Playing m4a files on squeezebox

[NWP]

Hi,

I've been searching on these forums for an answer on m4a files. I am getting a lot of hits, but it seems that most of them are dealing with more complex issues surrounding the playing of m4a files.

I am looking for the short answer. Does squeezebox play files that were ripped into m4a format (not bought from iTunes store)? Is there anything special I need to do to get it to work and is there a beginner's guide to getting it to work?

my specifics: Windows 2000 sp4 (new install), latest version of Slimserver (downloaded 2 days ago), 2 Squeezeboxes.

[SteveEast]

If you're asking about the .m4a files produced when you use iTunes to rip a CD then the answer is yes, the SB will play them. Both the lossy (AAC) and the lossless (ALAC) variants. Nothing special needs to be done with them. Obviously, if you want the SB to find them through iTunes then you need to set "use iTunes" in the SB settings.

Steve.

[y360]

What you're looking for is documented here:

http://wiki.slimdevices.com/index.cgi?AAC

http://wiki.slimdevices.com/index.cgi?AppleLossless

[SteveEast]

What you're looking for is documented here:

http://wiki.slimdevices.com/index.cgi?AAC

http://wiki.slimdevices.com/index.cgi?AppleLossless

None of this should be necessary if you aren't doing bit rate limiting.

Steve.

[hdarwen]

None of this should be necessary if you aren't doing bit rate limiting.

Steve.

I thought you at least had to have quick time installed?

[SteveEast]

If you're using iTunes, you've got Quicktime.

Steve.

[SteveC]

Which transcoding checkboxes should be on and off?

May I tack on a question: I have .m4a playing fine, but mine is an old PC and I suspect there is quite an overhead for transcoding on the fly. Which checkboxes for transcoding should I turn on and off to minimise load on the pc?

IIRC, there are three choices to check: wav, FLAC and mp3. I don't want mp3 because audio quality is paramount. But if I check more than one, what will be the actual transcoding done?

My best guess is to check one of FLAC or WAV. But agin, my network is a bt flaky too, so maybe FLAC is the all-round best bet?

If someone could just explain the effects of one or more checkboxes set, I'd be happy. I've looked at the wiki pages and still find it less than clear. Thanks.

[jeffmeh]

FLAC should be your best bet for transcoding, as it will not further deteriorate the sound quality by performing an additional lossy compression, and it will use less bandwidth than WAV. Why not just check the FLAC box so you will know what you are going to get?

[SteveC]

FLAC should be your best bet for transcoding, as it will not further deteriorate the sound quality by performing an additional lossy compression, and it will use less bandwidth than WAV. Why not just check the FLAC box so you will know what you are going to get?

That's really what I was asking thanks. So if I check only the FLAC box, .m4a will be transcoded to FLAC and I know what I'm getting. Whereas what happens when I check multiple boxes is currently unknown

[jeffmeh]

That's really what I was asking thanks. So if I check only the FLAC box, .m4a will be transcoded to FLAC and I know what I'm getting. Whereas what happens when I check multiple boxes is currently unknown

Well, I am sure that someone on here could read the code and describe the logic hierarchy, so it is not really unknown. On the other hand, there would be no guarantee that the logic hierarchy would stay the same in new SlimServer versions, so just checking FLAC seems like the best course.

[ceejay]

If you have multiple checkboxes selected, its telling the player that all of these options are valid. There is then a preset priority list which varies for each player type depending on its capabilities.

I don't seem to be able to search at the moment or I'd hunt out a thread for you. But FLAC is AFAIK the highest priority for SB2/SB3.

Ceejay