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Complete FLAC rookie here....little help?

DSTURNERJRDSTURNERJR Posts: 99
edited November 2013 in The Porch
How easy will it be to get these FLAC or FLAC HD files burned onto a disc? I have a Macbook Pro.

Also, can they be moved into itunes easily as well?

Thanks!!
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • Tim SimmonsTim Simmons Posts: 9,083
    iTunes doesn't play FLAC. You can convert the FLAC to .wav to play in iTunes or burn to disc in iTunes.

    no idea about FLAC HD.
  • jvoorheesjvoorhees Langley, BC Posts: 199
    I have an iMac and get all my stuff in FLAC... and then convert it to Apple Lossless... basically a 1 to 1 conversion... the program I use that I find best for me is "Max Audio Converter".... converting to Apple Lossless will let you play it in iTunes and do all the proper tagging... converting them to wav files and playing them in iTunes isn't a great way IMO...

    FLAC HD... still learning about it myself :D
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  • mrk2mrk2 Finland Posts: 2,088
    Buy them in ALAC or ALAC HD format, forget about FLAC...
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  • mrk2mrk2 Finland Posts: 2,088
    ...apparently pearljam.com shop doesn't offer the ALAC files. Get them straight from the source at livedownloads.com instead, they have all formats available. That site is run by nugs.net, so it is totally legit.
    225xxx - 6/28/00, 10/20/01, 10/22/01, 9/11/06, 9/22/06, 9/23/06, 6/18/07, 6/26/07, 8/15/09, 6/25/10, 6/30/10, 7/4/12, 7/5/12, 7/7/12, 7/10/12, 6/26/14, 6/28/14, 7/3/18, 7/5/18
  • ahill721ahill721 Posts: 2,071
    mrk2 wrote:
    ...apparently pearljam.com shop doesn't offer the ALAC files. Get them straight from the source at livedownloads.com instead, they have all formats available. That site is run by nugs.net, so it is totally legit.

    I use this site and buy all the HD-ALAC files, easy as can be to use you DL the files and they go right into your library. Just make a playlist like usual, and you can burn them to disc. I have super old ipod classic, so I am unable to get these files onto it, do to the software being out of date, but other then taht these files sound amazing and are so easy to deal with.
  • tribejammer05tribejammer05 W'Ville, OH Posts: 696
    mrk2 wrote:
    ...apparently pearljam.com shop doesn't offer the ALAC files. Get them straight from the source at livedownloads.com instead, they have all formats available. That site is run by nugs.net, so it is totally legit.

    Wow, that site is cool. I have a 10c bootleg coupon that I was going to use for Pitt, but I will definitely check out this site for other stuff!
    "There's a $10,000 bill in it for you."
    "Oh yeah? Which president's on it?"
    "Uh, all of them. They're having a party. Jimmy Carter's passed out on the couch."

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  • RiotAct10RiotAct10 Ohio Posts: 1,637
    Ok, why should I buy HD instead of just Flac?
    And why does HD cost more than buying the physical copy?
    Is it going to burn in that quality or will it only be that high of a quality if playing digitally?
    words seem so out of place.

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  • AS184369AS184369 Posts: 6
    RiotAct10 wrote:
    Ok, why should I buy HD instead of just Flac?
    And why does HD cost more than buying the physical copy?
    Is it going to burn in that quality or will it only be that high of a quality if playing digitally?

    The HD quality is more than twice the quality of standard "CD quality"
    It costs more to store and transmit.
    An audio CD must always be burned to standard 16-bit/44.1KHz sampling rate. You can't burn higher quality than that on a standard audio CD, unless you have very specialized equipment to make an HDCD, which is a dead format anyway (20-bit).

    ...that's really cool that the nugz.net folks offer ALAC/ALAC-HD... I'm just confused why, after all these years, iTunes can't support FLAC... it's a much more widely adopted "standard" format for lossless, and isn't tied to *needing* iTunes to play/burn/etc. ...To each their own, but I will always prefer FLAC. ...The latest show sounds AMAZING. Glad I sprung for the 24-bit version :D
  • RiotAct10RiotAct10 Ohio Posts: 1,637
    AS184369 wrote:
    RiotAct10 wrote:
    Ok, why should I buy HD instead of just Flac?
    And why does HD cost more than buying the physical copy?
    Is it going to burn in that quality or will it only be that high of a quality if playing digitally?

    The HD quality is more than twice the quality of standard "CD quality"
    It costs more to store and transmit.
    An audio CD must always be burned to standard 16-bit/44.1KHz sampling rate. You can't burn higher quality than that on a standard audio CD, unless you have very specialized equipment to make an HDCD, which is a dead format anyway (20-bit).

    ...that's really cool that the nugz.net folks offer ALAC/ALAC-HD... I'm just confused why, after all these years, iTunes can't support FLAC... it's a much more widely adopted "standard" format for lossless, and isn't tied to *needing* iTunes to play/burn/etc. ...To each their own, but I will always prefer FLAC. ...The latest show sounds AMAZING. Glad I sprung for the 24-bit version :D

    So why did someone say they would burn them to a disc? Does that just mean you accept the fact that listening on CD will be of less quality and it would only be the highest when listening on a computer or ipod or whatever? I guess I just dont why someone would pay more if the burning quality will be the same as a cheaper version.
    words seem so out of place.

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  • Fighting HellfishFighting Hellfish Posts: 3,175
    I am also clueless about Flac, alac, hd, and all that. Intrigued by the "twice as good as cd quality" though. I am a collector/completeist, albeit one with more than a few holes to fill. so was going to get the box set of cd's. but curious now to hear oooooeo these/ especially now that I have caught p to 2005 and have an ipod
  • AS184369AS184369 Posts: 6
    Fighting Hellfish wrote:
    I am also clueless about Flac, alac, hd, and all that. Intrigued by the "twice as good as cd quality" though. I am a collector/completeist, albeit one with more than a few holes to fill. so was going to get the box set of cd's. but curious now to hear oooooeo these/ especially now that I have caught p to 2005 and have an ipod

    FLAC and ALAC are almost exactly the same thing - lossless audio files. Think zipped up ".wav" files, which are the full quality from a standard CD.
    The "HD" bit comes in when referring to 24-bit audio. CDs are 16-bit.
    The way they're compressed is different from a "lossy" format, such as MP3, MP4, OGG, etc. Those details are a bit crazy to get into.

    Modern digital recording is generally done at 24-bit resolution, with a 96 Kilohertz sampling rate (in some cases, up to 192Khz), as opposed to "CD quality" which is 16-bit resolution, at 44.1 Kilohertz sampling rate.

    Even by simply looking at the #'s, you can see that they are larger... the "CD Standard" digital quality is still better than any MP3. It has been argued by many that most can't tell the difference between 16-bit and 24-bit audio when it comes to a mixed down song. Some say it's worlds better. Honestly, there is some difference, but even at "twice the quality" you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference, even side-by-side, without knowing what to listen for, and on decent gear.

    Generally, the higher the resolution, sampling rate, the closer to analog. The closer to analog, the smoother and more natural it will sound, even subconsciously. That's the key - subconsciously. Heck, most people cannot even tell he difference between real "CD quality" vs. lossy formats such as MP3.

    For completeness, at least the standard lossless FLAC or ALAC files are the way to go. They're identical upon playback to a CD quality format, which is obviously pretty darn good for most cases :)
  • LloydXmasLloydXmas Posts: 7,539
    Thanks for the Alac HD Info, I wasn't aware of that. Are the files huge? I have iTunes March so it won't take up any memory space in my devices.
  • Fighting HellfishFighting Hellfish Posts: 3,175
    wow, thanks. very helpful
  • RiotAct10RiotAct10 Ohio Posts: 1,637
    Yes, thank you for breaking it down some.
    words seem so out of place.

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  • BrandonBrandon Posts: 157
    I think hd flac is higher res than cd audio.
    Use the wav version to make a cd-audio

    I think you can make DVD-audio discs too but the standard wasn't really supported so there aren't many players unless you play it through your computer.
  • BrandonBrandon Posts: 157
    Chance are you will need a DAC to get the full quality out of 24bit.

    It's not always built in, and if it is the wiring esp in laptops probably distorts the quality too.
  • CarneviLCarneviL Sounds Great Place Posts: 166
    So ALAC HD can be played on my iPhone?
    I see the sound, in waves!
  • BrandonBrandon Posts: 157
    It will play but I think it gets down sampled to 16bit on most iOS devices...
    You'll have to check the tech specs audio chip
  • LloydXmasLloydXmas Posts: 7,539
    Ok. So I'm listening to Pittsburgh ALAC HD on my shitty MacBook Pro speakers and it sounds amazing. I saw something that APPLE TV won't downgrade the quality. Checking on that now.
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