EAC, Windows Media Player and FLAC

Labarum · 31 Mar 2008 at 16:36

I have been experimenting with lossless encoding.

Windows Media Player ripps effortlessly to WMA Lossless (As does iTumes to its own native lossless format)

I have loaded to plugin that allows Media Player to read FLAC, and ripped to FLAC using EAC.

I can get the track names to display in Media Player, but not the Album Art.

I seem to have to hand copy the ripped tracks into a hand made folder in a FLAC folder I have created and set Media Player Library to monitor.

Can I fully automate the FLAC encoding, and can I automatically load the Album Art?

Or perhaps it is not worth the extra work. WMA Lossless produces files a little smaller tyhan FLAC, but I dont know how much bee at ripping EAC is over Windows Media Player.

badbob · 31 Mar 2008 at 16:41

WMA is locked into WMP though, flac is open source. I don't use WMP for flac, you need a flac directshow filter. Also WMP doesn't support ASIO. I use Winamp instead, which does and it sounds better

EAC should convert to flac, you just need to install flac and configure it within EAC. I use a seperate album downloader once I do a few dozen albums. Works fine in Winamp (flac and album art)

my options in eac are

directory structure
%A\%C\%N - %T

flac compression parameters.
-8 -V -T "artist=%a" -T "title=%t" -T "album=%g" -T "date=%y" -T "tracknumber=%n" -T "genre=%m" %s

Labarum · 31 Mar 2008 at 17:14

For some reason I couldn't get the flac plugin to install in Winamp, though I have used Winamp on and off for years.

My long ter objective is an easy to use integrated media system - video and audio. My son likes the Vista option, I have always hankered after Apple, but both are annoying in limiting file compatibility.

What I want is the best sound I can achieve, good vdeo and easy of use and maitainance.

What is your album downloader, goodbob?

badbob · 31 Mar 2008 at 17:54

Same here, the flac/ogg WMP plugin installs but it doesn't add flac (or ogg) files to the WMP music database when scanned. They play when double clicked in Windows Explorer though (flac/ogg directshow filter installed) I moved to Winamp because WMP is pretty limited and just has problems with unofficial audio formats. And as said Winamp supports ASIO, with ASIO plugin + ASIO4ALL driver.

As for video, WMP seems to work fine though. If you're looking for a HTPC solution I found Media Portal the best (better than XP MCE and Vista MCE) again Microsoft's own HTPC is limited, you will (again) have problems with flac files in "My Music" database. For video, you should only need ffdshow, quicktime and realtime alternative. At least Media Portal works, it puts flac in the database properly, although I prefer browse by directory. For proper audio playback (since having the LCD TV on or required just for music playback seems a bit silly) I use a Squeezebox V3, as it's indepedant of the HTPC, it's just a background service. So multiple Squeezebox's (say bedroom and kitchen zones) can be used with HTPC acting as the server, whilst the HTPC is also playing movies in the main zone. You can't do that on the HTPC alone (can't even do music + video on different zones) Also I would recommend you use replygain, if you randomise music collection without it different tracks will vary in volume, some loud, some quiet which is annoying. Foobar can scan and set replygain values. Winamp supports Replygain, as does Squeezebox (by default it's off on both of those)

Album Art downloader is a app by Sami Kyöstilä but going by searches cannot seem to find it. There are probably others, if you put "album art downloader" in google. You just need a app which'll download little images and save them to folder.jpg in each album directory.

Labarum · 31 Mar 2008 at 22:12

It's all still a bit messy and the vested interests don't help.

I am moving slowly. At present in the study I use the PC as a second TV with a Haupage card set up to receive analogue off the Virgin cable (impossible terestrial signal here). The card will also manage a sat dish when I get one installed, but it doesn't like Vista or Media Centre - works well with its own software, and it will record to HD. My son's TV card for freeview is streets ahead.

In the lounge I use the standar Virgin box, but have just set up a Shuttle to drive the Samsung TFT. Again with XP. Pitty the Shuttle is a bit noisy.

Now do I go for a Windows Media PC (silent variety) or a MacMini?

Without Freeview input I am stuck will the complications of Digital Cable or Sat - no TV card to take it.

Yes, I had thought about a Squeezebox, or do I just buy a M-Audio tansit to bring the Shuttle's sound up and use latter with a laptop or any other Mac or PC?

And yes, WMP is very limited compaired to iTunes and Winamp.

I just wish we had better integration. And I wait for BluRay to become the norm.