iTunes: About third-party music players and AAC file support

Using iTunes, you can create and play many types of audio files, including MP3. iTunes also features a very high-quality audio format called MPEG-4 AAC. Songs you import from CD or download from the iTunes Store are saved to your computer by default in the MPEG-4 AAC format.

Audio purchases from the iTunes Store are downloaded to your computer in a protected form of MPEG-4 AAC. These purchases can be played on up to 5 computers (Mac or PC) and synced to any iPods you own. Any iTunes playlists containing these purchases can also be burned to a CD up to 7 times for use in the same manner as any purchased CD.

The iTunes Store now offers many songs and music videos in the new iTunes Plus format. iTunes Plus purchases are available in our highest-quality audio (at a bit rate of 256 kbps, twice the bit rate of regular iTunes purchases), and free of any use restrictions.

iTunes Plus purchases may also be played on any iPods, Apple TVs, or computers you own. You may burn iTunes Plus purchases to a reasonable number of CDs for personal, noncommercial use.

You may also play iTunes Plus songs on third-party digital music players. Check the documentation that came with your digital music player to see if MPEG-4 AAC files are supported. If MPEG-4 AAC is not supported, you can also convert iTunes Plus songs to another format that may be supported by your player.

To convert iTunes Plus music purchases to another format, such as MP3:

1. On Windows, choose Edit > Preferences, or choose Preferences from the iTunes menu on a Mac.
2. Select Advanced and then Importing, and change the Import Using preference to MP3 Encoder.
3. Close Preferences and then select the iTunes Plus song you wish to convert and choose Advanced > Convert Selection to MP3.

Some third-party applications also encode AAC files using other codecs. AAC files created by these applications may not play in iTunes.