How can I add FLAC files to my iTunes library on Windows?

Question

I want to add FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) files on my iTunes Library. I googled on how to do so, and found Fluke for Mac, which looks great, except that I don't have a Mac. I have iTunes 9 on Win7.

So, aside from converting FLAC files to other formats or switching to a Mac, what else can I do to add the files to my library?

Solution 1

I'm afraid there is currently no way to do this in Windows. Even if you could add the FLAC file to your iTunes library, it would not be possible to play them on your iPod / iPhone anyway.

I suggest that you look into alternative media players such as Winamp and MediaMonkey. Both work with FLAC out of the box.

For a full list of supported players, see the 'Comparison' page on the above website.

Solution 2

Foobar2000 (warning: hard to set up), MediaMonkey, and J River Media Center (warning: not free) are all programs I would recommend to someone coming from iTunes if you want to switch player.

If you want to stick to iTunes, your best option is to convert the files to ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec), which works in iTunes and on iPods. This is a lossless->lossless conversion so you lose nothing. Foobar and DBPowerAmp (warning: not free) would be good choices for this.

Comments

[Breakthrough]

+1 for alternative solutions. Apple sucks, especially at playing nicely with anything they didn't create.