08-08-2018, 06:02 AM | #1 |
Luddite
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KFX to KFX to remove DRM
Hey all,
Historically, I've had no issues with converting KFX to AZW3 to strip DRM. My understanding now, however, is that KFX is superior to AZW3, and I should stop converting to an inferior format. As such, I figured if I convert from KFX to KFX (assuming you must convert a KFX file for it to strip the DRM), that this would resolve the issue of retaining the integrity of the original KFX file, while stripping DRM. This worked, but when viewing the files, the original source file is 0.90mb and the new KFX file is 0.20mb, which suggests that I'm losing 'something' during the conversion, and my intention is to retain the full integrity/quality of the original file. So, my questions: 1. Is the only way to strip DRM from KFX to convert it? 2. If so, what can I do to prevent a loss in 'quality' when converting KFX to KFX via the Calibre KFX Input > KFX Output plugins? Thanks! |
08-08-2018, 08:02 AM | #2 |
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Update: after further reading, I've learned that KFX DRM is stripped on import, not on conversion.
Is there a way to check that DRM is properly stripped from the KFX file when I've imported it to Calibre? |
08-08-2018, 08:40 AM | #3 | ||
Grand Sorcerer
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Quote:
Quote:
You can also view the book after import to verify that it is readable. See "Viewing books in KFX format" in the KFX Input documentation for ways to do that. |
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08-08-2018, 09:45 AM | #4 | |
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Quote:
To give some context, this venture started because I bought a new Kindle Oasis. As per normal, I put some books into Calibre and the KFX plugin appeared to strip them of their DRM. I then altered the titles and covers of said books, and put them onto my Kindle. When I looked at my Kindle, however, the cover art and the titles are what they were before, as if the DRM remained, or the metadata I changed in Calibre didn't carry over. Any thoughts? Last edited by Tomifonication; 08-08-2018 at 09:51 AM. |
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08-08-2018, 06:45 PM | #5 |
Grand Sorcerer
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It is hard to speculate without more detail. I need to know what you did step by step. How did you modify the book? Did you make sure that the original was not still on the device before copying the new one? Did you check both the cover thumbnail and the cover at the beginning of the book?
You may need to remove the ASIN of the book in order to prevent the kindle from using the cover thumbnail (and possibly other information) from Amazon. This will prevent it from syncing reading position, notes and highlights. |
08-09-2018, 03:29 AM | #6 | |
Luddite
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1. Using the latest version of Kindle for Mac, I download a Kindle book. I find its AZW in Finder and drag and drop it into Calibre. 2. After a few moments, the DRM appears to be stripped, and I'm left with a KFX file that I can edit the metadata of. 3. I edit the cover and the book description. 4. I make sure the original Kindle copy is deleted from my Oasis 5. I drag and drop the copy from Calibre onto the Oasis After, though, the book I've now manually added to the Oasis retains the original cover and information from the eBook purchase, despite having removed the copy from the Kindle. |
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08-09-2018, 06:47 AM | #7 | |
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08-09-2018, 09:15 AM | #8 | ||
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Unless you did one of those things the book in KFX format will retain its original metadata. Quote:
For archival of books I recommend KF8 (azw3) format. That is the closest to what was originally provided to Amazon by the publisher and is more future-proof than KFX. |
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08-09-2018, 09:18 AM | #9 | |
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08-09-2018, 09:44 AM | #10 | |
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Quote:
Last edited by Tomifonication; 08-09-2018 at 09:51 AM. |
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08-09-2018, 11:24 AM | #11 | ||
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That is not the same thing as the original MOBI (aka azw) format which is based on an old html standard. KFX is a highly processed binary format and conversion of it to more standard formats is based on my trial and error efforts. Even the best result will be missing some of the formatting details that were originally provided to Amazon by the publisher. Quote:
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08-09-2018, 12:00 PM | #12 | |
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08-09-2018, 01:32 PM | #13 | |
Grand Sorcerer
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The next release of calibre should be able to create thumbnails for books in KFX format that are sent using "Send to device". I don't know when that will be available. |
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