How to play FLAC file with Windows Media Player 12

Anonymous
2009-12-30T20:15:31+00:00

Is there any way to play Flac files with Windows Media Player 12?  A hefty percentage of my music library is FLAC. 

Thanks!

Lloyd

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Music, photos, and video

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Anonymous
2010-01-05T15:56:49+00:00

Hello L Goldfine,

Thank you for your inquiry.

The Flac extension is not a supported file type of Windows Media Player. You may however user your favorite search engine to search for a solution that may convert the file to a Windows Media Player supported file type.

For more information on Windows Media Player supported file types you may also view the following link: 

Information about the Multimedia file types that Windows Media Player supports

I hope this information is helpful.

Thank you,

Mary

Microsoft Answers Support Engineer

Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think.

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  1. Anonymous
    2016-02-19T20:33:45+00:00

    I would just add that if you go with iTunes you are sort of cornered into ALAC.  FLAC vs ALAC is highly contested in many forums and you'll find everyone has their own opinion about it, so do a little of your own research to make the best choice for your situation.

    ALAC and FLAC are both lossless, so identical in terms of audio quality capabilities, but I do not believe iTunes supports FLAC; it only supports converting your FLAC files into ALAC files and then will allow you to manage your ALAC files within iTunes.

    ALAC has been open source for a little while now, meaning other platforms can support it's playback, but FLAC has been open source for much longer and as a result does appear to have the advantage of support across many more devices and platforms.

    If you're already entrenched in the Apple and iProduct ecosystem these may be a moot points, but as someone who is not, it's a significant factor as to why I choose FLAC over ALAC.

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-02-19T21:21:53+00:00

    I've tried using both with W10 as they are available but (at present at least) there seems to be a stability issue with both when using WMP to rip. That may just be a quirk of my pc of course - iTunes is fine for creating mp3 versions though. - R

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-02-24T20:55:19+00:00

    keithsplace, thanks for the reply.  I originally asked about this topic when I was using a Vista OS WMP 9 (I think it was 9), but I've since upgraded to a new HP with Windows 10 and WMP 12, and WMP 12 as I'm sure you know, playes flac files without a problem.

    Small correction: it is only starting with Windows 10 that WMP supports FLAC out of the box. WMP 12 on earlier Windows versions still requires third-party codecs/plug-ins for FLAC support.

    As for a converter, I would recommend dBpoweramp.

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-03-07T20:47:31+00:00

    you just need the right codecs. google (or whatever) klite codec pack and install that. be careful not to install the spam at the end of installation (only one, just hit 'decline'). the basic pack works fine for wmp 12.

    or, i used to shark007 codecs (i think that's what it was called). try that as an alternative

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