This article describes what a FLAC file is, plus how to open one and how to transform one to a various format like MP3, WAV, ALAC, AAC, M4A, etc.
What Is a FLAC File?
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 to around half of its original size.
Audio compressed through the Free Lossless Audio Codec is lossless, implying no sound quality is lost during the compression. This is very much unlike other popular audio compression formats that you’ve most likely 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 info that relates to a particular FLAC file. These are often created along with a FLAC file.
How to Open a FLAC File
The best FLAC player is probably VLC since it supports not just this format but great deals of other typical and uncommon audio and video formats that you may encounter in the future.
Almost all popular media gamers ought to be able to play it; they might simply need a plugin or extension to be set up. To play FLAC files in Windows Media Player, for instance, needs a codec pack such as Xiph’s OpenCodec plugin. The totally free Fluke tool can be utilized 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, set up the VLC app from the App Store or for Android via Google Play. Another gamer for Android is JetAudio.
The Free Lossless Audio Codec community hosts a site dedicated to the format and keeps a properly maintained list of programs that support FLAC, as well as a list of hardware gadgets that support the FLAC format.
How to Convert a FLAC File
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.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/flac-mp3-mediaio-5c194a6946e0fb00017ded25.png)
If your file is large and would take too long to publish, or you have several of them that you wish to convert wholesale, there are a handful of entirely totally free audio converters you can set up to your computer system that transform to and from the format.
Free Studio and Switch Sound File Converter are 2 programs that can transform one to MP3, AAC, WMA, M4A, and other typical 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, think about using a full-screen editor from our Best Free Text Editors list.
More Information on the FLAC Format
FLAC is said to be the “very first genuinely open and complimentary lossless audio format.” It’s complimentary not just to use, but even the whole spec is freely readily available to the general public. The encoding and deciphering approaches do not infringe on any other patents, and the source code is easily offered as an open source license.
FLAC isn’t meant to be DRM-protected. However, despite the fact that the format doesn’t have any integrated copy security, somebody can encrypt their own FLAC file in another container format.
The FLAC format supports not only audio data however also cover art, quickly 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 happens in one frame, it does not ruin the remainder of the stream like some audio formats, but rather just that a person frame, which may just amount to simply a portion of the entire file.
You can check out lots more about the Free Lossless Audio Codec file format on the FLAC site.
Still Can’t Open the File?
Some file extensions look like.FLAC however are in fact spelled differently, and so probably can’t be opened with the programs pointed out above or converted with the same conversion tools. If you can’t open your file, verify the extension– you may really be handling a totally different file format.
One example is the Adobe Animate Animation file format that ends its files with the.FLA file extension. These kinds of files open with Adobe Animate.
The same is true for FLIC/FLC (FLIC Animation), FLASH (Frictional Games Flashback) and FLAME (Fractal Flames) files. Those formats aren’t the same as FLAC, so other programs are required to open them.
FAQDo FLAC submits sound better than MP3 files?
Yes. MP3 is a lossy compression format, which indicates that some audio information is lost from the initial recording.
Are FLAC files much better than WAV files?
It depends upon what you utilize them for. Both are lossless formats, but WAV files are uncompressed, so they are much bigger. On the other hand, FLAC isn’t as extensively supported as WAV, so WAV files are much easier to play and edit.
Do FLAC files sound better than ALAC files?
Yes. Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC) files are CD-quality, which sound remarkable to other digital formats, however FLAC sounds closer to the original recording. FLAC has a greater sampling rate and utilizes 24-bit encoding while ALAC uses 16-bit encoding.
Is there a way to burn FLAC files to a CD that will use any CD player?
No. CD gamers do not support FLAC files, so you must convert your tracks to a supported format like WAV.
