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
    2024-01-26T15:51:05+00:00

    Stephen, please go back and read my actual replies. It seems you may have skipped them. I didn't disregard this issue at all. I explained why posts on the internet don't actually report problems to us. Finally, I said a fix was on the way to be delivered in February.

    Pete

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  2. Anonymous
    2024-01-26T15:22:24+00:00

    I have a fix that works great. I also encountered problems with playing .m4a files from iTunes. The sound would skip during playback almost like I was playing from a defective vinyl record. The fix is simple and free. Go to "www.codecguide.com" and follow the instructions of how to download and install "K-Lite Codec Pack" for Windows. They have a link to donate to their team which I assume they would appreciate but that is not required. I have no connection with this site or its applications.

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  3. Anonymous
    2024-01-10T16:55:15+00:00

    I agree that Feedback Hub could/should be better about reporting status. I think I even said as much earlier. That's not its primary purpose, however, (the purpose is for bug and feedback reporting from the public to Microsoft and prioritization is on getting the bugs fixed, not reporting back) but it would be good to close the loop. There's a bit of a break in the flow where the engineering teams get it.

    Feedback Hub -> (if sufficient reports then they are grouped together and put into the) Feedback Hub Triage Database (once reviewed by engineering) -> Official Work Item in Engineering Bug Database

    Once it becomes a work item in our engineering bug database, it loses its connection to the Feedback Hub. This is all internal stuff you don't really need to be concerned with, but thought I'd explain it. In the end, I agree we should do better about reporting both to feedback hub and the public known issues list.

    The way feedback hub works, one shouldn't look there and say "oh, it's already reported, so I won't report it" because it works *much* better if you also report the bug with your repro info. If you don't have time for that, you can upvote the existing entry. That doesn't do as much, but it does help raise visibility.

    And, again, the problem may have been 2+ years old, but the two FB hub reports that are related to this problem are all recent, so we didn't know about it until recently. Folks keep saying "millions of people" and "2-3 years" but none of that is relevant when there are only two reports and the oldest is apx 2 months old. I've beaten this point to death, but it's necessary when folks keep bringing up the age and scope of the issue.

    Pete

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  4. Anonymous
    2023-12-05T16:20:48+00:00

    Pete, good afternoon. KB5032288 was released today, among other updates and fixes there is *"AAC decoder fixes: Improved decoder performance on sites with incorrect input signal sampling rates." Does this mean that they have begun to seriously understand the AAC and ALAC and that everything will soon become ideal, in just over two years? :-)

    Not sure why you feel it necessary to take potshots on the "over two years" when I have explained several different ways that this was not reported until recently.

    Pete

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