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Remove DRM-protection from Amazon Instant Video (or iTunes)[ABANDONED]

Mannimations

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Hey guys,

I have looked around on the Internet and technical forums here (there was a thread with this same issue in 2012, but sadly, there was no solution but to rip the source from a DVD or Bluray) but am still struggling with a problem that I was hoping you all might be able to help with:

My Goal is to make a fanedit of Interview with the Vampire.

The Problem I am encountering is that I’ve bought the digital dL from Amazon (which must be a higher res than from a DVD or Bluray, since it skips the compression necessary for a disc output), and now have a WMV file from Amazon Unbox, but it’s not importing into After Effects. I assume this is bc it’s DRM protected.

The Software I am using is Adobe After Effects CC (CS6) (I’m an AE animator and it may seem wacky to edit in AE, it’s more comfortable for me) in Windows 8.

I searched online and found the following site, but I’m wary of using it because:

A) all the reviews on it seem fake,
B) the only other free Amazon DRM-removal apps out there seemed suspiciously similar to this one, and
C) I don’t know any humans who have tried it.

http://www.aimersoft.com/itunes-drm/remove-drm-from-amazon-video-on-demand.html

I also saw this in an old thread, does this still work to remove DRM from iTunes vids? I'd be willing to buy the movie a 3rd time, if so.http://drmbuster.com/convert-itunes-video-to-avi-mp4.html

I've bought this movie 2x now (also have a DVD from the 90's, but the compression makes it an almost unworkable low-res), so I doubly own the source material... just want something that has actually worked.

You can also send me a private message if you know of another way I can find good, high-res source material... :}

Thanks in advance for your help!

~Mannimations
 

Captain Khajiit

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Interview with the Vampire is available on BD. Buying a copy is the best way to obtain good HD source material.
 

Neglify

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Captain Khajiit said:
Interview with the Vampire is available on BD. Buying a copy is the best way to obtain good HD source material.

Concur. It's best to avoid digital copies, even if in HD. There are too many variables to overcome, such as the DRM issue the OP has. It sucks that you spent the money on the digital copy. But look, Interview with the Vampire BD is only $8.45 on Amazon US. Buy the BD and then follow one of these guides, ThrowgnCpr or GeminiGod.


It's nuts that the HD digital copy is $19.99. I guess that's how they make a lot of their money.
 

TV's Frink

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drmbuster worked for me a few years ago, IIRC I was able to use it on a free trial basis.
 

Mannimations

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Captain Khajiit said:
Interview with the Vampire is available on BD. Buying a copy is the best way to obtain good HD source material.

Thanks for the prompt reply! Hmmmm... gonna keep reading posts below now...
 

Mannimations

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Thank you for the prompt reply, too, Neglify :]

Neglify said:
Concur. It's best to avoid digital copies, even if in HD. There are too many variables to overcome, such as the DRM issue the OP has. It sucks that you spent the money on the digital copy. But look, Interview with the Vampire BD is only $8.45 on Amazon US. Buy the BD and then follow one of these guides, ThrowgnCpr or GeminiGod.
Yes, I am glad it's under $10, certainly won't break the bank at that price! I'm not 100% sure my new laptop (only had it for 1 week! Windows 8 is not so bad after all!) can handle Bluray, checked the model no. online today, and I think it WILL take Bluray, will check again when I get home, but it's an ASUS g750jw db71.

But really? Bluray is better resolution for fanediting? I would think that the digital copy from Amazon/iTunes would avoid the compression necessary for disc output, like I mentioned above.

The best quality would probably be if we could take a copy of film itself (like the theatre screening reels) and throw those to a PRO film/digital transfer company... but this is silly wishful thinking... from someone (ME) who was spoiled by such equipment in animation school and now no longer has access... siiiigh.

It's nuts that the HD digital copy is $19.99. I guess that's how they make a lot of their money.
For sure. Grrrr.
 

Mannimations

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Thanks TV's Frink!

TV's Frink said:
drmbuster worked for me a few years ago, IIRC I was able to use it on a free trial basis.

Yeah? Okay, now that I know an actual human tried it, and it wasn't also a trojan of crap (which I think you would have mentioned if such were the case), maybe that's the way to go.
 

Q2

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Mannimations said:
But really? Bluray is better resolution for fanediting? I would think that the digital copy from Amazon/iTunes would avoid the compression necessary for disc output, like I mentioned above.

Most HD versions available for download/streaming are heavily compressed so it won't strain bandwidth. Example: an HD movie @ 2hrs on iTunes or Amazon is usually 1-2GB. A Blu-Ray movie is anywhere between 25-50GB. Your bitrate is a lot higher with BR so PQ is better.
 

Neglify

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Mannimations said:
But really? Bluray is better resolution for fanediting? I would think that the digital copy from Amazon/iTunes would avoid the compression necessary for disc output, like I mentioned above.

Q2 said:
Most HD versions available for download/streaming are heavily compressed so it won't strain bandwidth. Example: an HD movie @ 2hrs on iTunes or Amazon is usually 1-2GB. A Blu-Ray movie is anywhere between 25-50GB. Your bitrate is a lot higher with BR so PQ is better.

This.
 

Aztek463

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Neglify said:

Quoted for super extra emphasis. As we've discussed privately, it's ultimately up to you what you edit from, and if you're happy with the results, all the better. As has been said before, editing from a disc source yields the best possible results.

If you're not sure if your laptop has Blu-ray capabilities, check the optical drive. That will indicate whether it can or not (the BD insignia will be right on the outside of the tray). And if your laptop can read the discs, you're golden for editing them! :D
 

geminigod

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Keep in mind, editing in HD is also very hard drive space intensive.
 

Mannimations

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You guys are great, very helpful, and I feel like I'm on my way to overcoming this obstacle :}

It looks like my ASUS does NOT have Bluray capabilities D: I do have the DVD. I just popped it into the ASUS, the resolution was not bad on VLC player, and then got this info when I tried it on my ASUS built in DVD player:

Video: MPEG-2 3.93 Mbps
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 448 Kbps

Is that sufficient for our purposes? Or, is an external Blueray drive an acceptable route? I really love everything else about this laptop, don't want to have to return it! Like this external Blueray drive, for example, is not too pricey, bc I don't need to burn Blurays, just need it for import:

http://www.amazon.com/Blu-Ray-Playe...982044&sr=8-4&keywords=portable+bluray+burner

At this point, I'm thinking about just using my old DVD, the quality is actually decent. Couldn't upload a higher-res pic to Tumblr, but even reducing the size for Tumblr, this screengrab from VLC is okay, and could survive another compression when I'm ready to render my fanedit, right?:

A) without photo enhancement:

tumblr_mtlvlcgHzP1r5pvieo1_500.jpg


B) with a little photo enhancement, just curves in PS (and different cropping):

tumblr_mtlvzuDxzn1r5pvieo1_500.jpg


I mean, you can see wrinkles, eyebrow hairs, and other tiny stuff, so it's not so pixelated as to be unusable, right?

ThrowgnCpr, Geminigod, does your tutorial work for DVDs, too? Has anyone tried using VLC media player?
http://www.wikihow.com/Rip-a-DVD-Using-VLC-Media-Player

thanks in advance! This fanedit is gonna be worth the hassle.
 

Mannimations

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Keep in mind, editing in HD is also very hard drive space intensive.

Yes, Geminigod, you're right, didn't consider that. Maybe the DVD quality, rather than BD, is sufficient. It's not like this fanedit's going into a theater ever! And if so, the footage could be replaced later, with the edit project intact, right? In After Effects, you can swap out footage very easily this way, edit with lower-res for speed, and then Replace footage with high res for output.
 

Gaith

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Dvd-quality visuals have never been considered insufficient for True Fanedit status on this site. So long as your work can play on, say, a laptop screen and not look like ass, you've no cause for worry. ;)
 

geminigod

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Mannimations said:
the footage could be replaced later, with the edit project intact, right? In After Effects, you can swap out footage very easily this way, edit with lower-res for speed, and then Replace footage with high res for output.

Quite true, so long as the framerates are the same and so long you are using a consistent reliable format to edit with. While I love HD, I think SD with Interview With a Vampire would look just fine. A little bit of grain and age kinda seems fitting. And it might be easier for your first time.

Also, for the second time, I think you are making a grave mistake by trying to edit this whole thing in AE instead of learning Premiere. Unless you have no plans to make any cuts or change any audio (i.e. you are only doing color correction or something), you will find that editing the audio is the hard part.
 

Mannimations

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Gaith:
Dvd-quality visuals have never been considered insufficient for True Fanedit status on this site. So long as your work can play on, say, a laptop screen and not look like ass, you've no cause for worry. ;-)

Ok, great! Then I'm gonna stop worrying about it.

Geminigod:
A little bit of grain and age kinda seems fitting. And it might be easier for your first time.
Oooh! Another 2 pluses for using the older disc. Yeah, I want to make something actually kind of tender and sweet, in the vein of (ok, yes, pun intended) "Shining," the reedit of The Shining (it's like 7 yrs old and everyone's seen it, but just in case, here it is for any of you in this thread who may NOT have seen it), which I love EVERY TIME I SEE IT:

[align=center]

Geminigod:
Also, for the second time, I think you are making a grave mistake by trying to edit this whole thing in AE instead of learning Premiere.

Oh, I actually agree with you! Just didn't have a chance to reply to your other warning on that. I'm not rigid about it, I think the last time I tried Premiere, it was actually very intuitive. I can always do effects with AE and bring the product into Premiere. The whole edit I'm planning will just be a trailer, as a starter proj, but even so, yes, rendering vid on AE is admittedly, kinda taxing on one's sanity! But I might use it for effects, or titles.
 

boon23

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From what I know "interview with the vampire" is on bluray just an upscale of the dvd master. It is a very hated bluray on amazon. I don't think there is any true hi-res material. So you are probably fine using the DVD for your fanedit, which is way easier to rip and to transcode to avi. Good luck with your project.
 

Q2

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TV's Frink said:

I see your :shock: and raise you a :jaw:.
 

baileym43

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Q2 said:
I see your :shock: and raise you a :jaw:.
yeah. that's like Kurt Vonnegut showing up at a community collage evening fiction writing class.
but i digress. this has been a very interesting thread to read.
 
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