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Finally iTunes Store has come to Russia so I have multiple questions that I can't find the answers actual in Q4 2012 and I pretty new to some special Apple services.

  1. Which quality have media downloaded from iTunes in comparison with MP3 CBR 320 kBit/s and 1080p videos? Are there more than 2 channels?
  2. Can I listen to the music bought in iTunes on other devices as Android/WP phones or Cowon players (or even third-party Mac OS X players as Clementine) without any transcodings? In other words, is there DRM?
  3. They say you just buying the right to use the media, not the media itself. What does it mean in regular use? Just that fact that I can't give them even to my relatives?
  4. If I lost my HDD (because of reasons) how hard it be to redownload bought media?
  5. What does iTunes Match offer me in comparison to regular iTunes Store?

Thanks in advance for the detail answers!

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  • I think it would be better if you split these questions out into separate question. It will mean more concise question/answers for future visitors, and you may get more comprehensive. Dec 6, 2012 at 21:12
  • Additionally, these questions are not region specific, and are otherwise covered by existing content on this site. Dec 6, 2012 at 21:30

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  1. iTunes music is encoded as 256k AAC (M4A), which should be comparable to a 320k MP3.

  2. The iTunes Store no longer uses DRM for music, so anything you buy can be played on any device that supports AAC.

  3. Basically, yes – there may not be DRM, but that doesn't mean you're allowed to share purchases.

  4. (and 5.) iTunes Match lets you upload all of your music to the cloud so you can stream it from (and download it to) any of your devices. Basically, it scans your local library and if the iTunes Store has a track that matches one of your local tracks – no matter where you got the original from – you'll get access to iTunes' version of it (which could even be higher quality!). iTunes Match costs $25/year, but the music doesn't disappear if you stop paying (since there's no DRM), so you could pay for it once, download everything, and then let the subscription expire (but then obviously you couldn't match any tracks you add after that point). Note that without iTunes Match, you can still stream/download any songs you purchased from the iTunes Store for free.

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