HD TRACKS- Watermarks on some files...Beware!

I've purchased 25-30 HDTracks titles so far without a problem. Because I don't currently own a DAC, I download and then burn to DVD Audio using HD Audio Solo. My Marantz Universal player has no trouble reading the discs and everything's great. Except, my latest purchase, Chicago II, apparently is watermarked. When I attempted to do the burn, I received an error message making me aware that files would begin to play but that the watermarks would make it impossible for me to listen to more than a few seconds of any song. I tried it anyway and, sure enough, after a few moments, my player reads "No Play". I contacted HDTracks and they told me there's nothing they can do about that as some companies send them the downloads with watermarks but they can't even let you know beforehand which ones have it and which don't. Seems to me that, since I bought the music, I should have every right in the world to burn it to disc. Also, it doesn't make sense because I have their first album CTA (also a Rhino release) and have no problem with that one. Has anyone else encountered this issue? Is there a way to circumvent the problem? Any suggestions? Seems ridiculous. I know some of you have had problems with HDTracks in the past but this was my first disappointment.

 

Strange, as they claim that their files have no DRM.

https://www.hdtracks.com/index.php?file=staticpage&pagename=no_drm

 

Thank you VERY much for this... I planned to look over their site for this exact thing. You made it a lot easier...

 

What format are the files?

 

I download as WAV...

 

No problem

 

Just read the section in it's entirety and emailed them. My guess is they're going to come back with something about how it refers to various devices and not to burning specifically. Will let you know.

 

From HDTRACKS Q&A section:

Q: How can I set up an HD music environment?
A: HD files are the same thing as purchasing a CD but without the disc. You can burn your file to a CD-R or use a home music server ( there are some on our cool links page). The better your Hi-FI system the better your HD files will sound. A good Hi-FI system will translate into a good HD music file system.


I'll be bringing this to their attention immediately!

 

Clearly, they have nothing against putting the files on physical media. I smell a full refund.

 

Yet another reason why I cannot buy with confidence...

 

Then they should've already offered that... Plus, the few seconds of each song that I CAN hear sound really good. I'd prefer just figuring out how to bypass the watermarks... or I may just break down and get a DAC. My marantz is great but only plays up to 96/24... I could pick up a Meridian Explorer for under 300 and that would give me 192/24 (which I've mostly been purchasing) but I had a chance to test one out a few months ago and my Marantz is simply better sounding (except when playing 192/24 files) and think I need to find a DAC that wins across the board... That's gonna get expensive.

 

I'm guessing these files are from a dvd-audio release, hence the watermarking? No way to remove them, so you'll only be able to listen to files on a computer.

 

The question is, how would such a DAC interpret the watermarking data sprinkled into the files, would it affect the SQ? I trust that a DVD-A decoder handles the watermarking properly, so that it isn't causing any problems upon playback.

 

Could very well be... You're right.

 

It just shows that some labels work like amateurs, ripping DVD-As to provide HDtracks with hi-rez files.

Since this limitation only kicks in when you burn a DVD-A, most people will not notice it.

 

If it's stereo then just author as a DVD-V with 24/96 audio and dummy video. Watermarking isn't specified in DVD-V.

 

I've never tried burning files to a disc before so I never ran into this issue. I play them on my desktop and notebook with 2 different DACS an Creative X-FI HD and a Teac UD-H01. I even downsample the files to 24/48 to play on my iPod and agian no problem. I've downloaded HDtracks music from "unofficial" websites and nothing has prevented me from playing them.

I suspect this is more of a unique compatibility problem with your Marantz DVD player. I'd suggest looking for a firmware update. Or investing in another means to play your files.

 

Have you tried burning as a regular DVD Video? Should be possible with 24/96.

Edit: I see dobyblue beat me to it.

 

Hm... so burning as DVD V vs DVD A won't make a difference? As long as the files are the same (96/24 in this case)? Might give that a try...

 

Thanks.. I will try that...

 

And nothing less! AND... you already have the files you bought saved on your hard drive...so instead of preventing piracy, WaterMarking just lost them a sale here. If that FAQ makes no mention of possible water-marked files, they have not a leg to stand on here.

And there are ways to strip that watermark out but decorum prevents me from explaining the details here...and burning as a DVD-V may not work as it's probably still gonna check those input files before it adds them to the DVD image.

I'd also try different burning software...

 

Suggest this test: take one of the files, make a test copy and then use a tool like MP3tag to rip out the tags (or, if that doesn't work, try to convert it to AIFF or FLAC and then remove the tags) and then convert back to WAV and try that test file. Curious to see if it works as there is no DRM in WAV, only tagging (and not supported tagging either - it breaks compatibility when WAV files get tags).

 

You may not have access to this, but what about opening the files in Sound Forge, Audition, or Audacity and saving them as FLAC or some other format - just to see if you can?

 

DVD-V attempt failed... I can convert the files to a different type than WAV but that's not the only step is it?

 

How do I remove tags?