This short article discusses what a FLAC file is, plus how to open one and how to convert one to a various format like MP3, WAV, ALAC, AAC, M4A, and so on.
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, indicating no sound quality is lost during the compression. This is very much unlike other popular audio compression formats that you’ve probably become aware of, like MP3 or WMA.
A FLAC Fingerprint file is a plain text file generally called ffp.txt that’s used to save the filename and checksum details that refers to a particular FLAC file. These are often generated together with a FLAC file.
How to Open a FLAC File
The very best FLAC gamer is probably VLC since it supports not only this format but great deals of other typical and uncommon audio and video formats that you might encounter in the future.
Nearly all popular media players must be able to play it; they may just need a plugin or extension to be installed. To play FLAC files in Windows Media Player, for example, needs 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 suitable players.
To listen to FLAC files on an iPhone or Android, install the VLC app from the App Store or for Android by means of Google Play. Another player for Android is JetAudio.
The Free Lossless Audio Codec neighborhood hosts a site dedicated to the format and keeps a well-maintained list of programs that support FLAC, in addition to 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.
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If your file is big and would take too long to publish, or you have several of them that you want to transform in bulk, there are a handful of totally complimentary 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 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, consider using a text editor from our Best Free Text Editors list.
More Information on the FLAC Format
FLAC is stated to be the “first genuinely open and complimentary lossless audio format.” It’s complimentary not only to utilize, but even the whole spec is freely available to the general public. The encoding and deciphering methods do not infringe on any other patents, and the source code is freely readily available as an open source license.
FLAC isn’t planned to be DRM-protected. Even though the format doesn’t have any integrated copy defense, somebody can secure their own FLAC file in another container format.
The FLAC format supports not only audio information however likewise cover art, fast looking for, and tagging. Because 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 ruin the remainder of the stream like some audio formats, but instead simply that one frame, which may just total up to simply a fraction of the entire file.
You can check out lots more about the Free Lossless Audio Codec file format on the FLAC website.
Still Can’t Open the File?
Some file extensions look like.FLAC however are actually spelled in a different way, therefore more than likely can’t be opened with the programs mentioned above or transformed with the very same conversion tools. If you can’t open your file, confirm the extension– you might in fact be dealing with an absolutely 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 exact same holds 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 needed 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 better than WAV files?
It depends on what you use them for. Both are lossless formats, however 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 simpler 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, but FLAC sounds closer to the initial recording. FLAC has a greater sampling rate and uses 24-bit encoding while ALAC utilizes 16-bit encoding.
Is there a way to burn FLAC files to a CD that will play on any CD gamer?
No. CD players do not support FLAC files, so you need to convert your tracks to a supported format like WAV.
