A_New_Hope

Here's a QUICK update:

I sent a PM to ALL seeders of my bh009 (RE-up) to let them know that I would be DELETING that torrent (in favor of the recently reincarnated ORIG bh009 MySpleen share), and I provided them with some specific migration instructions.  Hopefully some or all of these seeders will make the move over to the ORIG bh009, in any event I plan to help seed the ORIG bh009, myself, for one more week (in the hopes of picking up some MORE SEEDERS).

I took a quick look at my other recent bh collection (RE-up)'s and saw that bh013 is AGAIN without seeders.  So, again, I have transferred bh013 back onto my HD and will AGAIN seed myself for one more week!  This will very likely be my LAST time seeding bh013...if it's going to survive on MySpleen then we're going to need to find some dedicated individuals willing to seed for the weeks and months necessary to keep it alive.

So, look for the ORIG bh009 and bh013 (RE-up) up on MySpleen...and, IF you wish to continue to see them there beyond that, then PLEASE SEED!!!

All the best,

-A.S.

p.s.  HUGE THANKS go to all the GREAT folks on MySpleen who DO so much to help keep this and other great fan efforts alive by SEEDING them!

Accidental double post...please see my post below.

Darth Mallwalker said:

A_New_Hope said:

I'll leave my 99.48% verified copy under the original off and on for a week

benduwan has no patience.
He will learn patience ?

Blaksvn torrent is seeded

Thank you Darth Mallwalker, VERY MUCH appreciated!  benduwan's heart was definitely in the right place, but yes...this is definitely a superior (and preferable solution)!  I'll PM him and ask if he'd be willing to delete his RE-seed in favor of a now 100% original.

All the best! ;)

-A.S.

So, I think there was a little bit of a misunderstanding (rather than bringing back the ORIG MySpleen torrent created by Blaksvn in 2006, benduwan basically did exactly what I would have ended up doing myself in another week had no one come forward with a copy compatible with the ORIG MySpleen torrent).

In any event, it was a very well intended misunderstanding that DOES make effectively the SAME exact content again readily available on MySpleen...just not the the ORIG torrent posted by Blaksvn (which really should NOT be that huge deal to anyone).

Just wanted to update everyone about availability...to thank benduwan for their effort in putting it this "Making Magic" preservation back up on MySpleen...and, of course, HUGE thanks go to FanFiltration for their ORIG effort!

All the best! ;)

-A.S.

p.s.  For what it's worth, if anyone reads this and DOES happen to have a copy of the ORIG Blaksvn MySpleen upload, I would still be interested it...and, if you could, please PM me. 

So, I've brought the copy of "Star Wars: Making Magic DVD by FanFiltration" found on MySpleen up to 99.48% complete from a couple of different alternate sources, BUT several files are NOT verifying at 100%...so, is there anyone that has a MySpleen vetted copy that would be willing to RE-seed it the original copy, or should I simply RE-post it? 

I'll leave my 99.48% verified copy under the original off and on for a week (so one could grab it now during the current freeleech), and if no takers I'll RE-post a 100% verified USENET copy.

All the best,

A.S.

Here's another quick update...

Since my last post, I actually invested a few bucks into getting myself a premium USENET account and (among other things) I found and DLed pertinent "missing" MySpleen BH releases from what I believe to be AvP's series of BH posts.  I then tried RE-seeding...and while I had very limited success, I did quietly manage to get bh009 fully up to 100% on MySpleen (and, unfortunately, that was my only successful effort).

So, as it stands.  The original bh003, bh006, and bh013 MySpleen posts REMAIN dead at this time (and I have not heard back from the dude who PMed me on MySpleen)...and my three RE-upped copies bh003 and bh006 are both going quite strong while I have twice had to copy bh013 back onto my computer to reseed after the seed count dropped to zero (and we're presently at only 1 seeder for bh013).

True to my word, I will gladly delete my RE-upped version of bh009, but I would like to get at least one or two more seeders over to the ORIGINAL bh009 before doing so (as I will need to drop out relatively soon, myself).

As I reported earlier, the original bh017 was re-primed before I got to re-posting  and is still going relatively strong.

Below is a quick peek at the current state of the relevant BH releases on MySpleen:

bh003 - The Mythology Of Star Wars

ORIG MySpleen torrent -> [Peers: 0 seeders, 0 leechers = 0 peers total]

My RE-upped torrent -> [Peers: 9 seeders, 0 leechers = 9 peers total]

bh006 - When Star Wars Ruled The World

ORIG MySpleen torrent -> [Peers: 0 seeders, 1 leecher = 1 peer total]

My RE-upped torrent -> [Peers: 14 seeders, 0 leechers = 14 peers total]

bh009 - Star Wars Trilogy Special Edition AudioVisual Press Kit

ORIG MySpleen torrent -> [Peers: 3 seeders, 0 leechers = 3 peers total]

My RE-upped torrent -> [Peers: 4 seeders, 0 leechers = 4 peers total]

bh013: AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute To George Lucas

ORIG MySpleen torrent -> [Peers: 0 seeders, 0 leechers = 0 peers total]

My RE-upped torrent -> [Peers: 1 seeder, 1 leecher = 2 peers total]

bh017: Star Wars: The Magic and The Mystery

ORIG MySpleen torrent -> [Peers: 3 seeders, 1 leecher = 4 peers total]

THANK YOU SO MUCH to all the seeders on MySpleen who continue to keep these "classics" alive and (once again) THANK YOU to AvP for reposting the whole BH release series to USENET!

All the best! ;)

-A.S.

Some kind soul re-seeded the ORIGINAL bh017 MySpleen torrent.

While I did hear from a dude? (supposedly with a MySpleen compatible copy of bh006) a couple/few weeks ago...I have not yet heard back so, I re-posted bh006.

Hope that helps! ;)

-A.S.

p.s.  I will gladly delete ANY of my babyhum re-posts IF we can get their original MySpleen counterpart back to 100% SEED (preferably by two or more dedicated SEEDERS)...just let please try to PM me here and/or on MySpleen to bring it to my attention (or let a MySpleen admin know)!

Harmy said:

In my opinion, the ideal way to do a restoration of the original SW with the access to all the archives would be to use the original negative wherever possible for the luma information. Even if they did actually cut up the negative for the SE, they surely did keep the cut parts in a vault, not to do so would be insane, so they could scan those separately. There should be no need for any guessing games of "was this shot recomposited" or "was this wipe redone" because the original bits should be easily recognizable by their markings and the kind of stock used.

And then whereever the o-neg may be too damaged or faded, they should use the next best source, be it an IP or IN or only in the worst case scenario a theatrical print.

All this should be done to reconstruct the o-neg in digital in the best possible quality.

Then they should scan a non-faded print (be it I.B. or LPP), color correct the scan, so the colors correspond to the print being projected with a 70s projection light bulb and then apply only the color information from this to their reconstructed negative.

Then a carefully controlled cleanup should be done to remove any remaining dirt and scratches but keep the grain structure of the negative intact.

And then SW would be ready for not only BD but also a 4K release (provided the work was done in 4K of course).

But I'm afraid that a release like that is just a pipe dream.

Well Harmy, you have certainly got my vote to head up the restorative team!  You should brush up that paper resume just a tad (to include along with a copy of SWDE v2.5) and send it into Disney along with your proposal… ;)

(…I say that half jokingly, but ONLY half jokingly!)

AvP said:

Newsgroups.

 Got ya!  Like I said, good stuff! ;)

AvP said:

Im uploading the whole lot to NG's.

 Right on!  NG's?

OK then, so I just posted the following to the Spleen forum… ;)

http://www.myspleen.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=16830#p71748

@stretch009 and Darth Mallwalker:

My apologies to you both!  I revisited my previous assessment of bh006 and bh008 by copying over my 99.99% completed MySpeen DLs and found that while my recollection of bh008:  Star Wars: Feel The Force was accurate (the VIDEO_TS folder is 100% complete leaving the 0.001% not complete portion coming from NON-essential components), the same is NOT true of bh006 (which is missing a small part of VTS_04_1.VOB as indicated by Darth Mallwalker).

That being the case, I will go to my alternate source, DL bh006 and then try to complete the missing VTS_04_1.VOB or RE-up all of bh006 if needs be.

All the best! ;)

-A.S.

@stretch009

Before my RE-ups, 9 of the 18 BabyHum torrents on MySpleen were actively being seeded, and now we're up to 12.  Additionally, 2 of the remaining 6 torrents "NON-actively" seeded actually have "seeders" at 99.9% (just missing a completely non-essential NFO file).

bh006: When Star Wars Ruled The World is one of these 99.9% completely working but not showing up as being 100% seeded (the other is bh008:  Star Wars: Feel The Force).  As the remaining 4 BabyHum titles either pertain the prequels (bh005, bh010, bh016) and are therefore not to my own personal interests, or (in the case of bh017) are available in an alternative release.

So, I totally would RE-up bh006 for you...but there is a perfectly good copy up there already (it's just missing the original NFO file).

@none

While I have had extensive experience with several other on-line sharing communities over the years, I still count myself as having relatively limited experience both here and on MySpleen (and there are some decidedly unique and idiocentric qualities to both the OT.com and MySpleen communities).

That being said, before reading your post I wasn't aware that the MySpleen forum even existed...but I can now see where to get signed-up for it and I will (I did at least do a "Reseed request" on MySpleen for EACH the torrents in question a couple months back, and after finding my alternate source for The BabyHum Collection I did first tried seeding the existing torrents:  the existing bh003 torrent was in the form of an ISO image (and in my version are only DVD_ROM and VIDEO_TS folders) so that was a complete no go, my copies of both bh009 and bh013 validated up to around 99%, but some structurally critical files weren't verifying at 100%, so I decided to go with a complete RE-seed from scratch for all 3 torrents.

I am not sure where to find the OT.com myspleen thread offhand (and, again, I was unclear about the established preferred process).

THANK YOU none for taking a moment to try and get me in the right direction, you're pretty legend in my book...so any tips you've got for me are ALWAYS to be appreciated! ;)

All the best!

-A.S.

bh003, bh009, and bh013 have all three been RE-posted to MySpleen and are available for immediate DL.  I expect that I will only be able to seed for a couple weeks, or so, as my wife and I are looking at moving by the end of the month.

SO…please grab it while it's hot, AND please do keep these babyhum releases going as long as possible!

Enjoy,

-A.S.

Hey all-

I found a line on what appears to be a COMPLETE set of babyhum's bh001 thru bh018, and have plans to either RE-up or like RE-prime (using existing torrents, IF trying to do so turns out well) at least a few of the holes presently in The babyhum Collection currently available on MySpleen.

My present thoughts are at least to do bh003, bh009, bh013 and possibly bh017 (I have DLed it already, the reason I am saying possibly for bh017 is that there is existing Ocpmovie's Star Wars Special Edition which may or may not be superior to the babyhum version).

In any event I will gladly provide similar treatment to any of the other 1/2, or so, of The babyhum Collection that are presently unseeded on MySpleen IF the requestor(s) are:

1) well established members here with a few months (at least) of regular participation

2) they're willing to continue regular seeding any requested title for at least 1 month

Kind regards, ;)

-A.S.

p.s.  Hope I'm not violating any forum rules by the language of this post, if so that was not my intention.  (Moth3r please advise if I need to make an edit.)

I'm sure that a better option will come along in due time, but if anyone's feelin' froggy (and has some disposable cash):

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-iPad-1st-Generation-16GB-Wi-Fi-3G-AT-T-9-7in-Black-MC349LL-A-/151157649362?pt=US_Tablets&hash=item2331b2afd2

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-iPad-1st-Generation-Wi-Fi-16GB-Black-C-/370937180962?pt=US_Tablets&hash=item565d943322

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-iPad-1st-Generation-16GB-Wi-Fi-3G-AT-T-9-7in-Black-MC349LL-A-/271313187981?pt=US_Tablets&hash=item3f2b86b48d

In follow-up to my post HERE, I got a basic torrenting question via PM that prompted me to provide the following highly suggested reading for those new to torrenting:

-> http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/peersharing/a/torrenthandbook.htm

-> http://www.utorrent.com/help/guides/beginners-guide

-> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_BitTorrent_terms

Hope that helps!

-A.S.

KilroyMcFadden said:

This is the best.  Thank you so much for breaking this down.

 

Does anyone run a site or is there a thread specifically at OT for keeping up with new fan edit news?

You're very welcome!  Best suggestion I can give ya is to find the projects (and associated threads here in the OT.com forum) that you wanna follow…then, depending on how active those threads are, click the "Subscribe" link in the thread(s) that you wish to receive e-mail updates to when news posts are made…this can be a very useful tool, but could bury you in e-mails on more active threads (like the three that I am about to recommend).

I would SUGGEST against doing this for Harmy's Despecialized project (unless you REALLY like e-mails), but rather subscribe to his newsletter for monthly digest e-mails:

http://eepurl.com/D0Gqb

Aside from Harmy's Despecialized projects, the two suggested topics that I'd recommend keep track of keeping tabs on are:

http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/Star-Wars-OT-1997-Special-Edition-Blu-rays-Info-by-Team-Blu/topic/10550/

…and:

http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/team-negative1-star-wars-1977-35mm-theatrical-version-release-details-and-updates/topic/14590/

(Sorry, no nifty monthly newsletter either of these latter two).

Probably the BEST suggestion that I could give you is to check back here in the OT.com forum once a week…or a couple/few times a month.  Get familiar with the place, browse and find the threads that most interest YOU, and catch up with your favorite topics that way (as Jetrell Fo suggests above, what's "best" here in the OT.com forum is very subjective…but I think these specific recommendations and general suggestions on where to go from there will help).

Good luck and all the best!

-A.S. 

I (and a few others) made several OT posts to Harmy's DE Star Wars thread in an effort at removing the iBook DRM…for any who missed this exchange, here are some highlights:

AntcuFaalb said:

I now own the "The Making of Star Wars" iBook. I've been working on deDRM'ing the 720p for you, Harmy.

The iBook itself isn't encrypted. In fact, the ".ibooks" format is just a ZIP file, so renaming it as ".zip" allows me to get at the contents with 7-Zip.

The deDRM program, Requiem 4.1 (the final version), will only work with iTunes 10.7, so I have it and iTunes 10.7 installed in a Windows XP virtual machine running on VirtualBox.

Requiem claims that it can't find any DRM'd files in my iTunes library (yes, I made sure to download the book with iTunes in the VM first), so I extracted all the files and invoked it from the command-line as "requiem.exe input-file output-file" where input-file is one of the m4v files from the iBook.

Requiem determines that the m4v is DRM'd, but gets stuck in the "working" state and never produces an output file.

This is just a progress update.

A_New_Hope said:

I did quite a bit of looking on (and archiving) the soon-to-be extinct? official Requiem Tor website AND in searching both there and elsewhere, this may be one of the most useful and comprehensive iBook DRM removal guides that I found…

-> http://www.ismoothblog.com/2012/12/apple-ibooks-and-itunes-drm-removal.html

 

Good luck, and…

May the force be with you! ;)

 

p.s.  If you're running on a Mac, here's a really nice step-by-step iTunes uninstall guide…

-> https://discussions.apple.com/message/20625974#20625974

chyron8472 said:

Wouldn't this help?:

http://apprenticealf.wordpress.com/2012/09/09/

I have plenty of books on my Kindle, and I edit the metadata and formatting on nearly all of them to my liking with Calibre. This, of course, requires me to break the DRM on them in order to do so. I've never had need to break DRM on an iBook file before, but if it can be done, you can bet Alf's blog will give you the low down on it.

 

HanDuet said:

AntcuFaalb said:

The problem is that Requiem 3.3.6 + iTunes 10.5.3 is needed for breaking iBook DRM, but iTunes 10.5.3 requires iOS 5.1.1. Unfortunately, my iPad is on 7.0.3...

Mind sharing some more details? Is using your iPad (or other iOS device) a necessary part of the DRM removing process? If so, what iPad do you have? Have you attempted downgrading it to iOS 5.1.1? Is anything specific preventing you from installing iTunes 10.5.3?

I realized you've probably already considered these things, but in case you haven't, here's an article describing how to downgrade to iOS 5.1.1 and a download link for the iTunes 10.5.3 installer:

http://www.maclife.com/article/howtos/how_downgrade_back_ios_5

EDIT: Be warned that the process in the above article only works for certain devices, be sure to follow appropriate links and research the issue thoroughly before attempting any sort of iOS downgrade!!

http://filehippo.com/download_itunes_32/11465/

If a device running iOS 5.1.1 is essential to the process and you're unable to downgrade, I might be able to help. I have saved SHSH blob for my iPhone 4S, which means I SHOULD be able to downgrade without much trouble. Y'all just let me know, and I'll be happy to step in and fill this role if needed.

A_New_Hope said:

I had previously misunderstood that iBook DRM removal could be done entirely within the iTunes 10.5.3 and Requiem 3.3.6 dynamic (independent of actually having an iPad attached)…BUT after having a closer look at the Requiem Discussion Forum and the iSmooth Blog (that I provided a link to above), it appears as though it is a necessary step to attach an iPhone, iPad or iPod with iOS 5.1.1 or earlier.

According to iSmooth Blog’s “How to Troubleshoot Requiem Errors?” section:

“The only way [to successfully remove iBook DRM using iTunes 10.5.3 and Requiem 3.3.6] is by using an iPhone, iPad or iPod with (iOS 5.1.1) or earlier to synchronize your desired eBooks and retrieve valid keys.”

(…and, it appears as though the no-longer-under-development Requiem 3.3.6 and iTunes 10.5.3 combo is the ONLY game in town currently to remove iBook FairPlay DRM, so until another option arises it's an iPhone, iPad or iPod running iOS 5.1.1, or earlier, device or the highway).

 

HanDuet does raise some interesting questions in the possibly of exploring downgrading to iOS 5.1.1 (if that’s even an option) OR perhaps the use of another iOS 5.1.1 capable device.

Short of uncovering a viable iOS 5.1.1 device and using our one currently available software option, chyron8472 may be on the right track in looking toward Apprentice Alf’s Blog…

With Brahms now retired, Apprentice Alf would make a short, short list of possibly viable candidates potentially capable of successfully taking up the iBook DRM removal mantle.  Perhaps contacting Apprentice Alf could help start a ball that may help to fill the void left by Brahms’ retirement last year.

That’s about all the help that I can possibly be with this…hopefully SOMETHING works! ;)

 

-A.S

g-force said:

DRM removal isn't working for me either. I'm using an iPhone (5.1.1), Requiem 3.3.6, and iTunes 10.5.2.11 on a PC. The problem is that this particular ebook was made for iPad only, so I can't authenticate for use on my iPhone. Requiem says:

The following files could not be decrypted: Making of Star Wars (Enhanced.ibooks(Key not found. Can you read this book?)

I'm guessing we need an iPad.

-G

Hope that might help to move things forward some! ;)

-A.S.

Sorry Harmy, somehow I completely missed that that a "proper" subject thread existed…

KilroyMcFadden (and threepio)-

Star Wars attracts some of the BIGGEST nerds and geeks (which isn't at all a bad thing)!  Certainly, this forum lacks certain amenities, but if you can believe it…the code driving this forum was created from the ground up by one of its members (to help emphasize the nerdy and geeky point).  But what it lacks for in comforts, it more than makes up for in the AMAZING quality of its outstanding members and the sheer wealth of unparalleled volume and quality of original Star Wars fan projects and discussion.  THIS is the place to be if you are looking for the BEST community of Star Wars fans there is!

As explained above posts, fan edits and preservations are a legally gray area.  To try and help keep this forum above the above board legally, there are some clearly defined rules against the direct distribution of fan projects, simply put only discussion and some helpful pointers are allowed…for more on this:

http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/Notes-on-Piracy-Please-Read/forum/17/topic/13347/

The two PRIMARY spots you're gonna find fan project releases (such as the ones you are after) will be on a private torrent site called MySpleen and on Usnet.  There are certainly advantages both, but if you don't know what Usnet is (and you don't)…the significantly easier, more straight forward (and NO cost) option is going to be torrent.

The basic concept of torrent is you visit a torrent website (with a web browser), locate a file or files that you're after, and download a torrent file (or magnetic link) for each file you wish to download.  You then use a torrent client to open the torrent file and begin the download of the associated file.  When you do this your torrent client will interact with others as you download AND upload bits and pieces of the file until 100% complete…this will NOT allow general access to your computer or any file other than the one(s) specified in the torrent file.  As indicated earlier, MySpleen is a PRIVATE torrent site, so you're gonna need an invite.

Step ONE…

To request a MySpleen.org account, go here:

http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/An-invite-to-MySpleen-net/topic/8592/

STEP TWO…

Pick ONE (or two) of the following Torrent Clients to download to your computer:

µTorrent (RECOMMENDED…available for both Mac and PC!)

http://www.utorrent.com/

Transmission (RECOMMENDED…MacOS ONLY!)

http://www.transmissionbt.com/

Vuze (stick with the free version, DON'T bother with the Plus version…available for both Mac and PC!)

http://www.vuze.com/

STEP THREE…

Follow invite link that SOMEONE will PM you and set-up your account with MySpleen.  Once there, click on the Torrents link (toward the top), click on the "Star Wars" link (inside the box also tower the top) to limit the field.  Search or browse to find your desired torrents…

These are the titles of the three most current Harmy titles:

Harmy's STAR WARS DE: 2.5 Remastered (MKV)

Harmy's THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK Despecialized Edition HD AVCHD

Harmy's RETURN OF THE JEDI 1.0 Despecialized Edition HD (AVCHD)

The best available dark_jedi product (currently) on MySpleen are:

Star Wars Theatrical V3 DVD

The Empire Strikes Back Theatrical V3 DVD

Return of The Jedi Theatrical V3 DVD

…BUT dark_jedi and Team Blu are JUST about to release their latest/greatest Star Wars Original Trilogy Theatrical Edition Blu-ray Set V3(BD25) which will FAR surpass their V3 DVD efforts, but (like Harmy's more refined v2.0 and beyond ESB and ROTJ efforts) the remaining two installments of the Original Trilogy Blu-ray Set V3(BD25) are likely a few (and perhaps several) months off.

Hope that helps! ;)

-A.S.

p.s.  If you hit any snags, write back to this thread (or feel free to PM me)…

p.p.s.  Oh, and (in my mind) the other clear project "to watch" is team negative1's fan preservation from original scans of multiple copies of 35mm film:
http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/team-negative1-star-wars-1977-35mm-theatrical-version-release-details-and-updates/topic/14590/

@Chrisedge-

Right on!

There are several sets of instructions for working with Requiem, but the BEST that I found (complete with a “How to Troubleshoot Requiem Errors?”) is this one…

-> http://www.ismoothblog.com/2012/12/apple-ibooks-and-itunes-drm-removal.html

I would suggest visiting the above link and very carefully going step-by-step through their instructions for iBook DRM removal using Requiem, but here's a summary version of what you'll want to:

1) downgrade your iTunes to the version 10.5.3 appropriate to your system (links provided)…

• Uninstall your current version of iTunes (if applicable).
• Set-up the necessary version of iTunes (including authorizing your computer and setting-up your iOS device).
• IF already purchased in the iTunes Store, then delete and re-download the file(s) you want to decrypt.

2) Regardless of wether your PC is running a 64-bit version of Windows, install a 32-bit version of Java (link provided).

3) Download and run Requiem 3.3.6 (link provided).

Hope that helps (and please let us know your results)! ;)

-A.S.

I had previously misunderstood that iBook DRM removal could be done entirely within the iTunes 10.5.3 and Requiem 3.3.6 dynamic (independent of actually having an iPad attached)…BUT after having a closer look at the Requiem Discussion Forum and the iSmooth Blog (that I provided a link to above), it appears as though it is a necessary step to attach an iPhone, iPad or iPod with iOS 5.1.1 or earlier.

According to iSmooth Blog’s “How to Troubleshoot Requiem Errors?” section:

“The only way [to successfully remove iBook DRM using iTunes 10.5.3 and Requiem 3.3.6] is by using an iPhone, iPad or iPod with (iOS 5.1.1) or earlier to synchronize your desired eBooks and retrieve valid keys.”

(…and, it appears as though the no-longer-under-development Requiem 3.3.6 and iTunes 10.5.3 combo is the ONLY game in town currently to remove iBook FairPlay DRM, so until another option arises it's an iPhone, iPad or iPod running iOS 5.1.1, or earlier, device or the highway).

HanDuet does raise some interesting questions in the possibly of exploring downgrading to iOS 5.1.1 (if that’s even an option) OR perhaps the use of another iOS 5.1.1 capable device.

Short of uncovering a viable iOS 5.1.1 device and using our one currently available software option, chyron8472 may be on the right track in looking toward Apprentice Alf’s Blog…

With Brahms now retired, Apprentice Alf would make a short, short list of possibly viable candidates potentially capable of successfully taking up the iBook DRM removal mantle.  Perhaps contacting Apprentice Alf could help start a ball that may help to fill the void left by Brahms’ retirement last year.

That’s about all the help that I can possibly be with this…hopefully SOMETHING works! ;)

-A.S

NEW v1.0fc13 is now available (above) with several changes and enhancements (see “Version History” for details)! ;)

AntcuFaalb said:

consumerx said:

AntcuFaalb said:

I now own the "The Making of Star Wars" iBook. I've been working on deDRM'ing the 720p for you, Harmy.

The iBook itself isn't encrypted. In fact, the ".ibooks" format is just a ZIP file, so renaming it as ".zip" allows me to get at the contents with 7-Zip.

The deDRM program, Requiem 4.1 (the final version), will only work with iTunes 10.7, so I have it and iTunes 10.7 installed in a Windows XP virtual machine running on VirtualBox.

Requiem claims that it can't find any DRM'd files in my iTunes library (yes, I made sure to download the book with iTunes in the VM first), so I extracted all the files and invoked it from the command-line as "requiem.exe input-file output-file" where input-file is one of the m4v files from the iBook.

Requiem determines that the m4v is DRM'd, but gets stuck in the "working" state and never produces an output file.

This is just a progress update.

The media files within the .iBooks package are encrypted. Requiem 4 does not have the iBooks decryption feature. You need to use Requiem 3.3.6. Additionally, you may need to downgrade to iTunes 10.5. iBook decryption was never fully fleshed out by Brahms, and only worked sorta kinda, if you were lucky.

I'll give this a shot in a few hours.

With apologies to Harmy (for the OT post):

I did quite a bit of looking on (and archiving) the soon-to-be extinct? official Requiem Tor website AND in searching both there and elsewhere, this may be one of the most useful and comprehensive iBook DRM removal guides that I found…

-> http://www.ismoothblog.com/2012/12/apple-ibooks-and-itunes-drm-removal.html

Good luck, and…

May the force be with you! ;)

p.s.  If you're running on a Mac, here's a really nice step-by-step iTunes uninstall guide…

-> https://discussions.apple.com/message/20625974#20625974