How to download music and video

Which? guide on how to find music and movies for your MP3 and MP4 player
Convert your CDs to MP3s for your iPod or MP3 player
Download audio books and podcasts
Find music without DRM protection

Getting started

So you’ve bought a new MP3 player but what else do you need? Well, aside from some computing know-how, you also require a computer. That's because MP3 and MP4 players play music and films that you store digitally.

These can either be copies of CDs you already own and have converted to digital files using your computer, or files that you've downloaded from the internet.

Download options

You can buy individual music tracks or even whole albums from websites. Yet music isn’t the only option – you can also download talking books from internet sites such as Silksound Books. This site offers new readings of classic literature, each has been recorded unabridged and can be downloaded in around 20 minutes for £7.95.

Alternative providers include Audible, which offers over 35,000 titles, and iTunes, which has 27,000 audiobooks.

Find out how to make the most of iTunes 8 with our advice guide to Apple iTunes tips and tricks.

Podcasts are more popular than ever

Podcasts

You can also download ‘podcasts’ – radio programmes and TV clips – to use on your player. Many of these are free, and they’re hugely popular.

Recent RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research – the official body in charge of measuring radio audiences in the UK) figures revealed that 2.7m of us listen to podcasts, up 40% on 2006.

You can search for podcasts by going to Podcast.com or Podcast Alley.

Popular podcasts include mugglenet, which includes the latest news from the world of Harry Potter, and our very own weekly Which? Money podcast and Which? Tech podcast and monthly Which? Car podcast, which are packed with consumer advice.

Films can be bought via download from websites like Lovefilm

Movies

Faster broadband connections have made it possible to download entire films to watch on computers and MP4 players.

Popular download sites include LoveFilm, Vizumi and Wippit. You can either rent the programme or film you want for a number of days or buy it outright.

However, before making your purchase check the file format is compatible with your player – or can be converted using supplied software.

And remember, while some MP4 players will let you show your downloaded films on a TV, they don’t always look good on a bigger screen.

Digital rights management (DRM)

One of the most contentious issues for downloaders is DRM, or digital rights management. This is an anti-piracy technique that manages what you can and can't do with the file that you’ve downloaded, such as how many times you can copy it either to a CD or to another machine.

This enables companies to retain some control over how you use the music and films that you download.

DRM free

In 2007 record label EMI became the first company to make it music catalogue available without DRM. Its songs can now be downloaded via Apple’s iTunes Plus service, though users have to pay more for non-DRM tracks (99p as opposed to 79p).

Then the world's biggest music label, Universal, followed suit in announcing their own non-DRM initiative.

The unprotected tracks will be sold by several iTunes rivals such as Amazon, Rhapsody and Wal-Mart, plus the new gBox.com.

Universal and consumers like DRM free

Universal hope that this scheme will ease their reliance on Apple's iTunes, which controls more than 75% of the market for music downloads.

Consumer attitudes suggest they may be successful – a recent survey found that 68% of the British public believe that downloads are only worth purchasing if free of DRM.

Users who continue to shop online at Apple's iTunes Store still get their Universal music encumbered with Apple's DRM, but if they go to a different store, they can buy unprotected MP3s of the same tracks for the same price, or less.