Jan 27, 2015

Apple Released New Section "Free on iTunes" for Free Music and TV Shows



Following the removing of “Single of the Week” on its iTunes Store, Apple recently created a new section on called "Free on iTunes" which provides free music and full-length TV shows for iTunes users to download from. Unlike the old "Free on iTunes" which has been existing for years without much fanfare, this new version seems to offer hot songs and TV episodes every week to attract more new customers of iTunes.

The steps to download those free iTunes media content is easy. Here we will show you the complete guide on how to get free full-length TV shows from iTunes step by step.

1. Launch iTunes application on your Mac or PC. 
2. Click "Music" icon > "iTunes Store" on the top of iTunes interface.
3. Pull down to the middle of the Music page to find the section called "Free on iTunes".
4. Click "Free on iTunes" to enter the section and you will find a full list of the free songs and TV shows on iTunes which you can click to view more details.
5. Choose the free iTunes TV episode that you want to download and click the "Get HD" icon behind the TV show to start downloading the video file immediately.

Now you should wait until the iTunes TV episode was downloaded successfully to your computer.

More iTunes Tips: Remove DRM from iTunes TV Shows


As Apple has protected the iTunes TV shows, including the free ones with its FairPlay DRM technology, you should know that you can't watch those iTunes TV episodes on non-Apple devices or players. But don't worry. Here you can use a third-party iTunes DRM removal software like TunesKit iTunes DRM VideoConverter to get rid of the DRM protection from those iTunes TV shows before importing them into non-Apple devices for watching. For more details about this iTunes DRM remover as well as the guide on how to remove DRM from iTunes TV shows with TunesKit, you can simply follow this tutorial: Guide on Removing DRM from Protected iTunes Movies on Mac.

Jan 20, 2015

Last Call: Join TunesKit New Year Promotion for $10 Coupon of iTunes DRM Video Converter

To celebrate the new year of 2015, TunesKit Studio has launched its new year promotion in early December last year with which customers are supposed to get a coupon code worth $10 of TunesKit featured iTunes DRM Video Converter products once they share the promotion page on their Facebook account. Since the new year offer was originally set to be valid until Jan 31, 2015, there’s only a few days before the deal comes to an end. That’s to say, it’s the last chance for the customers to join the promotion to get TunesKit iTunes DRM Video Converter with $10 off.

Brief Introduction to TunesKit iTunes DRM Video Converter

TunesKit iTunes DRM Remover, as one of the best iTunes DRM removal tools in the world, is specially designed to help iTunes users remove FairPlay DRM protection from iTunes movie rentals and purchases while converting the DRM-locked M4V format to non-DRM MP4 files with lossless quality. This smart iTunes DRM removal software comes with both Mac and Windows versions which have an easy-to-use interface that makes it handy to process the whole iTunes DRM removing in three steps only. Users only need to add the iTunes movie files, choose the output settings, and then it will do all the rest job to convert Christmas movies and TV shows or any other videos downloaded from iTunes to multiple devices and media players such as Samsung, HTC, Nokia, Nexus, Kindle Fire, VLC, Chromecast, HDTV, etc.

For more details of this special deal, please visit the promotion page from the official site of TunesKit: http://www.tuneskit.com/2014-xmas-specials.html.

About TunesKit

TunesKit Studio is a professional multimedia software developer dedicated to providing the best iTunes DRM removal solutions and services, including both Mac and Windows versions of iTunes DRM Video Converter to customers throughout the world. As a reliable DRM removal solution provider, TunesKit also offers free life-long software upgrade and prompt online support for users. All DRM products sold on TunesKit are home edition for personal use only.

Jan 18, 2015

87th Academy Awards: Final Predictions for 2015 Oscars


The nominees of the 87th Academy Awards were announced on Jan,15th, one month earlier than the final ceremony which will be launched on February 22, 2015 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. From the nominees we can see that the the Selma snubbed while Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel lead the pack with nine. So before the 2015 Oscars ceremony arrives, let's make predictions on the final winners to see how the Oscar race might culminate this year in advance.

First of all, let's get into the most important awards, which are Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Director.

1. Best Picture - Winner Prediction: Boyhood
Filmed over 12 years with the same cast, Boyhood has been declared a landmark film by many notable critics with its direction, acting and scope. Till now, it has already been nominated for five Golden Globe Awards, winning for Best Motion Picture, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actress for Arquette. With those key wins, it's hard for Boyhood to not rack up for the Best Picture at 2015 Oscars race.

2. Best Actor - Winner Prediction: Michael Keaton, "Birdman"
Birdman brings the first Academy Award nomination for Michael Keaton and it might also be the finest work in Keaton's career. In this film, he presents us a journey of crisis and transformation as an ageing actor battles colleagues, family and friends, but mostly his own powerful inner demons. We have to admit that Michael Keaton's deserved comeback into the cinematic myths he walked away from.

3. Best Actress - Winner Prediction: Julianne Moore, "Still Alice"
Julianne Moore's performance as a brilliant academic facing early-onset Alzheimer's had put her at the front of the line in this year's best-actress race. For all the emotional and affective power of Moore's performance, she's supremely ted, possessing the beauty of a true star and the intuitive technique of a true actress. So we won't be surprised if she's awarded the Best Actress in the upcoming ceremony.

4. Best Director - Winner Prediction: Richard Linklater, "Boyhood"
"You wouldn't contract anyone to do something like this for 12 years, much less a 6-year-old," Linklater says. But at last he did it. And in this film, Richard Linklater, the 54-year-old Texas filmmaker, has shown us the growing up in a way we've never seen before. By watching Linklater's film, we can sense an understated feel that conveys a certain directorial nonchalance.

List of 87th Oscars Awards Winner Predictions

Best Supporting Actor - J.K. Simmons "Whiplash"
Best Supporting Actress - Patricia Arquette"Boyhood"
Best Animated Feature Film - How to Train Your Dragon 2
Best Adapted Screenplay - The Imitation Game
Best Cinematography - Birdman
Best Visual Effects - Interstellar
Best Documentary Feature - Citizenfour
Best Film Editing - Boyhood

2015 Oscars Nominees Are Available on iTunes Store

Although the final ceremony of the 87th Oscars is still a while to go, audiences are able to enjoy those nominees they've missed from various online channels, such as iTunes Store. For you who have already downloaded those Oscar movies from iTunes, you may have found that it's difficult to enjoy them on devices except Apple's. In this case, you are trapped by the DRM protection which is adopted by all the iTunes movies. In order to watch the DRM-protected Academy Awards nominations on TV or non-Apple devices, you'll have to firstly strip the DRM lock off the movies with some professional iTunes DRM remover, like TunesKit iTunes DRM Video Converter. It will help you bypass the DRM restriction from those Oscar movies while converting the protected files to common MP4 format which is supported by most media devices.

For the complete predictions for the 87th Academy Awards 2015, you can refer to the original source here: http://www.tuneskit.com/top-movies/2015-oscar-winner-predictions.html

Jan 15, 2015

[Review] TunesKit iTunes DRM Video Converter – Convert DRM-ed iTunes M4V to MP4


Getting tired of DRM?  Ever been looking for a way to watch DRM-free iTunes movies but eventually ended in smoke? No matter how annoyed you used to be with DRM, you can be totally relieved upon the release of TunesKit iTunes DRM Video Converter, a smart yet mighty iTunes DRM video converter specially created to liberate you from DRM restrictions once and for all!

What Can TunesKit iTunes DRM Video Converter Actually Do

As one of the best integrated DRM removal and iTunes M4V converter software, TunesKit can not only remove DRM protection from both iTunes movie rentals and purchases, but also convert DRM-locked iTunes video files to non-DRM MP4 format with fast speed and high quality.

Moreover, TunesKit iTunes DRM Media Converter is able to keep AC3 Dolby 5.1 audio tracks, multi-language subtitles, and 1080P HD video resolutions while removing the DRM limitation from iTunes movies and TV episodes.

Distinguished from any other iTunes DRM removal tools in the market, TunesKit employs an innovative DRM decrypting technique which enables it to be the  fastest iTunes DRM video converter to strip DRM off iTunes movie files and convert those protected videos to unprotected format at 20 times faster speed.

Thanks to this powerful iTunes DRM remover, you will be free to enjoy DRM-free  iTunes movies and TV shows on multiple popular devices and players, including Android, iOS, Windows phones & tablets, etc.

Why We Need to Remove DRM

As is known to all, iTunes videos are protected by Apple’s FairPlay DRM copyright policy which restricts iTunes users to play those files on iTunes or other Apple products only. That is to say, you are not allowed to copy and convert iTunes movies to other formats or devices for playback even after you buy the movies.

What’s worse, if you rent a movie from iTunes store, you only get 30 days to watch the movie, and 24 hours (US) or 48 hours (other countries) to finish it once you started to watch.

Since DRM has always been so controversial, DRM removal software are being developed to solve the argument.

What to Look for in TunesKit iTunes Video Converter

When you are looking for the best iTunes DRM remover and converter, you'll expect it to be with strong performance, easy-to-use interface and helpful technical support, right? Whatever it should be, TunesKit iTunes DRM Video Converter is supposed to meet all your requirements to remove and convert DRM-ed iTunes videos.

High Performance

Being an ultimate DRM removal solution for iTunes, TunesKit is set to be integrated with both DRM removing and iTunes video converting features. And due to the unique DRM decrypting core, it empowers you to convert tons of protected SD or HD iTunes M4V movies to common MP4 with 100% original quality preserved in just a few minutes.

Ease of Use

TunesKit comes with a very easy-to-use interface which makes everyone the master of DRM removal. You are presented with a clear layout screen which contains everything you need from the beginning to the end. You only need to select the iTunes files you want to convert and then leave the rest job to the program itself.

Support & Upgrade

Good support is an extra bonus for an iTunes DRM media converter. TunesKit provides you with prompt technical support regarding any product problems including user tutorial, registration issues, etc. It also offers free lifelong software upgrade to all paying users.

Conclusion


Whether you are a huge movie fan that are searching for an effective way to manage your iTunes video collections freely, or a new comer for iTunes who like to enjoy more fun of iTunes movies, TunesKit iTunes DRM Remover is a reliable assistant you cannot miss.

Jan 14, 2015

How to Use iTunes 12 More Efficiently

As you’re likely aware, iTunes 12 brings a lot of changes to Apple’s venerable music/everything-else-in-the-world app and, because of these changes, some people find it frustrating. And a subset of those people find it frustrating because they find its unfamiliar interface a little tricky to navigate. My goal in the next few minutes is to show you how to more easily move around the interface. Let’s start with ripping CDs.
When you insert a CD into your media drive (presuming you have one), you’ll be prompted to import the tracks on it. If you click Yes, iTunes will rip the tracks and import them into your iTunes library.
But if you choose No, how do you later get back to that CD? Just click on the CD icon in the toolbar. When you do you’ll see the option for importing the CD in the top-right of the tool bar. If you’d like to import just a track or two, select those tracks, right-click on them, and then choose the option to import them. Just those tracks will be imported.
It’s also in this view that you can choose to join tracks together as a single track. In this case, select some tracks and from the Options menu choose Join CD Tracks.
iTunes 12 has a contextual interface. What I mean by that is that the Music, Movies, and TV Shows buttons do different things depending on where you are in the interface. So, here I am in my iTunes Library, and this is my music. If I then click on the iTunes Store button I’m taken to the music section of the store.
When I click on the Movies button, I remain in the store, I’m not taken back to the movies in my library, which is a new behavior in this version of iTunes. In order to get back to your local library, you have to click one of the My links in the toolbar. Then, when you click on one of the media buttons, you’ll navigate only to your local media.
If you’d like a shortcut to the iTunes Store, just press Shift-Command-H, which will take you to the store appropriate for the kind of media you’re currently exploring.
iTunes 12 also has a new Info window. Similar to Yosemite, the Info window doesn’t make it entirely clear what is and isn’t a menu or editable field. If you hover over something, it’s true nature is revealed, but perhaps you’d rather not bother.
If not, close the window, hold down the Option key, right-click on an item, and choose Get Info. The “old fashioned” Info window appears where I can edit just as I used to.
Now, about the sidebar. If you’ve been using iTunes for awhile you’re used to seeing a sidebar. It’s not entirely gone, but it too is now contextual. To view it, you must select one of the Playlists entires. When I do that while viewing Music, the sidebar appears along with my playlists.
Within this view I can then change how my media appears from the menu on the right. If I want to see all the tracks in my music library, for example, I just choose Songs. Likewise, I can switch to my movie library and then view a movie list. Same idea with TV shows. One nice thing about this is that the view is sticky. When I move between media types, the last view is maintained.
Yes, iTunes 12 is a big change and not everyone is going to like those changes. That said, once you know how to navigate through the interface, those changes aren’t nearly so hard to swallow.
Source: http://www.macworld.com/article/2868310/how-to-navigate-itunes-12-more-efficiently.html
More Tips of iTunes 12:

Jan 9, 2015

[Guide] How to Stream Local Video Files to Chromecast

Although there are a few apps that can stream local video to Chromecast, they are NOT free, and not intuitive. If you are curious, you may try Avia Media Player (Chromecast), or Plex, or the RealPlayer Cloud.
Actually, you can use Chrome browser to stream local video to Chromecast. Any videos that can be played on your PC can be played on your TV now.
You do not need  any apps (except the Google Cast extension for Chrome).  Of course, there is one downside: the streaming quality  is limited to 720p with high bitrate, no 1080p at this time. But this quality usually is sufficient for most videos.
What you need to do is  to install the Google Cast extension from Chrome store. Once this extension is installed, you can cast any tabs of your Chrome browser to the TV.

So, how to stream local video to Chromecast (and watch onTV)?

It is simple. In the address bar, instead of typing http bla-bla, now you type   file://c:/yourvideo.mp4 Of course, you need locate your video and give the full path of it. Once the video is played in Chrome browser, you can  sent it to TV through Chromecast using the Google cast extension.
For Google Cast extension, you can set the quality to  High (720p) or  Extreme (720p high bitrate) to get a reasonable video quality on a full HD TV. So this is the simplest way to stream local video to Chromecast without using any apps.
It is really simple. Just follow these steps.

Step 1: Install and configure Google Cast extension (if you haven’t done it).

You can find the official Google cast extension in Chrome webstore or use this URL https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/google-cast/boadgeojelhgndaghljhdicfkmllpafd?utm_source=chrome-ntp-icon
In Chrome webstore, type “Google cast” as shown below to search apps and extensions. Then click “FREE” (because it is free) to add it to your Chrome browser.
how_to_stream_local_media_with_chromecast_Chrome_browser_google-cast_search
Before you can add the extension to Chrome browser, you will get a confirmation page. It tells you the permission this extension is seeking.
As it is from Google, you can trust it. So, click “Add” as shown below to add this official Google cast extension to your Chrome browser.
how_to_stream_local_media_with_chromecast_Chrome_browser_add_google_cast
Once the Google cast extension is added successfully to your Chrome browser, you will get a notification on this (as shown below).
how_to_stream_local_media_with_chromecast_Chrome_browser_google_cast_added
For Google Cast extension, you can set the quality to High (720p) or Extreme (720p high bitrate) to get a reasonable video quality on a full HD TV.
If your network connection is not good, or your video is in 480p, you can choose 480p.
To set the video quality, you may click the Google cast extension as shown below. Then clickOptions to choose the suitable tab casting quality.
how_to_stream_local_media_with_chromecast_Chrome_browser_google-cast_options

Step 2: Fill the location of the video to the address bar in Chromecast

In the address bar, instead of typing a web address, now you type the video file address like (without quotation marks) “file://c:/yourvideo.mp4”.
Of course, you need locate your video file and give the full path to it. Once the video is played in Chrome browser, you can sent it to TV through Chromecast using the Google cast extension.
If you are using Windows, you can also just drag your video from Windows explorer and then drop it to Chrome browser as shown below. If Chrome browser cannot play it, it will be shown as being downloaded by Chrome.
how_to_stream_local_media_with_chromecast_Chrome_browser_drop_videos_to_chrome

Step 3: Enable casting to Chromecast

Once Chrome is playing the video, you can then click the Google cast extension and choose the Chromecast devices as shown below. The video will then be shown on TV
how_to_stream_local_media_with_chromecast_Chrome_browser_casting_video

Step 4: Enjoy the video on the TV.

That’s all. This is the simplest way to stream local video to Chromecast without using any apps.
Source: http://www.allaboutchromecast.com/chromecast-how-to-guide/how-to-stream-local-video-to-chromecast/

More Tips to Stream Videos to Chromecast

For those who need to cast DRM protected movies that are downloaded from iTunes Store to Chromecast, you'll need a third-party software to help you bypass the DRM lock from the iTunes movies at first place. You can try TunesKit at this moment. Or simply refer to this complete guide on: How to Cast iTunes Videos to TV via Chromecast.

Jan 8, 2015

How to Easily Bypass DRM Lock from iTunes TV Shows


Ever since 2005, iTunes began to offer purchasing service of TV shows with $1.99 in SD and $2.99 in HD for individual episode. Later on, iTunes added the ability to buy a season pass for television shows. For years, people have been used to buying TV shows from iTunes for watching despite the fact that they are being restricted by the DRM on the TV shows at meantime.

Just like any other movies sold from iTunes, TV shows are also protected by Apple’s DRM lock which prevents people from directly transferring the episodes to non-Apple-approved devices for playback. Therefore, removing DRM protection from iTunes TV episodes becomes fairly urgent. The good news is, the DRM protection encrypted on iTunes TV series can be easily stripped off with the help of some professional iTunes DRM removal software, such as, TunesKit iTunes DRM Video Converter for Mac.

Developed by TunesKit Studio, a top-leading multimedia software provider, this iTunes DRM remover aims to remove DRM lock from protected TV shows and movies in 3 steps only. It can not only bypass DRM restriction from iTunes TV series, but also convert the DRM-ed iTunes TV files to non-DRM-protected MP4 format with fast speed and lossless quality. Now follow the tutorial below to begin removing DRM protection from iTunes TV shows on Mac.

Requirements to Remove iTunes TV Shows DRM with TunesKit

1.    Download and install the latest version of TunesKit iTunes DRM Video Converter for Mac on your computer;

2.    Make sure you are running Mac OS X 10.8 or later, otherwise the program won’t work properly;

3.    Confirm the iTunes has been upgraded to the latest version in order to use TunesKit DRM Cracker for Mac.

Step-by-Step: Bypass DRM Protection from iTunes TV Episodes on Mac

Step 1. Add Protected iTunes TV Series

After launch TunesKit iTunes Video Converter, click “Add Files” button on the program or drag the files to import the TV shows from iTunes library to the converter.

Step 2. Choose Output Folder & Audio Tracks

Click “Output Folder” button and “Settings” icon to set the output path and audio tracks before removing DRM from iTunes TV shows.

Step 3. Start to Remove DRM from iTunes TV Shows

When all settings are OK, you can begin to remove DRM protection from iTunes TV episodes by clicking “Convert” button.


Once the conversion finished, you can find the target DRM-free iTunes TV shows and import them to any devices you like for free watching.