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Is there a good plugin or codec that allows Media Player/Media Center on Windows 7 to play Apple Lossless (ALAC) encoded files? As the files are shared between multiple iTunes installations and one Media Center I don't want to transcode them. Bonus points for proper meta data parsing. :)

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isn't wmp in 7 supporting m4a out of the box? – OrangeRind Sep 19 '09 at 4:51
@OrangeRind Apparently .m4as are okay, Windows Explorer is even reading the meta data on its own. ALAC isn't supported though. – deceze Sep 23 '09 at 3:31
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5 Answers

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Install K-Lite Codec pack.

Supported formats include:

  • AVI (.avi .divx)
  • MPEG-PS (.mpeg .mpg .m1v .m2v .mp2v .mpv2 .evo .m2p)
  • MPEG-TS (.ts .m2ts .m2t .mts)
  • Matroska (.mkv .mka)
  • MP4 (.mp4 .m4v .mp4v .mpv4 .k3g .mqv)
  • Ogg (.ogm .ogv .ogg .oga)
  • DVD/VCD/XVCD (.ifo .vob .dat)
  • Flash Video (.flv)
  • QuickTime (.mov .hdmov)
  • RealMedia (.rm .rmvb .ra .ram)
  • 3GP (.3gp .3gpp .3g2 .3gp2)
  • MP3 (.mp3)
  • MPEG-4 Audio (.m4a .aac)
  • FLAC (.flac)
  • Musepack (.mpc .mpp)
  • WavPack (.wv)
  • OptimFrog (.ofr .ofs)
  • Monkey's Audio (.ape .apl)
  • True Audio (.tta)
  • Apple Lossless Audio Codec (.alac)
  • AC3/DTS (.ac3 .dts)
  • AMR (.amr)
  • AMV (.amv)
  • (.xm .s3m .it .umx)
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I'll give it a shot later. It seems they're using DC-Bass Source for ALAC playback, which I already tried as a standalone install and it failed. I hope they sprinkled some magic dust on it to make it work. – deceze Sep 30 '09 at 8:32
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As a general rule I don't install "codec packs" on my computers and wouldn't recommend anyone else do this either. They are treasure troves for (ad|spy)ware. – jtimberman Sep 30 '09 at 15:54
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@jtimberman I agree, I dislike codec packs as well, but K-Lite seems rather legitimate and if it fixes my problem, I'd be happy. I'll try it on a test system first before messing with my media center, haven't found the time yet though. – deceze Oct 1 '09 at 1:49
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Tried it on a pretty clean install of 7, didn't work. Apparently there's no extra magic dust in there that isn't in the standard DC-Bass Source. Has anyone actually got this to work? – deceze Oct 2 '09 at 1:01
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Any update on this ? – Sathya♦ Oct 5 '09 at 20:12
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up vote 1 down vote

http://www.orban.com/plugin/ free as in beer, but.. kinda hidden away. There's a little button there about midway through the page. That should let WMP run it perfectly.

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I just tried it briefly and WMP gave me a "Problems playing back this file" message. Not sure if I have something in there that conflicts with it or if I need to restart or slaughter a lamb or something. I'll have to look into this again later, but do you have any extra advise by any chance? :) – deceze Sep 19 '09 at 22:40
well, it just worked for me. I suppose re-booting wouldn't hurt. – Journeyman Geek Sep 20 '09 at 13:31
I poked around it some more and it just doesn't do it. It seems to be for AAC only, no mention of Apple Lossless. – deceze Sep 23 '09 at 3:27
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up vote 1 down vote

@deceze : This will play Apple Lossless in WMP12 (or 7MC), but it involves a few changes

  1. Uninstall any codec packs (K-Lite, Shark) etc that you don't really need.

  2. Make sure Quicktime is installed. While iTunes will not be used to play these files, we need to install a directshow filter that will use the quicktime codec to play back Apple Lossless files. (Don't worry, this will not be a major resource hog)

  3. Install the quicktime directshow filter from http://www.riverpast.com/en/prod/quicktime/.

  4. Rename the .m4a file to .mp4 and play in WMP12. This will be added to the library. You can use a batch renamer to rename all the files.

This solution will still work when you are syncing iPod/iPhone using iTunes.

Do tell us if this works for you.

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up vote 0 down vote

Codecs packs can be evil, but i prefer to install simply the ones i need

I use free-codecs.com

http://www.free-codecs.com/download/3ivx.htm - This will allow .m4a playback
http://www.free-codecs.com/download/DirectShow_FilterPack.htm - This will allow .ALAC playback

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up vote -3 down vote

Go for http://www.foobar2000.org/ !

With the right plugins and individualization it'll be far better than the clunky, stupid Media Center/Player.

Examples how it can look: http://customize.org/foobar

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While I agree with you, the question seemed pretty targeted for WMP. – Diablomarcus Sep 19 '09 at 12:51
Maybe so, maybe he'll ditch the WMP..*shrug*. Can't hurt to suggest something. – Don Salva Sep 19 '09 at 12:53
I know you Foobarers love your Foobar, but I'm asking about Windows Media Center. I wouldn't touch WMP with a ten-foot pole if I'd have the choice, but unfortunately it's a necessary evil for Media Center. :) – deceze Sep 19 '09 at 22:43
You can make your Foobar to a Center, you know ;). A Foobar Center :P. Just a question of plugins. Or if you want, try Songbird ( getsongbird.com ) – Don Salva Sep 25 '09 at 7:49
Is there a plugin for recording TV...? >:-P – deceze Sep 28 '09 at 7:07
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