Can I Stream iTunes DRMed Movies to the PS3?

M4V File Format

• Apple developed the M4V file format as a digital video that works natively with iTunes and its iPod, iPhone, iPad and Apple TV devices. The company adapted the M4V file format from the MPEG-4 compression standard, a digital video encoding profile that is favored for use on portable devices since it can deliver high quality media on relatively low bandwidth. All digital videos that are released through the iTunes store are compressed in the M4V file format. This media includes studio films, television series and music videos, as well as promotional clips and video podcast episodes.

DRM

• An M4V file that is distributed through the iTunes store can be encoded with or without DRM restriction. An acronym for digital rights management, DRM is a form of copy protection that prevents media from being modified or re-distributed without authorization. Apple̵7;s proprietary implementation of DRM restriction is called FairPlay, and the copy protection is applied to any commercial media that is purchased through the iTunes store. While they can be transferred onto an Apple device, M4V files with FairPlay can only be played within iTunes under the buyer̵7;s account. Due to these sharing limitations, copy-protected M4V files cannot be streamed onto the Sony PS3.

Streaming to the Sony PS3

• Although M4V files with FairPlay cannot be streamed onto the Sony PS3, it is possible to transmit un-protected M4V files like promotional clips and video podcast episodes onto the game console. To carry out this process, it is necessary to set up media server software like Allegro Media Server, MediaLink, PS3 Media Server or Rivet. These applications make it possible to browse and play any media that is stored in your iTunes library on the Sony PS3. Once they have been installed, these applications communicate with the Sony PS3 through a wired or wireless connection.

Uploading to the Sony PS3

• As an alternative to streaming your un-protected M4V files to the Sony PS3, you can consider uploading the media directly to the game console. But before you transfer your media onto the device, it needs to be converted into a supported digital video format. Hamster Free Video Converter and iWisoft Free Video Converter are two examples of freeware that can be used for this task. Meanwhile, Online Convert is a Web service (free to use for input files under 100MB) that also supports this type of file conversion. All of these utilities can reformat unprotected M4V files as MP4 files that are optimized for playback on the game console. Once they have been converted, the media can be transferred onto the Sony PS3 through an external storage device like a USB flash drive.