O/T: Goddamn flac files!!

[Moshkinstein]

What kind of crap is this ?
Just downloaded some kickass bootlegs and now I can't get them to play.
What the hell is a "flac" file? Probably some linux nerd who came up with this bright idea. I'm sooo pissed now! Why not use mp3 when everybody is using this format!?

 

[Ragamuffin]

Better quality in smaller file sizes! How dare they!

Keep up or get left behind.

 

[Moshkinstein]

What do I need to play these files?

 

[jdelpi]

If I wasn't about to leave for Anthrax, I could give you some details.
Instead, use google to find Flac Frontend (to convert to wav) and Flac plugin for winamp (to play them as flacs)

 

[mrthrax]

i dont know too much but have u search what flac files are and also how to convert them,u should get a program that will get them to work with a lil effort

 

[SCott308]

The reason Flac is used, it is a way to condense the files without losing any quality. That and SHN are th emost popular programs for lossless compression. MP3 compresses the file, but there is a loss in quality that comes with it. I didn't know what I was doing at first, but it was pretty easy to decipher, and I've been a downloading maniac ever since.

Scott

 

[The Man]

What kind of crap is this ?
Just downloaded some kickass bootlegs and now I can't get them to play.
What the hell is a "flac" file? Probably some linux nerd who came up with this bright idea. I'm sooo pissed now! Why not use mp3 when everybody is using this format!?

calm down my friend. FLAC stand for free lossless audio codec. it is a compression method that squeezes wav files down to around 50-70% smaller than their original size, but loses absolutely NO quality. another popular compressed audio format is SHN, or Shorten files. SHN has been around for a bit longer than FLAC. SHN files are typically a little bigger than FLAC. they both accomplish the same thing though: compressing audio with no quality loss, therefore they are both labeled "lossless" audio formats.

you can play flac files in winamp by downloading this plugin: http://www.winamp.com/plugins/details.php?id=131643
or once you download the FLAC files you can decompress them to wav or even encode your own FLAC files from wav with the FLAC Frontend Loader that can be downloaded here:
http://cyberial.com/flacinstaller.asp
there's even a plugin for nero that lets you burn audio discs directly from FLAC files without having to decompress to wav. it can be gotten here:
http://neroplugins.cd-rw.org/files/nxmyfla.zip

so relax amigo. it's really not as complicated as it seems. i started using the SHN format several years ago for trading and storage. when i found FLAC i started using it also and it has now become my preferred format. i took all my audio bootlegs that were not already in FLAC or SHN and converted them and now have all my audio stored on DVD as FLAC or SHN files. makes organization and trading much easier and quicker.

if you have any more questions feel free to ask, or vist the FLAC homepage: http://flac.sourceforge.net
info in SHN files and programs to play and use the files can be found at:
http://www.etree.org

 

[SCott308]

When you use the plug-in for Nero, does that convert it to WAV or does it burn it as a FLAC file? Also, if it burns as FLAC, when you trade, do you send the FLAC files or do you decompress them?

Scott

 

[The Man]

When you use the plug-in for Nero, does that convert it to WAV or does it burn it as a FLAC file? Also, if it burns as FLAC, when you trade, do you send the FLAC files or do you decompress them?

Scott

no, it doesn't decompress the files when you burn audio discs from them. it's the same thing as burning an audio disc from mp3 files. it just reads the files and makes audio from them. you can delete the FLAC files once you've made an audio disc if you want, or you can save them on disc as data. whichever way is best for you.

 

[SCott308]

So do you burn them as FLAcs and trade those, or do you convert to Wav and send those? I haven't downloaded the plug-in to play the FLACs, so I have been converting to WAV, listening to the show, burning, and deleting the WAVs.

Scott

P.S.: On both STG and Easytree, my user name is Scott308. What is yours? You too, Justin, and anyone else that uses those sites. That way, if I know who it is that needs a show seeded, I would be more likely to seed you guys than some total stranger.

 

[The Man]

So do you burn them as FLAcs and trade those, or do you convert to Wav and send those? I haven't downloaded the plug-in to play the FLACs, so I have been converting to WAV, listening to the show, burning, and deleting the WAVs.

Scott

P.S.: On both STG and Easytree, my user name is Scott308. What is yours? You too, Justin, and anyone else that uses those sites. That way, if I know who it is that needs a show seeded, I would be more likely to seed you guys than some total stranger.

that method is fine too. you don't HAVE to use the plugin. it's just a way to listen to the files if you don't want to decompress them. my username on STG and Easytree is securityman

 

[jdelpi]

So do you burn them as FLAcs and trade those, or do you convert to Wav and send those? I haven't downloaded the plug-in to play the FLACs, so I have been converting to WAV, listening to the show, burning, and deleting the WAVs.

Scott

P.S.: On both STG and Easytree, my user name is Scott308. What is yours? You too, Justin, and anyone else that uses those sites. That way, if I know who it is that needs a show seeded, I would be more likely to seed you guys than some total stranger.

I'm notman on both sites.

Although there is no rule, I think it is better to trade the flacs or shns (or apes) if you have them. When you burn audio CDs, your burner is likely to make some sort of error somewhere. I don't really know the details, but I do know my friend has given me some pretty messed up CDs. When you burn a data CD, it doesn't make these kind of errors. Plus, ideally a show should have a master set of shns or flacs. Of course, this will cause you to use more discs, but then you also have backups if your audio discs get damaged.

I have a DVD burner so it's a little easier for me to store large quantities of lossless audio. Stan kept all flacs and shns before he got a DVD burner.

Gawd, I hope that makes sense.

 

[mrthrax]

its good reading this stuff,i might not completely get it but i do pick up a little info each time,it answers the question as to why m,y audioslave dl in shn dl so quick lol,i might have to do some searching on soulseek

 

[mrthrax]

getting a new hardrive tomorrow and more ram so hopefully my computer runs smoothly,i plan on sharing at least 20 gig on soulseek,once i work out how to successfully rip dvd to avi i am sure i will get some good trades going.

 

[Moshkinstein]

Thanx for all the help people!

 

[SCott308]

I'm notman on both sites.

Although there is no rule, I think it is better to trade the flacs or shns (or apes) if you have them. When you burn audio CDs, your burner is likely to make some sort of error somewhere. I don't really know the details, but I do know my friend has given me some pretty messed up CDs. When you burn a data CD, it doesn't make these kind of errors. Plus, ideally a show should have a master set of shns or flacs. Of course, this will cause you to use more discs, but then you also have backups if your audio discs get damaged.

I have a DVD burner so it's a little easier for me to store large quantities of lossless audio. Stan kept all flacs and shns before he got a DVD burner.

Gawd, I hope that makes sense.

It does. And if I am trading with someone who wants the decoded versions, I can always burn my audio copy. I don't have a DVD burner, but maybe I'll get one for Christmas or with my tax return next year.

Thanks for the info, guys.

Scott