amazon account. Not sure if you can route playon to xbmc but if you are up to a little trial and error it might be worth a shot.

I have yet to find any capture program that gives you a decent DRM-free local copy of your purchased Amazon content ... until PlayOn.

PlayOn is HD capable and streams your content from Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, Vudu, and many other online content, both subscribed and free, through their channels and third party plugins. It also streams your own media. PlayOn serves the content to many devices, players, boxes, and DLNA clients, including Roku and XBMC.

To your specific question, PlayLater (their DVR service, also HD capable) will record these streams to your hard drive like a DVR. It is not a download. It is a capture, but the quality is, to my eye, as good as watching the original stream. It is also legal. The recorded PlayLater videos can be played through any PlayOn capable device or player. They can also be added to your media library and played via XBMC, Plex, VLC, etc.

Is it free? No. But the lifetime bundle is reasonable for the services they offer. It's a cord cutter's dream.

[lordhutt]

Hey KateG... let me ask you this.
I wouldn't mind using a program like playon to capture the video as long as I don't have to use it to watch it.
When it captures the video what file format is it? Mp4, MKV?
As long as I get a file that can be played with any standard media player like MPC-HC or VLC... or HTPC software like Jriver or XBMC that will be great. But I don't want a proprietary format that will require playon to be running to view it...
Also, is it safe to assume that whatever audio quality is there will be saved without any quality loss?

As of right now I have a couple tv season purchases from itunes and the software I use is stripping the DRM just fine... but having Amazon as another option would also be nice.

[KateG]

Hey KateG... let me ask you this.
I wouldn't mind using a program like playon to capture the video as long as I don't have to use it to watch it.
When it captures the video what file format is it? Mp4, MKV?
As long as I get a file that can be played with any standard media player like MPC-HC or VLC... or HTPC software like Jriver or XBMC that will be great. But I don't want a proprietary format that will require playon to be running to view it...
Also, is it safe to assume that whatever audio quality is there will be saved without any quality loss?

As of right now I have a couple tv season purchases from itunes and the software I use is stripping the DRM just fine... but having Amazon as another option would also be nice.

PlayLater records the stream in MP4. The video then plays with any player that supports MP4, which is most. I have used VLC, XBMC, and Plex. I believe the only requirement is that PlayOn be installed on the host computer. I can play the videos on any player, or stream to Roku, etc, if the PlayOn server is installed on the computer. The server does not even have to be running, as long as it is there. Pretty cool.