|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
For various reasons I am considering transferring my music collection from ALAC to FLAC. (Not sure if I will really do this, I'm on the fence on this. There are some pros and some cons, so I really have to weigh them. Which is why I am basically thinking out loud into the crowd here.) However, I while I have often converted files from FLAC to ALAC to FLAC to WAV to whatever, usually just a few albums for particular reasons. I have not done this large scale with thousands of files. Biggest hurdle are metadata, I guess; it would be very important that all metadata are transferred as well, including sorting tags. I guess the later might be a problem. Has anyone ever done such a thing and can recommend a certain software? My ALAC files are from my CD collection as well as files from various sources, such as Qobuz or Presto Music etc. The files are all ALAC from 16bit/44.1khz to 24bit/96khz.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I'd have to check the exact number, but it should be around 50000.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yeah, not sure I would want to do this... (Though I could set aside a laptop that could work on it undisturbed for a couple of days, no problemo.) Currently, I add new CDs as ALAC, and when I buy downloads from Qobuz I download ALAC and when places like Presto Music offer only FLAC, I take FLAC, convert them to ALAC and add them to the collection. No problem really, just a small extra step in some cases. My music collection is well sorted and tagged and it's all ALAC files. Everything is working, so why even try to fix it? Well, reason is: When I originally started to convert my CD collection to digital files, I noticed quickly that this would require a considerable amount of work, mostly tagging work, which I would only want to do once. Back in the day, I found iTunes to be very convenient and it gave me an easy to use, unobtrusive interface to get the job done. Since I used iTunes and only wanted to do this once, I decided on ALAC as a format instead of FLAC, as iTunes natively supported it. However, iTunes on Windows seems to be fairly neglected nowadays, it's been broken for years (it can't even remember its Media Folder, unless it is called "iTunes Media", which my media folder is definitely not called). So I'd be ready to switch to something else, like MusicBee on Windows, which can do everything iTunes can and more. And with the right codecs installed, it can also handle ALAC files. However, Windows programs (and Samsung Smart Phones) always natively handle FLAC, ALAC needs to be installed as extra codecs. Not sure if converting everything to FLAC is something I will do, ALAC works fine on my Hifi System, but if I ever drop iTunes, there is not that much reason for me to stick with ALAC. On the other hand, it's not much trouble either, so maybe I just stick with ALAC regardless. Just wondering if anyone here has ever switched formats. Heck, if I do it and change to Macs one day, I'm screwed. The more I think about it, maybe I just leave everything as is. The formats offer more or less the exact same thing, so maybe there's not much point in converting.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: |
Nov 30, 2021 - 8:57 AM
|
|
|
By: |
Ian J.
(Member)
|
Many years ago, I switched from WMA to MP3, once I realised I was OK with the best quality I could get out of the Lame 3.99 encoder in Winamp Pro. It took me some time to do as I did it one album at time, and that's with a much smaller collection than I have now. I am currently slowly working through my MP3 collection again, getting the tags more consistent (I didn't really bother that much before), and adding cover images to the files. I hate to think of doing it all again to get everything into FLAC. It would have be done one disc at a time, and I'd want to scan the entirety of the booklet for each album as well (far too much effort for me to do as things stand). After all, I have the discs themselves, effectively now being stored, and the MP3 files are enough for me in my somewhat noisier listening arrangements. If I really want to sit down and listen I'll get the relevant CD out and do the job properly in my living room. I know Winamp Pro can cross-convert from one format to another, but it really doesn't like hi-def formats, being an old program now (at least the version I use is old), so I don't think it would be any good for ALAC to FLAC (I'm not even sure it can handle ALAC). The biggest issue I can imagine is the quality of the conversion. Personally I'd prefer to make sure I ripped from the disc again with a good single step rip direct to FLAC. Not practical of course with many tens of thousands of files.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, that's just it: in my case, everything is already "perfect" the way it is. There is no need to re-rip the CDs, they are verified rips (with Accurate Rip), so they are bit-perfect CD rips. It's not as if ripping them again would give me any advantage. All is lossless/high-res (so I can transfer it into any other format without loss too), all is tagged (and consistently tagged with cover art etc., no "Rachmaninovs and Rachmaninoffs, no "Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra" and "Berliner Philharmoniker"). It was a lot of work to convert this conversion from CD to ALAC (I started casually in 2013 and it took me a couple of years at my pace). But I knew I would want to do this only once, so I did it "right" the first time. So if anything, I would just convert from one lossless format to another, no need for going back to the CDs. You don't loose any quality converting from one lossless format to another. Just not sure about "sorting tags", they are not always converted. Though the more I think about it, the more I think to just leave everything as it is for now.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In your case, being a Windows user, I suppose the simplest solution would be using whichever media player/library available to you plays multiple audio formats. On the Mac side there isn't any credible substitute for iTunes (as much as it could use one). I am currently using Windows 10 PCs, and the software I use is iTunes and MusicBee. Both play ALAC files, so it's not really an issue. With the right apps, even my Samsung phone plays ALACs. MusicBee sure has a LOT more options than iTunes, and it can even handle ALAC (with the right codecs installed). I'm using iTunes and MusicBee only to maintain my music collection, not to play it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|