Big problems with M4A after updating to Windows 11 22H2

Anonymous
2023-05-16T09:52:13+00:00

Dear colleagues, after updating Windows 11 to 22H2, there were significant problems with playing files purchased from iTunes in .m4a (AAC, ALAC) format. This problem has been fixed by a lot of people all over the world and is especially evident on the DJ forums. Problems are observed with the quality of playback, and with the volume and with a number of other parameters. This problem is detected on software that uses the built-in Windows 11 22H2 codecs (on earlier versions, the problem is not observed), Windows Media Player, RekordBox, Serato DJ Pro, etc. On players that use their own codecs (VLC, iTunes, JetAudio HD, etc.) there is no problem. When converting m4a to mp3, there are no problems. What it looks like: https://youtu.be/WqAA12pfWjg and https://youtu.be/um3QSTuLg6s Software vendors fix this issue after the 22H2 update as well, label it as a Microsoft issue and offer a workaround, such as converting the entire m4a database to other formats, which of course is completely unacceptable advice with a database of several thousand files. https://forums.pioneerdj.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/12212808237337-RekordBox-5-8-7-m4a-problems Does Microsoft acknowledge the existence of this problem and when is it planned to release an urgent fix, since. the problem has been observed for a very long time and prevents normal operation?

Thanks in advance!

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Devices and drivers

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Anonymous
2024-03-27T00:42:35+00:00

I installed KB5035942 and unless I'm severely mistaken, the issue seems to be resolved.

Can anyone else confirm?

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  1. Anonymous
    2023-11-21T06:53:48+00:00

    Good afternoon. Since the problem has been confirmed and already fixed in the new build, can we hope that the fixes will be made to build 23h2?

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  2. Anonymous
    2023-11-21T16:14:43+00:00

    Good afternoon. Since the problem has been confirmed and already fixed in the new build, can we hope that the fixes will be made to build 23h2?

    Like I said yesterday, once I know when it will go out into retail builds, I will update this thread here.

    We can always use more confirmations, and more importantly: confirmation from folks that the fix doesn't break anything else related to M4A that they rely on.

    Thanks.

    Pete

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  3. Anonymous
    2023-11-21T19:14:44+00:00

    Colleague, what you are saying is not entirely true. This problem has been known for a long time, even if you watch the videos in the first message, you will see in the comments that the problem was reported on the forums, on social networks and in the support center from various sources. I have signaled it myself many times. It's great that the new build has finally fixed this issue, but millions of people aren't using pre-release builds. It would be reasonable to release a separate small patch this coming Tuesday. Thank you, although of course my patience has already run out.

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  4. Anonymous
    2023-11-21T22:26:21+00:00

    Colleague, what you are saying is not entirely true. This problem has been known for a long time, even if you watch the videos in the first message, you will see in the comments that the problem was reported on the forums, on social networks and in the support center from various sources. I have signaled it myself many times. It's great that the new build has finally fixed this issue, but millions of people aren't using pre-release builds. It would be reasonable to release a separate small patch this coming Tuesday. Thank you, although of course my patience has already run out.

    I'll reiterate what I said in an earlier post: posting videos and posting on forums doesn't actually let Microsoft engineering teams know about the problem. And forum posts typically contain no actionable data we can work with. Unless someone on that engineering team happens to stumble across that content, it's not getting to the teams, and even then, without the data, there's not much they can do. You may have known about the problem, as well as many others in the community. But again, no reports, and no data we could use to investigate.

    Engineering teams typically aren't on these peer-to-peer forums, or manufacturer forums, etc. and aren't scouring YouTube for videos. Feedback Hub is available in all Windows 10 and Windows 11 editions on all channels (not just Insider). That's how engineering teams are made aware of bugs. When there are many upvotes or entries in a relatively short amount of time, or when a Microsoft employee promotes an entry, the entry goes into our bug system for evaluation. The more entries with recordings/repro steps, the easier it becomes to investigate and fix.

    There are only two feedback hub entries on this topic and both are quite new. The first reply in this thread, back in May, links to how to post the issue to Feedback Hub, but that wasn't done. You even replied that the problem was already known. The problem on the Pioneer Dj rekordbox forum was also never reported to Microsoft by any companies or users there. Again, it wasn't actually known to Microsoft.

    So, this problem was not actually *reported* to Microsoft until recently. Relying on others to report a problem that is important to you does not help get the problem fixed as you can see from this thread which is an example of everyone thinking other people had already reported the problem. Instead of linking to another forum, you could have filed a Feedback Hub report, with a repro/recording. It's quite easy to do. If the problem was important to you, it would be worth it to take a few minutes to do it -- less time than replying here :)

    Then, if you feel a feedback hub report isn't getting appropriate attention, you can share a link to it in forums, videos, etc. If the Feedback Hub report is within approximately 1 month, or there is one within a month that contains the recording (the data expires for privacy and other reasons) they can take a look at it right then.

    As for release: there's a defined path to get a change from internal testing to a production release in retail Windows. It will almost certainly take longer than next Tuesday. I will post here when I know when it will make it out.

    Pete

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