FLAC
From Just Solve the File Format Problem
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|extensions={{ext|flac}} | |extensions={{ext|flac}} | ||
|mimetypes={{mimetype|audio/x-flac}},{{mimetype|audio/flac}} | |mimetypes={{mimetype|audio/x-flac}},{{mimetype|audio/flac}} | ||
| + | |compression=lossless, mandatory | ||
|pronom={{PRONOM|fmt/279}} | |pronom={{PRONOM|fmt/279}} | ||
|wikidata={{wikidata|Q27881556}} | |wikidata={{wikidata|Q27881556}} | ||
| + | |magic=[https://github.com/file/file/blob/master/magic/Magdir/audio#L493 66 4C 61 43] | ||
}} | }} | ||
'''FLAC''' is a Free Lossless Audio Codec. It can encode audio with a PCM bit resolution up to 32 bits per sample and sampling rates up to 640 kHz. FLAC-encoded audio is usually found either in a native container (which has the extension <code>.flac</code>), or in an [[Ogg]] container (when it's known as OggFLAC). | '''FLAC''' is a Free Lossless Audio Codec. It can encode audio with a PCM bit resolution up to 32 bits per sample and sampling rates up to 640 kHz. FLAC-encoded audio is usually found either in a native container (which has the extension <code>.flac</code>), or in an [[Ogg]] container (when it's known as OggFLAC). | ||
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A number of popular audio players support the FLAC format, including: | A number of popular audio players support the FLAC format, including: | ||
| − | * [ | + | * [https://amarok.kde.org/ Amarok] (cross-platform, open source) |
| − | * [ | + | * [https://www.foobar2000.org/ foobar2000] (Windows, non-commercial) |
| − | * [ | + | * [https://www.mediamonkey.com/ MediaMonkey] (Windows, commercial) |
| − | * [ | + | * [https://www.videolan.org/vlc/index.html VLC] (cross-platform, open source) |
| − | + | * [https://winamp.com/ Winamp] (Windows, commercial) | |
| − | * [ | + | |
FLAC is also natively supported by Mozilla's Firefox browser, starting from Firefox 51. For more software products which support FLAC, see the [http://flac.sourceforge.net/links.html FLAC links page] | FLAC is also natively supported by Mozilla's Firefox browser, starting from Firefox 51. For more software products which support FLAC, see the [http://flac.sourceforge.net/links.html FLAC links page] | ||
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== Sample files == | == Sample files == | ||
* {{DexvertSamples|audio/flac}} | * {{DexvertSamples|audio/flac}} | ||
| − | * | + | * https://samples.mplayerhq.hu/flac/ (some are in .ogg format (OggFLAC format)) |
== Links == | == Links == | ||
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* [https://xiph.org/flac/format.html FLAC format description] | * [https://xiph.org/flac/format.html FLAC format description] | ||
* [https://xiph.org/flac/faq.html FLAC FAQ] (hey, that rhymes!) | * [https://xiph.org/flac/faq.html FLAC FAQ] (hey, that rhymes!) | ||
| − | * [ | + | * [https://web.archive.org/web/20191230043206/https://www.dustbury.com/archives/17227 Commentary about Audi car not playing high-bitrate FLACs - Internet Archive copy] |
| − | * [ | + | * [https://dericed.com/2013/flac-in-the-archives/ FLAC in the archives] |
* [https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTML/Supported_media_formats Mozilla Firefox supported media formats list] | * [https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTML/Supported_media_formats Mozilla Firefox supported media formats list] | ||
| − | * [ | + | * [https://www.ghacks.net/2016/08/30/firefox-51-flac-audio-codec-support/ Firefox 51: FLAC Audio Codec Support] |
Latest revision as of 12:17, 17 August 2025
FLAC is a Free Lossless Audio Codec. It can encode audio with a PCM bit resolution up to 32 bits per sample and sampling rates up to 640 kHz. FLAC-encoded audio is usually found either in a native container (which has the extension .flac), or in an Ogg container (when it's known as OggFLAC).
The format is open and royalty-free. The reference implementation is cross-platform and dual-licensed, command-line utilities (e.g. encoder, decoder and metadata editor) use GNU GPL and code libraries use BSD.
FLAC is suitable for archiving for many reasons:
- open format
- support for metadata tagging
- lossless (no generation loss if you need to convert to another format)
- disk size effective (audio is typically reduced to 50-60% of original size)
- data integrity
- error resistant (bit faults are contained within a frame, typically a fraction of a second)
Contents |
[edit] Identification
When FLAC is used as a file format, it begins with the ASCII signature "fLaC".
In rare cases, this signature may appear following an ID3v2 segment; see ID3#Identification.
[edit] Playback
[edit] Hardware
Many home stereo and portable hardware music players support the FLAC format. See the FLAC links page for an up-to-date list.
[edit] Software
A number of popular audio players support the FLAC format, including:
- Amarok (cross-platform, open source)
- foobar2000 (Windows, non-commercial)
- MediaMonkey (Windows, commercial)
- VLC (cross-platform, open source)
- Winamp (Windows, commercial)
FLAC is also natively supported by Mozilla's Firefox browser, starting from Firefox 51. For more software products which support FLAC, see the FLAC links page
[edit] Specifications
[edit] Sample files
- dexvert samples — audio/flac
- https://samples.mplayerhq.hu/flac/ (some are in .ogg format (OggFLAC format))
