How to Transfer Protected iTunes M4V Movies to MP4 Players

Open your iTunes library, you’ll find all the movies you purchased from iTunes Store are saved in .m4v format. But if you check the info of each movie, you will see the kind of the movie is described as “protected MPEG-4”. Why is that? What is M4V actually? Is it the same as MPEG-4? Or what’s the difference between M4V and MP4?

In this article, we will compare M4V and MP4 formats while provide you the solution to convert iTunes M4V to MP4 with ease.

M4V vs MP4: What’s the Difference

Generally speaking, M4V file format is a video container format developed by Apple and is very similar to the MP4 format. Differently, M4V file is protected by DRM copy protection while MP4 is not. Apple uses M4V to encode video files, including movies, TV episodes, and music videos in its iTunes Store with FairPlay DRM protection so that no one is allowed to play a protected M4V file in non-Apple devices. Unlike M4V that is recognizable by Apple’s devices only, a MP4 file is commonly supported by almost all popular media playing devices in the world.

That’s why most iTunes movie buyers are likely to convert the protected M4V movies from iTunes to MP4 compatible devices for watching.

Best Tool to Convert iTunes DRM M4V to MP4

There are various tools that can convert DRM-ed iTunes M4V to MP4 format in the market. Among them, one of the best iTunes M4V to MP4 Converter is TunesKit iTunes M4V Converter for Mac, with which you can easily convert protected iTunes M4V movies to unprotected MP4 while removing the DRM protection from the M4V files. The following tutorial will show you how to convert and transfer protected M4V from iTunes to MP4 players on Mac in 3 steps only.

**For Windows users who want to convert DRM-ed M4V to MP4, you can try TunesKit iTunes to MP4 Converter for Windows.

Note: In order to run this M4V to MP4 Converter normally, please make sure you are using Mac OS X 10.8 or later with the latest iTunes installed.

Guide: How to Convert DRM iTunes M4V to MP4 on Mac

Before converting iTunes protected M4V to MP4, please confirm you have downloaded and installed the trial version of TunesKit DRM M4V to MP4 Converter for Mac.

Step 1. Add iTunes M4V Movies

Open iTunes to MP4 Video Converter and click “Add Files” button to load the protected iTunes M4V movies you want to convert to MP4 format from iTunes library. You can also import the M4V files by dragging & dropping. Besides, TunesKit M4V Converter supports batch conversion, so you can add multiple M4V videos once for conversion.

Step 2. Adjust Settings for Output MP4 Files

After loaded the M4V movies, click “Settings” icon to choose the audio tracks and subtitles for the upcoming MP4 videos.

Step 3. Start to Convert M4V to MP4

Once all the settings are done, you can begin the M4V to MP4 conversion by clicking “Convert” button.

When the conversion finishes, you are freely to transfer the DRM-free MP4 files to any device support MP4 format and enjoy the iTunes movies/TV shows at anytime you like.