How to get the most out of your FLAC files,What is FLAC and why should you care?
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Tim Fisher has more than 30 years' of professional technology experience. He's been writing about tech for more than two decades and serves as the SVP and General Manager of Lifewire. Jump to a Section. This article explains what a FLAC file is, plus how to open one and how to convert one to a different format like MP3, WAV, ALAC, AAC, M4A, etc. A file with the FLAC file extension is a Free Lossless Audio Codec file, an open source audio compression format. It can be used to compress an audio file down to around half of its original size. Audio compressed via the Free Lossless Audio Codec is lossless , meaning no sound quality is lost during the compression.
This is very much unlike other popular audio compression formats that you've probably heard of, like MP3 or WMA. A FLAC Fingerprint file is a plain text file normally called ffp. txt that's used to store the filename and checksum information that pertains to a specific FLAC file. These are sometimes generated along with a FLAC file. The best FLAC player is probably VLC because it supports not only this format but lots of other common and uncommon audio and video formats that you might run into in the future. However, nearly all popular media players should be able to play it; they might just require a plugin or extension to be installed. To play FLAC files in Windows Media Player , for example, requires a codec pack such as Xiph's OpenCodec plugin. The free Fluke tool can be used on a Mac to play FLAC files in iTunes. GoldWave , VUPlayer , aTunes , and JetAudio are some other compatible players.
To listen to FLAC files on an iPhone or Android, install the VLC app from the App Store or for Android via Google Play. Another player for Android is JetAudio. The Free Lossless Audio Codec community hosts a website dedicated to the format and keeps a well-maintained list of programs that support FLAC , as well as a list of hardware devices that support the FLAC format. The fastest way to convert just one or two is to use a free file converter that runs in your browser so you don't have to download any software. Zamzar , Online-Convert. com , and Media. io are just a few examples that can convert FLAC to WAV , AC3 , M4R , OGG , and other similar formats. If your file is large and would take too long to upload, or you have several of them that you want to convert in bulk, there are a handful of completely free audio converters you can install to your computer that convert to and from the format. Free Studio and Switch Sound File Converter are two programs that can convert one to MP3, AAC , WMA, M4A , and other common audio formats.
To convert FLAC to ALAC ALAC Encoded Audio , you can use MediaHuman Audio Converter. If you need to open a plain text FLAC file, consider using a text editor from our Best Free Text Editors list. FLAC is said to be the " first truly open and free lossless audio format. The encoding and decoding methods don't infringe on any other patents, and the source code is freely available as an open source license. FLAC isn't intended to be DRM-protected. However, even though the format doesn't have any built-in copy protection, someone can encrypt their own FLAC file in another container format.
The FLAC format supports not only audio data but also cover art, fast seeking, and tagging. Since FLACs can be seekable, they're better than some other formats for editing applications. The format is also error resistant, so even if an error occurs in one frame, it doesn't destroy the rest of the stream like some audio formats, but instead just that one frame, which might only amount to just a fraction of the whole file. You can read lots more about the Free Lossless Audio Codec file format on the FLAC website. Some file extensions look like. FLAC but are actually spelled differently, and so most likely can't be opened with the programs mentioned above or converted with the same conversion tools. Related: Best headphone amps. Take a few minutes to find a proper fit. For over-ear headphones, this means adjusting the headband and yoke until a seal is formed around the ear. Anyone using earbuds should experiment with the provided ear tips for a cogent seal.
If none of the supplied options work, you may need to look into third-party options. Regardless of what variety of headset you prefer, optimal audio quality will only be achieved with an appropriate fit. An easy way to save money is to buy used or refurbished products, especially on name brands like Sennheiser or Audio-Technica. Not only does this lessen the cost to you, but it also reduces waste and resource scouring — which is neat, too. Well, there are great options out there with low-cost or even free FLAC albums.
Bandcamp is a great resource as many lesser-known artists will make their albums available as hi-res downloads for free. Alternatively, those who frequently purchase lossless albums may find a subscription to Amazon Music HD or Qobuz Studio Premier worth it. By Lily Katz. Android Authority The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 supports FLAC files, along with any Android device running Android 3. External noise is going to make it a lot less likely you'll appreciate lossless files. Do you need certain hardware for FLAC files? Why good headphones matter with FLAC. The Philips Fidelio X2 headphones are a relatively affordable way to step up your at-home audio setup. Do you need a DAC for FLAC? Drop The Massdrop x O2 SDAC is an excellent choice for listeners in need of a DAC. Higher-quality earphones usually include more ear tips options than cheap earbuds. Although Tidal HiFi is relatively expensive, it saves you a lot of money if you often buy FLAC albums.
Org Foundation , and is also the name of the free software project producing the FLAC tools, the reference software package that includes a codec implementation. Digital audio compressed by FLAC's algorithm can typically be reduced to between 50 and 70 percent of its original size [4] and decompresses to an identical copy of the original audio data. FLAC is an open format with royalty-free licensing and a reference implementation which is free software. FLAC has support for metadata tagging, album cover art, and fast seeking. Development was started in by Josh Coalson. Version 1. On 29 January , the Xiph. Org Foundation and the FLAC project announced the incorporation of FLAC under the Xiph. org banner. org is home to other free compression formats such as Vorbis , Theora , Speex and Opus. org git repository. FLAC is a lossless encoding of linear pulse-code modulation data. A FLAC file consists of the magic number fLaC , metadata , and encoded audio. The encoded audio is divided into frames, which consists of a header, a data block, and a CRC16 checksum.
Each frame is encoded independent of each other. A frame header begins with a sync word , used to identify the beginning of a valid frame. The rest of the header contains the number of samples, position of the frame, channel assignment, and optionally the sample rate and bit depth. The data block contains the audio information. Metadata in FLAC precedes the audio. Properties like the sample rate and the number of channels are always contained in the metadata. It may also contain other information, the album cover for example. The FLAC encoding algorithm consists of multiple stages. In the first stage, the input audio is split into blocks.
If the audio contains multiple channels , each channel is encoded separately as a subblock. The encoder then tries to find a good mathematical approximation of the block, either by fitting a simple polynomial , or through general linear predictive coding. A description of the approximation, which is only a few bytes in length, is then written. Finally, the difference between the approximation and the input, called residual, is encoded using Rice coding. In many cases, a description of the approximation and the encoded residual takes up less space than using pulse-code modulation. The decoding process is the reverse of encoding. The compressed residual is first decoded. The result is formed by adding the residual and the calculated waveform. For two-channel stereo, the encoder may choose to joint-encode the audio. The channels are transformed into a side channel, which is the difference between the two input channels, and a mid channel, the sum of the two input channels.
In place of a mid channel, the left channel or the right channel may be encoded instead, which is sometimes more space-efficient. Even though the reference encoder uses a single block size for the whole stream, [9] FLAC allows the block size in samples to vary per block. The amount of compression is determined by various parameters, including the order of the linear prediction model and the block size. Regardless of the amount of compression, the original data can always be reconstructed perfectly. For user's convenience, the reference implementation defines 9 compression levels, which are presets of the more technical parameters to the encoding algorithm. The levels are labeled from 0 to 8, with higher numbers resulting in a higher compression ratio, at the cost of compression speed. The meaning of each compression level varies by implementation. FLAC is optimized for decoding speed at the expense of encoding speed.
A benchmark has shown that, while there is little variation in decoding speed as compression level increases, beyond the default compression level 5, the encoding process takes up considerably more time with little space saved compared to level 5. Alongside the format, the FLAC project also contains a free and open-source reference implementation of FLAC called libFLAC. libFLAC contains facilities to encode and decode FLAC data and to manipulate the metadata of FLAC files. The FLAC format, along with libFLAC, are not known to be covered by any patents , and anyone is free to write their own implementations of FLAC. FLAC is specifically designed for efficient packing of audio data, unlike general-purpose lossless algorithms such as DEFLATE , which are used in ZIP and gzip.
The technical strengths of FLAC compared to other lossless formats lie in its ability to be streamed and decoded quickly, independent of compression level. Since FLAC is a lossless scheme, it is suitable as an archive format for owners of CDs and other media who wish to preserve their audio collections. If the original media are lost, damaged, or worn out, a FLAC copy of the audio tracks ensures that an exact duplicate of the original data can be recovered at any time. An exact restoration from a lossy copy e. FLAC being lossless means it is highly suitable for transcoding e.
to MP3, without the normally associated transcoding quality loss between one lossy format and another. A CUE file can optionally be created when ripping a CD. There is currently no multicore support in libFLAC, but utilities such as GNU parallel and various graphical frontends can be used to spin up multiple instances of the encoder. FLAC playback support in portable audio devices and dedicated audio systems is limited compared to formats such as MP3 [19] or uncompressed PCM. FLAC support is included by default in Windows 10 , Android , BlackBerry 10 and Jolla devices. In , several aftermarket mobile electronics companies introduced multimedia solutions that include support for FLAC.
These include the NEX series from Pioneer Electronics and the VX and NX from Clarion. The European Broadcasting Union EBU has adopted the FLAC format for the distribution of high quality audio over its Euroradio network. Among others the Pono music player and streaming service used the FLAC format. Various other containers are supported, independently from used operating system, depending on used playback software. Jump to content Navigation. Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Donate. Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file. What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Cite this page Wikidata item. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title.
Go to top. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. More Read Edit View history. Lossless digital audio coding format. For other uses, see FLAC disambiguation. For flak anti-aircraft fire, see Anti-aircraft warfare. See also: List of hardware and software that supports FLAC and Comparison of video container formats § Audio coding formats support. Retrieved 4 April Free Software Foundation. Retrieved 1 October Steven Pigeon. Retrieved 10 May Retrieved 31 August org Foundation. Archived from the original on 29 May Retrieved 15 October Retrieved 13 February Retrieved 19 February c , line c , lines — CUETools Wiki. Retrieved 27 May JRiver Media Centre.
Archived from the original on 2 February Retrieved 26 November Retrieved 23 September Retrieved 24 March PC World.
What Is a FLAC File?,Does your device support FLAC files?
AdSoftonic is the largest software and App discovery destination. 25 years on the market! At Softonic you can download and consult reviews and news about your favorite blogger.com apps for Windows · Best-rated software AdIndustry leading audio converter software. Download free to convert files on PC or Mac. Convert between over 40+ audio file formats to or from flac. Fast and shockingly simple ... read more
NETVC MPEG LA HEVC Advance Alliance for Open Media. An easy way to save money is to buy used or refurbished products, especially on name brands like Sennheiser or Audio-Technica. Each frame is encoded independent of each other. More Information on FLAC. These include the NEX series from Pioneer Electronics and the VX and NX from Clarion. Retrieved 15 October XSPF Annodex cdparanoia Icecast.
However, flac format download, nearly flac format download popular media players should be able to play it; they might just require a plugin or extension to be installed. Android Authority The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 supports FLAC files, along with any Android device running Android 3. Another consideration, particularly if you spend a lot of time listening on headphones outside of your home is background noise. MP3 is a lossy compression formatwhich means that some flac format download data is lost from the original recording. Since FLAC is a lossless scheme, it is suitable as an archive format for owners of CDs and other media who wish to preserve their audio collections. If none of the supplied options work, you may need to look into third-party options. Various other containers are supported, independently from used operating system, depending on used playback software.
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